NEW YORK -- Who says the National Football League has to be a team sport?
Certainly not Deion Sanders, who again starred solo Sunday in San Francisco's 42-3 rout of the Atlanta Falcons.
Playing for the first time against the Falcons in Atlanta, where he played football for five years and baseball for four, Sanders returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown, got in fistfight with Andre Rison and then sat on the bench for the second half with a groin injury.
After the game, Sanders and Rison met near midfield and hugged -- twice.
"This is my house,'' Sanders said of the Georgia Dome. "I built this house. And this will always be my house whether I'm with the Falcons or not."
Sanders overshadowed Steve Young's near-perfect day -- 15 of 16 for 143 yards and four TD passes -- and left no doubt about the best team in the National Football Conference West. The 49ers are 5-2, the Falcons 4-3.
"You see him get into a fight and you think, 'What's he doing? What's he doing?''' Young said. "Then he returns an interception 93 yards for a touchdown. It's a tribute to his playing ability.''
Sanders' first-quarter altercation occurred as Rison was running a pass pattern. Sanders took several swings at Rison's helmet and was assessed a 15-yard penalty for a personal foul, but was not ejected.
The 49ers jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first 15:06 on Young's 10-yard TD pass to Ricky Watters, Tim McDonald's 49-yard TD return of a Craig Heyward fumble and Young's 1-yard TD pass to Jerry Rice.
In other games Sunday:
Cowboys 24, Eagles 13. In Irving, Texas, Troy Aikman had two TD passes, Emmitt Smith had 106 yards and a score and Dallas intercepted Randall Cunningham four times to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
Early in the third period, Dallas made it 21-7 when Darren Woodson picked off Cunningham at the Eagles' 31 and Aikman followed with a 14-yard TD pass to Jay Novacek.
Dallas (5-1) won its third straight and snapped a four-game Philadelphia (4-2) winning streak.
Chargers 36, Saints 22. In New Orleans, San Diego (6-0) remained unbeaten as Natrone Means had three TDs and 120 yards and John Carney added five field goals.
Stan Humphries was 17 of 29 for 186 yards, while Means' TD runs came from 1, 8 and 16 yards. Carney's field goals were from 49, 31, 29, 29 and 28 yards.
Colts 27, Bills 17. In Orchard Park, New York, Indianapolis' Jim Harbaugh threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns and Buffalo fell out of first in the AFC East. Harbaugh was 18 of 22 before leaving in the fourth quarter with a bruised throwing hand. On Don Majkowski's first pass, he hit Floyd Turner for a 19-yard touchdown score -- the Colts' first fourth-quarter TD all year -- to make it 24-10 with 8:14 to go.
Dolphins 20, Raiders 17, OT. In Miami, Bernie Parmalee rushed for a career-high 150 yards, including a 26-yard dash to set up Pete Stoyanovich's 29-yard field goal 5:46 into overtime. Parmalee also recovered a fumbled punt by Tim Brown to set up the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Despite Dan Marino's subpar outing (17 of 37 for 186 yards and two TDs), Miami (5-2) moved into sole possession of first place in the American Football Conference East. Raiders quarterback Jeff Hostetler was just 8 of 23 for 95 yards.
Cardinals 19, Redskins 16, OT. In Washington, Steve Beuerlein threw a tying touchdown pass with 19 seconds left in regulation, and Todd Peterson kicked a 29-yard field goal with five minutes left in overtime for Arizona (2-4). Redskins rookie Heath Shuler was intercepted five times, the final time by Terry Hoage, who returned it to the Washington 12 to set up the winning kick. The Redskins are 1-6.
Rams 17, Giants 10. In Anaheim, California, Chris Miller (13 of 26 for 197 yards) threw two first-quarter touchdown passes and the Rams (3-4) handed the Giants (3-3) their third straight loss. Dave Brown had another poor outing (15 of 27 for 165 and two interceptions) for the Giants, while Jerome Bettis had 30 carries for 88 yards for the Rams.
Jets 24, Patriots 17. In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Johnny Johnson rushed for 122 yards, Brad Baxter had two short TDs and the Jets overcame six sacks and two turnovers by shutting down Drew Bledsoe (22 of 41 for 242 yards and one interception). Boomer Esiason, still bothered by an ankle injury, lost two fumbles and was 12 of 17 for 107 yards.
Steelers 14, Bengals 10. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Neil O'Donnell threw for 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Steelers overcame an injury to Barry Foster to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 14-10.
Pittsburgh improved to 4-2 while Cincinnati fell to 0-6. The Bengals are the only winless team in the NFL. Foster left the game early in the first quarter with a sprained left knee.
Certainly not Deion Sanders, who again starred solo Sunday in San Francisco's 42-3 rout of the Atlanta Falcons.
Playing for the first time against the Falcons in Atlanta, where he played football for five years and baseball for four, Sanders returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown, got in fistfight with Andre Rison and then sat on the bench for the second half with a groin injury.
After the game, Sanders and Rison met near midfield and hugged -- twice.
"This is my house,'' Sanders said of the Georgia Dome. "I built this house. And this will always be my house whether I'm with the Falcons or not."
Sanders overshadowed Steve Young's near-perfect day -- 15 of 16 for 143 yards and four TD passes -- and left no doubt about the best team in the National Football Conference West. The 49ers are 5-2, the Falcons 4-3.
"You see him get into a fight and you think, 'What's he doing? What's he doing?''' Young said. "Then he returns an interception 93 yards for a touchdown. It's a tribute to his playing ability.''
Sanders' first-quarter altercation occurred as Rison was running a pass pattern. Sanders took several swings at Rison's helmet and was assessed a 15-yard penalty for a personal foul, but was not ejected.
The 49ers jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first 15:06 on Young's 10-yard TD pass to Ricky Watters, Tim McDonald's 49-yard TD return of a Craig Heyward fumble and Young's 1-yard TD pass to Jerry Rice.
In other games Sunday:
Cowboys 24, Eagles 13. In Irving, Texas, Troy Aikman had two TD passes, Emmitt Smith had 106 yards and a score and Dallas intercepted Randall Cunningham four times to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
Early in the third period, Dallas made it 21-7 when Darren Woodson picked off Cunningham at the Eagles' 31 and Aikman followed with a 14-yard TD pass to Jay Novacek.
Dallas (5-1) won its third straight and snapped a four-game Philadelphia (4-2) winning streak.
Chargers 36, Saints 22. In New Orleans, San Diego (6-0) remained unbeaten as Natrone Means had three TDs and 120 yards and John Carney added five field goals.
Stan Humphries was 17 of 29 for 186 yards, while Means' TD runs came from 1, 8 and 16 yards. Carney's field goals were from 49, 31, 29, 29 and 28 yards.
Colts 27, Bills 17. In Orchard Park, New York, Indianapolis' Jim Harbaugh threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns and Buffalo fell out of first in the AFC East. Harbaugh was 18 of 22 before leaving in the fourth quarter with a bruised throwing hand. On Don Majkowski's first pass, he hit Floyd Turner for a 19-yard touchdown score -- the Colts' first fourth-quarter TD all year -- to make it 24-10 with 8:14 to go.
Dolphins 20, Raiders 17, OT. In Miami, Bernie Parmalee rushed for a career-high 150 yards, including a 26-yard dash to set up Pete Stoyanovich's 29-yard field goal 5:46 into overtime. Parmalee also recovered a fumbled punt by Tim Brown to set up the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Despite Dan Marino's subpar outing (17 of 37 for 186 yards and two TDs), Miami (5-2) moved into sole possession of first place in the American Football Conference East. Raiders quarterback Jeff Hostetler was just 8 of 23 for 95 yards.
Cardinals 19, Redskins 16, OT. In Washington, Steve Beuerlein threw a tying touchdown pass with 19 seconds left in regulation, and Todd Peterson kicked a 29-yard field goal with five minutes left in overtime for Arizona (2-4). Redskins rookie Heath Shuler was intercepted five times, the final time by Terry Hoage, who returned it to the Washington 12 to set up the winning kick. The Redskins are 1-6.
Rams 17, Giants 10. In Anaheim, California, Chris Miller (13 of 26 for 197 yards) threw two first-quarter touchdown passes and the Rams (3-4) handed the Giants (3-3) their third straight loss. Dave Brown had another poor outing (15 of 27 for 165 and two interceptions) for the Giants, while Jerome Bettis had 30 carries for 88 yards for the Rams.
Jets 24, Patriots 17. In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Johnny Johnson rushed for 122 yards, Brad Baxter had two short TDs and the Jets overcame six sacks and two turnovers by shutting down Drew Bledsoe (22 of 41 for 242 yards and one interception). Boomer Esiason, still bothered by an ankle injury, lost two fumbles and was 12 of 17 for 107 yards.
Steelers 14, Bengals 10. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Neil O'Donnell threw for 190 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Steelers overcame an injury to Barry Foster to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 14-10.
Pittsburgh improved to 4-2 while Cincinnati fell to 0-6. The Bengals are the only winless team in the NFL. Foster left the game early in the first quarter with a sprained left knee.
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