The Kansas City Chiefs are the perfect team for this not-so-pretty NFL season. They're not so pretty, but if there's a bizarre way to win, they'll find it.
The Chiefs improved to a league best 10-1 Sunday night, beating Houston 20-13 on Mark Collins' 34-yard return of Todd McNair's fumble with 15 seconds left.It came just a minute and 35 seconds after Chris Chandler's 40-yard pass on fourth-and-25 was plucked from the air in the end zone by a leaping Chris Sanders to tie it, and marked the fourth time the Chiefs have won this season on the last play of the game. Three came in overtime on a field goal, an interception return and a punt return, and Sunday's came on Collins' play on a fumble forced by Doug Terry.
"I'm starting to think there may be divine intervention helping us along," Chiefs guard Dave Szott said.
"To be honest, we probably didn't deserve to win in regulation," Collins said.
It was that kind of strange Sunday in the NFL.
Pittsburgh, trailing 31-13, won its fourth straight game by scoring 36 straight points to overtake Cincinnati 49-31. The go-ahead points came on a 71-yard touchdown catch by Kordell Stewart.
Tom Coughlin of Jacksonville became the first coach in the two-year history of the two-point conversion to go for it with the game on the line. He did it in the fourth quarter after his team scored with 37 seconds left in Tampa. The play failed and the Bucs won, 17-16.
Steelers 49, Bengals 31
"I still consider myself a quarterback first," said Stewart, the rookie from Colorado. But he was catching the ball on Sunday, including the 71-yard score from Neil O'Donnell. O'Donnell, 24 of 31 for 377 yards, had two TD passes and Bam Morris ran for three scores in the final 22 minutes for Pittsburgh.
Falcons 31, Rams 6
Jeff George passed for 352 yards and four touchdowns, three to Terance Mathis, as the Falcons (7-4) handed St. Louis (6-5) its fourth loss in five games and took the lead in the NFC West pending San Francisco's game tonight. The two teams came into the game tied for the division lead.
Buccaneers 17, Jaguars 16
Coughlin decided to go for the 2-point conversion and the win. He wound up with a 1-point loss.
Steve Beuerlein, replacing the injured Mark Brunell, threw a 12-yard TD pass to Pete Mitchell with 37 seconds left to cap a 96-yard drive and pull the Jaguars within 1. Jimmy Smith caught the conversion pass but was just out of the end zone.
Panthers 27, Cardinals 7
Kerry Collins threw for 201 yards and two TDs as Carolina held Arizona to its lowest yardage total in 40 years. The Cards, whose only TD came on a 69-yard return of a blocked field goal by Aeneas Williams, netted just 96 yards.
Packers 31, Browns 20
The way the Browns are playing, Baltimore might not want them. They lost their third straight as Brett Favre passed for three TDs and ran for another. The Packers (7-4) took over first place in the NFC Central.
Bills 28, Jets 26
Jim Kelly threw for 316 yards, hitting Billy Brooks seven times for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and Buffalo held on to win when Thomas Smith broke up the Jets' 2-point conversion pass with no time left.
Vikings 43, Saints 24
A day after turning 39, Warren Moon turned in one of the best performances of his 12-year NFL career with 338 yards and four touchdowns for Minnesota (6-5).
Eagles 28, Giants 19
For the second time this year, Randall Cunningham polished off the Giants for Rodney Peete.
Just as he did five weeks ago when he last played, Cunningham finished for Peete, who hurt his hip. Fred Barnett caught two TD passes from Peete and Ricky Watters rushed for two scores for the Eagles (7-4).
Colts 24, Patriots 10
Marshall Faulk ran for 96 yards, caught eight passes and scored once as he and Jim Harbaugh led the Colts (6-5), who broke a two-game losing streak. Curtis Martin, coming off two straight 100-yard games, ran for 48 yards and a TD.
Seahawks 27, Redskins 20
Robert Blackmon intercepted passes by Gus Frerotte and Heath Shuler, and Chris Warren ran for 136 yards as the Seahawks beat Washington (3-8). Seattle (5-6) took advantage of five Washington turnovers to win its third straight.