NFL Roundup

Drew Bledsoe had minimal success against his former team Sunday and the same could be said for Jerry Rice.

As a result, the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers came up with key victories. They joined the Atlanta Falcons, who found they could win when Michael Vick has an off day, and the Cincinnati Bengals, who discovered a guarantee might just work when the opponent is an expansion team.

Pittsburgh and Tennessee continued their comebacks while Tampa Bay and Philadelphia continued to emerge as two of the top teams in the NFL.

Most of the spotlight fell, however, on Bledsoe. And, to a lesser extent, the No. 1 receiver in the history of pro football.

Bledsoe was the most publicized backup in the league last year when he was injured early in the season and gave way to Tom Brady as quarterback of the New England Patriots. When Bledsoe healed, Brady stayed in and eventually led the Patriots to the NFL title.

Bledsoe was then dealt to Buffalo and going into this week's games, he led the league in passing yardage while guiding the Bills to a 5-3 record. Brady, meanwhile struggled along with his teammates as the Patriots lost four in a row.

So when Buffalo hosted New England Sunday, Bledsoe was favored to gain some revenge for being traded away.

Instead, Brady completed 23 of 27 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns in New England's 38-7 victory.

"We just needed a win to get back on the right track," Brady said. "It really had nothing to do with 'Brady and Bledsoe,' especially since Drew was very well liked and respected and did a lot for this organization."

Brady completed his first 10 passes for 104 yards. During the second half, Brady completed 13 of 14 for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

"It's important to fight back when it's not really going your way and we had a lot of fight today," said Brady, who threw for a season-low 130 yards last week in a loss to Denver.

Bledsoe threw for 302 yards, his fifth 300-yard game of the season, but engineered just one scoring drive, hitting Peerless Price with a one-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left in the half. The Patriots sacked Bledsoe four times.

"I know those guys very well, obviously, and if there is a defining characteristic of the Patriot team I was a part of, is they have a lot of guys with high characters," said Bledsoe, who completed 28 of 45 passes. "We knew they'd come in with a sense of desperation. They came out and played very, very well."

In Oakland, Terrell Owens set season highs with 12 catches for 191 yards and Jose Cortez atoned for a missed 27-yard field goal on the final play of regulation with a 23-yarder at 8:41 of overtime to lift the San Francisco 49ers to a 23-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

It marked the first time superstar receiver Jerry Rice had played against the 49ers (6-2) in a regular season game and he finished with six catches for 74 yards.

The 40-year-old receiver spent 16 seasons with the 49ers, setting all-time records for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns and helping them win three Super Bowl titles.

A two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, Rice requested to be released after the 2000 season and signed with the Raiders.

Owens spent the first five years of his career at the feet of Rice and learned his lessons well. He was the best receiver on the field on Sunday and made the big play in overtime, turning a short pass by Jeff Garcia on a slant into a 19-yard gain to the Oakland 10.

Four plays later, Cortez stared into Oakland's "Black Hole" section of fans in the end zone and drilled the game-winning field goal, handing the Raiders their fourth straight loss.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

-- Jay Feely kicked a 40-yard field goal late in the third quarter to break a tie and the Atlanta Falcons held on to win their fourth straight game, 20-17 over the Baltimore Ravens. Atlanta let a 14-point lead slip away, but still improved to 5-3 after a 1-3 start. One week after Atlanta Michael Vick had the best game of his professional career, he completed 12 of 24 passes for just 136 yards and wound up with a minus five yards rushing on seven carries.

-- Sparked by a defense that set the early tone and the running of Eddie George, the Tennessee Titans tied Indianapolis for first place in the AFC South Division Sunday with a 23-15 victory over the Colts. The Titans have won three straight games.

-- Jon Kitna threw a career-high four touchdowns and cornerback Artrell Hawkins returned an interception 102 yards for a score as the Cincinnati Bengals easily picked up their first victory of the season, 38-3 over the Houston Texans. Cincinnati (1-8) entered Sunday as the only winless team in the NFL, but Coach Dick LeBeau and wide receiver Chad Johnson guaranteed a win over Houston (2-6), which was coming off the first road victory in franchise history.

-- Five weeks after coming off the bench to spearhead a come-from-behind win over Cleveland, Tommy Maddox threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Steelers to a 23-20 victory and a sweep of the season series with the Browns. Pittsburgh (5-3) started the season with two losses before quarterback Kordell Stewart was replaced by Maddox.

-- Brad Johnson threw a career-high five touchdown passes, two of them going to Keyshawn Johnson, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers erupted for a 38-24 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, who have lost 15 straight road games. Tampa Bay came in having scored just five touchdowns in its last four games, failing to get in the end zone last week against Carolina.

-- Jason Hanson kicked his third field goal of the day with 53 seconds left, a 43-yarder that gave the Detroit Lions a 9-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. One week after becomnig the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Dallas' Emmitt Smith gained just 39 yards and also missed a block on a blitzing linebacker that led to a fumble by quarterback Chad Hutchinson and a Detroit field goal.

-- Using a smothering defense in the second half and four field goals by David Akers after intermission, the Philadelphia Eagles recorded a 19-13 victory over the Chicago Bears in a rematch from last season's playoffs.

-- Marshall Faulk gained 236 all-purpose yards, including 178 on the ground, as the St. Louis Rams extended their winning streak to three games with a 27-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. St. Louis opened the season with five consecutive losses.

-- Using a conservative game plan that was in sharp contrast to Coach Steve Spurrier's normal "Fun 'N' Gun" offense, the Washington Redskins battled past the Seattle Seahawks, 14-3. Seattle fell for the third time in four games at Seahawks Stadium.

-- Chad Pennington passed for a touchdown and ran for a score in a dominating first half as the New York Jets smashed the San Diego Chargers, 44-13. Entering the game tied with Green Bay for the NFL's best record and coming off their bye week, the Chargers were stunningly overwhelmed by the disappointing Jets.

-- Kerry Collins threw for 228 yards and a touchdown, helping the New York Giants score the game's first 24 points in a 24-17 decision over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tiki Barber broke the game open midway through the third quarter with a 44-yard scoring run.