NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Super Bowl champion New York Giants crushed the Dallas Cowboys 35-14 on Sunday to relegate their injury-riddled rivals to last place in the NFC East.

Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes while Brandon Jacobs (12-yards) and Derrick Ward (17-yards) ran in two others as the Giants rushed for 200 yards and improved to a National Football Conference best of 7-1.

Dallas, the pre-season favorites, were missing quarterback Tony Romo, running back Felix Jones and cornerback Terence Newman, and dropped to 5-4. They have a much-needed bye next week, after which they hope Romo will be ready to return.

"Tough game for us," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips told reporters. "We knew coming in it was going to be a tough one and we didn't play well enough overall.

"Turnovers obviously kill you."

Phillips said the Cowboys had to regroup after the bye.

"We've got two weeks to get ready and start playing the rest of our schedule.

"We know it's going to be tough but I think we will have some players coming back from injury. We'll be healthier than we have been, and that'll help us out."

The Giants defense throttled the Cowboys, forcing four turnovers and registering four sacks and three interceptions from starting quarterback Brad Johnson and his second-half replacement Brooks Bollinger.

"I thought we played very well defensively," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "It was very physical out there."

Corey Webster had two of the Giants interceptions.

"In a big game like this it always comes down to turnovers," Webster said.

"That is a big strong win in our division right there."

Cowboys' leading runner Marion Barber gained only 54 yards on 19 carries, with the first Dallas touchdown coming on a 23-yard interception return for a score by Mike Jenkins.

"We knew without Romo in there we were going to go after them," said linebacker Danny Clark.

"We are getting better and better each week. It is not our best football yet...and that is a sign of a champion, when you are winning and you are not even playing your best."

Amani Toomer, Steve Smith and tight end Kevin Boss all caught touchdown passes for the Giants, who led 21-7 at halftime.

Terrell Owens caught an eight-yard scoring pass from Bollinger early in the fourth quarter to make it 28-14 before the Giants scored through Ward and squashed hopes of a Dallas comeback.

(Writing by Larry Fine; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

The Tennessee Titans still have their sights set on perfection, thanks to Rod Bironas' right leg. Bironas redeemed himself for an earlier miss by kicking a 41-yard field goal with 9:36 to go in overtime that led the undefeated Titans to a 19-16 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Tennessee (8-0), the league's only team without a loss, matched a franchise record with its 11th straight regular-season victory.

"I was hoping for exactly what happened," Bironas said. "We'd win the toss and get another shot at it. I don't miss many, so I definitely wanted another shot at it to put us in the lead and go home with the victory."

The Cincinnati Bengals were able to do that for the first time this season. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a pair of touchdown passes to Chad Ocho Cinco, and Cincinnati (1-8) stopped a late 2-point conversion try, preserving a 21-19 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"Being 0-for-whatever-it-was coming in, there was a lot of pressure and a lot of frustration for everybody, from the staff to the equipment managers," said running back Cedric Benson, who ran for 104 yards and a touchdown. "Everybody's trying to figure out what's wrong."

In other games, it was: the New York Giants 35, Dallas 14; Indianapolis 18, New England 15; the New York Jets 26, Buffalo 17; Chicago 27, Detroit 23; Tampa Bay 30, Kansas City 27 in overtime; Minnesota 28, Houston 21; Arizona 34, St. Louis 13; Baltimore 37, Cleveland 27; Miami 26, Denver 17; Atlanta 24, Oakland 0; and Philadelphia 26, Seattle 7.

At Nashville, Tenn., Bironas had a chance to win in regulation, but banged a 47-yarder off the upright, prompting him to yank his facemask down in anger at himself.

The Titans won the toss and drove 55 yards in 10 plays to give Bironas another chance. Going out on third-and-2, he swung through his fourth field goal.

"When you win eight games, you're going to on occasion need to win some like this, and that is just what we did," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said of his team's second game a week. "We hung in there."

The Packers (4-4) had tied it at 16 on Mason Crosby's third field goal, a 38-yarder, with 5:30 left.

Bengals 21, Jacksonville 19

At Cincinnati, the Bengals were coming off the most lopsided back-to-back losses in franchise history. One more would have left them 0-9 for only the second time in team history.

But Fitzpatrick looked a lot more comfortable in his fourth straight start for the injured Carson Palmer, going 21-of-31 for 162 yards.

After his 10-yard touchdown catch made it 14-0, Ocho Cinco flipped the ball to the official, went to the sideline and gave coach Marvin Lewis a peck on the cheek, the second time he's done that this season.

"I think that's his way of telling me to relax," Lewis said. "It doesn't work, obviously."

The stunned Jaguars (3-5) fell behind 21-3 before making it close.

Giants 35, Cowboys 14

At East Rutherford, N.J., Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes, Brandon Jacobs rushed for 117 yards and a score and the Giants defense took advantage of Tony Romo's absence to intercept three passes.

The win was the fifth straight at home for the Giants (7-1) and it allowed the Super Bowl champions to open a three-game lead over the defending NFC East champion Cowboys (5-4) in the division.

The loss was the third in four games for Dallas, which fell into last place in the division.

Colts 18, Patriots 15

At Indianapolis, Adam Vinatieri showed New England he's still the NFL's best clutch kicker.

The Patriots' career scoring leader, who booted winning field goals in two of their Super Bowl victories and then let go as a free agent, kicked a 52-yarder with 8:05 left for the Colts (4-4).

With the Patriots (5-3) facing third-and-2 at the Colts 32 with 4:45 left, BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 1 yard and David Thomas drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play. That put the Pats in third-and-16 from the Colts 45, and all they could muster was 1 yard before Bob Sanders picked off Matt Cassel's errant fourth-down throw to seal it.

Peyton Manning threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns for the Colts.

Jets 26, Bills 17

At Orchard Park, N.Y., Abram Elam returned an interception thrown by Trent Edwards 92 yards for a touchdown, sparking the New York Jets' victory over the bumbling Buffalo Bills.

The Jets (5-3) have won four of five and caught the Bills in the division standings. Buffalo (5-3) has lost three of four and lost all the momentum it had generated following a 4-0 start.

A week after throwing three interceptions, Brett Favre forced a throw to the left sideline that was intercepted by Jabari Greer, who returned it 42 yards for a touchdown that cut the Jets' lead to 23-17 with under 11 minutes left.

Favre, 19-of-28 for 201 yards, responded by efficiently producing a 14-play, 65-yard drive that ate up nearly 9 minutes and ended with Jay Feely hitting a 31-yard field goal.

Bears 27, Lions 23

At Chicago, Rex Grossman came off the bench to replace injured quarterback Kyle Orton and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:36 left, helping the Bears rally from a 10-point deficit for a victory over winless Detroit.

Matt Forte had 126 yards rushing for the Bears (5-3), who lost Orton to a right ankle injury and safety Mike Brown to a calf problem late in the first half.

The Bears broke up a pass intended for Calvin Johnson in the end zone on the final play, and Detroit's search for a win continued.

Bucs 30, Chiefs 27, OT

At Kansas City, Mo., Jeff Garcia's 24-yard touchdown pass and 2-point conversion toss tied it with 19 seconds left, and Matt Bryant's 33-yard field goal in overtime gave the Buccaneers a win after they trailed by 21.

The Chiefs (1-7) never touched the ball in overtime as Garcia hit Michael Clayton for 29 yards on the first play and smartly moved Tampa Bay (6-3) down the field.

The Chiefs' Tyler Thigpen, making his third career start, was 14-for-25 for 164 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Mark Bradley.

Vikings 28, Texans 21

At Minneapolis, the Vikings forced three turnovers, got three touchdown passes from Gus Frerotte and shut down Houston's Andre Johnson.

Minnesota (4-4) returned from the bye week fully recharged. Madieu Williams intercepted Sage Rosenfels in the end zone in the third quarter, and Antoine Winfield picked off Matt Schaub at the Vikings 5 before Houston's starting quarterback was sidelined at halftime by an injury to his left knee.

The Texans (3-5) missed their chance to win four straight games for the first time in the franchise's six-year history. Johnson matched two NFL records by posting at least 130 yards in his previous four games and 10 or more catches in his past three, but had just four catches for 62 yards and a late TD.

Cardinals 34, Rams 13

Kurt Warner and Arizona used a 24-point second quarter to win another one in their former home city.

The Cardinals (5-3) have won four in a row in St. Louis, their home from 1960-87, and four straight over the Rams overall. Warner had his 45th 300-yard passing game, throwing for two touchdowns to beat the team he led to two Super Bowls from 1999-2001.

The Rams (2-6) have lost two straight after winning their first two games under new coach Jim Haslett.

Ravens 37, Browns 27

At Cleveland, Matt Stover booted three field goals — the last with 5:36 left — and linebacker Terrell Suggs returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown to end the Browns' last threat with 2:43 remaining as Baltimore rallied for a win.

Stover, who ranks fifth in league scoring history, made field goals of 41, 32 and 22 yards for the Ravens (5-3), who trailed 27-13 in the third quarter before storming back to beat the Browns (3-5) for the second time this season.

Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, and rookie running back Ray Rice rushed for a season-high 154 yards.

Cleveland's Joshua Cribbs returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and finished with 278 return yards.

Dolphins 26, Broncos 17

At Denver, the Miami Dolphins intercepted Jay Cutler three times, the second returned 32 yards for a touchdown by Will Allen.

With Champ Bailey sidelined by a torn groin, Chad Pennington repeatedly picked on his replacement, Karl Paymah, who picked off one pass but otherwise was victimized all afternoon by Greg Camarillo, whose 11 receptions for 111 yards were season highs.

Ronnie Brown rushed 20 times for 59 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown with three minutes left to ice it for the Dolphins (4-4).

Denver (4-4) lost for the fourth time in five games.

Falcons 24, Raiders 0

At Oakland, Calif., Matt Ryan threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes to Michael Jenkins and the Falcons held the Raiders to negative yards and no first downs in the first half and their lowest yards total in 47 years.

Oakland (2-6) finished with just 77 yards for its worst total since getting 58 in 1961 against the Chargers, when Al Davis was an assistant in San Diego.

The Falcons (5-3) scored on their first four possessions.

Eagles 26, Seahawks 7

At Seattle, Donovan McNabb rebounded from early problems to complete 28 of 43 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns, one to tackle Todd Herremans, and rally the Philadelphia Eagles.

Brent Celek, playing because L.J. Smith was out with a concussion, set an Eagles (5-3) record for yards receiving by a tight end in a regular-season game with 131 on six receptions.

The Seahawks (2-6) punted 10 consecutive times — seven after three-and-outs — following a team-record 90-yard touchdown pass on their first play from backup Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson.

PITTSBURGH – New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress did not start Sunday's key game against the Pittsburgh Steelers after missing a therapy session for a sore shoulder and neck on Saturday.

Burress, a former Steelers receiver who is playing in Pittsburgh for the first time since signing with the Giants in 2005, was suspended for one game earlier this season because he missed a team meeting. This week, he was fined $45,000 by the NFL for various issues following the Oct. 19 game against the 49ers.

Burress and Giants coach Tom Coughlin exchanged words after Burress was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for yelling at the official — the play that led the NFL to fine him $20,000. The other $25,000 in fines were for talking negatively about the official after the game ($20,000) and for throwing a football into the stands ($5,000).

The Giants and Steelers each took 5-1 records into the game, only the second Giants visit to Pittsburgh in 36 years.

Steelers running back Willie Parker was deactivated for a fourth consecutive game because of an ongoing knee problem. Parker, a Pro Bowl running back, practiced Wednesday and Thursday before the problem flared up, causing him to sit out Friday's workout.

Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith was active for the game despite missing all practices last week for what the team said were personal reasons.

Also out — but not for injury reasons — was Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who faces a marijuana-related charge in Pittsburgh. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Friday that Holmes would be held out for causing a distraction to the team.

Steelers left tackle Marvel Smith (back) also was out and was replaced for the second game in a row by Max Starks.

NEW YORK – Texas Tech has its highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in 32 years, and a chance to make another momentous leap coming up. The Red Raiders moved up to No. 6 in the poll released Sunday as they get ready to host No. 1 Texas.

A second consecutive weekend when highly ranked teams ruled produced little change at the top of the media rankings.

Texas is a unanimous No. 1 for the second week in a row, receiving all 65 first-place votes, and the rest of the top five remained the same: No. 2 Alabama, followed by Penn State, Oklahoma and Florida.

No. 7 Southern California slipped a spot after edging Arizona 17-10 on Saturday night. No. 8 Georgia moved up a spot heading into its huge Southeastern Conference game against East Division fival Florida.

No. 9 Oklahoma State dropped two spots after losing 28-24 in Austin to the Longhorns.

No. 10 Utah, No. 11 Boise State and No. 12 TCU all have hopes of breaking into the Bowl Championship Series from conferences without automatic bids.

The Red Raiders moved up two spots by overwhelming Kansas, 63-21 on Saturday. Texas Tech hasn't been ranked this high since Nov. 15, 1976, when coach Steve Sloan had the Red Raiders 8-0 heading into a big home game against No. 9 Houston. Texas Tech lost to Houston, 27-19, and finished that season 10-2 with a loss to Nebraska in the Bluebonnet Bowl.

For coach Mike Leach's Red Raiders, the Texas game will likely be the second of four straight against ranked teams.

Texas Tech's big win at then-No. 19 Kansas knocked the Jayhawks out of the rankings. After Texas comes to Lubbock on Saturday, the Red Raiders are home for Oklahoma State, then have a week off before playing at Oklahoma.

For the Longhorns, the Texas Tech game will be their fourth straight against a team ranked in the Top 11. The Longhorns has navigated safely through Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State in October, but those games were all at home or on a neutral field. The trip to Lubbock will be the Longhorns' toughest road test yet.

Ohio State dropped three spots to No. 13 after losing 13-6 to Penn State in a game for first-place in the Big Ten.

No. 14 is Missouri and LSU dropped four spots to No. 15 after a 52-38 loss to Georgia.

No. 16 Florida State, BYU, Ball State, Tulsa and Minnesota round out the first 20. The Golden Gophers, 7-1 after going 1-11 last season, have their highest ranking since the final poll of the 1999 season.

The final five include three teams that have yo-yoed in and out of the rankings this season.

No. 21 North Carolina and No. 22 Michigan State both dropped out last week but are back in this week.

No. 23 Oregon is back in the rankings for the third time this season and first time in a month.

No. 24 South Florida is the only Big East team left in the rankings. The Bulls dropped 10 spots after losing 24-20 at Louisville.

No. 25 Maryland is ranked for the first time since 2006.

Along with Kansas, falling out were Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Boston College.

LONDON – With dark gray clouds rolling overhead, the NFL brought its show back to London on Sunday when the New Orleans Saints "hosted" the San Diego Chargers in a regular-season game.

For the second straight year, Wembley Stadium was sold out with fans from England and the United States packed into the venue and wearing shirts of all colors and teams.

"Once in a lifetime," said Brad Luebbermann, a 44-year-old commercial pilot from San Diego who came to London with a friend to watch the game.

With Saints flags waving all around because they are technically the home team, British rock band Stereophonics started things off with a short set on a rolling stage. Joss Stone then sang "God Save the Queen" shortly after the end of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington, wearing her two gold medals over a Saints jersey with the No. 2 on it, came out to flip the coin. New Orleans won and chose to receive.

Last year, fans from New York and Miami descended on Wembley to watch the Giants beat the Dolphins 13-10 in a rain-soaked game.

Despite early rain Sunday, there was none at the start of this year's game. And that was good news for Jerry Yager, a 40-year-old engineer from New Orleans who came to England with a group of friends and had his face painted in the team's colors.

"We go to an away game every year," said Yager, who admitted he was pushing for Denver but changed his mind because the game was in September. "I wanted to go snow skiing, but it was too soon, so it was London all the way."

Many in the packed crowd didn't have so far to travel, however.

Ian Connor, who plays in the British American Football League, only had to travel from Bedfordshire, about an hour away.

"I started watching football in the early '80s," said Connor, a 31-year-old physical education instructor at a prison. "Been mad for it since."

So mad, in fact, that he plays defensive tackle for the Bedfordshire Blue Raiders, and was excited to finally see an NFL game in London after missing out last year because he couldn't get tickets.

Luebbermann not only got tickets for the game, but he and friend Gar Frye are also going to see Arsenal play Tottenham on Wednesday in the English Premier League.

"Why come all the way to England and not see an English soccer game," Luebbermann said.