Colts, Saints stay perfect

Manning: landmark day

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The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints both had to work hard to maintain their perfect starts to the season and move to 8-0, while Dallas won the big NFC East battle in Philadelphia.

There was also a first success of the season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they produced a strong finish to beat the Green Bay Packers 38-28.

San Diego Chargers 21-20 New York Giants

Philip Rivers was a Giant for around 30 minutes before being traded for Eli Manning, and he came back to haunt his temporary employers as the Chargers earned a thrilling win in New York.

Rivers led a superb 80-yard drive in the closing stages and capped it with an 18-yard TD throw to Vincent Jackson with just 21 seconds left to play to inflict a fourth straight loss on the Giants.

Kevin Boss has put Big Blue 17-14 ahead nine minutes from the end but, when the hosts could only manage a field goal after having the ball on the four-yard line, Rivers took the chance to find Jackson for a second time in the endzone.

Indianapolis Colts 20-17 Houston Texans

The Indianapolis Colts preserved their unbeaten record as they saw off a spirited display from the Houston Texans to move to 8-0.

The victory was the Colts' 17th straight regular season triumph although they were pushed all the way by Houston on a day when Peyton Manning - the three-time MVP - also became the first player in league history to throw for 40,000 yards within a decade.

Manning led the visitors into what looked a commanding 13-0 lead, but Houston rallied and had moved 17-13 ahead early in the fourth quarter.

But Joseph Addai's two-yard run edged the Colts back in front and victory was confirmed when Texans kicker Kris Brown was wide with a potentially game-tying 42-yard field goal attempt.

Carolina Panthers 20-30 New Orleans Saints

New Orleans moved to 8-0 for the first time in their history after yet another comeback victory, this time overhauling a 14-0 deficit after DeAngelo Williams had ran in two scores for the Panthers.

The Saints failed to score a first half TD for the first time this season, but they won from behind for the third straight game in another high-scoring contest - with Pierre Thomas and Robert Meachem's scores getting them back into the game.

All square at 20-20 with five minutes left, John Carney kicked a Saints field goal but the win was only sealed two minutes from the end when Anthony Hargrove stripped the ball from Williams and walked in from a yard.

Dallas Cowboys 20-16 Philadelphia Eagles

So much for Tony Romo choking in the big games - as the Cowboys quarterback found Miles Austin for a 49-yard touchdown that put them top of the NFC East with a road win against their fierce rivals.

It was the 100th meeting between the two teams, and Dallas moved to 6-2 by also gaining revenge for their mauling in the final game last season that saw the Eagles make the play-offs at their expense.

Tashard Choice ran in early for the visitors, but tight end Brent Celek's TD grab edged the Eagles ahead in the third quarter, but they had no answer when Austin scored his sixth TD in four games.

Atlanta Falcons 31-17 Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins' troubles continued as they were handed a fourth straight defeat by the Atlanta Falcons, slipping to 2-6 in the process.

Michael Turner ran for a season-high 166 yards including a 58-yard touchdown that finished off Washington early in the fourth quarter.

The burly running back also scored from 30 yards out as the Falcons built a 24-3 half-time lead and, although the Redskins did stage a fightback with Jason Campbell directing two 13-play scoring drives to close the gap to 24-17, Turner killed the contest.

Chicago Bears 21-41 Arizona Cardinals

Kurt Warner bounced back from throwing for five interceptions in week eight with a five-touchdown performance in Arizona's comprehensive victory in Chicago.

The veteran quarterback completed 22 of 32 passes attempted for 261 yards and threw scoring passes on his team's first four possessions.

Larry Fitzgerald reeled in two of them, the wide receiver finishing the day with 123 yards on nine receptions, while Ben Patrick and Anthony Becht also found the end zone. Steve Breaston caught a four-yarder for Arizona's only TD in the second half.

The defeat for the Bears, who had not lost at home in the campaign but found themselves 31-7 down at the break, ruined a three-touchdown day for tight end Greg Olsen.

Their cause was not helped by the loss of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who was ejected early on for striking Deuce Letui.

Cincinnati Bengals 17-7 Baltimore Ravens

The Bengals ground out a hard-fought win to ensure they remain unbeaten in AFC North games.

Scoring on their first three possessions of the match to cruise into a 17-0 lead, Cincinnati were then content to keep their rivals in check as they closed out victory.

Running back Cedric Benson topped 100 yards again as he rushed for a total of 117 and also a touchdown to put his side in control.

Ray Rice's one-yard touchdown run cut the gap to 17-7 early in the fourth quarter, thought the Ravens were not to get any closer.

Jacksonville Jaguars 24-21 Kansas City Chiefs

David Garrard managed his first touchdown pass in four games as Jacksonville held off a Kansas City fightback to triumph 24-21.

A 61-yard pass to Mike Sims-Walker gave the Jaguars a 14-6 half-time advantage and they moved further ahead thanks to a Josh Scobee field goal and a Maurice Jones-Drew TD run from 10 yards out.

Jackonsville's opening touchdown had come from Rashad Jennings, who galloped in on the ground for a 28-yarder - his first score in the NFL.

However the Chiefs gave their hosts a late scare when Matt Cassel linked up with new wide receiver Chris Chambers for two late touchdowns.

Tennessee Titans 34-27 San Francisco 49ers

The Titans secured back-to-back victories as Vince Young showed he could actually be the real deal at quarterback as he outshone fellow first round draft pick Alex Smith in the Niners QB's first start at home in over two years.

Young ran in a score himself and was 12-of-19 for 172 yards as he improved his surprisingly good record to 20-11 as the Titans starter, and they are now 2-6 after a dreadful start to the season.

Having running back Chris Johnson running in two TDs amongst his 135 yards helped Young's cause no end, while Smith in opposition was picked off twice in the closing stages - and one was returned 39 yards by Cortland Finnegan for the clinching score.

New England Patriots 27-17 Miami Dolphins

Tom Brady and Randy Moss combined to drown out the Dolphins' wildcat offence at Gillette Stadium.

Miami led 17-16 at one stage in the third quarter when Joey Haynos' one-yard pass to Ronnie Brown followed up a 15-yard scoring run by Ricky Williams in the opening half.

However New England, who had scored the game's opening TD through Laurence Maroney, rallied with quarterback Brady linking up on a 71-yarder with Moss, who finished the game with 147 receiving yards on just six catches.

Stephen Gostkowski's fourth field goal of the contest made sure of the win for a Patriots team that is now 6-2 in the AFC East and still unbeaten on home soil this season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-28 Green Bay Packers

Josh Freeman marked his first NFL start by helping Tampa Bay record their first win of the campaign.

The rookie quarterback, taken with the 17th pick in the draft, passed for 205 yards and three touchdowns - all of them close-range throws to Derrick Ward, Kellen Winslow and Sammie Stroughter.

The Bucs also needed two big plays from their defence to finally get in the win column - Ronde Barber returned a blocked punt to the end zone and the result was sealed when Tanard Jackson picked off Aaron Rodgers and took it back to the house.

The Packers had at one stage been 28-17 ahead in the fourth quarter. Rodgers threw two touchdowns and also ran for another but was crucially picked off three times.

Detroit Lions 20-32 Seattle Seahawks

The Lions raced into a 17-0 lead as they looked to end a 16-game losing streak on the road, but Matt Hasselbeck overcame more injury problems to rally the Seahawks to an unanswered 25-point burst to snuff out the upset.

Number one draft pick Matt Stafford threw two TD passes to put the Lions on top, but then had five interceptions to throw away any chances the visitors had of a second win of the season.

Hasselbeck had a franchise-record 39 completions, threw for 329 yards, and found T.J Houshmandzadeh with a two-yard score to carry the struggling Seahawks to 3-5 heading into their NFC West showdown in Arizona next week.