Brady rallies Patriots past Bears

Tom Brady and David Patten pulled the New England Patriots out of a big fourth-quarter hole. They weren't alone on a day of comebacks in the NFL.

Trailing by three touchdowns in the third quarter and by 11 points with 5:22 left, the Patriots rallied with Brady's poise and Patten's fancy footwork to stun Chicago 33-30 Sunday.

Capping a wild finish that saw officials spend nearly as much time viewing replays as patrolling the field, Brady found Patten deep in the end zone for a 20-yard TD pass with 21 seconds left.

On a day of mostly blowouts and defensive struggles, the Patriots' victory stood out, but for sheer entertainment, that outcome might have been topped by a game that didn't even produce a winner: The Steelers and Falcons played to a 34-all tie, the first in the NFL in five years and only the 16th in league history, out of 333 overtime games.

Michael Vick led Atlanta back from 17 points down in the fourth quarter, and two other teams rallied from late deficits: Tom Bulger brought St. Louis out a 10-point hole to beat the Chargers 28-24 on a 7-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce with 1:14 left; and Aaron Brooks threw a 7-yard pass to Donte Stallworth with 31 seconds left in the Saints' 34-24 win over Carolina.

Patriots 33, Bears 30

At Champaign, Ill., the Bears lost their seventh straight, and didn't get any help from instant replay, as two crucial calls on New England's game-winning drive went against them.

Chicago (2-7) took a 30-19 lead with 5:22 left on Paul Edinger's 32-yard field goal, and the Bears thought they had stopped New England's final drive when defensive lineman Brian Robinson appeared to intercept Brady's pass with just under a minute left.

But after a review, the officials ruled that Robinson didn't fully have possession, resulting in an incompletion. Brady ran for a 3-yard gain on fourth down to extend the drive.

Brady, 36-of-55 for 328 yards, found Patten on third down from the 20, with Patten -- who had a step on defensive back R.W. McQuarters -- diving to haul in the catch. Again, officials went to the video, and it showed Patten got his right foot down and dragged his left in the end zone.

Adam Vinatieri kicked four field goals, including a team-record 57-yarder, for the Pats (5-4), who won their second straight.

Falcons 34, Steelers 34, OT

At Pittsburgh, Tommy Maddox and Plaxico Burress smashed team yardage records, but their startling numbers couldn't help the Steelers hang onto a 34-17 fourth-quarter lead.

Michael Vick, who had 294 yards passing and just 52 rushing, got free for an 11-yard scramble for a touchdown with 42 seconds left in the game to send it to overtime.

After Pittsburgh's Todd Peterson and Atlanta's Jay Feely had overtime field-goal attempts blocked, Pittsburgh still nearly won it. With only a second on the clock, Maddox lofted a 50-yard pass that Plaxico Burress caught at the Falcons 1. Half of Burress' body was in the end zone, but the ball wasn't, and the Steelers didn't have enough time to run another play.

Maddox threw for 473 yards and four touchdowns, breaking Bobby Layne's 1958 team record of 409 yards. Burress had nine catches for 253 yards and two scores -- for 33 and 62 yards -- to break Buddy Dial's 1961 team mark of 235 yards.

Rams 28, Chargers 24

At St. Louis, Marc Bulger threw for 453 yards, and Isaac Bruce's third TD catch helped the Rams win their fourth straight game after an 0-5 start.

Bulger and Pittsburgh's Tommy Maddox became the first pair of NFL quarterbacks to throw for 450 yards in the league on the same day.

St. Louis (4-5) lost four fumbles, two of which were returned for touchdowns. But the two late TDs, with an onside kick recovered by Dre' Bly in between, saved the Rams.

Bruce finished with 10 catches for 163 yards.

Despite throwing for the fourth-highest passing yardage total in Rams history, Bulger might return to the bench soon. Kurt Warner is recovering from his broken right pinkie, and he threw some long warmup passes before the game.

LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 120 yards for the Chargers (6-3).

Saints 34, Panthers 24

At Charlotte, N.C., the Saints took a 24-20 lead on Brooks' TD pass to Donte Stallworth, and Charles Grant sealed it when he returned Rodney Peete's fumble 34 yards on the game's final play.

The Saints are 7-2, their best start since 1992.

Peete passed for 310 yards to lead the Panthers (3-6), who dropped their sixth straight.

Colts 35, Eagles 13

At Philadelphia, Peyton Manning threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and James Mungro ran for 114 yards and two TDs as the Colts stopped a three-game losing streak.

Marvin Harrison had six catches for 137 yards and two TDs -- covering 57 and 43 yards -- for Indianapolis (5-4).

Donovan McNabb threw for 281 yards and a TD and ran for another 62 yards.

Packers 40, Lions 14

At Green Bay, Wis., Brett Favre threw for 295 yards in the first half and finished with 351 yards and two scores, and the Packers ran off 37 straight points after falling behind 7-3.

The Packers improved their NFL-best record to 8-1 while taking a five-game lead over second-place Detroit (3-6) in the NFC North.

Green Bay has won seven straight, its longest regular-season streak since 1963.

Titans 17, Texans 10

At Nashville, Tenn., Steve McNair threw two touchdown passes, and the Titans won their fourth straight in the first meeting between Houston's former and current teams.

David Carr's 10-yard TD pass to Jarrod Baxter got the Texans to 17-10 with 3:05 left. Houston got the ball back, but Lance Schulters sealed the win when he intercepted Carr's pass with 1:11 to go.

Ravens 38, Bengals 27

At Baltimore, Adalius Thomas returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown, and rookie Lamont Brightful scored on a 95-yard punt return to lead the Ravens.

Jamal Lewis ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns as the Ravens (4-5) snapped a two-game losing streak and denied Cincinnati (1-8) a second straight victory.

Jaguars 26, Redskins 7

At Jacksonville, Fla., former University of Florida coach Steve Spurrier threw his visor in disgust as Washington's passing game never took flight.

Mark Brunell threw for 194 yards, and Fred Taylor ran for 82 yards and a touchdown to help the Jaguars (4-5) snap a four-game losing streak.

49ers 17, Chiefs 13

At San Francisco, Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow each ran for a touchdown, and San Francisco stopped Priest Holmes and Tony Gonzalez as the 49ers won for the sixth time in seven games.

The Niners (7-2) held Holmes to just 51 yards, although he set the franchise record with his 14th rushing TD. Gonzalez had one catch for 6 yards.

Eddie Kennison caught eight passes for 134 yards for the Chiefs (4-5).

Jets 13, Dolphins 10

At East Rutherford, N.J., John Hall kicked a 28-yard field goal with 2:17 left, and the Jets won for the third time in four games to further scramble the AFC East race.

One week after shutting down San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson, the Jets held Ricky Williams to 53 yards on 20 carries.

Seahawks 27, Cardinals 6

At Tempe, Ariz., Matt Hasselbeck threw for 260 yards, and the Seahawks (3-6) built a big early lead by scoring on all five of their first-half possessions.