AMERICAN FOOTBALL NFL:TOM BRADY threw three touchdowns as the New England Patriots crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20 and Tim Tebow led the Denver Broncos to their fourth straight win in National Football League action on Sunday.
The Houston Texans, playing with a third-string rookie quarterback, held on for a 20-13 win at divisional rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chicago Bears’ five-game winning streak ended at Oakland.
Elsewhere, the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons all had scares before securing wins while the Indianapolis Colts, still without quarterback Peyton Manning, lost their 11th straight to remain winless for the season.
Brady was at his best, throwing for 361 yards while his opposite number Vince Young, standing in for injured Michael Vick, threw for a career-best 400 yards in vain.
The Eagles (4-7) started brightly with a LeSean McCoy two-yard touchdown run and a field goal before BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran in two touchdowns to give the AFC East-leading Patriots (8-3) a lead they would not relinquish.
Brady then picked out a wide open Wes Welker with a 41-yard touchdown pass and the pair combined again for a score in the third quarter to put the game out of reach, prompting chants from many Eagles fans to have coach Andy Reid fired.
Tebow, whose credentials as an NFL quarterback remain questioned in many quarters, improved to 5-1 as a starter after leading Denver (6-5) to a 16-13 win in San Diego (4-7).
Matt Prater won the game with a 37-yard field goal late in overtime. Tebow went 9 of 18 for 143 yards and one touchdown and rushed for another 67 yards on 22 carries.
The AFC South-leading Texans, who lost quarterback Matt Schaub for the season due to injury two weeks ago, moved to 8-3 but suffered another setback as the Pro Bowler’s replacement, Matt Leinart, left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury.
That meant rookie TJ Yates had to step in, and with only recently signed backup Kellen Clemens as an alternative, the Texans may well be looking at quarterbacks again this week.
Leinart, making his first start since 2009, completed 10 of 13 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown before his injury and Yates kept things simple, relying on the Texans’ quality running game, as he passed for 70 yards.
Buffalo Bills (5-6) wide receiver Stevie Johnson mocked Plaxico Burress’s 2008 gun incident when he mimicked being shot in the leg after scoring a touchdown in a 28-24 loss to the New York Jets (6-5) in an AFC East showdown.
Weekend Results (home team named first) –
ATLANTA 24 Minnesota 14, CINCINNATI 23 Cleveland 20, TENNESSEE 23 Tampa Bay 17, Carolina 27 INDIANAPOLIS 19, Houston 20 JACKSONVILLE 13, Arizona 23 ST. LOUIS 20, NY JETS 28 Buffalo 24, OAKLAND 25 Chicago 20, Washington 23 SEATTLE 17, New England 38 PHILADELPHIA 20, Denver 16 SAN DIEGO 13 (OT), Pittsburgh 13 KANSAS CITY 9.
(OT denotes overtime win)
