Bears, Colts Win; Pack, Rams Lose; NFL Notes

Sep 23, 2013 8:34 AM

>>Bears Pound Steelers

The Chicago Bears are unbeaten and he Pittsburgh Steelers can't stop beating themselves.

Major Wright returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, and Julius Peppers picked up Ben Roethlisberger's fumble and raced 42 yards for a score in the fourth quarter as the Bears beat the reeling Steelers 40-23 on Sunday night.

Roethlisberger completed 26 of 41 passes for 406 yards, and threw two touchdowns to Antonio Brown, but the Steelers fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2000 thanks to an avalanche of mistakes. Pittsburgh committed five turnovers, 4 of which led directly to points by the opportunistic Bears.

Jay Cutler passed for 159 yards and threw a 17-yard touchdown strike to Earl Bennett with just under 6 minutes remaining to give the Bears breathing room after the Steelers trimmed a 21-point deficit to four.

>>Cowboys Crush Rams

(Arlington, TX) -- Tony Romo tossed for 210 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Cowboys to a 31-7 victory over the Rams at AT&T Stadium. DeMarco Murray rushed for 175 yards and a TD for Dallas, which improved to 2-and-1 on the season. Dez Bryant had four receptions for 38 yards and a score in the win. Sam Bradford threw for 240 yards and a touchdown for St. Louis, which slipped to 1-and-2 overall. The Rams were held to 34 yards rushing on 12 carries.

>>Bengals Rally To Beat Green Bay

(Cincinnati, OH) -- Terence Newman returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown with just under four minutes to play as the Bengals won a game of runs 34-30 over the Packers at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals went up 14-0 then allowed 30 unanswered points, but rebounded to score the final 20 for the victory. Andy Dalton threw for 235 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for Cincinnati, which improved to 2-and-1. Geovani Bernard and BenJarvus Green-Ellis each had a rushing TD. Cincinnati won despite fumbling five times and losing three of them. Aaron Rodgers tossed for 244 yards, a score and two picks for Green Bay, which dropped to 1-and-2. Johnathan Franklin ran for 103 yards and a TD in defeat.

>>Colts Pound Niners

(San Francisco, CA) -- The Colts pulled out a surprising 27-7 road win over the 49ers behind a dominating defensive performance. Indianapolis held San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick [[ CAP-er-nick ]] to 170 total yards, zero scores and two turnovers as the Niners fell to 1-and-2. San Francisco was just 3-of-12 on third down. Despite the addition of Trent Richardson, it was Ahmad Bradshaw who led the Colts rushing attack with 95 yards on 19 carries and a TD. The newly acquired Richardson did hit paydirt on a one-yard run. Andrew Luck also scored on the ground as Indy improved to 2-and-1. The 49ers' pass game struggled without tight end Vernon Davis, who missed the game with a hamstring injury. Frank Gore had 11 carries for 82 yards in defeat.

NFL
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Tennessee Titans 20, San Diego Chargers 17
Cleveland Browns 31, Minnesota Vikings 27
New England Patriots 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3
New Orleans Saints 31, Arizona Cardinals 7
Detroit Lions 27, Washington Redskins 20
Carolina Panthers 38, New York Giants 0
Baltimore Ravens 30, Houston Texans 9
Miami Dolphins 27, Atlanta Falcons 23
New York Jets 27, Buffalo Bills 20
Seattle Seahawks 45, Jacksonville Jaguars 17

>>Bears' Melton Could Have ACL Tear

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- The Bears fear defensive tackle Henry Melton could be done for the season. The "Chicago Tribune" reports that team officials are worried that Melton could've suffered a torn ACL during last night's win in Pittsburgh. Melton was carted off the field in the fourth quarter. The Pro Bowler is playing this year on the franchise tag.

>>Raiders, Broncos Battle On "MNF"

(Denver, CO) -- The Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos renew their AFC West rivalry on "Monday Night Football" in the Mile High City. The Silver and Black beat the Jaguars 19-9 at home in Week Two to even their record at 1-and-1. Darren McFadden rushed for 129 yards on 19 carries and Sebastian Janikowski kicked four field goals for Oakland. The Raiders lost 21-17 at Indianapolis in Week One. The Broncos are off to a 2-and-0 start. Peyton Manning beat Eli Manning for the third time in his career last weekend as the Broncos blasted the Giants 41-23 in East Rutherford. Peyton has thrown nine TD passes without an interception in two games thus far, including seven in Denver's Week One win over Baltimore. The Broncos have put up 90 points in two games. Denver has beaten Oakland the last three meetings.

>>Broncos LB Miller Reportedly Tampered With Drug Test

(Undated) -- Suspended Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller reportedly collaborated with a sample collector in an attempt to beat an NFL drug test. ESPN reports the collector was willing to substitute another person's urine sample in place of Miller's. Sources say a second collector discovered that Miller was not in the city where his sample was to have been retrieved. Miller was initially fighting a four-game suspension this summer for violations of the league's substance-abuse policy. The NFL increased the ban from four to six games. Miller is not eligible to return until the Broncos' Week Seven game against Indianapolis.