Peyton Manning turned a colossal collapse by the Houston Texans into a stunning 31-27 victory for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
The Colts scored 21 points in a late span of 2:10 — two touchdowns thanks to fumbles by Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels — then intercepted Rosenfels’ last-ditch comeback attempt to seal one of the worst meltdowns in Houston’s young history.
Backup Rosenfels, playing for the ill Matt Schaub, had the winless Texans ahead by 17 points before losing two fumbles and throwing an interception. Texans fans had wanted to see Schaub replaced all season, and Rosenfels was nearly flawless for three quarters.
PHOTO: AFP
Manning connected with rookie Tom Santi to make it 27-17 with 4:04 to go. Then Rosenfels was upended, fumbled, and linebacker Gary Brackett returned it 68 yards for 27-24.
DOLPHINS 17, CHARGERS 10
At Miami, Ronnie Brown scored the decisive touchdown from the single-wing formation Miami revived two weeks ago as the Dolphins pulled off consecutive wins for the first time since November 2006.
Brown took a direct snap 11 times on running plays that netted 49 yards and Miami’s second touchdown.
He ran for 125, while Miami held San Diego star LaDainian Tomlinson to 35 yards on 12 carries. The Dolphins were nursing a seven-point lead when they stopped Tomlinson for no gain on fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the first minute of the final period.
TITANS 13, RAVENS 10
At Baltimore, Tennessee remained unbeaten thanks to a late touchdown drive and a defense that outperformed Baltimore’s top-ranked unit.
Kerry Collins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Alge Crumpler with 1:56 left. The Titans trailed 10-6 before Collins directed an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive.
GIANTS 44, SEAHAWKS 6
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Eli Manning threw two touchdowns in a nearly flawless performance, Brandon Jacobs ran for two more and the unbeaten New York Giants scored on their first five possessions in embarrassing Seattle.
FALCONS 27, PACKERS 24
At Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers played hurt and played hard but he was upstaged by Atlanta rookie Matt Ryan, who completed 16 of 26 passes for 194 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against the banged-up Packers.
Falcons receiver Roddy White caught eight passes for 132 yards and a touchdown, while Michael Turner ran for 121 yards and a touchdown as the new-look Falcons earned their first road win of the season and handed the Packers a third straight defeat.
REDSKINS 23, EAGLES 17
At Philadelphia, Clinton Portis ran for 145 yards and one touchdown and wide receiver Antwaan Randle El threw a touchdown pass as Washington made it through the first five games under new coach Jim Zorn better than anyone expected at 4-1.
PANTHERS 34, CHIEFS 0
At Charlotte, North Carolina, DeAngelo Williams had 123 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns as Carolina handed Kansas City its first whitewash in nearly six years.
Tony Gonzalez caught a 6-yard pass from Damon Huard late in the first quarter to move past Shannon Sharpe as the NFL’s career leader for yards receiving for a tight end.
In other games, it was:
■ Bears 34, Lions 7
■ Cardinals 41, Bills 17
■ Broncos 16, Buccaneers 13
■ Cowboys 31, Bengals 22
■ Patriots 30, 49ers 21
■ Steelers 26, Jaguars 21
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
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Taiwan’s Lin Cheng-jing won a bronze medal in the clean and jerk in the women’s under-49 kg division at the 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Bahrain on Saturday. Lin won her first medal at a World Weightlifting Championships for lifting 107kg in the clean and jerk in her weight class, 2kg more than Rosegie Ramos of the Philippines. However, Ramos won bronze for the combined lift after topping Lin by 5kg in the snatch. Ri Song-gum of North Korea won gold in the division’s combined lift with a total of 213kg, while Xiang Linxiang of China took silver with
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