| 2002 NFL Football Recaps and Results | |
There's an old adage in the NFL that says any team can beat any other on any given Sunday, and that old saying has never been truer than in this age of parity in the NFL. On Sunday afternoon, the unbeaten Raiders faced off against the winless Rams in what looked to be a mismatch. But, as has been the case many times this year, the overwhelming favorite was embarrassed by the surprising underdog.
Oakland 13
St. Louis 28
Marc Bulger, subbing for the injured Jamie Martin who was filling in for Kurt Warner, threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth as the Rams dealt the Oakland Raiders their first loss of the season while picking up their first victory. Marshall Faulk, who has been slowed by back spasms early in the year, racked up a season-high 158 yards on 26 carries, while Bulger operated the offense in Warner-like fashion. Rich Gannon passed for 332 yards in a 30-for-45 performance and Jerry Rice added 133 yards receiving, but the Raiders' offense had trouble getting on track, putting just two field goals on the board in the first three quarters.
Kansas City 34
San Diego 35
In one of the most exciting games of the day, Chargers' quarterback Drew Brees threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to rookie Reche Caldwell with 14 seconds left in the game to cap off a fourth-quarter comeback. After turning the ball over five times in the contest, the Chargers finally put things together, scoring 21 points in the final quarter. Brees finished 28-of-41 for 319 yards, with two touchdowns, and wide receiver Curtis Conway had eight catches for 129 yards, although both fumbled twice during the contest.
Jacksonville 14
Tennessee 23
Eddie George rushed for 113 yards on 31 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Titans snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-14. Jacksonville's Mark Brunell, the NFL's second-rated passer, suffered a concussion after being hit by Titans cornerback Samari Rolle on the first series of the game. Brunell was replaced by rookie David Garrard who completed just seven passes for 71 yards.
Cleveland 3
Tampa Bay 17
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense extended its streak of consecutive games without allowing a touchdown to three, limiting the Cleveland Browns to just one fourth-quarter field goal. The defensive unit failed to score on its own for the first time in five games.
Buffalo 31
Houston 24
Drew Bledsoe connected with Peerless Price for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 31-24 victory over the Houston Texans. Texans quarterback David Carr's attempt to send the Bills to their fourth overtime in five games fell short as a 4th-and-8 pass intended for Jermaine Lewis from the Buffalo 12 with 30 seconds left fell incomplete.
New Orleans 43
Washington 27
Michael Lewis, a former beer delivery truck driver, returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns and had 70 yards receiving as the Saints beat the Redskins 43-27 Sunday. Patrick Ramsey, making his first NFL start, threw three interceptions in his first four passes for the Redskins as the Saints built a 20-0 lead.
Atlanta 17
NY Giants 10
Quarterback Doug Johnson, filling in for the injured Michael Vick, threw a game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass to Brian Finneran with 8:06 to play, leading the Falcons to a 17-10 win over the Giants. Henry Jones thwarted a Giants' comeback, forcing a fumble that Kevin Mathis recovered at the Atlanta 15 with 3:22 to play.
Green Bay 28
New England 10
After opening the season with three consecutive wins, the Patriots saw their record drop to 3-3 on a day that saw Brett Favre move into third place on the all-time touchdown passes list, ahead of John Elway's 300. Favre threw three touchdown passes against the Pats, giving him 301 for his career and leading the Packers to a 28-10 victory.
Detroit 24
Minnesota 31
Daunte Culpepper threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for another to lead the Vikings to a fourth-quarter comeback over the Detroit Lions for their first win of the season. Moe Williams capped the Vikings comeback, clinching the game on a 2-yard run with 2:12 to play.
Baltimore 20
Indianapolis 22
Mike Vanderjagt kicked five field goals, including a 38-yarder with 4 seconds left in the fourth quarter that edged out the Ravens 22-20. With a little more than a minute left and the Colts facing fourth-and-10, Baltimore appeared to stop the Colts, but cornerback Gary Baxter was flagged for interfering with wide receiver Qadry Ismail, the Ravens' all-time leading receiver. The penalty put the Colts at the Baltimore 42 and Manning quickly led them into field goal range and the eventual game winner.
Carolina 13
Dallas 14
Second-year quarterback Quincy Carter hit Joey Galloway on an 80-yard touchdown strike with 3:55 left, then threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to rookie Antonio Bryant with 56 seconds to go, to stun the Carolina Panthers 14-13. Carolina tried to mount a comeback of their own, but with 11 seconds left in the game, Chris Weinke, who played the entire second half after Rodney Peete was knocked out with a concussion, hit Muhsin Muhammad for nine yards, but Muhammad was tackled in bounds, and time expired before the Panthers could spike the ball.
Pittsburgh 34
Cincinnati 7
Pittsburgh got a 99-yard kickoff return from rookie Antwaan Randle El to open the second half and put the Steelers ahead 31-0 on their way to an easy 34-7 win. Tommy Maddox, making only his second NFL start since 1992, easily exploited a Bengals secondary that looked like it couldn't measure up to the defenses Maddox faced in the XFL.
Sunday Night
Miami 24
Denver 22
Monday Night
San Francisco 28
Seattle 21
