Bears bailed out by Grossman

With Orton injured, he rallies Chicago past luckless Lions

Bears receiver Rashied Davis drags a pair of Lions into the end zone during Chicago's comeback victory. (Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press)

Rex Grossman dived into the end zone, then ran to the side and spiked the ball. He had something to celebrate and the Chicago Bears had reason to exhale.

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 27-23 home victory over the winless Detroit Lions yesterday.

"I always thought odds are I was going to play a little bit, so we'll see what happens," said Grossman, the former starter who lost his job in the preseason. "I never figured that I wouldn't play at all. Odds are that at least two quarterbacks play some - especially here in Chicago."

Matt Forte had 126 yards rushing for the Bears, who lost Orton to a right ankle injury and safety Mike Brown to a calf problem late in the first half. They didn't lose the game, though.

They can thank Grossman and Forte, who ran for 40 of Chicago's 54 yards on the go-ahead drive. His 19-yard dash put the ball on the 1 and Jason McKie got it back there with a 5-yarder after an illegal procedure penalty, setting up Grossman's 1-yard plunge that put Chicago ahead, 27-23.

It was a big relief for the Bears (5-3), who came back from a 23-13 halftime deficit and moved ahead of Green Bay to take sole possession of the NFC North lead.

Lance Briggs forced and recovered a fumble by Detroit's Michael Gaines at the Chicago 44 with 2:17 left, but the Lions (0-8) got the ball back and drove to the Chicago 32. The Bears then broke up a pass intended for Calvin Johnson in the end zone on the final play, and Detroit's search for a win continues.

Buccaneers 30, Chiefs 27
Jeff Garcia's 24-yard touchdown pass and 2-point conversion toss tied it with 19 seconds left in Kansas City and Matt Bryant's 33-yard field goal in overtime gave Tampa Bay its biggest come-from-behind win in team history.

The Buccaneers (6-3) committed four turnovers and trailed by 21 points, but rallied behind Garcia, who hit 31 of 43 passes for 339 yards, with one TD and one interception. He found Michael Clayton for a 29-yard gain on the first play of overtime.

Adding to the Chiefs' dismay was the fact that Bryant was wide right on a 38-yard try on third down in the overtime drive. But a false start penalty on Jeremy Trueblood negated the miss. The Bucs tried another play, and Garcia connected with Jameel Cook for 9 yards, setting up Bryant for another chance.

The Chiefs (1-7) lost for the 16th time in 17 games despite leading, 24-3, in the second quarter. Tyler Thigpen, making his third career start, was 14 of 25 for 164 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Mark Bradley.

Ravens 37, Browns 27
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 host Cleveland's last threat with 2:43 remaining and finish off Baltimore's remarkable comeback.

Stover 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 by scoring 24 unanswered points to beat the Browns (3-5) for the second time this season.

Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco (17 of 29, 248 yards) threw touchdown passes to Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason for Baltimore, and first-year running back Ray Rice rushed for a season-high 154 yards while filling in for injured starter Willis McGahee.

Derek Anderson threw two TD passes and may have had a third, but wide receiver Braylon Edwards dropped a long toss in the fourth quarter that may have put it away for the Browns.

Cardinals 34, Rams 13
Arizona ran off 31 straight points - including 24 in the second quarter - and Kurt Warner starred in his return to St. Louis by throwing for 343 yards and two touchdowns as the Cardinals (5-3) solidified their lead in the NFC West.

Warner was 22 of 33 with no interceptions in only his second start in St. Louis since the Rams released him in 2004. Rookie Tim Hightower had 109 yards on 22 carries, including a 30-yard touchdown.

St. Louis (2-6) had the upper hand early, making a goal-line stand to thwart the Cardinals' first drive and taking the lead on Derek Stanley's first career catch, an 80-yard touchdown reception. After that, it was all Arizona, especially in the second quarter when the Rams were outgained, 229-18.

Bengals 21, Jaguars 19
Cincinnati finally broke into the win column as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a pair of touchdown passes to Chad Ocho Cinco and the Bengals stopped a late 2-point conversion try by Jacksonville to preserve the home victory.

At 1-8, the Bengals are no longer on pace to be historically bad. Now merely dreadful, they were too much for the stunned Jaguars (3-5), who fell behind, 21-3, before making it close.

Fitzpatrick, the former Harvard quarterback, looked a lot more comfortable in his fourth straight start for the injured Carson Palmer, going 21 of 31 for 162 yards. His 2-yard toss to Ocho Cinco was Cincinnati's first offensive touchdown in the first quarter all season, and after the pair connected for another TD - this one 10 yards - in the second quarter, Ocho Cinco ran to the sideline and gave coach Marvin Lewis a peck on the cheek.

Vikings 28, Texans 21
Host Minnesota forced three turnovers and got three touchdown passes from Gus Frerotte to end Houston's winning streak at three games.

The Vikings (4-4) returned from their 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.

Schaub also lost a fumble that led to a 49-yard scoring toss on third down from Frerotte to Bernard Berrian that stretched the lead to 21-7. The Texans (3-5) got the ball back with 1:57 remaining at their 10, but Rosenfels was sacked twice to end any chance of tying it.

Eagles 26, Seahawks 7
Donovan McNabb rebounded from early problems to complete 28 of 43 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns, one to tackle Todd Herremans, to guide Philadelphia (5-3) past swooning Seattle on the road.

Brent Celek, playing because L.J. Smith was out with a concussion, set an Eagles record for yards receiving by a tight end in a regular-season game with 131, on six receptions. He had only eight catches coming in, but continually slid open behind blitzes from the Seahawks, who swarmed McNabb early but barely sniffed him after that.

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 Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson.

Falcons 24, Raiders 0
Matt Ryan threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes to Michael Jenkins and Atlanta embarrassed Oakland by holding the hosts to negative yardage in the first half and just 77 yards for the game, the Raiders' lowest total in 47 years.

The Falcons (5-3) scored on their first four possessions, while the Raiders (2-6) were booed by a half-filled stadium just minutes into the game. It was Oakland's worst offensive output since gaining only 58 yards against San Diego in 1961, when current Raiders owner Al Davis was a Chargers assistant coach.