Colts rally past Pats to remain unbeaten in NFL

Unbeaten Indianapolis rallied from a 17-point deficit to down New England 35-34 Sunday as an NFL glamour matchup produced a classic thriller.

A tactical gamble by Patriots coach Bill Belichick backfired, opening the door for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning to put the finishing touches on the Colts comeback.

After the Patriots were stopped short on fourth down deep in their own territory, Manning took advantage by throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Rettie Wayne with 13 seconds left as the Colts sealed the win.

Belichick opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 28 yard line with 2:08 to play.

Pats quarterback Tom Brady threw to Kevin Faulk, who made the catch but was pushed backward and came up short of the first down, giving the ball to the Colts.

"It was a great play by the defense, shortened our field," said Manning, who then needed just four plays before connecting with Wayne for the winning score.

The Colts improved to 9-0, and took their regular-season winning streak to 18 games, tied for second-longest in league history with New England.

It marked the first time Belichick's Patriots lost after leading by at least 13 in the fourth quarter.

Manning threw four touchdown passes and Brady had three in the matchup of perennial AFC rivals.

"Well, it's a great win," Manning said. "It's just one win. We're still in the regular season.

"It tells us about our team," he added. "As much adversity as we've faced in a couple years. Defense finally made some stops. Offense finally got some touchdowns."

New Orleans also remained unbeaten, overcoming an error-strewn game to beat St. Louis 28-23.

Reggie Bush scored twice and Drew Brees made up for two interceptions with two touchdown passes as the Saints improved to 9-0.

Cincinnati seized control of the AFC North with an 18-12 victory over reigning Super Bowl champions Pittsburgh.

The Bengals took a page from the Steelers' book, using stiffling defense to shut down quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Cincinnati's Shayne Graham kicked four field goals as the Bengals swept the season series against their division foes for the first time since 1998.

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu played just one series as he appeared to aggravate the knee injury that caused him to miss four games this season.

Defense was also key in Green Bay, where the Packers beat Dallas 17-7.

Green Bay's Charles Woodson forced two fumbles and intercepted a pass by Tony Romo on the goal line. The Packers sacked Romo five times as they brought the Cowboys' four-game winning streak to an end. Dallas also lost starting right tackle Marc Colombo to a broken left leg.

Washington handed Denver their third straight defeat, triumphing 27-17 thanks in part to a fake field goal play on which they scored a touchdown.

The Broncos, who started the season 6-0, now find themselves tied for the AFC West lead with San Diego, who beat Philadelphia 31-23.

Denver played the second half without starting quarterback Kyle Orton, who hurt his left ankle shortly before halftime.

In San Diego, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for a season-high 96 yards and scored twice for San Diego, passing Thurman Thomas and Franco Harris to move into 12th place all-time with 12,145 yards.

His two touchdowns gave him 146 and moved him past Marcus Allen and into third place on the all-time list.

NFC West leaders Arizona rallied to beat Seattle 31-20 with two second-half touchdown runs from rookie Beanie Wells.

Kurt Warner completed two touchdown passes for the Cardinals, becoming the 29th player in NFL history to throw 200 touchdown passes.

Minnesota's Brett Favre passed for 344 yards as the Vikings defeated Detroit 27-10. In other games, Miami edged Tampa Bay 25-23, Carolina beat Atlanta 28-19, Tennessee beat Buffalo 41-17, Jacksonville downed the New York Jets 24-22 and Kansas City beat Oakland 16-10.