NFL Week 4 Updates
Manning tosses 6 TD passes; Hall extends return streak Eds: PMs.
Peyton Manning put on quite a show at Pop�s old stomping grounds, falling just shy of an NFL record for touchdown passes and lifting the Indianapolis Colts to their best start since 1996.
Dante Hall did set a league mark with yet another kick return TD, pushing the Kansas City Chiefs to 4-0, too.
In all, six teams are unbeaten after Sunday, including surprising Minnesota (thanks to backup quarterback Gus Frerotte) and Carolina (thanks to running back Stephen Davis).
And look who won a game: the Cincinnati Bengals.
Manning grew up in New Orleans, rooting at the Superdome for his father, Archie, the only Saints QB ever voted to the Pro Bowl. Against the Sai nts (1-3), the younger Manning became the first NFL quarterback in more than a decade to throw six TD passes, breaking the team record in a 55-21 victory.
�Anytime you throw six, sure that�s fun,� said Manning, who entered with a season total of three TDs. �It was just good execution. We were executing well even when we got stopped.�
That wasn�t often.
The Colts piled on the most points the Saints have allowed since a 62-7 loss to Atlanta in 1973. Manning went 20-of-25 for 314 yards, with TD tosses that covered 17, 14, 79, 12, 32 and 11 yards -- all in three quarters.
Hall already had a kickoff return and a punt return for touchdowns this season, and he did it again Sunday with about five minutes left, going 97 yards with a kickoff to give the Chiefs a 17-10 win over Baltimore.
Minnesota pounded San Francisco 35-7 for its fourth straight win but first outside the NFC North.
Denver also is 4-0 after surviving a �sandwich� game by defeating lowly Detroit 20-16. And Carolina improved to 3-0 with a 23-3 victory over longtime tormenter Atlanta. The other undefeated team is Seattle (3-0), which had a bye.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, beat Cleveland 21-14 for Marvin Lewis� first victory as a head coach.
Hall capitalized on a second chance. The Ravens were offside on their kickoff and had to do it again. They sent the ball to the wrong man, though: Hall set an NFL record by scoring on a kick return for the third straight game.
�The blocking was unbelievable,� Hall said. �I started right, cut left, and my eyes got so big when I saw that hole.�
The Vikings waited until right before the opening kickoff to opt for Frerotte at QB in place of injured started Daunte Culpepper, who has three broken bones in his lower back.
The moved worked out just fine.
Frerotte passed for 267 yards and four touchdowns, three to
Randy Moss, and the 49ers lost their third straight game after a 49-7 win over Chicago in Week 1.
Carolina got 153 yards rushing from Davis to stop a six-game losing streak against the Falcons, who beat them twice by a combined 71-0 last season.
�Now we know we can beat them,� said defensive end Brentson Buckner, who warned his younger teammates that the Panthers were 3-0 last season, too, but finished 7-9.
Denver, meanwhile, struggled against Detroit (1-3). The Broncos came into the game off a big victory over rival Oakland and looking ahead to next week�s game at Kansas City for the AFC West lead.
The Broncos got one break when the Lions botched the extra-point attempt on what should have been the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Bengals 21, Browns 14
Jon Kitna had three touchdown passes�two to Chad Johnson�and the visiting Bengals shut out the Browns (1-3) in the second half. Tim Couch, starting for the injured Kelly Holcomb, threw two TD passes for the Browns.
Texans 24, Jaguars 20
Texans coach Dom Capers made a key call with his team trailing 20-17 with 2 seconds left: He told David Carr to attempt a quarterback sneak from the 1.
It worked�Carr scored as time elapsed.
Plenty of coaches would have tried kicking a field goal to send
the game into overtime.
�When I saw how close we were, I thought, �Let�s go for it. Let�s try to win the game and end this thing right now,�� said Capers, whose Texans are 2-2. Visiting Jacksonville fell to 0-4.
Titans 30, Steelers 13
In Pittsburgh, Steve McNair threw three touchdown passes to lead the Titans to their third win over the Steelers in a year.
Backup linebacker Rocky Boiman returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown and sacked Tommy Maddox for a safety that started Tennessee�s comeback from a 10-0 deficit.
Washington 20, New England 17
Champ Bailey led a stellar defensive effort as the Redskins (3-1) survived two late TD passes by Tom Brady in their fourth consecutive game decided by three points or fewer. Visiting New England (2-2) was without nine opening-day starters.
Eagles 23, Bills 13
In Orchard Park, Brian Westbrook�s 62-yard TD run sealed the win for the Eagles (1-2), who scored a total of just 10 points in their first two games. Westbrook�s run came after Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe had cut a 16-0 deficit to 16-13 with a TD pass and a 1-yard run for a score.
Rams 37, Cardinals 13
Lamar Gordon ran for 81 yards in place of Marshall Faulk as the host Rams controlled the ball for more than 42 minutes against Arizona (1-3). Marc Bulger threw two TD passes for the Rams (2-2).
Cowboys 17, Jets 6
Dallas coach Bill Parcells beat one of his old teams again as Troy Hambrick ran for 127 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. The Cowboys (2-1) have defeated the Giants and Jets at Giants Stadium with a bye week in between. The Jets are 0-4 for the first time since 1996, when they finished 1-15.
Raiders 34, Chargers 31, OT
In Oakland , Rich Gannon and Jerry Rice combined to rally the Raiders (2-2) from 14 points down in the second half. Then Sebastian Janikowski made a 46-yard field goal with 5:01 left in overtime. Gannon finished 26-of-43 for 348 yards and three touchdowns, while Rice had seven receptions for 118 yards.
San Diego is 0-4.
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