Dick Vermeil would have enjoyed the luxury Lovie Smith had at the end of a tight game.

Kansas City couldn't play around with the clock the way the Chicago Bears could, though. So while Smith saw his offense run off more than 4 minutes before kicking a field goal to beat New Orleans 20-17, Vermeil's Chiefs cut it as close as possible before defeating Oakland 27-23 on Sunday.

Vermeil opted to go for the touchdown from the Raiders 1 with 5 seconds remaining. A chip-shot field goal would have tied it, but the coach was having no conservative thoughts against the AFC West archrival.

"Wow, was I scared!" Vermeil said. "I just figured, 'I'm too old to wait.'"

So he had Trent Green hand off to Larry Johnson, who soared over the goal line as time ran out. The Chiefs (5-3) gambled and won.

Before going for it, Vermeil checked with his coaches and players.

"He was asking questions of everybody to see what everybody thought, what everybody's attitude was," Green said. "No matter how that play ended up, that's where you have to send a message on a football team and I think that was great on his part to have the confidence in us."

The Bears have gained loads of confidence in winning four straight to lead the NFC North at 5-3. They marched 75 yards in 4:02 and Robbie Gould made a 28-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining in Baton Rouge, La.

The Saints knocked running back Thomas Jones from the game in the first half, only to watch Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson combine for 137 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

"We get off the plane running the ball," Smith said. "Cedric Benson, Thomas Jones, Adrian Peterson all did a good job ... What can I say about the offensive line I haven't said?"

At Kansas City, Randy Moss, who hadn't caught a pass all day, beat Dewayne Washington in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard reception with 1:45 left, giving the Raiders (3-5) the lead. Then Green, playing through the pain of his father's funeral four days earlier, moved the Chiefs downfield 72 yards.The Chiefs, who have beaten the Raiders six times in a row, were missing their best running back (Priest Holmes), best offensive lineman (Willie Roaf) and best cornerback (Patrick Surtain), as well as two of their top backups in the secondary.

Kyle Orton set up the clincher with a 22-yard, third-down completion on a sideline route to Muhsin Muhammad at the 10. That allowed Chicago to run the clock down to 10 seconds before lining up for the winning kick.Saints owner Tom Benson stayed away from Baton Rouge as promised after complaining that security was inadequate to protect him from angry fans. A number of fans stayed away, too. The crowd was announced at 32,637 in LSU's 93,000-seat Tiger Stadium.The Saints (2-7) lost their fifth straight.

LaDainian Tomlinson scored a career-high four touchdowns — three rushing, one receiving. Tomlinson had 25 carries for 107 yards for the visiting Chargers (5-4), while Drew Brees was 20-of-27 for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and Antonio Gates added eight catches for 132 yards.Brooks Bollinger, replacing an ineffective Vinny Testaverde late in the third quarter, threw two touchdown passes to make it a game. The scoring passes were the first through the air for the Jets (2-6) since Week 2.Jets RB Curtis Martin became the 16th player in NFL history to score 100 touchdowns with a 1-yard run in the second quarter.

At Washington, the Eagles (4-4) fell to sole possession of last place in the NFC East because of their anemic running game and an offense that produced only one touchdown without suspended Terrell Owens.The Redskins, rebounding from the worst loss of coach Joe Gibbs' career, rode a more balanced attack and touchdown runs by Mike Sellers and Clinton Portis.The day was filled with off-field Eagles news: Owens, suspended indefinitely for comments he made about the organization and Donovan McNabb, was involved in a locker-room fight with former teammate Hugh Douglas last week; and running back Brian Westbrook, pining for a new contract since training camp, was given a five-year extension. But Westbrook gained only 24 yards in 17 carries.Washington's passing was precise as Mark Brunell completed 21 of 29 passes for 224 yards. The victory ended Washington's seven-game losing streak against Philadelphia and moved the Redskins (5-3) into a tie with Dallas for second place in the division, one game behind the Giants.

Stephen Davis ran for two touchdowns, Steve Smith caught his ninth TD pass of the season and Chris Gamble scored on a 61-yard interception return.The Panthers (6-2) won their fifth straight and also have won five in a row against Tampa Bay (5-3), which fell out of a first-place tie with Carolina and Atlanta after losing for the third time in four games.Carolina's defense forced four turnovers and sacked Chris Simms five times to ruin the young quarterback's second start of the season for the host Bucs.

Shaun Alexander gained 173 yards on 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 88 and 14 yards, and Seattle (6-2) won its fourth in a row by beating host Arizona (2-6).The 88-yard run, on the first play of the second half, tied the franchise record Alexander set against Oakland in 2001. In the last three games against Arizona, Alexander gained 467 yards and scored nine touchdowns.Neil Rackers kicked field goals of 23, 31, 50 and 44 for the Cardinals and is 26-for-26 this season.

At Baltimore, Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes and Rudi Johnson ran for 97 yards and a score.The Bengals (7-2) were nursing a 14-6 lead before Palmer capped a 91-yard drive with a 3-yard TD pass to Chris Henry with 6:05 to go. Baltimore's 2-6 start equals the worst in franchise history, matching the mark of the 1998 team.

At Miami, Michael Vick led four drives of more than 70 yards, and Keion Carpenter's interception stopped a scoring threat with less than 3 minutes left.Vick went 22-for-31 for a season-high 228 yards and added 38 yards on eight rushes. The Falcons (6-2) converted 11 of 17 third-down situations, while the Dolphins (3-5) were 0-for-9.

At San Francisco, Eli Manning passed for 251 yards and a touchdown, Brandon Jacobs rushed for two short fourth-quarter scores and New York yielded just 138 total yards.It was the third successive victory for the Giants (6-2), who maintained their lead in the NFC East by suffocating the 49ers' offense, which hasn't scored a touchdown in its last 13 quarters at home. The Niners are 2-6.

Byron Leftwich directed two long scoring drives in the fourth quarter to rally host Jacksonville (5-3), which tied the NFL record for consecutive games played without scoring 30 or more points. The Jags matched Cleveland's mark of 58 games.Fred Taylor sprained his right ankle in the third quarter and did not return. It was the same injury that kept Taylor from playing against Pittsburgh three weeks ago.The Texans (1-7) had their own injury woes. Running back Domanick Davis and kick returner Jerome Mathis missed the game. Then starting center Drew Hodgdon and backup Todd Washington were injured against the Jags and did not return.

At Minneapolis, Brad Johnson helped jump-start the Minnesota offense. Johnson passed for 136 yards and two touchdowns in relief of the injured Daunte Culpepper, Michael Bennett rushed 18 times for 106 yards for the Vikings (3-5).Minnesota beat the Lions (3-5) for the eighth straight time, seven under beleaguered coach Mike Tice.

At Cleveland, Reuben Droughns, arrested earlier in the week on a drunken driving charge, ran for 116 yards and caught a crucial third-down pass for 51 yards.Following his arrest, the 27-year-old Droughns expressed deep regret for his mistake and letting down his teammates and Cleveland's fans, who by the fourth quarter were chanting "Reu-ben! Reu-ben!" with the Browns (3-7) comfortably ahead.Droughns added four receptions for 73 yards, but he spent most of the final six minutes in the locker room being treated for leg cramps.Steve McNair went 18-for-41 for 235 yards for the Titans (2-7).