Bears win again, down Panthers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nathan Vasher intercepted two passes and Muhsin Muhammad scored the game's only touchdown on a three-yard run to lift the Chicago Bears to a 13-3 home victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.




The Bears improved to 7-3 with their sixth straight win, solidifying their lead in the NFC North, while ending Carolina's six-game winning streak thanks to a suffocating defense.

Carolina (7-3) had scored at least 20 points in every game, but managed just 238 total yards and only a 38-yard field goal by John Karsay in the fourth quarter against the NFL's top-ranked defense.

The Bears scored all the points they would need in the first quarter, on Muhammad's short TD run and a 33-yard field goal by Robbie Gould.

Gould added a 39-yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 13-0 and that was more than enough for the Chicago defense, which handled the NFC South co-leader's offense all afternoon.

Chicago QB Kyle Orton went 15-of-26 for 136 yards and threw one touchdown, with the Bears managing just 258 yards of total offense.

Thomas Jones had 87 yards rushing and Justin Gagne caught seven passes for 81 yards for the Bears.

Jake Delhomme was 22-of-33 for 198 yards and Steve Smith caught 14 passes for 169 yards for the Panthers.

But Carolina managed just 55 yards rushing in the game and could not establish any kind of offensive momentum.

In Cincinnati, Peyton Manning threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns as the Indianapolis Colts stayed unbeaten with a wild 45-37 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Colts took a 35-27 lead in a wide-open first half and never trailed, improving to 10-0 as the look to become the first team to go undefeated in a regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

Dallas Clark caught six passes for 125 yards and Reggie Wayne had five catches for 117 yards, including a 66-yard TD catch, for the Colts.

Edgerrin James rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns for the Colts.

Chad Johnson caught eight passes for 189 yards for the Bengals, including a 68-yard TD reception.

Carson Palmer passed for 335 yards and two touchdowns.

In Atlanta, Matt Bryant kicked a 45-yard field goal with 42 seconds left, giving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a 30-27 win over the Falcons.

Cadillac Williams rushed for 116 yards and scored on a nine-yard run late in the fourth quarter to tie the game, setting the stage for Bryant's game-winning field goal.

Chris Simms was 11-of-19 for 118 yards as the Buccaneers won despite producing just 258 yards of total offense and blowing an early 13-0 lead.

Michael Vick was 21-of-38 for 306 yards and threw two touchdown passes for the Falcons, but he fumbled on Atlanta's last possession of the game to set up the game-winning field goal.

Roddy White caught four passes for 108 yards for the Falcons (6-4), and Warrick Dunn rushed for 82 yards on 18 carries.

Tampa Bay (7-3) moved into a first place tie in the NFC South with Carolina after the Panthers lost at Chicago.

In Foxboro, Tom Brady threw for 222 yards as the Patriots beat the New Orleans Saints 24-17.

In Cleveland, Reuben Droughns had 166 yards rushing as the Browns blanked the Miami Dolphins 22-0.

In Dallas, Billy Cundiff kicked two field goals, including a franchise-record 56-yarder, as the Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions 20-7.

In East Rutherford, Eli Manning threw three touchdowns passes as the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-17.

In St Louis, Kurt Warner passed for 285 yards as the Arizona Cardinals beat the Rams 38-28.

In Baltimore, Matt Stover's 44-yard field goal in overtime gave the Ravens (3-7) a 16-13 upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3).

In Landover, Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 19-yard field goal with 1:08 to play as the Oakland Raiders beat the Washington Redskins 16-13.

In Nashville, Byron Leftwich threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 31-28.

In Denver, Mike Anderson rushed for three touchdowns and 113 yards as the broncos blanked the New York Jets 27-0.

In San Diego, Drew Brees threw for 339 yards and four touchdown passes as the Chargers routed the Buffalo Bills 48-10.

In San Francisco, Shaun Alexander rushed for two touchdowns and 115 yards as the Seattle Seahawks edged the 49ers 27-25.

In Houston, Larry Johnson rushed for a club record 211 yards and two touchdowns as the Kansas City Chiefs crushed the Houston Texans 45-17.