The National Football League's once mighty defeated its current mighty Sunday, leaving pro football without an unbeaten team six weeks deep into the season.
With parity making its presence felt throughout the league, the offensive machine of the Oakland Raiders sputtered and the struggling St. Louis Rams called upon a quarterback who had never started a NFL game before.
The result was a very unexpected 28-13 victory for the previously winless Rams over the previously unbeaten Raiders.
The outcome in St. Louis, where the Rams have won the NFC title twice in the past three years only to fall on hard times in 2002, was just another example of what has become the NFL's motto -- "You Never Know."
Brett Favre, meanwhile, kept Green Bay on a winning track, New Orleans emerged as a threat, Miami won an amazing game in Denver, San Diego rallied to win a thriller and the Cincinnati Bengals continued to bring up the rear.
"I'm frustrated," Bengals fullback Lorenzo Neal said after Cincinnati was downed by Pittsburgh in the day's most one-sided game, 34-7. "Guys ain't going to call me a bum. I refuse to be a loser. We're the laughingstock of the league. It's embarrassing, it's a disgrace.
"Now teams come in here and anywhere and look at you with no respect. I've been raised a better man than that. I'm a warrior. For a professional team to do this, to play this bad week in and week out, there's no excuse for it."
With quarterback Kurt Warner out of action with a broken finger, the Rams suffering from a five-game losing streak and Oakland averaging 40 points a game, the result in St. Louis seemed to be a foregone conclusion.
But the Rams' Marc Bulger, making his first NFL start, threw for three touchdowns and ran for another score.
The outcome spoiled the 40th birthday of Oakland superstar receiver Jerry Rice, who had a typically sensational day only to find it was not enough.
Billed as a Super Bowl preview before the season, the game lost much of its luster due to the Rams' problems. No 0-5 team has ever made the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl.
Bulger, who was called on to start when backup Jamie Martin was held out with a bruised right knee, could not have dreamed of a better performance. With little expected of him, Bulger completed 11 of 15 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Bulger, who signed with the Rams in January 2001 but never played last season, hit Isaac Bruce with a seven-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and connected with Torry Holt on a 13-yard scoring play in the second quarter, giving the Rams a 14-0 lead.
After the Raiders pulled within 14-6 on a pair of field goals by Sebastian Janikowski, Bulger threw a 10-yard touchdown to running back Marshall Faulk 1:20 into the fourth quarter.
It was the first touchdown in three games for Faulk, who accounted for 185 yards.
Rice, the NFL career leader in receptions, touchdowns and receiving yards, caught a 53-yard pass on Oakland's first play from scrimmage and finished with seven catches for 133 yards.
Although there were no unbeaten teams remaining in the league, there were plenty at or near the breakeven mark. Of the NFL's 32 teams, 14 had a record of either 3-2, 3-3 or 2-3.
Around the league:
-- Just 39 seconds after Jason Elam kicked a 55-yard field goal to give Denver the lead, Olindo Mare kicked a 53-yarder that boosted the Miami Dolphins past the Broncos, 24-22. Mare's kick came with six seconds remaining in the game and also came after Denver linebacker John Mobley let a certain interception slip through his hands and right into those of Miami receiver Dedric Ward for a 22-yard gain.
-- Brett Favre became the fourth player in NFL history to throw for 300 career touchdowns and Ahman Green rushed for 136 yards and a score to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 28-10 win over the New England Patriots. The loss was the third in a row for the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots.
-- Michael Lewis returned both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns and New Orleans intercepted Patrick Ramsey four times in his first career start, sending the Saints storming past the Washington Redskins, 43-27.
-- Drew Brees threw a two-yard touchdown to rookie Reche Caldwell with 14 seconds to play as the San Diego Chargers overcame five turnovers in a dramatic 35-34 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. In a mistake-prone afternoon on both sides of the ball for the Chargers, Brees resembled the player that set numerous passing records while a collegian at Purdue.
-- Cornerback Corey Chavous intercepted Joey Harrington in the end zone with 17 seconds remaining as the Minnesota Vikings rallied and then hung on a 31-24 triumph over the Detroit Lions. It was the first victory for Minnesota Coach Mike Tice.
-- Drew Bledsoe completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Peerless Price with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter to give the Buffalo Bills a 31-24 victory over the Houston Texans. Five of Buffalo's six games this season have featured ties or lead changes in the fourth quarter.
-- Quincy Carter hit rookie Antonio Bryant with a 24-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-down play with 56 seconds remaining to rally the Dallas Cowboys to a 14-13 win over the Carolina Panthers. Dallas did not score a point for 56 mintues and then staged an improbable comeback.
-- Eddie George rushed for a season-high 113 yards and one touchdown and caught a scoring pass as well as the Tennessee Titans snapped a four-game losing streak with a 23-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
-- Gary Baxter's pass interference penalty kept Indianapolis' final drive alive and Mike Vanderjagt booted a 38-yard field goal with four seconds left to give the Colts a 22-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
-- Led by the dominant play of defensive tackle Warren Sapp and the running of Mike Alstott, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers extended their winning streak to five games with a 17-3 win over the Cleveland Browns. Tampa Bay (5-1) matched its best start in club history.
-- An impressive effort from backup quarterback Doug Johnson, who was making just his third career start, and a pair of crucial fourth-quarter New York turnovers allowed the Atlanta Falcons to escape with a 17-10 victory over the Giants. Playing for the injured Michael Vick, Johnson completed 19 of 25 passes for 257 yards, leading the Falcons to their second win of the season.
