Steven Jackson ran for 160 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns and the St. Louis Rams looked like contenders instead of sad sacks for the second straight game under new coach Jim Haslett in a surprisingly easy 34-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Cowboys quarterback Brad Johnson couldn’t keep up with a suddenly potent, opportunistic offense, throwing three interceptions.
The Rams (2-4) won 19-17 at Washington last week in their first game since replacing Scott Linehan, ending a run of 17 losses in 20 games and four blowout losses to start the season. Their response to Haslett, beginning his second stint as a head coach, has exceeded expectations.
PHOTO: AFP
St. Louis’ defense did its part, forcing four turnovers for the second straight game.
Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware tied an NFL record with a sack in his 10th straight game and enjoyed his first multiple sack game of the season with three, giving him nine on the season.
BEARS 48, VIKINGS 41
At Chicago, Kyle Orton threw two touchdown passes and special teams chipped in with two more.
Chicago (4-3) intercepted Gus Frerotte four times even though its injury-riddled secondary was missing starting cornerbacks Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman and nickel back Danieal Manning.
The Bears also lost star kick returner Devin Hester to a quad injury in the third quarter, yet Chicago still managed to put up its most points since beating Tampa Bay 48-14 at home on Dec. 7, 1986. It was the most points the Bears allowed in a win.
RAIDERS 16, JETS 13, OT
At Oakland, California, Sebastian Janikowski bailed out Oakland coach Tom Cable in his home debut as Raiders coach.
Janikowski’s team-record 57-yard field goal with 2:30 left in overtime won it.
The game only went to overtime because Cable called a late timeout that negated Jay Feely’s missed field goal at the end of regulation. Feely made good on his second attempt, a 52-yarder with 3 seconds left that sent the game to overtime.
In OT, the teams traded punts on the first five possessions before JaMarcus Russell hit Javon Walker for 16 yards and Zach Miller for 27 to move the Raiders (2-4) into range.
PACKERS 34, COLTS 14
At Green Bay, Wisconsin, Aaron Rodgers gutted out his third straight game with a sprained right shoulder, going 21-for-28 for 186 yards and a touchdown despite strong winds at Lambeau Field.
Ryan Grant had his first 100-yard game of the season, carrying 31 times for 105 yards and a touchdown.
The Packers’ defense held Peyton Manning to 21-of-42 for 229 yards and two interceptions. Both were returned for touchdowns, by Nick Collins (62 yards) and Aaron Rouse (99 yards).
BUCCANEERS 20, SEAHAWKS 10
At Tampa, Florida, Jeff Garcia completed 26 of 37 passes for 310 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Bryant on Tampa Bay’s opening drive, and the Buccaneers beat the struggling Seattle.
Making his second straight start in place of Brian Griese, Garcia helped the NFC South-leading Bucs (5-2) improve to 4-0 at home.
Garcia clearly outplayed fellow backup-turned-starter Seneca Wallace, the Seahawks’ third quarterback in three weeks.
Wallace was 12-of-23 for 73 yards, with a 2-yard touchdown pass to John Carlson with 1:55 left. Seattle (1-5) has lost three straight.
REDSKINS 14, BROWNS 11
At Landover, Maryland, Clinton Portis broke a scoreless tie with a 3-yard run in the third quarter and rushed for 175 yards on 27 carries, and Santana Moss spun his way to an 18-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter for Washington.
The Browns nearly recovered from a 14-3 deficit, scoring on Joshua Cribbs’ 1-yard catch and Braylon Edwards’ 2-point conversion reception with 2:44 to play. Cleveland then forced Washington to punt and drove to the Redskins 36 in the final minute, but Phil Dawson missed what would have been a career-long 54-yard field goal with 25 seconds to play.
TEXANS 28, LIONS 21
At Houston, Owen Daniels scored two touchdowns and rookie Steve Slaton and Ahman Green added a touchdown each. Andre Johnson had 11 receptions for 141 yards for his third straight 100-yard game.
The Texans scored touchdowns on their first three possessions for the first time in team history. They weren’t quite as sharp in the second half, punting on four of five possessions, and were outscored 17-7, allowing the Lions (0-6) to cut Houston’s lead to a touchdown with about 4 minutes left.
The Texans (2-4) held the ball until there were just 20 seconds to go and Detroit’s last play ended in a fumble.
BILLS 23, CHARGERS 14
At Orchard Park, New York, Trent Edwards went 25-of-30 for 261 yards and a touchdown, and Kawika Mitchell intercepted a pass from Philip Rivers at the goal line to thwart a potential go-ahead score.
Mitchell’s interception allowed Edwards to engineer a seven-play, 43-yard drive to set up Rian Lindell’s 44-yard field goal with 3:17 remaining. Then Mitchell came through again, when he forced Rivers to fumble on San Diego’s next possession.
Edwards hit Lee Evans on a 2-yard touchdown pass and Marshawn Lynch also scored for the AFC East-leading Bills, off to their first 5-1 start since 1995. Buffalo got the 200th home win in franchise history.
TITANS 34, CHIEFS 10
At Kansas City, Missouri, LenDale White rushed for three touchdowns and 149 yards, including an 80-yard sprint, and Chris Johnson unfurled a 66-yard gallop while rushing for 168 yards.
The Titans (6-0), who had never even been 5-0 in their history, scored 10 points on their first two possessions and were never threatened by the Chiefs (1-5), who seem headed for an even worse season than last year’s 4-12.
The Chiefs got more: quarterback Brodie Croyle’s knee injury will keep him out the rest of the season.
White went 80 yards virtually untouched in the fourth quarter, matching the franchise’s longest run since 1983. Johnson made it 33-3 with 4:01 left in the third blowout loss the rebuilding Chiefs have experienced this year.
It was the first time since 1977 that two runners had gone over 100 yards against the Chiefs.
STEELERS 38, BENGALS 10
At Cincinnati, Mewelde Moore, a backup running back, scored a career-high three touchdowns, and the Steelers’ defense took it from there.
Thousands of Steelers fans in the crowd of 65,860 twirled yellow Terrible Towels while the Steelers (5-1) solidified their hold on first place in the AFC North at a stadium that’s as comfy as it gets on the road. Pittsburgh has won its past eight games at Paul Brown Stadium, each coming in a little different way.
Moore ran for 120 yards — only 18 shy of his career high — and touchdowns of 13 and 2 yards. He also caught a 2-yard touchdown pass on Pittsburgh’s opening drive.
GIANTS 29, 49ERS 17
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Brandon Jacobs ran for two touchdowns, Eli Manning threw for one, Michael Johnson had two interceptions and the Giants managed to make fewer mistakes than the woeful 49ers.
The victory was the fourth straight at home for the Giants (5-1) — one more than they had last season — and it sent the 49ers (2-5) to their fourth straight loss.
This one wasn’t pretty for either team, especially San Francisco, which turned over the ball three times, allowed six sacks and had 13 penalties for 134 yards. Combined it handed New York 19 points.
PANTHERS 30, SAINTS 7
At Charlotte, Nort Carolina, Jake Delhomme threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns, Jonathan Stewart rushed for another score and the Panthers’ defense shut down the Saints.
Drew Brees, who came in leading the NFL in completions and yards passing, was hounded all day and struggled with his accuracy. The Saints couldn’t overcome the loss of running back Reggie Bush to a left knee injury and were smothered by the Panthers’ improved defense.
Carolina (5-2) twice stopped New Orleans (3-4) on fourth down in the second half. Julius Peppers had a sack and a forced fumble and the Panthers posted another lopsided home win to improve to 4-0 at Bank of America Stadium.
RAVENS 27, DOLPHINS 13
At Miami, the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator orchestrated four scoring drives against the team he coached to only one win last year. Joe Flacco threw for 232 yards and a touchdown.
Miami’s lone victory last season came against Baltimore in December, and that wasn’t enough to save Cam Cameron’s job. Since changing teams, he has searched for consistency from the Ravens and finally found it. They mustered scoring drives of 42, 67, 67 and 68 yards, with each lasting at least nine plays.
The NFL’s top-ranked defense did the rest. Terrell Suggs scored on a 44-yard interception return, and the Ravens limited Ronnie Brown to 27 yards rushing. Baltimore blitzed to contain Miami’s Wildcat offense, which netted only 4 yards in five plays.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
The CTBC Brothers from Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) on Friday announced they reached an agreement with the team’s shortstop Chiang Kun-yu (江坤宇) to extend his contract by 10 years in a deal that could worth up to NT $147.88 million (US$4.5 million). Including a NT$10 million incentive bonus, the 24-year- old’s new contract stipulates that his monthly salary will be NT$660,000 starting this year, increasing to NT$1.2 million from the fifth year of the deal. Chiang’s new agreement also comes with a caveat in the form of a “player option” where he would have the choice to become a free
RSS