Lions win, Steelers lose again

Detroit Lions: Start the celebrations after ending barren run

Also see

• Schedule
• On Sky TV
• Messageboards

The Detroit Lions finally ended their 19-game losing streak in week three of the NFL season - but there was no long-awaited win for the St Louis Rams.

The New England Patriots returned to winning ways while the Baltimore Ravens remain unbeaten, as are the two teams in New York - the Giants and the Jets, who toppled Tennessee live on Sky Sports.

Washington Redskins 14-19 Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions finally ended their 19-game losing streak by beating the Washington Redskins 19-14 on Sunday.

The win was their first in nearly two years, the last coming on December 23rd 2007 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Top draft pick Matt Stafford threw an early touchdown pass to Bryant Johnson and Jason Hanson kicked two field goals before Santana Moss got the Redskins on the board with a 57-yard touchdown reception.

Maurice Morris rushed for a touchdown in the third quarter to edge the Lions into a 19-7 lead and they hung on for victory, albeit in front of a crowd of only 40,890 - the smallest ever for an NFL game at Ford Field.

San Francisco 49ers 24-27 Minnesota Vikings

Brett Favre threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with just two seconds left on the clock to hand the Minnesota Vikings a 27-24 victory against the San Francisco 49ers.

With the Vikings trailing 24-20 with 12 seconds left to play, the veteran took the snap on a third down on his own 40-yard line.

The 40-year-old then used his experience to roam outside of the pocket before sending a pass deep into the end zone, where wide receiver Lewis collected with a flying catch.

The win took Minnesota to 3-0, Favre having so far thrown for 301 yards and two touchdowns with just one interception.

New York Giants 24-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Giants marched into Florida and shut out winless Tampa Bay in a 24-0 victory that moves them to 3-0 for the new season.

Steve Smith and Sinorice Moss caught touchdown throws from Eli Manning while Brandon Jacobs, who found the end zone on a six-yard run, and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 206 yards on the ground.

Defensively the Giants were even more impressive, holding the Buccaneers to a grand total of 86 yards of offence. Quarterback Byron Leftwich was replaced in the fourth quarter having completed just seven passes for 22 yards.

Chicago Bears 25-19 Seattle Seahawks

Jay Cutler is starting to prove his worth for the Bears as he led a late touchdown drive to topple the Seahawks in Seattle - finding Devin Hester with just under two minutes remaining.

Greg Olsen and Johnny Knox caught Cutler's two other TD passes as he threw for 247 yards when completing a healthy 21 of 27 attempts, as the Bears came from 13-0 down to clinch victory.

Rookie linebacker Aaron Curry forced a fumble from Cutler which led to a field goal putting Seattle 19-17 in front with five minutes left, but Cutler and the Bears responded to move to 2-1 for the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers 20-23 Cincinnati Bengals

The Steelers have been brought down to earth with a bump as a first defeat in Cincinnati for nine years made it two losses in a row for the champions.

After winning in Green Bay the Bengals proved they are for real as a touchdown pass from Carson Palmer found Andre Caldwell with just 14 seconds left to send the home fans crazy.

Cedric Benson ran in from 23 yards with nine minutes left to get the hosts within striking distance of a game that Pittsburgh had dominated.

Mike Tomlin will be ruining missed chances for the Steelers, with Jeff Reed missing another field goal while Limas Sweed dropped a pass in the endzone.

New Orleans Saints 27-7 Buffalo Bills

Pierre Thomas exploded in the fourth quarter to really the Saints over the Bills, as Drew Brees for once failed to find the endzone.

With just three points in it at the start of the fourth, Thomas ran in scores from 34 and 19 yards to cap a stout defensive effort from the Saints as they kept Terrell Owens without a catch for the first time in 185 games.

The underrated Saints defence made up for Brees' failure to throw a touchdown, while he also failed to throw for 200 yards to end his NFL-leading 22-game streak.

Denver Broncos 23-3 Oakland Raiders

Pre-season doom surrounded the Broncos, but they have fired out of the traps and surprised many with a 3-0 start, with their new-found defence keeping a second straight team out of their endzone.

Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell had another shocker with just 61 yards of passing and two costly interceptions, while his opposite number Kyle Orton continues his mistake-free start to the season.

Orton also found Brandon Marshall with an early TD pass, with the wide receiver gradually easing into the team after his off-season troubles.

Rookie Knowshon Moreno scored on a seven-yard run, but the defence was a big success yet again as the Broncos continue their surprisingly good start.

Miami Dolphins 13-23 San Diego Chargers

Miami lost quarterback Chad Pennington along with the game in San Diego as the Dolphins slumped to 0-3 with a first regular season loss to the Chargers since 1993.

Philip Rivers threw for 303 yards and also ran in a score of his own, while safety Eric Weddle intercepted back-up QB Chad Henne and returned it 31 yards for the other TD of the game.

For the second week running Miami had more possession but still lost the game, with Ricky Williams' late TD not enough to get them back into the game.

Indianapolis Colts 31-10 Arizona Cardinals

Peyton Manning threw four TD passes for the 18th time in his career, moving him into third on the all-time list behind just Brett Favre and Dan Marino, as the Colts powered beyond the Cardinals.

Three of those TDs came in a second-quarter blitz that took the game away from the hosts, with Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Pierre Garcon the beneficiaries of Manning's arm.

Joseph Addai caught the final TD pass and he and Donald Brown helped the Colts to 122 rushing yards - their most since October 2007.

The Cards left the field to boos from what little of the crowd was left at the end of the game, with only an Anquan Boldin TD to shout about for the struggling NFC Champions.

Tennessee Titans 17-24 New York Jets

Mark Sanchez became the first rookie quarterback to start and win his first three games as the New York Jets toppled the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans, who were the top seeds in the AFC last year, slipped to a third straight loss, their cause not being helped by two special teams turnovers that led to 14 points for their opponents.

Sanchez threw two touchdowns and rushed for another, though he was intercepted in the fourth quarter.

However the Jets' defence saved their QB with an interception, one of four turnovers from Tennessee. Kerry Collins attempted to lead a late drive to tie the scores but the veteran failed to complete any of his final 13 pass attempts.

Kansas City Chiefs 14-34 Philadelphia Eagles

Michael Vick made his return to the NFL against the Chiefs but it was another quarterback Kevin Kolb who was the star of the show in Philadelphia's 34-14 victory.

Vick, playing for the first time in more than two years, was used for 11 plays, making two failed pass attempts and also managing a seven-yard rush.

Despite being without starters Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook the Eagles offense enjoyed an excellent day, scoring four touchdowns to leave Kansas City still searching for their first win.

Kolb scored himself on a one-yard run while also throwing touchdown passes to wide receiver DeSean Jackson and tight end Brent Celek, who both finished with over 100 yards receiving.

LeSean McCoy, replacing Westbrook at running back, had opened the scoring on a five-yard run and he finished the day with 84 yards on 20 carries.

Cleveland Browns 3-34 Baltimore Ravens

Quarterback Joe Flacco threw for a career-high 342 yards as Baltimore battered AFC North rivals 34-0 to maintain their perfect start to the campaign.

Willis McGahee rushed for two touchdowns while fellow tail-back Ray Rice also scored on the ground before Flacco hooked up with Derrick Mason for a 72-yarder in the fourth quarter.

All the Browns managed in reply was a 29-yard field goal from Billy Cundiff, despite head coach Eric Mangini switching quarterbacks at half time. Brady Quinn made way for Derek Anderson, who went on to throw three interceptions.

Atlanta Falcons 10-26 New England Patriots

Tom Brady helped New England bounce back from their loss to the New York Jets, handing the Atlanta Falcons their first loss of the year in the process.

Quarterback Brady completed 25 of 42 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown, a 36-yarder to Chris Baker.

Fred Taylor rushed for another score as he finished with 105 yards on 21 carries, while Stephen Gostkowski slotted over four field goals for the Pats.

Green Bay Packers 36-17 St Louis Rams

St Louis Rams suffered a 13th successive loss as they were beaten 36-17 by the Green Bay Packers at Edward Jones Dome.

Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes to Donald Driver and John Kuhn, who also scored on a one-yard run, after Mason Crosby had kicked three field goals in the first quarter to put the Packers 9-0 up.

The Rams lost quarterback Marc Bulger to injury but back-up Kyle Boller came on to combine with Daniel Fells for a pair of touchdowns.

A Josh Brown field goal made the score 23-17 going into the fourth quarter but Rodgers' four-yard run into the end zone was followed by Kuhn's second TD of the contest, one that secured the win for Green Bay.

Jacksonville Jaguars 31-24 Houston Texans

The Jaguars broke their duck this season thanks mainly to a stellar performance from Maurice Jones-Drew in Houston.

The running back rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, helping Jacksonville bounce back from a 21-17 half-time deficit.

Matt Schaub threw three TD's for the Texans - including a nine-yarder to fit-again wide reicever Kevin Walter.

However the home side only managed a field goal in the second half as Jones-Drew found the end zone in both the third and fourth quarters.