Big Ben guides Steelers past Jags
NFL roundup

Published: October 6, 2008

Big Ben’s big night in Jacksonville, Fla., gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a big boost in the AFC North.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns Sunday night as Pittsburgh (4-1) snapped a four-game losing streak against Jacksonville (2-3), winning 26-21.

Roethlisberger finished 26-of-41, rebounding from an interception on his third pass that Rashean Mathis returned 72 yards for a TD. Roethlisberger’s 8-yard fade pass to Hines Ward put the Steelers ahead with 1:53 to go.

The Jags blew a late lead for a fourth straight week.

→ Titans 13, at Ravens 10: Tennessee is still unbeaten thanks to a late TD and a defense that outperformed the NFL’s top unit.

Kerry Collins threw an 11-yard TD pass to Alge Crumpler with 1:56 left as the Titans moved to 5-0.

Tennessee trailed 10-6 before Collins directed an 11-play, 80-yard drive. The march was aided by a penalty against T errell Suggs, who was flagged for a blow to Collins’ helmet — although the hit appeared to be incidental contact.

→ Colts 31, at Texans 27: Peyton Manning turned a colossal collapse by Houston into a stunning Indianapolis victory.

The Colts scored 21 points in a late span of 2:10 — two TDs thanks to fumbles by Sage Rosenfels — then intercepted Rosenfels’ last-ditch attempt.

Manning threw two TD passes, connecting with Reggie Wayne on a 5-yarder with 1:54 left. Gary Brackett returned a fumble by Rosenfels 68 yards for a score in between Manning’s TD throws.

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→ at Giants 44, Seahawks 6: Eli Manning threw two TDs passes, Brandon Jacobs ran for two more and the unbeaten Giants scored on their first five possessions.

The win was the eighth straight for the Giants (4-0) dating to last year’s playoffs, and it gave the Super Bowl champions their best start since 1990, when they went 13-3 record and won the NFL title. The Giants rolled up 523 total yards, their most since 2002.

→at Dolphins 17, Chargers 10: The Dolphins are winning the old-fashioned way. The single wing helped build a lead, and a goal-line stand kept it.

Ronnie Brown scored the decisive TD from the formation the Dolphins revived two weeks ago, their defense rose to the occasion at the 1-yard line and Miami pulled off its second straight upset.

The single wing was less explosive than in the Dolphins’ win at New England, but Brown, who finished with 125 yards, took a direct snap 11 times on running plays that netted 49 yards and Miami’s second TD.

→Falcons 27, at Packers 24: Rookie Matt Ryan hit 16 of 26 passes for 194 yards and two TDs against the banged-up Pack.

Roddy White caught eight passes for 132 yards and a TD, while Michael Turner ran for 121 yards and a TD as the new-look Falcons (3-2) earned their first road win.

It was the third straight loss for the Packers (2-3).

→at Panthers 34, Chiefs 0: DeAngelo Williams had 123 yards rushing and three TDs as the Panthers (4-1) handed the Chiefs (1-4) their first shutout in nearly six years.

Steve Smith caught six passes for 96 yards, Muhsin Muhammad had a 47-yard TD catch and the Panthers moved to 3-0 at home after going 2-6 at home last season.

→ Patriots 30, at 49ers 21: From Randy Moss’ dynamic 66-yard TD catch to Kevin Faulk’s score on a direct snap, the Patriots returned to their usual regular-season form.

Faulk rushed for two TDs, Matt Cassel had 259 yards passing and the Patriots won in San Francisco for the first time.

Moss had five catches for 111 yards for the Patriots (3-1).

→ at Broncos 16, Bucs 13: Brandon Stokley hauled in Jay Cutler’s pass in the right flat and followed Brandon Marshall’s block for a 10-yard TD, and Matt Prater kicked three field goals for Denver.

→ at Cardinals 41, Bills 17: Rookie Tim Hightower had a pair of TD runs, and Kurt Warner threw to Larry Fitzgerald twice for scores as the Bills suffered their first loss.

→ Bears 34, at Lions 7: Kyle Orton set career highs in yards passing, completions and QB rating while throwing two TDs. He was 24-of-34 for 334 yards and had a 121.4 rating, improving to 3-0 against the Lions.

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