NFL: Week 9

Dick Vermeil was going to be the biggest fool or the shrewdest gambler in the NFL.

Call this man shrewd.

With 5 seconds left Sunday, the Chiefs trailed by three and the ball was on the Oakland 1. Kick a field goal to force overtime or go for the touchdown and risk losing? Vermeil went for the TD, and Larry Johnson dived over the pile for a memorable 27-23 victory over the Raiders.

Randy Moss, who hadn't caught a pass all day, beat Dewayne Washington in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard reception with 1:45 left, giving the Raiders (3-5) the lead. Then Trent Green, playing through the pain of his father's funeral just four days earlier, whipped the Chiefs (5-3) downfield 72 yards.

Panthers 34, Buccaneers 14

Stephen Davis ran for two touchdowns, Steve Smith caught his ninth TD pass of the season and Chris Gamble scored on a 61-yard interception return to lead surging Carolina over Tampa Bay for its fifth straight victory.

The Panthers (6-2) also have won five in a row in their bitter NFC South rivalry with Tampa Bay (5-3), which fell out of a first-place tie with Carolina and Atlanta after losing for the third time in four games.

Carolina's defense forced four turnovers and sacked Chris Simms five times to ruin the young quarterback's second start of the season for Tampa Bay.

Carnell "Cadillac" Williams was held to 29 yards on 11 carries in his second game since returning from foot and hamstring injuries that kept him out of two games.

Steelers 20, Packers 10

Troy Polamalu returned Brett Favre's fumble 77 yards for a touchdown, and Tyrone Carter's interception set up the offense's only touchdown in Pittsburgh's win over Green Bay.

The Steelers (6-2) became the the fourth team to win 11 straight road games. And they did it without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (knee) and running back Jerome Bettis (thigh), who were joined on the sideline in the second half by starting tailback Willie Parker, who turned his left ankle.

Bears 20, Saints 17

Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson combined for 137 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown in place of the injured Thomas Jones, and Robbie Gould hit the winning field goal with 6 seconds to go for Chicago (5-3).

Kyle Orton set up the clincher with a 22-yard, third-down completion on a sideline route to Muhsin Muhammad at the 10-yard line.

Saints owner Tom Benson stayed away from Baton Rouge as promised after complaining that security was inadequate to protect him from angry fans. A number of fans stayed away, too. The crowd was announced at 32,637, dwarfed by LSU's 93,000-seat Tiger Stadium. The Saints fell to 2-7.

Giants 24, 49ers 6

Eli Manning passed for 251 yards and a touchdown, Brandon Jacobs rushed for two short fourth-quarter scores and New York yielded just 138 total yards to beat San Francisco.

Plaxico Burress had five catches for 79 yards in the third straight victory for the Giants (6-2).

Joe Nedney kicked two field goals for the Niners (2-6), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Seahawks 33, Cardinals 19

Shaun Alexander gained 173 yards on 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 88 and 14 yards, and Seattle won its fourth in a row by beating Arizona.

The 88-yard run, on the first play of the second half, tied the franchise record Alexander set against Oakland on Nov. 11, 2001.

Neil Rackers kicked field goals of 23, 31, 50 and 44 for the Cardinals (2-6) and is 26-for-26 this season.

Kurt Warner, replacing Josh McCown as starting quarterback, completed 29 of 48 passes for 334 yards and a touchdown. He threw three interceptions and was sacked four times.

Falcons 17, Dolphins 10

Michael Vick led four drives of more than 70 yards, and Keion Carpenter's interception stopped a scoring threat with less than three minutes left to help Atlanta beat Miami for its third win a row.

Vick went 22-for-31 for a season-high 228 yards and added 38 yards on eight rushes. The Falcons (6-2) converted 11 of 17 third-down situations, while the Dolphins (3-5) were 0-for-9.

Chargers 31, Jets 26

LaDainian Tomlinson scored a career-high four touchdowns -- three rushing, one receiving -- and San Diego (5-4) needed every one of them to hold off pesky Brooks Bollinger and New York (2-6).

Heading into the game, Tomlinson had the same number of touchdown passes (three) as Jets quarterbacks.

Tomlinson had 25 carries for 107 yards for the Chargers, while Drew Brees was 20-of-27 for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Jaguars 21, Texans 14

Byron Leftwich directed two long scoring drives in the fourth quarter to rally Jacksonville over injury-riddled Houston (1-7).

Jacksonville (5-3) trailed 7-0 at halftime and 14-7 in the fourth quarter before waking up from a first-half stupor. Leftwich directed scoring drives of 80 and 82 yards in the final quarter.

Bengals 21, Ravens 9

Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes, Rudi Johnson ran for 97 yards and a score, and Cincinnati kept Baltimore out of the end zone.

The Bengals (7-2) were nursing a 14-6 lead before Palmer capped a 91-yard drive with a 3-yard TD pass to Chris Henry with 6:05 to go. That was enough of a cushion to dispatch the Ravens (2-6), whose lone points came on three field goals by Matt Stover.

Vikings 27, Lions 14

Brad Johnson took over at quarterback and helped jump-start the Minnesota offense. Joey Harrington returned as Detroit's starter to far less favorable results.

Johnson passed for 136 yards and two touchdowns in relief of the injured Daunte Culpepper, Michael Bennett rushed 18 times for 106 yards and the Vikings beat the Lions to create a tie for second place in the punchless NFC North.

Minnesota (3-5) beat the Lions (3-5) for the eighth straight time, seven under beleaguered coach Mike Tice.

Browns 20, Titans 14

Reuben Droughns, arrested earlier in the week on a drunken driving charge, rushed for 116 yards and caught a crucial third-down pass for 51 yards, powering Cleveland over Tennessee.

Droughns added four receptions for 73 yards.

Dennis Northcutt caught a 58-yard TD pass and Phil Dawson kicked field goals of 37 and 19 yards as the Browns (3-5) held off a late rally by the Titans (2-7) to snap a three-game losing streak.

--From wire reports