Bears in seventh heaven after Buccaneers win



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Robbie Gould kicked a pair of field goals and the Chicago Bears used their dominating defense to win their seventh straight game, a 13-10 road victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday




Rookie quarterback Kyle Orton threw for 134 yards and a touchdown as the Bears generated just enough offense to improve to 8-3 and give the NFC South Division leaders their first seven-game winning streak since 1986.

John Gilmore took a one-yard pass from Orton after Tampa Bay QB Chris Simms fumbled when he was sacked by Alex Brown, giving the Bears the ball on the Tampa Bay one-yard line just three plays into the game.

Orton hit Gilmore for the Bears' only TD of the game on the next play and the team never trailed, giving Chicago its longest winning streak since one year after claiming their only Super Bowl title.

Gould kicked a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter and a 36-yarder in the third to account for Chicago's other points, but it was the Bears dominating defense that was responsible for the Bucs slipping to 7-4.

Matt Bryant kicked a 27-yard field goal late in the first quarter to make it 7-3, but that was all the offense the Bucs could muster until Mike Alstott scored on a two-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay had a chance to tie the game later in the final quarter, but Bryant missed a 29-yard field goal attempt with 2:47 to play.

Thomas James had 72 yards rushing and 50 yard receiving for the Bears, who generated just 239 yards of total offence to 275 for the Bucs.

But the Bears sacked Simms four times and took advantage of good field possession to score all of their points.

Simms went 19-of-30 for 202 yards and Joe Galloway caught seven passes for 138 yards for the Bucs, who also got 84 yards rushing from Cadillac Williams on 20 carries.

In Orchard Park, Jake Delhomme hit Michael Gaines with a three-yard TD pass with 2:16 to play, giving the Carolina Panthers a 13-9 win over the Buffalo Bills.

The Panthers (8-3) took over sole possession of first place in the NFC South with the win, after Tampa Bay lost at home to Chicago.

Delhomme was 20-of-27 for 191 yards as he rebounded after a poor outing in Carolina's 13-3 loss at Chicago last week.

DeShaun Foster had 77 yards rushing and Steve Smith had 55 yards receiving for the Panthers.

J.P. Losman was 16 of 29 for 197 yards and Eric Moulds had 84 yards receiving for the Bills (4-7).

In Cincinnati, Carson Palmer was 22-of-30 for 302 yards and threw three touchdown passes as the Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 42-29.

The Bengals led 34-0 in the third quarter while improving to 8-3, taking a game lead on Pittsburgh in the AFC North with the win. Pittsburgh plays undefeated Indianapolis on Monday.

Rudi Johnson had 114 yards rushing and T.J. Houshmandzadeh had nine catches for 147 yards receiving for the Bengals.

Kyle Boller was 18-of-32 for 211 yards and three touchdown passes and Jamal Lewis had 113 yards rushing for the Ravens, out of the playoff picture at 3-8.

In Houston, rookie Ryan Fitzpatrick was 19-of-30 for 310 yards and threw three touchdown passes as the St Louis Rams rallied to beat the Texans 33-27 in overtime.

Kevin Vurtis caught a 56-yard TD pass from Fitzpatrick to complete the Rams' comeback from a 24-3 halftime deficit.

In Kansas City, Trent Green threw for 323 yards as the Chiefs beat the New England Patriots 26-16.

In Minneapolis, Brad Johnson threw three touchdown passes as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Cleveland Browns 24-12.

In Landover, LaDainian Tomlinson had 184 yards rushing and three touchdowns as the San Diego Chargers beat the Washington Redskins 23-17.

In Nashville, Steve McNair passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns as the Tennessee Titans beat the San Francisco 49ers 33-22.

In Phoenix, Derrick Wimbush returned a kick 91 yards for a touchdown as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-17.

In Oakland, Gus Frerotte threw two touchdown passes as the Miami Dolphins beat the Raiders 33-21.

In Philadelphia, Brian Westbrook had 117 yards rushing and one touchdown as the Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 19-14.

In Seattle, Josh Brown kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2:45 left in overtime, giving the Seahawks a 24-21 win over the New York Giants.

In East Rutherford, Aaron Brooks threw three touchdown passes as the New Orleans Saints edged the New York Jets 21-19.