NEW YORK -- It was a bad day to be in first place in the NFL.
Four of the six division leaders who played Sunday were losers, and most of the teams doing the chasing made up valuable ground.
Dallas and San Francisco held on to first place in their divisions, but the Cowboys lost starting quarterback Troy Aikman and backup Rodney Peete to injuries, and the 49ers barely edged the Los Angeles Rams.
The losers were Miami in the AFC East, Cleveland in the AFC Central, San Diego in the AFC West, and Minnesota in the NFC Central.
Around the league Sunday:
Cowboys 31, Redskins 7. At Dallas, Emmitt Smith rushed for two first-quarter touchdowns and Kevin Williams returned a punt 83 yards for a score as the Dallas Cowboys routed the Washington Redskins 31-7.
Aikman directed the Cowboys (9-2) to 17 points in the first quarter before leaving in the second quarter with a sprained ligament in his left knee. Peete suffered a sprained thumb late in the third quarter and was replaced by Jason Garrett, who finished up.
Garrett is expected to start Thursday against Detroit. Washington (2-9) also used all three of its quarterbacks, Gus Frerotte, John Friesz and Heath Shuler.
Bills 29, Packers 20. At Buffalo, Jim Kelly completed 32 of 44 passes for 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Andre Reed, who had a team-record 15 receptions and totaled 191 receiving yards, as Buffalo defeated Green Bay.
49ers 31, Rams 27. At San Francisco, Steve Young threw four touchdown passes, including an 18-yarder to Jerry Rice with less than two minutes left in the game, to give San Francisco the win over Los Angeles. Rice caught three of Young's touchdown passes and hauled in a team-record 16 passes for 165 yards.
Broncos 32, Falcons 28. At Denver, John Elway engineered the 34th game-saving drive of his career by running four yards for a score with 1:56 left after throwing for two second-half TDs, rallying the Broncos from an 11-point deficit. Elway finished 27 of 42 for 382 yards, the third-highest yardage total of his career.
Chiefs 20, Browns 13. At Kansas City, Kimble Anders scored on a one-yard run midway through the fourth quarter as Kansas City beat Cleveland.
Patriots 23, Chargers 17. At New England, Drew Bledsoe connected with Leroy Thompson on a 27-yard scoring pass in the first quarter and Matt Bahr kicked three field goals as New England beat San Diego.
Raiders 24, Saints 19. At the Raiders, Jeff Hostetler threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to Tim Brown, as the Los Angeles Raiders held on against New Orleans.
Steelers 16, Dolphins 13. At Pittsburgh, the Steelers played their third overtime game in their last four and won when Gary Anderson made his 19th straight field goal, a 39-yarder.
Jets 31, Vikings 21. At Minnesota, Marcus Turner intercepted three passes and returned one 90 yards for a touchdown, and Boomer Esiason threw three touchdown passes, to lead New York.
Seahawks 22, Buccaneers 21. At Seattle, Rookie Mack Strong's seven-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left lifted Seattle over Tampa Bay in a battle of slumping teams. The Seahawks blew a 15-point lead, then rallied to snap a six-game losing streak.
Cardinals 12, Eagles 6. At Arizona, Greg Davis had four field goals and Arizona gave Buddy Ryan a satisfying win over Philadelphia, a team he used to coach. Ryan's "46" defense held Randall Cunningham to 151 yards passing on 17 of 44 completions.
Bears 20, Lions 10. At Chicago, Lewis Tillman ran for 126 yards and a touchdown as the surprising Chicago Bears won their third straight game with a 20-10 victory over the Detroit Lions. Chicago held the ball for 44 minutes, and limited Barry Sanders to 42 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Colts 17, Bengals 13. At Cincinnati, Don Majkowski's eight-yard touchdown pass to Sean Dawkins with 1:54 left lifted Indianapolis over Cincinnati.
(AP, Reuters)
Four of the six division leaders who played Sunday were losers, and most of the teams doing the chasing made up valuable ground.
Dallas and San Francisco held on to first place in their divisions, but the Cowboys lost starting quarterback Troy Aikman and backup Rodney Peete to injuries, and the 49ers barely edged the Los Angeles Rams.
The losers were Miami in the AFC East, Cleveland in the AFC Central, San Diego in the AFC West, and Minnesota in the NFC Central.
Around the league Sunday:
Cowboys 31, Redskins 7. At Dallas, Emmitt Smith rushed for two first-quarter touchdowns and Kevin Williams returned a punt 83 yards for a score as the Dallas Cowboys routed the Washington Redskins 31-7.
Aikman directed the Cowboys (9-2) to 17 points in the first quarter before leaving in the second quarter with a sprained ligament in his left knee. Peete suffered a sprained thumb late in the third quarter and was replaced by Jason Garrett, who finished up.
Garrett is expected to start Thursday against Detroit. Washington (2-9) also used all three of its quarterbacks, Gus Frerotte, John Friesz and Heath Shuler.
Bills 29, Packers 20. At Buffalo, Jim Kelly completed 32 of 44 passes for 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Andre Reed, who had a team-record 15 receptions and totaled 191 receiving yards, as Buffalo defeated Green Bay.
49ers 31, Rams 27. At San Francisco, Steve Young threw four touchdown passes, including an 18-yarder to Jerry Rice with less than two minutes left in the game, to give San Francisco the win over Los Angeles. Rice caught three of Young's touchdown passes and hauled in a team-record 16 passes for 165 yards.
Broncos 32, Falcons 28. At Denver, John Elway engineered the 34th game-saving drive of his career by running four yards for a score with 1:56 left after throwing for two second-half TDs, rallying the Broncos from an 11-point deficit. Elway finished 27 of 42 for 382 yards, the third-highest yardage total of his career.
Chiefs 20, Browns 13. At Kansas City, Kimble Anders scored on a one-yard run midway through the fourth quarter as Kansas City beat Cleveland.
Patriots 23, Chargers 17. At New England, Drew Bledsoe connected with Leroy Thompson on a 27-yard scoring pass in the first quarter and Matt Bahr kicked three field goals as New England beat San Diego.
Raiders 24, Saints 19. At the Raiders, Jeff Hostetler threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to Tim Brown, as the Los Angeles Raiders held on against New Orleans.
Steelers 16, Dolphins 13. At Pittsburgh, the Steelers played their third overtime game in their last four and won when Gary Anderson made his 19th straight field goal, a 39-yarder.
Jets 31, Vikings 21. At Minnesota, Marcus Turner intercepted three passes and returned one 90 yards for a touchdown, and Boomer Esiason threw three touchdown passes, to lead New York.
Seahawks 22, Buccaneers 21. At Seattle, Rookie Mack Strong's seven-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left lifted Seattle over Tampa Bay in a battle of slumping teams. The Seahawks blew a 15-point lead, then rallied to snap a six-game losing streak.
Cardinals 12, Eagles 6. At Arizona, Greg Davis had four field goals and Arizona gave Buddy Ryan a satisfying win over Philadelphia, a team he used to coach. Ryan's "46" defense held Randall Cunningham to 151 yards passing on 17 of 44 completions.
Bears 20, Lions 10. At Chicago, Lewis Tillman ran for 126 yards and a touchdown as the surprising Chicago Bears won their third straight game with a 20-10 victory over the Detroit Lions. Chicago held the ball for 44 minutes, and limited Barry Sanders to 42 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Colts 17, Bengals 13. At Cincinnati, Don Majkowski's eight-yard touchdown pass to Sean Dawkins with 1:54 left lifted Indianapolis over Cincinnati.
(AP, Reuters)
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