Kitna tosses 3 TDs; Cowboys overcome skid, beat Giants

11/15/2010

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Jon Kitna passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys looked revitalized under interim coach Jason Garrett in a 33-20 victory that served as reality check for the New York Giants Sunday.

Kitna had TD passes of 13 yards to rookie Dez Bryant, 71 to halfback Felix Jones and 24 to Miles Austin as Dallas (2-7) snapped a five-game losing streak in its first game since Garrett replaced Wade Phillips.

Rookie cornerback Bryan McCann scored on a team-record 101-yard interception return in a game highlighted by big plays and two third-quarter power failures that delayed the game for 11 minutes.

Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes for the Giants (6-3), who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

CHICAGO - The Bears' Jay Cutler threw for three touchdowns, Devin Hester had two big returns, and Chicago moved into a tie with Green Bay for the NFC North lead, with a win over Minnesota.

It was a rough day for Brett Favre and the Vikings (3-6), who needed to win and beat the Packers next week to jump back into the division race.

Favre had 170 yards passing after getting a career-best 446 last week against Arizona, when Minnesota wiped out a late 14-point deficit and beat the Cardinals in overtime.

Favre threw three interceptions, all in the second half.

Cutler completed 22-of-35 passes for 237 yards with two interceptions.

JACKSONVILLE - Mike Thomas caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from David Garrard that Houston defensive back Glover Quin batted into his hands on the final play in regulation, giving the Jacksonville a win over the Texans (4-5).

The game looked as if it was going to overtime, but Garrard heaved a pass toward the end zone with no time on the clock. Quin, who was burned all afternoon, tried to bat the ball to the ground. Instead, he knocked it right to the 5-foot-8 Thomas.

Thomas, who was trailing behind the pass and looking for a ricochet, caught it at the 1-yard line and then stepped across the goal line for the winning score.

INDIANAPOLIS - Peyton Manning didn't throw a TD pass for the second game this season, but Kelvin Hayden returned aa pick for a touchdown and Javarris James ran for a TD to lead Indianapolis.

The banged-up Colts (6-3) didn't need Manning's arm to win this one. Instead, they scored 17 points off five turnovers and stopped the Bengals twice in the final 2:40.

MIAMI - Miami achieved its season-high point total, and it only took three quarterbacks, a flea-flicker, and the revival of the wildcat.

Defense helped too. Randy Moss managed only one catch in his first game with the Titans, Miami takeaways led to two touchdowns.

After Miami quarterbacks Chad Pennington (shoulder) and Chad Henne (knee) departed with injuries, third-stringer Tyler Thigpen led an 85-yard drive in the fourth quarter to seal the bizarre victory.

The Dolphins (5-4) snapped a five-game home losing streak, including three losses this season. Tennessee (5-4) lost coming off a bye for the first time in five years.

TAMPA — Josh Freeman threw two touchdown passes, and rookie LeGarrette Blount ran for a score to lead surprising Tampa Bay over Carolina.

Freeman threw TD passes of 8 yards to Arrelious Benn and 20 yards to Kellen Winslow for the NFL's youngest team.

Blount scored on a 17-yard run that finished a long second-quarter drive as the Bucs (6-3) rebounded from a six-point loss to Atlanta that knocked them out of first place in the NFC South. Cadillac Williams put the game out of reach with a 45-yard TD burst on third-and-10 late in the fourth quarter.

Rookie Jimmy Clausen made his fourth start at quarterback for injury-riddled Carolina (1-8), which got 100 yards rushing from fourth-string running back Mike Goodson.

SAN FRANCISCO - Joe Nedney kicked a 29-yard field goal with

9:38 left in overtime, and Troy Smith passed for 356 yards while leading the San Francisco 49ers' late rally for a victory over St. Louis.

Smith earned his second consecutive win as a starter for the 49ers (3-6), throwing a go-ahead 16-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree with 2:10 left in regulation.

After Sam Bradford and Steven Jackson led the Rams (4-5) back for Josh Brown's 33-yard field goal on the final snap of regulation, St. Louis couldn't get a first down after winning the overtime coin toss.

DENVER - Kyle Orton threw a career-high four TD passes and Knowshon Moreno had his first 100-yard rushing performance as the Denver Broncos routed the Kansas City Chiefs 49-29 in their highest-scoring game in 47 years.

Snapping a four-game skid, the Broncos (3-6) kept alive their thin hopes of getting back into the playoff race by handing the Chiefs (5-4) their second straight loss. Tim Tebow also threw his first NFL pass, a 3-yard TD toss to fullback Spencer Larsen.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Matt Hasselbeck, back after a one-game absence, threw for 333 yards and Mike Williams had the biggest game of his rejuvenated NFL career in Seattle's dominant victory over Arizona.

Williams, who spent the last two seasons out of the NFL after flopping in Detroit, caught 11 passes for 145 yards, both career highs, for the Seahawks (5-4), who swept the Cardinals for the first time since 2006.With St. Louis losing to San Francisco in overtime, Seattle is alone in first place in the NFC West.

PITTSBURGH — Tom Brady maintained his mastery of the Steelers, throwing three touchdown passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski and scoring once himself, and the Patriots bounced back from an embarrassing 20-point loss to the Browns the week before by beating the Steelers.

Brady was 30-of-43 for 350 yards with no sacks or interceptions, and now has 14 career TD throws and three interceptions against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh (6-3), its normally dominating defense shredded by Brady during its second home-field loss this season, drops back into a first-place tie with Baltimore in the AFC North.

The Steelers played most of the game without wide receiver Hines Ward (neck), whose streak of 186 consecutive games with a reception ended.

Brady threw only one incompletion during a 70-yard drive on New England's first possession that ended with his 19-yard TD throw to Gronkowski, a rookie who played his high school senior season in Pittsburgh.

Brady methodically led drive after drive by throwing underneath Pittsburgh's two-deep zone defense.