NFL Roundup - Broncos Hand Chargers First Loss

Phillip Buchanon helped the Oakland Raiders stay unbeaten, and the Denver Broncos made certain their AFC West rival ended the day as the only undefeated team in the NFL. <br><br>Brian Griese threw for

Monday, October 7th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Phillip Buchanon helped the Oakland Raiders stay unbeaten, and the Denver Broncos made certain their AFC West rival ended the day as the only undefeated team in the NFL.

Brian Griese threw for 316 yards as Denver handed visiting San Diego its first loss Sunday, beating the Chargers 26-9.

The Broncos held LaDainian Tomlinson to 48 yards, a week after he tied the team record with 217 yards in a victory over New England that moved San Diego to 4-0.

Denver (4-1) moved into a tie with the Chargers for second in the AFC West. Both teams are a game behind Oakland, which improved to 4-0 with a 49-31 victory at Buffalo. The Raiders sealed the win on Buchanon's 81-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Instead of aggressively pursuing Tomlinson, Denver's defenders hung around the gaps, waiting for him to make his move before collapsing on him. The plan forced San Diego to lean on quarterback Drew Brees, who was 26-for-42 for 235 yards, but had two passes intercepted by Deltha O'Neal.

O'Neal, ejected for bumping an official last week against Baltimore, also returned an interception 28 yards for a TD.

Raiders 49, Bills 31

At Orchard Park, N.Y., Buchanon stepped in front of Drew Bledsoe's pass toward Peerless Price and ran untouched for the clinching score.

Oakland improved to 4-0 for the sixth time in franchise history and first time since 1990.

The interception came with Oakland clinging to a 35-31 lead and Bledsoe orchestrating another scoring threat.

A week earlier, the rookie cornerback returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown and had an interception to set up another TD in Oakland's win over Tennessee.

Bledsoe had led the Bills (2-3) to two victories in their three overtime games, but he couldn't engineer another great finish. He threw for 417 yards but also had three interceptions.

Oakland's Rich Gannon was 23-of-38 for 357 yards.

Ravens 26, Browns 21

At Cleveland, Ray Lewis turned the night game into his own prime-time special for three quarters as Baltimore (2-2) built a big lead and held on to beat the Browns.

Lewis had an interception, forced a fumble that he recovered and made four tackles before he injured his left shoulder and had to sit out the fourth quarter.

Cleveland (2-3) trailed 23-0 at the start of the period, but with starting quarterback Tim Couch sitting dazed on the bench with a concussion, the Browns stormed back behind Kelly Holcomb.

After recovering an onside kick, the Browns moved the ball to the 17 in the final minute, but Holcomb's final pass was picked off by safety Ed Reed.

Couch ripped the Cleveland fans for booing him before his injury and cheering when he was down. ``For them to turn on me and boo me in my home stadium is a joke,'' he said.

Dolphins 26, Patriots 13

At Miami, Jay Fiedler threw two touchdowns and ran for another score _ all on third down _ as Miami beat New England to take over sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

The Dolphins improved to 4-1, while the Patriots fell to 3-2 with their second straight defeat. They're 0-13 in Miami in September and October.

Jason Taylor had two sacks and forced a fumble by quarterback Tom Brady to set up Miami's first score. Ricky Williams gained 105 tough yards on 36 carries _ a Miami regular-season record.

Redskins 31, Titans 14

At Nashville, Tenn., Steve Spurrier found a new quarterback in rookie Patrick Ramsey, who relieved injured Danny Wuerffel and threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns.

The Redskins (2-2) bounced back from two straight defeats behind their first-round draft pick, who went 20-of-34 and helped his team roll up 442 yards against the Titans (1-4).

49ers 37, Rams 13

At San Francisco, the 49ers pounded their biggest rivals with delight as Jeff Garcia threw for a touchdown and ran for another in a rout that left the defending NFC champions 0-5.

Jason Webster staggered the already roughed-up Rams when he intercepted a pass by backup Jamie Martin _ starting for the injured Kurt Warner _ and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown and a 27-3 lead just before halftime.

Garrison Hearst ran for 116 yards for the 49ers (3-1).

Jaguars 28, Eagles 25

At Jacksonville, Fla., rookie John Henderson sacked Donovan McNabb three times, and Bobby Shaw returned a punt 69 yards to help the Jaguars improve to 3-1.

McNabb threw for 230 yards and ran for 100 more, but he was sacked five times. He was so exhausted trying to lead the Eagles (3-2) back late in the game that he had to pull away from center while he threw up on the field.

Saints 32, Steelers 29

At New Orleans, Deuce McAllister ran for 123 yards and scored two touchdowns for the Saints (4-1).

Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox, making his first NFL start since 1992, threw a 14-yard TD pass to Terance Mathis with 1:26 left, then hit Hines Ward for the conversion pass to cut the deficit to 3 points, but New Orleans recovered the onside kick.

Pittsburgh dropped to 1-3.

Buccaneers 20, Falcons 6

At Atlanta, Keyshawn Johnson caught a 76-yard pass for his first touchdown of the season, and the Bucs got another defensive TD when Warren Sapp intercepted a pass and lateraled to Derrick Brooks.

Tampa Bay (4-1) has allowed only 27 points in its last four games, all wins.

The Falcons (1-3) lost quarterback Michael Vick, who sprained his right (non-throwing) shoulder early in the third quarter.

Giants 21, Cowboys 17

At Irving, Texas, Kerry Collins, who entered the game leading the NFC in passing yardage but had thrown for only one score, threw three TD passes to lead the Giants.

New York (3-2) took the lead for good when Collins hit Marcellus Rivers for a 17-yard score with 6:51 left.

The Cowboys (2-3) got the first TD of the season from Emmitt Smith, on a 30-yard run. He finished with a season-high 70 yards, leaving him 234 away from breaking Walter Payton's career record.

Chiefs 29, Jets 25

At East Rutherford, N.J., Priest Holmes ran for 152 yards and a touchdown, and his 19-yard TD reception from Trent Green with 27 seconds left handed the Jets their fourth straight loss.

Green followed his five-touchdown performance last week with 296 yards and two TDs to lead the Chiefs (3-2).

John Hall kicked a 25-yard field goal with 2:54 remaining to give the Jets (1-4) a 3-point lead, but Kansas City marched 78 yards for the winning score.

Chad Pennington, making his first career start after Vinny Testaverde was benched, was 23-of-30 for 245 yards, and Curtis Martin had 119 yards.

Colts 28, Bengals 21

At Indianapolis, Peyton Manning threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Marvin Harrison caught nine passes for 145 yards and a touchdown for the Colts (3-1).

The Bengals are 0-5.

Cardinals 16, Panthers 13

At Charlotte, N.C., Bill Gramatica kicked a 50-yard field goal with 16 seconds left as Arizona improved to 3-2, its best start since 1991. The Panthers are 3-2.