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Published Date
UNDATED (AP) - Ben Roethlisberger (RAWTH'-lihs-bur-gur) was
cheered loudly by the fans in Pittsburgh when he was introduced
before his first appearance of the regular season. Then the veteran
quarterback shook off some early rust to help lead the Steelers to
a 28-10 victory over visiting Cleveland. The veteran quarterback
was returning from his well-publicized four-game suspension for
violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Roethlisberger was intercepted on Pittsburgh's first drive, but
bounced back to throw three TD passes while going 16 of 27 for 257
yards. That's about 120 more passing yards than Pittsburgh averaged
while going 3-1 during his absence.
Browns rookie q-b Colt McCoy got his first pro start and went 23
of 33 for 281 yards with two interceptions.
Dan Carpenter's 44-yard field goal with 9:01 left in overtime
boosted Miami to a 23-20 win at Green Bay.
It's the second straight overtime loss for the 3-3 Packers.
Aaron Rodgers started for Green Bay one week after sustaining a
concussion, and scored on a quarterback sneak with 13 seconds left
in regulation. The extra point sent it to OT.
Rodgers clicked on 18 of 33 passes for 313 yards with a
touchdown and an interception.
Packers receiver Greg Jennings had 6 catches for 133 yards,
including an 86-yard touchdown.
Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne was 23 of 39 for 231 yards with
two touchdowns and an interception. He found favorite-target
Brandon Marshall 10 times for 127 yards.
Cameron Wake had three sacks for the 3-2 Dolphins.
Stephen Gostkowski's 35-yard field goal with 1:56 left in
overtime completed New England's come-from-behind 23-20 win over
visiting Baltimore. He'd kicked a 24-yarder to send it to OT.
Deion Branch sparked the comeback from a 20-10 deficit. The
recently reacquired receiver hauled in a a 5-yard scoring pass from
Tom Brady four minutes into the fourth quarter. And he caught
passes for 23 and 10 yards during the last possession of overtime
to help set up the winning kick.
Branch finished with 9 catches for 98 yards for the 4-1
Patriots. Joe Flacco completed 27 of 35 passes for 285 yards and
two touchdowns for the 4-2 Ravens.
A week after a mistake-filled road loss that dumped them into
third place in the NFC South, the Saints looked a lot more like the
Super Bowl champions in a 31-6 road rout of the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers.
Drew Brees threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns, and New
Orleans amassed 476 yards of total offense while raising it's
record to 4-2.
Rookie Chris Ivory stepped up in the absence of injured running
backs Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas, rushing for 158 yards on 15
carries.
Tampa Bay falls to 3-2.
Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes and Brandon Jacobs had a
pair of short TD runs to lead the New York Giants to a 28-20
victory Detroit. The Lions' NFL record-tying 24th straight road
loss drops them to 1-5 on the season.
Safety Deon Grant preserved the third straight win for the now
4-2 Giants by forcing and recovering a fumble by Lions' receiver
Nate Burleson at the Giants 42 with about five minutes to go and
New York ahead by four points.
Lions quarterback Shaun Hill left the game late in the first
half with an injured left arm. Drew Stanton had an 87-yard scoring
pass to Calvin Johnson in the fourth quarter for the 1-5 Lions.
Subbing for a still-injured Michael Vick, Kevin Kolb (kahb)
threw for three TDs in Philadelphia's 31-17 victory over visiting
Atlanta. The loss snaps the Falcons' four-game winning streak.
DeSean Jackson scored both of the Eagles' touchdowns in the
first quarter, one on a 31-yard run and the other on a 34-yard
reception. But Philadelphia's star receiver was knocked out of the
game in the second quarter by a head-to-head hit from Atlanta
cornerback Dunta Robinson, who also left the game with a head
injury. Robinson was flagged for hitting a defenseless receiver.
Receiving partner Jeremy Maclin helped make up for Jackson's
absence. He caught an 8-yard TD pass and also scored on an 83-yard
bomb.
Both teams are now 4-2.
Matt Schaub threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson
with 28 seconds left to give Houston a stunning 35-31 win over
visiting Kansas City.
Johnson caught eight passes for 138 yards while still nursing a
sprained right ankle. Teammate Thomas Jones ran for 100 yards.
The Texans trailed 31-21 with just over 7 minutes left before
coming back and handing Kansas City it's second straight loss after
a 3-0 start.
Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel (KAS'-uhl) threw two of his three
touchdown passes to Dwayne Bowe, who finished with six receptions
for 108 yards.
St. Louis won its third straight at home for the first time
since 2004 after entering the season with a 14-game losing streak.
The Rams stuffed the NFL's top offense in a 20-17 victory over the
visiting Chargers that gets them to 3-3 on the season. James Hall,
Chris Long and Larry Grant had two sacks apiece for the winners.
The Rams also dominated San Diego's second-ranked defense, a
week after getting blown out 44-6 at Detroit. Sam Bradford threw a
38-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Danario Alexander and
veteran running back Steven Jackson finished with 109 yards and a
touchdown.
The four-time defending AFC West champion Chargers are off to a
2-4 start.
The Seahawks took a page or two out of the Giants' defensive
playbook, sacking Bears quarterback Jay Cutler six times during a
23-20 win at Chicago.
Cutler missed last week's game with a concussion after being
sacked nine times by New York the previous week. He completed just
17 of 39 for 290 yards in his return to action.
Seattle q-b Matt Hasselbeck completed 25 of 40 passes for a
season-best 242 yards and a touchdown, helping the Seahawks get to
3-2.
And Mike Williams set career-highs with 10 catches and 123
yards.
Chicago falls to 4-2.
Today's late games include the New York Jets at Denver, San
Francisco home to Oakland and Dallas at Minnesota.
Washington hosts Indianapolis tonight.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-10-17-10 1756EDT
