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 About the only people not particularly impressed by New England's 48-27 rout of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday were the ones wearing Patriots uniforms. To everybody else, it was vivid proof that the unbeaten Pats are the class of the league right now."The reality is we got a win on the road and we're 6-0. That's what is important," Tom Brady said after another record-setting performance. "Any time you win you're doing just fine. It's another step in the process. We have to continue to make improvements."
Brady threw a career-high five touchdown passes in handing the Cowboys their first loss in six games. He went 31-of-46 for 388 yards. His five TDs tied a franchise record and gave him an NFL mark with at least three in each of the first six games of the season. He has an NFL-best 21 this year; the league record is 49 by Peyton Manning.
Elsewhere, it was: Green Bay 17, Washington 14; Minnesota 34, Chicago 31; Tampa Bay 13, Tennessee 10; Jacksonville 37, Houston 17; Carolina 25, Arizona 10; San Diego 28, Oakland 14; Kansas City 27, Cincinnati 20; Baltimore 22, St. Louis 13; Philadelphia 16, Jets 9; New Orleans 28, Seattle 17; and Cleveland 41, Miami 31.
On Monday night, the New York Giants visit Atlanta.
Off this week were San Francisco, Denver, Buffalo, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.
Patriots 48, Cowboys 27
Even with Brady's heroics, the game at Texas Stadium was tight until Donte' Stallworth went 69 yards with one of the quarterback's precise throws. It catapulted the Patriots to their sixth straight blowout win and their highest point total this season. New England also gave up its most points of the season and trailed in the second half for the first time.
Wes Welker caught 11 passes for a career-high 124 yards and two touchdowns. Stallworth had seven catches for 136 yards.
The Cowboys were hurt by their continuing trend of slow starts and by racking up 12 penalties.
"It's almost a blessing in disguise," cornerback Terence Newman said. "It's the sixth game of the season, not even halfway done yet. So that just gives us incentive to work that much harder."
Packers 17, Redskins 14
At Green Bay, Wis., Charles Woodson returned a fumble 57 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in soggy conditions on a day when Brett Favre set the NFL record for career interceptions.
Favre became the interception king with an errant pass picked off by Redskins safety Sean Taylor in the third quarter. It was the 278th interception of Favre's career, breaking a tie with George Blanda.
"We won the game. I'm glad it's over, just like the other records," Favre said. "We're 5-1, so it feels a lot better than having no picks and being 1-5."
Washington is 3-2.
Vikings 34, Bears 31
At Chicago, Adrian Peterson, the first running back taken in this year's draft, had 224 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored on runs of 67, 73 and 35 yards. He broke Chuck Foreman's club-record of 200 yards rushing set in 1976.
Still, the Vikings (2-3) needed a career-best 55-yard field goal from Ryan Longwell on the final play after Chicago's Brian Griese hit Devin Hester for an 81-yard TD pass to tie the game.
Hester also returned a punt 89 yards for a TD in the first quarter for Chicago (2-4), his third kick return for a score this season after setting an NFL record with six kick return TDs a year ago.
Bucs 13, Titans 10
At Tampa, Fla., Matt Bryant's 43-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining won it.
Tennessee (3-2) had a five-game road winning streak halted after 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Vince Young limped off the field in the third quarter with a strained quadriceps.
Jeff Garcia threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway less than five minutes after Young left the game. Garcia then led the Bucs (4-2) on the winning drive after the Titans tied the score on LenDale White's 2-yard run with 1:17 left.
Jaguars 37, Texans 17
At Jacksonville, Fla., Maurice Jones-Drew had 260 all-purpose yards and David Garrard threw two touchdown passes as the Jaguars (4-1) won their fourth straight.
Houston (3-3) had won four of the previous six meetings between the AFC South clubs. But the Jaguars dominated this one, and it could have been worse had they not fumbled three times.
Jones-Drew had a 7-yard TD run early in the fourth period, making it 23-9. Paul Spicer sacked Matt Schaub on the ensuing possession, causing a fumble that Daryl Smith returned 77 yards to seal it.
Panthers 25, Cardinals 10
Vinny Testaverde, signed during the week, hit Steve Smith for a 65-yard touchdown pass and DeAngelo Williams ran for 121 yards and a touchdown. John Kasay kicked four field goals for Carolina (4-2).
Testaverde, 43, threw a touchdown pass for the 21st straight season, extending his own NFL record. Williams helped ice the game with a late 75-yard run, and he scored on a 13-yard run for the Panthers, 4-0 on the road this year.
Tim Rattay was rushed into action for Arizona (3-3) when starter Kurt Warner sprained his left elbow in the first quarter. Warner, a two-time NFL MVP, made his first start in place of Matt Leinart, who is out for the season with a broken collarbone.
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Chargers 28, Raiders 14
LaDainian Tomlinson matched his career high with four touchdowns, rushing for 198 yards on 24 carries and leading host San Diego to its eighth straight win over the Raiders (2-3).
Tomlinson scored on runs of 3, 27, 13 and 41 yards to move past John Riggins for fifth on the all-time TDs rushing list with 106. It was the third time the reigning NFL MVP rushed for four touchdowns in a game, and the fifth time overall he's scored four times.
The defending AFC West champion Chargers (3-3) pulled into a tie atop the division with Kansas City.
Chiefs 27, Bengals 20
Tony Gonzalez set the NFL record for touchdown catches by a tight end. Gonzalez, the eight-time Pro Bowler, caught Damon Huard's 3-yard pass in the first quarter and broke Shannon Sharpe's record of 62 TD catches. Then, Gonzalez snared a 26-yard scoring pass from Huard in the fourth period and wound up with 102 yards receiving.
Larry Johnson, who had not scored a touchdown after sitting out all of training camp, got 119 yards on 31 carries against a defense that had been giving up 152 yards on the ground. Two series after his fumble cost the host Chiefs (3-3) a touchdown in the second quarter, Johnson slipped into the end zone on an 8-yard run.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught eight passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns for Cincinnati (1-4). It was the fourth straight loss for the Bengals, who have gone 1-7 since being 8-5 last year and holding a one-game lead in the wild-card chase.
Ravens 22, Rams 3
At Baltimore, the Ravens (4-2) forced Rams QB Gus Frerotte into six turnovers and Matt Stover kicked five field goals. Willis McGahee had a 6-yard touchdown run.
Kyle Boller went 17-for-29 for 185 yards as a replacement for an injured Steve McNair.
Playing a second straight week in place of an injured Marc Bulger, Frerotte threw a career-high five interceptions and lost a fumble. The Rams dropped to 0-6 for the first time since 1962, when the franchise was in Los Angeles.
Eagles 16, Jets 9
Donovan McNabb threw for 278 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Curtis. Brian Westbrook ran for 120 yards, and David Akers kicked three field goals as the Eagles (2-3) improved to 8-0 all-time against the Jets (1-5). The Eagles are 9-0 in games after the bye under coach Andy Reid.
After having a week off following their loss to the Giants in which McNabb was sacked 12 times, the visiting Eagles allowed three sacks. McNabb finished 22-of-35, and Curtis caught five passes for 121 yards.
The Jets had a chance to tie it late, but Sheldon Brown knocked away Chad Pennington's pass in the end zone intended for Laveranues Coles.
Saints 28, Seahawks 17
At Seattle, Reggie Bush gained 141 yards, Drew Brees threw for 246 and receiver David Patten had eight catches for 113 yards, lifting the Saints to their first victory.
It was a breakout day for New Orleans (1-4), which hadn't scored more than 14 points in four dispiriting losses that brought back chilling memories of the
'Aints of days past. In this one, the Saints had three touchdowns by the middle of the second quarter.
It was a second straight pathetic effort for the Seahawks (3-3), who were coming off a 21-0 loss at Pittsburgh.
Browns 41, Dolphins 31
Cleveland handed visiting Miami its franchise-record ninth consecutive loss. The Browns (3-3) scored on three of their first four possessions to go up 17-3 before Leigh Bodden intercepted Cleo Lemon's pass. Derek Anderson turned it into a 24-yard touchdown throw to Braylon Edwards on the next play.
After the Dolphins (0-6) pulled within 27-24 in the third quarter, Anderson threw his second and third TD passes of the game to Edwards to put it out of reach.
The Dolphins, who lost their last three of 2006, broke the previous team mark of eight consecutive defeats set during the 1967 season. Cam Cameron remained winless as an NFL head coach. It was also the sixth road loss in a row for the Dolphins.
[Associated Press]
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