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Steelers fumble way to victory

The officials eventually got it right that Ben Roethlisberger fumbled at the goal-line. The Dolphins were still left feeling wronged.
Chris Clemmons, Hines Ward
Miami Dolphins’ Chris Clemmons (30) tackles Pittsburgh Steelers Hines Ward (86) during the second half of an NFL football game in Miami

Steelers 23 at Miami 22

The officials eventually got it right that Ben Roethlisberger fumbled at the goal-line. The Dolphins were still left feeling wronged.

An officiating mistake negated Roethlisberger’s late fumble, and the Steelers kicked the game-winning field goal on the next play Sunday. Jeff Reed made an 18-yarder with 2:30 left, allowing Pittsburgh to escape with a 23-22 win.

One play earlier, with Pittsburgh trailing 22-20 and facing third-and-goal at the two, Roethlisberger fumbled as he dived across the goal line on a quarterback draw. The play was ruled a touchdown as both teams scrambled for the loose ball in the end zone.

After a replay review, referee Gene Steratore announced that Roethlisberger fumbled before scoring. But Steratore said his crew had no clear evidence as to which team recovered the ball, and the Steelers (5-1) were awarded possession at the half-yard line, allowing Reed to kick the winner.

The Dolphins (3-3) then lost the ball on downs, gaining only four yards in four plays.

Vikings 24 at Packers 28

Some Green Bay Packers fans still can’t bear the sight of former quarterback Brett Favre in a Minnesota Vikings uniform. It probably hurt a little bit less after the Packers finally sent him home with a loss.

Favre threw three second-half interceptions to his former team and the Packers held on to beat the Vikings 28-24 on Sunday night.

Favre appeared to deliver another signature comeback win with an apparent touchdown strike to Percy Harvin with 48 seconds left — but the play was ruled incomplete on a replay review. With one more chance on fourth-and-15 at the 20, Favre threw incomplete out of bounds.

49ers 20 at Panthers 23

John Kasay kicked a 37-yard field goal with 39 seconds remaining to give Carolina (1-5) its first win of the season.

The 49ers’ David Carr was intercepted by Richard Marshall with just over a minute left to set up the winning kick. The 49ers fell to 1-6.

The Panthers tied it when rookie David Gettis, who had dropped a touchdown pass earlier in the fourth quarter on fourth down, made a diving 23-yard TD grab with 1:53 left.

With Alex Smith out after spraining his left shoulder, Carr threw into double coverage and Marshall picked it off at the Carolina 43. Matt Moore then found Brandon LaFell for 35 yards to set up Kasay’s winner.

Bills 34 at Ravens 37 OT

The Bills came close, but Billy Cundiff kicked a 38-yard field goal with 10:57 left in overtime after Ray Lewis stripped the ball from tight end Shawn Nelson, and Baltimore squeezed past winless Buffalo (0-6).

Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes for the Ravens, who survived an uncharacteristic performance by a defence that was shredded for 505 yards.

Baltimore (5-2) trailed 24-10 late in the first half before scoring 24 straight points to take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick then threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Lee Evans with 5:46 left, and the Bills forced overtime on a 50-yard field goal by Rian Lindell with four seconds left in regulation.

Fitzpatrick went 29 for 43 for 373 yards and four touchdowns — three to Evans and another to Steve Johnson.

Patriots 23 at Chargers 20

New San Diego kicker Kris Brown missed a 50-yard field goal attempt with 23 seconds left as New England escaped with a win.

Brown lined up to try a 45-yarder that would have forced overtime, but guard Louis Vasquez was whistled for a false start. Moved back five yards, Brown’s attempt was long enough but bounced off the right upright. Brown was signed last week because Nate Kaeding has an injured groin.

Leading by three with two minutes left, New England gambled on fourth-and-1 from its 49 and Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis was stuffed for a one-yard loss by Antwan Applewhite. Coach Bill Belichick had challenged the spot of the previous play and lost, costing him his final timeout. San Diego then moved to the 27.

New England (5-1) pulled into a tie with the idle New York Jets atop the AFC East. The Chargers fell to 2-5.

Raiders 59 at Broncos 14

Behind Darren McFadden’s four touchdowns, Oakland scored the most points in its 50-year history in routing demoralized Denver.

The Raiders (3-4) were fuelled by a 38-point outburst in the first 22 minutes, including touchdowns eight seconds apart to start the rout that recalled so many of the lopsided scores between these former AFL teams in the 1960s.

The Raiders kept the Broncos (2-5) guessing until game time that Jason Campbell would start at quarterback despite a sore knee in place of Bruce Gradkowski (sore shoulder).

McFadden, meanwhile, showed no ill effects of a recent hamstring injury in scoring on a pair of four-yard runs and a 19-yard reception in the first half and on a 57-yard run in the second.

Cardinals 10 at Seahawks 22

Olindo Mare kicked five field goals, Matt Hasselbeck threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams and Seattle took advantage of five Arizona turnovers.

The Seahawks (4-2) took over first place in the NFC West despite an unimpressive performance. Four times in the second half, Seattle had possession inside the Arizona 20 and settled for Mare field goals on each occasion.

Arizona rookie quarterback Max Hall didn’t make it through the third quarter, getting knocked out of the game with a “blow to the head” on a sack by Chris Clemons on what looked to be a clean hit.

Redskins 17 at Bears 14

DeAngelo Hall tied an NFL record with four interceptions, running one back 92 yards for a touchdown, and Washington sacked Jay Cutler four times while forcing six turnovers.

Hall tied a record held by 18 others and became the first to pick off four passes since Deltha O’Neal did it with Denver in 2001.

Washington (4-3), meanwhile, equalled its win total from last season and joined a growing line of teams that has pounded Cutler. He now has been sacked 19 times in his last three games.

Bengals 32 at Falcons 39

Roddy White had a spectacular day for Atlanta, catching 11 passes for 201 yards.

The Falcons (5-2) squandered a 24-3 halftime lead, falling behind when Cincinnati (2-4) took advantage of two turnovers and ripped off 22 straight points in the third quarter.

White put the Falcons ahead to stay with his second touchdown, an 11-yard reception early in the fourth. He then made a leaping catch on the two-point conversion to make it 32-25.

After Cedric Benson’s fumble, Michael Turner scored on a three-yard run for a two-touchdown lead. Chad Ochocinco gave the Bengals a chance with a late eight-yard TD catch, but the Falcons recovered the onside kick.

Eagles 19 at Titans 37

Kerry Collins threw three touchdowns to Kenny Britt, who had the best game of his career two days after being involved in a bar fight, and Tennessee scored 27 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

Britt had the best receiving game in the NFL this season. He caught touchdown passes of 26, 80 and 16 yards and finished with seven receptions for 225 yards — all career highs for the second-year player on a day when he didn’t start as punishment for his role in the fight.

The Titans (5-2) won their NFL-best 12th straight over the NFC with Collins making his first start in a year.

The Eagles (4-3) blew a 19-10 lead despite sacking Collins three times and forcing him into three turnovers.

Rams 17 at Buccaneers 18

Josh Freeman led another Tampa Bay fourth-quarter comeback, throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Cadillac Williams with 10 seconds remaining.

Connor Barth kicked four field goals for the Bucs (4-2), who trailed 17-3 before battling back to surpass their win total for last season.

Sam Bradford threw two short touchdown passes and Steven Jackson became the Rams’ all-time leading rusher before things unravelled for St. Louis (3-4). Jackson finished with 110 yards on 22 carries, hiking his career total to 7,324.

Browns 30 at Saints 17

David Bowens returned two of Drew Brees’ four interceptions for touchdowns and the Browns stunned the defending champion Saints.

Rookie Colt McCoy passed for only 74 yards but got his first win as an NFL starter — a desperately needed one for the struggling Browns (2-5).

Scott Fujita and Sheldon Brown also had interceptions for Cleveland. Brees was sacked three times, once by Fujita, a defensive leader for the Saints last season.

The Saints (4-3) trailed all game and got no closer in the second half than 20-10 on Brees’ 11-yard pass to David Thomas early in the fourth quarter.

Jaguars 20 at Chiefs 42

Derrick Johnson returned an interception for a score and Matt Cassel threw two TD passes to Dwayne Bowe for Kansas City.

The Chiefs (4-2) ran for 236 yards and three TDs while overcoming several penalties.

Jacksonville’s Todd Bouman, who hadn’t thrown a TD pass in the regular season since 2005, was signed this week after David Garrard sustained a concussion and backup Trent Edwards hurt his thumb.

Still, the Jaguars (3-4) trailed by only one point late in the third when Bouman stepped up and threw an ill-advised pass to Johnson, who made a juggling interception and ran 15 yards for a TD that put KC on top 28-20 with 5:13 left in the third.