Chiefs pull out bizarre victory

CLEVELAND -- Wild finishes are becoming routine -- and embarrassing -- for the Cleveland Browns.

This time, Dwayne Rudd cost the Browns a victory after drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing his helmet in celebration.

That set up Morten Andersen's 30-yard field goal with no time showing Sunday, giving the Kansas City Chiefs a 40-39 win over the Browns.

"I'm sick," Browns coach Butch Davis said. "To have something like that happen at the end is inexcusable."

It was the second straight bizarre home loss. Cleveland's home finale last season ended with angry fans throwing thousands of plastic beer bottles on the field to protest a call overturned by instant replay.

Sunday's game was just as wild. Rudd, thinking he had sacked Kansas City's Trent Green, had his back to the play and didn't see the quarterback flip the ball to 6-foot-6, 323-pound tackle John Tait, who ran 28 yards to the Browns 25.

As Rudd picked up his helmet -- which he tossed 15 yards down field -- the officials moved the ball half the distance to the goal line for Andersen, whose game-winning kick capped a 23-point fourth quarter for Kansas City.

"I shouldn't have taken it off," Rudd said. "It's against the rules. I thought we had won."

Jets 37, Bills 31, OTORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Chad Morton ran back two kickoffs, including a 96-yarder to start overtime, lifting New York over Buffalo.

Morton, the first player in NFL history to return a kickoff for a score in regulation and overtime, also became the first Jets player and fifth player ever to return two kickoffs for scores.

Morton's big plays spoiled the debut of Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who finished 24-of-30 for 210 yards. Bledsoe, acquired to spark the Bills offense in a deal with New England last April, forced overtime when he threw his first TD pass with 26 seconds remaining -- a 29-yarder to Eric Moulds.

Packers 37, Falcons 34, OTGREEN BAY, Wis. -- Ryan Longwell's 34-yard field goal with 5:15 left in overtime gave Green Bay a victory over Atlanta.

Atlanta's Jay Feely sent it into overtime with a 52-yard field goal with five seconds left in regulation. That capped a six-play, 35-yard drive that followed William Henderson's dive into the end zone on fourth-and-inches with 1:10 left that had given Green Bay a 34-31 lead.

The Packers avenged their only home loss last year behind Brett Favre, who completed 25-of-36 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns, and Ahman Green, who rushed 27 times for 155 yards.

Michael Vick, the top pick in last year's draft, was 15-of-23 for 209 yards and rushed nine times for 72 yards.

Saints 26, Bucs 20, OTTAMPA, Fla. -- A botched pass in the end zone by Tampa Bay punter Tom Tupa landed in the wrong hands and gave New Orleans a victory.

Tupa, trying to avoid being tackled for a safety, tossed a weak, left-handed pass directly to James Allen in the middle of the end zone with 2:50 remaining in overtime.

Allen's TD provided a bizarre ending to a frustrating day for Tampa Bay, which scored 10 points in the last three minutes of regulation to force the game into overtime.

Bears 27, Vikings 23CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Jim Miller hit David Terrell on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left as Chicago scored twice in the final 6:13 and stunned Minnesota in Mike Tice's debut as the Vikings head coach.

The Bears trailed by 10 early in the final period. After Miller hooked up with Marty Booker on a 54-yard pass to set up Anthony Thomas' 1-yard TD run, Chicago trailed by just three with 6:13 to go.

Mike Brown intercepted Daunte Culpepper's pass and returned it 16 yards to the Bears 49 with 2:34 remaining. After Booker dropped a pass, Leon Johnson ran 13 yards on a third-down play and John Davis caught a 10-yard pass to set up Terrell's only catch.

Redskins 31, Cardinals 23LANDOVER, Md. -- Shane Matthews threw three touchdown passes, and Stephen Davis had 150 total yards as Steve Spurrier won his NFL coaching debut.

Matthews completed 28 of 40 passes for 327 yards, and Davis ran 26 times for 104 yards and caught seven passes for 46 yards. Rod Gardner had seven catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. The 442 yards of total offense was only 1 yard less than the Redskins had in any game last season.

Dolphins 49, Lions 21MIAMI -- Ricky Williams rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns in his Miami debut, Jay Fiedler threw three touchdown passes and the Dolphins won their opener for the 11th year in a row.

Williams carried 20 times, scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards and set up another touchdown with a 37-yard run, the second-longest of his career.

Chargers 34, Bengals 6CINCINNATI -- Drew Brees threw two touchdown passes, led a 95-yard drive, blocked downfield on a reverse and bowled over a Cincinnati tackler during a scramble, leading San Diego to a win in his first NFL start.

The record-setting passer from Purdue completed 15 of 19 passes for 160 yards and made gritty plays on a 90-degree afternoon.

LaDainian Tomlinson had 114 yards on 21 carries.

Colts 28, Jaguars 25JACKSONVILLE -- Peyton Manning threw for three scores -- two to Qadry Ismail and one to Marvin Harrison -- to lift Indianapolis over Jacksonville, its new division rival.

Manning went 19-of-31 for 211 yards, and Edgerrin James rushed for 99 yards on 26 carries in his first appearance since a knee injury last October.

Titans 27, Eagles 24NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Steve McNair threw for a touchdown and Eddie George scored on a 2-yard run with 3:09 remaining as Tennessee rallied.

McNair was 24-of-34 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. George ran 18 times for 42 yards, caught four passes for 38 yards and also scored on a 14-yard TD pass at the beginning of the game.

On a down note for the Titans, defensive end Jevon Kearse broke a bone in his left foot in the opening minutes and will be out 6-8 weeks.

Raiders 31, Seahawks 17OAKLAND, Calif. -- Rich Gannon completed 19 of 28 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns while Charlie Garner amassed 187 total yards and scored two touchdowns as the Raiders gave coach Bill Callahan a win in his debut.

The Raiders tallied 24 straight points to beat the Seahawks for the fifth straight time in the Coliseum since 1997.

Panthers 10, Ravens 7CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina gave new coach John Fox a victory as the Panthers won for the first time since last year's opener, after which they lost their final 15 games.

John Kasay kicked a 27-yard field goal and Wesley Walls caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Rodney Peete as all the scoring came in the first half.

--From wire reports