Brady, Bironas in record book
Tom Brady has been setting records nearly all season. Rob Bironas need one wild day to get into the history books.
Brady threw for a career-high and team-record six touchdowns, giving him an astonishing 27 this season, as the New England Patriots routed Miami 49-28. Brady is more than halfway to Peyton Manning's NFL mark of 49 TD passes, and the Patriots (7-0) appear unstoppable.
Brady completed his first 11 passes for 220 yards and four scores, including throws of 35 and 50 yards to Randy Moss. His other touchdown passes covered 14 and 16 yards to Wes Welker, 30 to Donte Stallworth and 2 to Kyle Brady.
"Those guys are making the plays," Brady said. "I'm just throwing it. They're making my job awful easy."
The Tennessee Titans made things very difficult on themselves, but had Bironas to bail them out. Having already tied the league record of seven field goals, he was called on after Tennessee blew a big lead, and Bironas delivered: a 29-yarder as time expired that lifted the Titans past the Houston Texans 38-36.
Bironas also connected from 52, 43, 25, 21, 30, 29 and 28 yards to break the previous record held by four players. His 26 points also established a mark for a kicker in one game.
"I knew we'd hit quite a few, but I try not to count," Bironas said. "I try not to know the distances when I go out there, so I'm always concentrating on making the same kick. I've never really counted. I'll remember this one, though."
Bears 19, Eagles 16
At Philadelphia, Brian Griese connected with Muhsin Muhammad for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds left.
The Bears (3-4) were pinned on the 3-yard line with 1:57 left. Griese completed a series of short passes over the middle. And Devin Hester, the dynamic kick returner shut down on special teams by the Eagles (2-4), had a 21-yard catch that brought Chicago to the 15.
Cowboys 24, Vikings 14
Chris Canty blocked a potential go-ahead field goal and Pat Watkins returned it 68 yards for the tiebreaking touchdown. Dallas bounced back from a lopsided home loss to New England and guaranteed itself at least two more weeks atop the NFC because of an upcoming bye. The host Cowboys can savor being 6-1 for the first time since 1995.
Giants 33, 49ers 15
The New York defense helped account for 24 points as the Giants (5-2) won their fifth straight. Osi Umenyiora scored on a 75-yard fumble return and the Giants forced four turnovers by the visiting 49ers (2-4), sacking Trent Dilfer six times. Michael Strahan had his biggest sacks performance since 2003 with 2Z\x.
Lions 23, Buccaneers 16
At Detroit, the Lions scored touchdowns after Jeff Garcia's two fumbles, including wide receiver Calvin Johnson's 32-yard run. Garcia, who played in Detroit for one forgettable season two years ago, didn't have a turnover in his first six games with the Bucs.
Redskins 21, Cardinals 19
In a sloppy game, the host Redskins (4-2) finished with only 160 total yards and survived a 55-yard field goal attempt by Neil Rackers that was barely wide left with 2 seconds remaining. Clinton Portis had a pair of short touchdown runs for the Redskins.
Chiefs 12, Raiders 10
Larry Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter as visiting Kansas City (4-3) beat the Raiders (2-4) for the ninth straight time, winning in Priest Holmes' return from a two-year absence.
Holmes, Kansas City's career leader in yards rushing and touchdowns, was activated this week for the first time since suffering a neck injury on a vicious hit from San Diego's Shawne Merriman on Oct. 30, 2005.
Seahawks 33, Rams 6
At Seattle, Nate Burleson returned the second-half kickoff 91 yards for a game-changing touchdown and the sputtering Seahawks (4-3) sent St. Louis (0-7) to the worst start in its 70 years in the NFL.
Seattle led 10-3 at the half, even though St. Louis had just 41 total yards. Then Burleson took the second-half kickoff, ran through a tackle near midfield and shook off Jonathan Wade at about the 20 for his first career kickoff score.
Saints 22, Falcons 16
At New Orleans, Reggie Bush scored on a screen pass from the 4 to win it. Bush spun free and overpowered three Falcons and dived across the goal line on third down. Then Bush took a handoff on a 2-point conversion, raced to the sideline and dived past the pylon.
Bengals 38, Jets 31
At Cincinnati, Kenny Watson ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns in the best performance of his career, and the Bengals (2-4) turned the Jets' second-half meltdown into their first victory in five games.
Bills 19, Ravens 14
Rookie QB Trent Edwards went 11-of-21 for 153 yards and engineered five scoring drives for host Buffalo (2-4). Rian Lindell hit four field goals, including a 41-yarder.
