NEW YORK -- Three of the NFL's top contenders -- San Francisco, Buffalo and the New York Giants -- came crashing to earth Sunday, shocked by teams with unimpressive credentials.


The 49ers' revamped defense will need to vamp itself yet again following a 40-8 thrashing by the Philadelphia Eagles, who got great games from Randall Cunningham and Charlie Garner. "Not in my wildest dreams did I think this could happen,'' San Francisco safety Tim McDonald said.


"What happened today was we used our talent like we never used it before,'' said Cunningham, 20-of-29 for 246 yards and two TDs. "This game should give us respect and it should be a real confidence booster.''


Not for the 49ers.


It was the worst regular-season loss for San Francisco in coach George Seifert's six seasons and the worst overall defeat since a 49-3 playoff loss to the Giants in 1986. Even with Deion Sanders joining a defensive lineup that includes such Pro Bowl acquisitions as Rickey Jackson and Ken Norton, there was no stopping the Eagles -- on either side of the ball.


Garner, making his NFL debut, ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns.


Steve Young was knocked out with 4:09 left in the third quarter after a sack by William Fuller. Before that, Young threw two interceptions and was sacked in the end zone for a safety in one of his worst outings as a 49ers starter.


Saints 27, Giants 22. The previously undefeated Giants also suffered an embarrassment -- falling 27-22 to the lowly New Orleans Saints. Dave Brown, New York's poised young quarterback, got sacked seven times by a rejuvenated New Orleans defense. It was the fifth straight loss following a bye week for New York (3-1).


The Saints (2-3) intercepted two of Brown's passes. Frank Warren, a veteran of the Saints' glory days on defense, later blocked a field goal attempt. New Orleans held the Giants, playing again without injured Pro Bowl running back Rodney Hampton, to 50 yards rushing.


Bears 20, Bills 13. Buffalo had trouble moving the ball all afternoon against host Chicago. "I know we're a lot better team,'' said Jim Kelly, who completed 19 of 33 passes.


The Bears' Steve Walsh scored on a fourth-down sneak with 11:25 left to give the Bears (3-2) a 17-13 lead. Kevin Butler kicked two field goals, one a 50-yarder, the NFL's longest this season. Kelly's 15-yard touchdown pass to Pete Metzelaars with 10:09 left in the third gave the Bills (3-2) the lead at 13-10.


The Bills played without injured star running back Thurman Thomas, who had rushed for more than 100 yards in each of Buffalo's previous three games.


Cowboys 34, Redskins 7. In Washington, Emmitt Smith left the game late in the second quarter with a hamstring pull, but the Cowboys had no problem with the mistake-prone Redskins. The Cowboys led 31-0 at halftime. Heath Shuler, the third overall draft pick from Tennessee, looked terrible in his first start for Washington (1-4), throwing 11 completions in 30 attempts for just 96 yards, one TD and an interception.


Norv Turner, Dallas' offensive coordinator during their successive Super Bowl wins, faced his former club for the first time since becoming Redskins' head coach and watched them move the ball at will in the first half. Troy Aikman was 14-for-17 for 146 yards and one touchdown in the first half and finished 20-of-28 for 181 yards.


Cardinals 17, Vikings 7. In Phoenix, Arizona, Jay Schroeder, Arizona's third starting quarterback in as many games, passed for 221 yards and a touchdown to lead the Cardinals to their first win.


The 17-7 triumph over the Vikings marked Buddy Ryan's first victory as Arizona coach, while the loss broke Minnesota's three-game winning streak.


Larry Centers scored the Cardinals' other touchdown on a 6-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Arizona (1-3) held the Vikings (3-2) to 18 rushing yards, all in the second half.


Browns 27, Jets 7. In Cleveland, Ohio, Eric Metcalf's 37-yard touchdown run sparked a 24-point first half and the Browns cruised to a 27-7 victory over the New York Jets. Earnest Byner and Leroy Hoard also ran for touchdowns for the Browns, who had just one rushing touchdown in their first four games.


Cleveland raised its record to 4-1, the team's best start since 1979. The Jets (2-3) have lost three straight.


Buccaneers 24, Lions 14. In Tampa, Florida, Vernon Turner had the first punt return for a touchdown in Buccaneers team history and Tampa Bay went on to a 24-14 win over the Detroit Lions.


Turner took a first-quarter punt by Greg Montgomery and raced 80 yards for a score that gave the Bucs a 10-0 lead. He said he was well aware that his team had never had a punt returned for a touchdown: "That's the first thing they told me when I signed."


Barry Sanders, the NFL's leading rusher, had 166 yards on 20 carries for Detroit (2-3), who has lost twice since beating Dallas.


Patriots 17, Packers 16. In Foxboro, Massachusetts, Matt Bahr's 33-yard field goal with four seconds left lifted the New England Patriots to their third consecutive win, a 17-16 victory over the Green Bay Packers.


New England (3-2) won after a missed extra point following a late Green Bay touchdown run by Reggie Cobb left the Packers ahead by two points instead of three.


Drew Bledsoe then took New England 45 yards on 11 plays to set up the winning field goal. Bledsoe completed 29 of 53 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns for his fourth 300-yard passing game of the season. Green Bay's Brett Favre was 25-for-47 for 295 yards and an 11-yard TD pass to Sterling Sharpe.


Colts 17, Seahawks 15. In Indianapolis, Indiana, rookie Marshall Faulk rushed for two touchdowns to lead the Colts to a 17-15 victory over the Seattle Seahawks that snapped a three-game losing streak.


Faulk rushed for 90 yards on 26 carries. He scored from five yards out late in the first quarter to put the Colts up 10-5 and added the decisive touchdown, his sixth of the year, in the third quarter from one yard out for a 17-8 lead.


Defensive end Steve Emtman, top pick in the 1992 NFL Draft, played his first game for the Colts in nearly a year after going out with serious injuries to both knees last October.


Falcons 8, Rams 5. In Los Angeles, Bobby Hebert replaced an injured Jeff George and led his team on an 11-play, 89-yard fourth-quarter scoring drive as the Atlanta Falcons edged the Rams 8-5.


Hebert completed seven of nine passes for 79 yards in the drive, including the game-winning 13-yard touchdown strike to Ricky Sanders with 3:14 left to play.


George went out with a concussion late in the third quarter.


A safety late in the first half and a 28-yard Tony Zendejas field goal with 6:02 left in the third quarter had staked the Rams to a 5-0 lead. (AP, Reuters)