John Hall's fourth field goal, a 37-yarder just under five minutes into overtime, gave the New York Jets a 1916 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and sole possession of first place in the AFC East for the first time in nearly 11 years. "We won another close game and we are learning how to win," said Jets coach Bill Parcells.
The Jets had allowed Baltimore to tie the game on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Vinny Testaverde to Derrick Alexander with three seconds left in regulation. But Glenn Foley, who took over for an ineffective Neil O'Donnell for the second straight game, then led the Jets on a 12play, 60-yard drive after they won the coin toss to begin the extra period.
Keyshawn Johnson made a juggling 21-yard catch to put the ball at the Ravens 34 and Wayne Chrebet added a nine-yard reception on third-and-seven that put the ball on the 22. Hall, a rookie from Wisconsin who had missed a short kick that cost the Jets in a overtime loss to New England in September, calmly booted his game-winner through the uprights.
The Jets, a 1-15 team a year ago, improved to 6-3 and are at the top of the division for the first time since Week 12 of the 1986 season. New York began the day in a three-way tie with Miami and New England, both of whom lost.
At Minnesota, Moe Williams filled in superbly for injured running back Robert Smith and Brad Johnson iced the game with a 23yard touchdown pass as the Vikings turned back the faltering New England Patriots 23-18.
Williams, a third-round pick from Kentucky last year, played exclusively on special teams as a rookie and had just two carries for 12 yards in six games this season.
But this time he had a 74-yard kick-off return that set up a field goal and added his first NFL touchdown, a one-yard plunge, later in the first quarter.
"It was just great," said Williams, who finished with 43 yards on 19 carries.
In Buffalo, Steve Christie kicked three field goals including a 39-yarder with 10:42 remaining that lifted the Bills to a 9-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins, who lost quarterback Dan Marino to an ankle injury.
Marino sprained his left ankle with 31 seconds left in the first half. He returned for the start of the third quarter but left again after being intercepted by defensive end Sean Moran on the first series.
In Denver, John Elway threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns and Jason Elam's field goal with 7:28 to play was the difference as the Broncos edged the Seattle Seahawks 30-27.
Elway moved 16 yards ahead of Fran Tarkenton and into second place on the all-time passing yardage list with 47,019. Marino is the all-time leader with 53,710 yards.
Terrell Davis added 101 rushing yards for the Broncos (8-1), who lead the AFC West and kept pace with San Francisco for the best record in the league.
In San Francisco, Garrison Hearst ran for 104 yards and a touchdown and Tim McDonald's interception with 37 seconds remaining sealed the 49ers' eighth straight victory, 17-10 over the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys (4-5) had a chance to tie in the final minute to force overtime when Michael Irvin drew what appeared to be a pass interference call. But despite contact between Irvin and Rod Woodson, who was clearly beaten, the official ruled no penalty occurred even after a flag was thrown.
The non-call proved costly when Troy Aikman threw his second interception of the game. McDonald made a diving pickoff at the San Francisco 44-yard line for the 49ers (8-1).
In Cincinnati, Jeff Blake threw for a touchdown and ran for a score as the Bengals overcame two touchdown punt returns by Eric Metcalf and hung on for a 38-31 victory over the San Diego Chargers, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
At Carolina, rookie free agent Fred Lane set franchise records with 147 yards and three rushing touchdowns as the Panthers rolled over the Oakland Raiders 38-14 for their third straight victory.
In Atlanta, Morten Andersen kicked a 27-yard field with two seconds left to give the Falcons a wild 34-31 win over the St Louis Rams in an NFC West shootout.
At Tennessee, strong safety Chris Hudson had a pair of key fumble recoveries, one of which went for a touchdown, and Mark Brunell had one touchdown through the air and another on the ground as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Oilers 30-24.
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