Pats' 6-1 record leading NFL
When all the drama cleared, the New England Patriots had the NFL's best record.
Overshadowed by Brett Favre's injuries and Randy Moss' return to New England, the Patriots beat the Minnesota Vikings 28-18 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.
New England (6-1) moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC East after the New York Jets lost to Green Bay.
Tom Brady was still standing at the end — and Favre wasn't.
Favre drove Minnesota (2-5) to the Patriots 3-yard line in the fourth quarter before he was flattened by defensive lineman Myron Pryor. He left the game and needed stitches in his chin.
Tarvaris Jackson relieved him and threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Naufahu Tahi on his first snap, then hit Percy Harvin for the 2-point conversion that made it 21-18. But Brady engineered a 13-play, 80-yard drive, with BenJarvus Green-Ellis getting cartwheeled into the end zone to make it 28-18 with just 1:56 left.
Green-Ellis scored two touchdowns — the first multi-TD game of his career — getting his first on a 13-yard run that made it 21-10.
Packers 9, Jets 0At East Rutherford, N.J., Mason Crosby kicked three field goals, and that was all the Packers needed to beat the rested but sloppy Jets.
49ers 24, Broncos 16At Wembley, England, backup Troy Smith found his range in the fourth quarter to lead San Francisco in the NFL's fourth regular-season game in London.In his first start as a 49er, Smith threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree.
Chargers 33, Titans 25At San Diego, Philip Rivers threw a go-ahead, 48-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates midway through the third quarter to lead San Diego over Tennessee, which lost quarterback Vince Young to another injury.
Bucs 38, Cardinals 35At Glendale, Ariz., Aqib Talib intercepted two passes, returning one 45 yards for a touchdown and saving the game with the other, and Tampa Bay rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit for the fourth time this season.
Raiders 33, Seahawks 3At Oakland, Calif., Jason Campbell threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns, and Oakland's defense delivered one of its best performances in years to help the Raiders even their record at the midpoint of the season.
Rams 20, Panthers 10At St. Louis, Sam Bradford threw two touchdown passes and the Rams' defense forced four Carolina turnovers.
Dolphins 22, Bengals 14At Cincinnati, Dan Carpenter kicked five field goals for the second straight game, and Miami made them stand up in keeping its record perfect on the road.
Jaguars 35, Cowboys 17At Arlington, Texas, David Garrard tied a club record with four touchdown passes and ran for another while narrowly missing a perfect quarterback rating against the crumbling Cowboys.
Chiefs 13, Bills 10 (OT)At Kansas City, Mo., Ryan Succop kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired in overtime to lift Kansas City over winless Buffalo.
Lions 37, Redskins 25At Detroit, Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes, including a 10-yarder to Calvin Johnson with 3:12 left, and the Lions (2-5) went on to win.
