From combined dispatches
COWBOYS 20, EAGLES 16: Now Dallas can forget about last season’s awful finish.
Tony Romo threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin midway through the fourth quarter and the Cowboys beat host Philadelphia on Sunday night in the 100th meeting between the division rivals.
On the final day of the 2008 regular season, the Eagles dominated Dallas 44-6 in a do-or-die game for both teams. Philadelphia earned a wild-card berth with that victory, won two playoff contests on the road and advanced to the NFC championship game, losing at Arizona.
The Cowboys (6-2) spent the whole offseason thinking about that horrendous ending. They got their revenge and took over sole possession of first place in the NFC East with their fourth straight victory.
SAINTS 30, PANTHERS 20: New Orleans moved to 8-0 for the first time in club history when Drew Brees overcame two early turnovers to pass for 330 yards and a touchdown in a comeback victory over visiting Carolina.
While the Saints’ defense did not intercept a pass for the first time all season, the unit forced three turnovers on fumbles. The last produced New Orleans’ seventh defensive touchdown of the season on Anthony Hargrove’s strip, recovery and 1-yard return late in the fourth quarter.
COLTS 20, TEXANS 17: Indianapolis is still perfect. Barely.
Colts running back Joseph Addai scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:11 left, and Houston’s Kris Brown missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired, keeping host Indianapolis undefeated and its winning streak intact.
Indianapolis is the fourth team in league history with 17 straight wins. New England has done it twice, and Chicago did it in 1933-34. Jim Caldwell became the first rookie coach to go 8-0 since Potsy Clark in 1931.
The Colts now have a commanding 3 1/2-game lead over Houston in the AFC South, too.
CARDINALS 41, BEARS 21: Kurt Warner tied a career high by throwing five touchdown passes, while Larry Fitzgerald added 123 yards receiving to lead visiting Arizona to an easy victory over Chicago.
Warner was at his best after a miserable performance in a 34-21 loss to Carolina. He handled a team that had a chance to sign him as a backup four years ago, matching the record for TD passes by a Bears opponent without getting picked off.
JAGUARS 24, CHIEFS 21: David Garrard threw for 264 yards and a 61-yard touchdown to Mike Sims-Walker, and Jacksonville rebounded from a lopsided loss at Tennessee with a victory against visiting Kansas City.
The Jaguars, up and down all season, responded in similar fashion following losses to Arizona and Seattle earlier this season.
SEAHAWKS 32, LIONS 20: Matt Hasselbeck rallied host Seattle from a 17-0 deficit with a franchise-record 39 completions, and the Seahawks held off Detroit to avoid the indignity of being the first home team to lose to the Lions in 25 months.
Hasselbeck threw an interception on his first play but finished with the first 300-yard passing game in two seasons for the Seahawks. He was 39-for-51 for 329 yards.
TITANS 34, 49ERS 27: Six plays after his 81-yard touchdown run was overturned, Chris Johnson took a pitch from Vince Young and ran 2 yards for a go-ahead score, leading visiting Tennessee to its second straight win with a victory over stumbling San Francisco.
PATRIOTS 27, DOLPHINS 17: Tom Brady and Randy Moss connected on two highlight-reel plays and New England overcame Miami’s revived wildcat offense for a win in Foxborough, Mass.
Moss set up the Patriots’ first touchdown with a one-handed, 36-yard grab at the Miami 1-yard line, then scored on a 71-yard play after catching the ball about 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
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