Colts Stay Unbeaten, Bears Win, Rams Fall

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Peyton Manning threw for 236 yards and a touchdown as Indianapolis held off Buffalo, 17-16, to become the first team in NFL history to open consecutive seasons with nine victories. Rookie Joseph Addai had 78 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Colts (9-0), who are the only unbeaten team in the NFL. Dominic Rhodes added another 72 yards rushing while Reggie Wayne had four catches for 42 yards and a score. Anthony Thomas had 109 yard rushing for the Bills (3-6), who have lost four of their past five games. J.P. Losman completed just 9-of-13 passes for 83 yards and Rian Lindell kicked three field goals for Buffalo. The Bills took the opening kickoff and went 61 yards on 14 plays before stalling at the Indianapolis four-yard line. Buffalo had to settle for a 22- yard Lindell field goal to make it 3-0 with 8:08 left in the opening quarter. The vaunted Indianapolis offense finally got things going in the second quarter when Manning capped a nine-play, 58-yard drive by finding Wayne for a one-yard TD to put the Colts on top 7-3 with 11:09 remaining before the half. Less than three minutes later, the Colts extended their advantage to 10-3 on a 31-yard Adam Vinatieri field goal, but Buffalo was able to get right back in the game thanks to their defense. With less than a minute to go before intermission, Manning found Ben Utecht but the tight end fumbled and Terrence McGee scooped up the football and raced 68 yards to even things at 10. The back and fourth action continued into the third quarter. The Colts went back in front when Addai finished a nine-play, 74-yard march by taking it in from five yards out. But, McGee returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to the Indianapolis 12. The Colts defense stiffened however, and Lindell was called on for a 30-yard field goal to draw the Bills within four, 17-13, with 8:47 left in the quarter. Lindell`s third field goal, a 43-yarder with 10:35 left, made things even tighter, 17-16. Buffalo then had a great chance to take the lead after Nate Clements recovered a Rhodes fumble and returned it to the Colts 41-yard line. A 19-yard burst up the middle by Thomas got the Bills in field goal position but this time Lindell was not equal to the task, missing a 41-yarder. That would be the last chance for the Bills as Manning and the Indianapolis offense managed to siphon the final 6:22 off the clock to secure the game. East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Rex Grossman threw three touchdown passes and Devin Hester returned a missed field goal an NFL-record tying 108 yards for a score, as the Chicago Bears grabbed a stranglehold on the top spot in the NFC with a 38-20 win over New York at Giants Stadium. Grossman completed 18-of-30 passes for 246 yards with one interception for the NFC North-leading Bears (8-1), who rebounded from their lone loss of the season to take a two-game lead over the Giants (6-3) and Saints for the best record in the conference. Thomas Jones added 113 yards and a touchdown rushing and Muhsin Muhammad had 123 yards and a score receiving for Chicago, which scored 21 straight points during one stretch and 35 of the final 42 points of the game to improve to 8-1 for the first time since 1990. Eli Manning ended 14-of-32 for 121 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble for New York, which had a five-game win streak halted. Tiki Barber added 141 yards rushing and Brandon Jacobs scored both touchdowns for the Giants, whose lead in the NFC East fell to one game over Philadelphia and Dallas. Down 13-3 with just over two minutes left in the first half, the Bears offense woke up. After already committing a pair of turnovers that led to 10 points for the Giants, the Bears finally put together a touchdown drive. The key play was a screen pass to Jones that went for 26 yards on a 3rd-and-22, bringing the ball in New York territory. Three plays later, Grossman hit Mark Bradley with a 29-yard touchdown pass to make it a 13-10 contest going into halftime. In the third quarter, the Bears continued the onslaught. After the teams exchanged possessions, Chicago marched 43 yards on six plays, capping it off with a 10-yard touchdown strike from Grossman to Muhammad for a 17-13 edge with 8:20 left in the quarter. Manning then fumbled on the Giants` next drive and Chicago`s Adewale Ogunleye recovered at the New York 21, setting up Grossman`s eventual two-yard TD strike to Desmond Clark in the back of the end zone for a 24-13 lead. New York answered with a touchdown drive of its own. Barber`s 46-yard run brought the ball down to the Chicago eight-yard line, where Jacobs ran in on the very next play, cutting the deficit to 24-20 with just under 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. Later, in the fourth, the Giants went for a 52-yard field goal, but Jay Feely`s attempt was short and caught by Hester eight yards deep in the end zone. After pausing for a moment while his blockers got into position, Hester exploded out of the end zone and up the right side, where he went virtually untouched for the score and a 31-20 lead with 11:20 left in the contest. Then, after a Manning interception on the Giants` ensuing drive, Jones ran in from two yards out to cap the scoring three minutes later. Chicago continues a three-game road trip next Sunday when it will again be at Giants Stadium to face the Jets. After Feely missed a 33-yard field goal attempt to end the Giants` first drive, the New York defense responded. Mathias Kiwanuka intercepted a third- down pass by Grossman and returned it 32 yards to the Chicago one-yard line, setting up Jacobs` first TD run on the ensuing play for a 7-0 lead just over five minutes into the game. Chicago responded on its next drive when Robbie Gould hit a 49-yard field goal, but the Giants bridged the first and second quarters with a four-play drive that was started when Gabril Wilson recovered a Jones fumble at the Bears` 31 and ended with a 46-yard field goal by Feely. New York then extended to a 13-3 cushion when Feely hit a 40-yard field goal with 2:21 left in the first half. Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - Josh Brown hit a 38-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining to lift the Seattle Seahawks to a thrilling 24-22 victory over the St. Louis Rams in an NFC West showdown at Qwest Field. Seneca Wallace completed 15-of-23 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns for the Seahawks, who remain in first place in the NFC West. "This game was crucial, we now have a sizeable lead in the division," said Seattle cornerback Kelly Herndon. Maurice Morris ran for 124 yards for Seattle (6-3), which has won two straight and swept the season series over St. Louis for the second straight season. Nate Burleson had a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown that helped change the momentum of the game. Darrell Jackson hauled in five passes for 85 yards and a touchdown while Jerramy Stevens also had a touchdown reception for the Seahawks. Steven Jackson rushed for 93 yards and a score for the Rams (4-5), who have lost four straight. Jackson also caught six passes for 40 yards. Torry Holt had seven receptions for 73 yards and Isaac Bruce added seven catches for 66 yards in the loss. Marc Bulger completed 26-of-40 passes for 215 yards and an interception. Trailing by two points in the fourth quarter, Seattle used a big play on special teams to take the lead. Burleson fielded a punt at his own 10-yard line close to the left sideline and burst down field, dodging an early tackle en route to a 90-yard touchdown to put the Seahawks up 21-16 with 8:19 left in the contest. "I just had faith in the guys around me," said Burleson. "I got the football, made a guy miss and just saw blue jersey`s around me." Following Burleson`s touchdown, Bulger and St. Louis marched down field and scored after Jackson pounded the ball in from 14 yards out to jump back in front at 22-21 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion with 2:30 remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, Josh Scobey returned the ball to the St. Louis 49-yard line after a 33-yard return. With 1:05 on the clock, Jackson made a 10-yard reception to put Seattle in field goal range at the 22-yard line. The Seahawks then ran the ball to force the Rams to use their time outs. With just 13 seconds on the fourth-quarter clock, Brown drilled a 38-yard field goal to give Seattle a 24-22 lead with just nine ticks left. St. Louis attempted a few laterals on the kickoff return but could not move the ball past the 50-yard line as time expired. The Rams scored a defensive touchdown early to take the lead in the first quarter. Seattle took the opening kickoff of the game and marched all the way down to the St. Louis six-yard line. Wallace though was sacked hard by Leonard Little and lost the football as Victor Adeyanju scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 89 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 7-0 lead. The Seahawks responded on the ensuing possession to tie game at 7-7. Seattle drove 76 yards in seven plays and Wallace connected with Jackson for a three- yard touchdown pass with 5:45 remaining in the opening quarter. A 40-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins late in the first quarter put the Rams on top at 10-7. With 7:39 remaining in the second quarter, the Seahawks took a 14-10 lead after Wallace found Stevens over the middle of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Seattle went 94 yards on eight plays during the scoring drive. Wilkins pulled the Rams within 14-13 after hitting a 42-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the first half. Wilkins` kick ended a 13-play, 57-yard drive that spanned over seven minutes. With under six minutes left in the third quarter, Wilkins put St. Louis ahead 16-14 with a 35-yard field goal. Jackson ripped off a 30-yard run on the drive to put the Rams in scoring position. The St. Louis defense made a big play late in the third quarter. O.J. Atogwe sacked Wallace and knocked the ball loose as teammate Raonall Smith recovered the fumble at the Seattle 33-yard line. The Rams failed to cash in though as they went for it on 4th-and-1 at the 12- yard line as Bulger threw an incomplete pass, turning the ball on over on downs.