EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants' special teams threw a changeup of sorts.
The much-maligned unit came up big twice, once after failing to win the game early in overtime, then after getting a gift from the Jets.
Brett Conway atoned for a missed field goal early in overtime by kicking a 29-yarder with four seconds to go, and the Giants overcame a dramatic four-touchdown performance by Chad Pennington with a 31-28 victory Sunday.
"I told him I had a feeling he was going to get another chance," Giants holder Jeff Feagles said of Conway. "It's kind of ironic, we missed the field goal, but then we won the game with the blocked field goal. I'm very happy for our special teams. We finally made some plays."
The unit was the big reason the Giants (4-4) came into the game needing a win as much as the Jets (2-6). Twice already this season, special teams mistakes turned wins into defeats.
It appeared ready to become three when the Jets drove to the Giants 32 and were faced with a fourth-and-3 with about four minutes to play.
Herm Edwards thought about it, then sent Doug Brien on to the field.
"It is a tough kick, but we are trying to win the game," Edwards said. "You can second-guess and say we should have punted, but we are trying to win the game."
Brien was still in pre-kick routine when long snapper James Dearth snapped the ball because the play clock was down to one second. The Jets had no timeouts remaining.
Brien got the kick off, but Will Allen came off the right wing and blocked it.
Allen said Dearth tipped off the snap.
"He closes his fingers on the ball just before he snaps it, and as soon as he closed them I took off," Allen said.
The block gave the Giants the ball at their 36. Kerry Collins, who threw for two touchdowns and 303 yards, put his team in position to win with passes of 19 yards to Amani Toomer and 12 to Tiki Barber.
Conway, who said his curling first kick from 39 yards probably would have been good from 35, didn't miss his second chance.
"I'm a little upset," Conway said. "It's great we won, but they hired me to make the first one."
The loss left the Jets with the prospect of winning seven of their final eight games to have an outside shot at the playoffs.
Coach Jim Fassel refused to speculate whether the Giants' luck has finally turned after winning two straight games.
"I don't know," Fassel said. "I told them just keep shoveling men, we've got a long way to go. Keep shoveling."
SAINTS 17, BUCS 14: At Tampa, Fla., John Carney kicked a 47-yard field goal with eight seconds left, lifting New Orleans (4-5) past the Super Bowl champions, leaving the Bucs at .500 and without a two-game winning streak this season. Deuce McAllister ran for 110 yards, while New Orleans forced six turnovers and sacked Brad Johnson four times. Ashley Ambrose returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown that put the Saints ahead 14-0 going into the fourth quarter. Ambrose also had a second-quarter pick to set up Aaron Brooks' 38-yard TD pass to Michael Lewis.
The Bucs (4-4) drove 97 yards to trim their deficit to 14-7 on Brad Johnson's 26-yard pass to Michael Pittman. They pulled even when Johnson threw 30 yards to Keenan McCardell on fourth-and-10 with 2:08 remaining.
LIONS 23, RAIDERS 13: At Detroit, Joey Harrington threw a 33-yard touchdown pass and Jason Hanson kicked three field goals as Detroit won its first game since beating Arizona on opening day. The Lions (2-6) had lost six straight and 14 of 15 dating back to last season. Detroit turned two turnovers into 10 first-quarter points, and scored 13 more on its first three second-half possessions. Oakland (2-6) is off to its worst start since 1964, when it was 1-7-1.
Raiders quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, in his first NFL start in place of Rich Gannon, was sidelined with a left knee injury late in the first half. Rick Mirer made his first appearance since playing one game for San Francisco three years ago.
TEXANS 14, PANTHERS 10: At Houston, Billy Miller's one-handed touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter gave the Texans (3-5) the win. Carolina (6-2) took a 10-7 lead on John Kasay's 23-yard field goal at the end of a third quarter in which each team had one possession. But Tony Banks, filling in for the injured David Carr, connected with Miller for the winning points from the Panthers 20 with 9 1/2 minutes left.
Banks was 10-of-15 for 121 yards and did not throw an interception or lose a fumble.
BEARS 20, CHARGERS 7: At Chicago, Chris Chandler passed for 224 yards and Anthony Thomas rushed for 111 yards and two scores to lead the Bears (3-5). But just 10 days past his 41st birthday, Doug Flutie nearly pulled off another comeback after replacing Drew Brees in the fourth quarter. He found Tim Dwight on a 22-yard pass, and rushed for another 17 yards to set up LaDainian Tomlinson's 3-yard score that pulled San Diego (1-7) within 13-7 with 9:13 to play.
COWBOYS 21, REDSKINS 14: At Irving, Texas, Dallas overcame four first-half turnovers to tighten its grip on the NFC East midway through the season. Troy Hambrick atoned for two lost fumbles with two short touchdown runs for Dallas (6-2), which now has won more games in a half-season than in each of the last three seasons. Quincy Carter was 17-of-33 for 196 yards and Hambrick had 100 yards on 21 carries, helping the Cowboys win for the sixth time in seven games.
Washington (3-5) had 11 yards in the first quarter and minus-11 yards passing at halftime.
RAVENS 24, JAGUARS 17: At Baltimore, Matt Stover kicked three field goals and the Ravens benefited from two fourth-quarter fumbles by Byron Leftwich. The Jaguars held Jamal Lewis, the NFL rushing leader, to 68 yards on 21 carries — ending his run of successive 100-yard games at six. Lewis did surpass 1,000 yards (1,045) by the halfway mark of the season. But the Jaguars (1-7) couldn't overcome their own miscues, especially those of Leftwich, the seventh overall pick in the 2003 draft. His two fumbles led to 10 points by the Ravens (5-3), who remained in first place in the AFC North.
CARDINALS 17, BENGALS 14: At Tempe, Ariz., Marcel Shipp, Emmitt Smith's replacement, rushed for 141 yards to lead the Cardinals (3-5). Jeff Blake completed 18 of 28 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns, including a 7-yarder to Anquan Boldin for the deciding score in the third quarter.
The Bengals (3-5) had won three of four.
SEAHAWKS 23, STEELERS 16: At Seattle, Darrell Jackson scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck and set up another late score with a 43-yard catch-and-run for Seattle (6-2).
The Steelers (2-6) lost their fifth straight game, their longest losing streak in four years. But this time, they were in it to the end, cutting the deficit to 16-13 before Jackson's long play set up Shaun Alexander's 1-yard touchdown.
EAGLES 23, FALCONS 16: Atlanta (AP) — Donovan McNabb took advantage of an entirely revamped Atlanta secondary to throw for a season-high 312 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Mitchell for the Eagles (5-3). Atlanta (1-7) lost its seventh in a row, taking on the look of an increasingly desperate team. Embattled coach Dan Reeves tried to shake things up by starting four new defensive backs, but it didn't do much to slow McNabb, who had been the NFL's lowest-ranked quarterback coming in.
PACKERS 30, VIKINGS 27: At Minneapolis, Brett Favre, ignoring the broken thumb on his throwing hand, passed for 194 yards and three touchdowns and the Green Bay Packers saved their season. After two straight losses at home, the Vikings (6-2) saw their NFC North lead over the Packers (4-4) shrink to two games.