Mannings differ this day

All the New York Giants quarterback did was drop back to pass, something he’s done thousands of times. Suddenly, he felt pain in his right heel. He stayed in for one more play, a short pass to Hakeem Nicks that the rookie turned into a beauty of a 54-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter of a 27-16 win over Kansas City.

But now Manning and the Giants will have to wait and see if a worrisome bruised right heel will let him play next Sunday against Oakland.

“It was a noncontact. It just happened into the drop,’’ said Manning, who threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns yesterday as the Giants (4-0) won their third road game in a row. “It was the play before the touchdown, where I had Steve Smith deep and threw it a little short.’’

Manning was replaced by David Carr, but said he expects to be ready for the next game.

“I always assume I’m going to play, that I’m going to be out there,’’ he said. “I’ve always been a pretty quick healer . . . We’ll find out more [today]. I can walk around and move around, but there is some discomfort.’’

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Manning could not have stayed in the game.

“Not at that point. He didn’t leave the bench, so I’m sure whatever is going to be done is going to be here from here on out,’’ Coughlin said. “I think he’s going to be sore. I really don’t know a whole more than that.’’

Manning threw two scoring passes to Smith, who totaled 134 yards on 11 catches, as the Chiefs lost for the 27th time in 29 games. They are 0-4 for the first time since 1980.

In the final minutes, Matt Cassel threw two short scoring passes that made the final score unreflective of how badly the Giants outplayed their hapless hosts.

Brandon Jacobs had 92 yards on 21 carries for New York, which rolled up 429 total yards while holding the Chiefs to 193.

Manning was 31 of 41 for 353 yards, marking the first time he has topped 300 yards in four consecutive games, a team record. Manning’s first TD pass went 5 yards to Reggie Wayne, making Manning and Dan Marino the only quarterbacks in league history to throw 55 TD passes to two receivers. Manning threw 112 TDs to Marvin Harrison.

His second TD pass, a 21-yarder to rookie Austin Collie, put Manning alongside Fran Tarkenton for No. 3 on the NFL’s career list. Both have 342, trailing only Marino (420) and Brett Favre (469).

Seattle (1-3), which was again missing quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (rib) and left tackle Walter Jones (knee), didn’t have the firepower to avoid losing its third straight. Seneca Wallace, Hasselbeck’s replacement, got Seattle into the end zone twice in the final three minutes and was 33 of 45 for 257 yards with one TD, five sacks, and two lost fumbles. The Seahawks finished with just 49 yards rushing.

Matt Forte ran for 121 yards, rookie Johnny Knox returned a kickoff 102 yards, and the Bears (3-1) headed into their bye with their third straight win.

Last week, the Lions (1-3) were celebrating a victory over Washington that snapped the second-longest skid in league history. This week, they were holding their breath after watching quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 draft pick, twist his right knee while being sacked in the fourth quarter. He will undergo tests today.

Forte broke off a 61-yard run that set up Chicago’s first touchdown and added a 37-yard TD in the fourth quarter.

Not wanting to settle for a tie, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis decided to go for it on fourth and 11 from the Cleveland 41 with 1:04 remaining. Palmer dropped back to pass and then scampered up the middle for the first down. Cincinnati (3-1) ran two plays to get Graham in position, and the kicker, who earlier had an extra point and field goal blocked, drilled it through the uprights.

The Browns (0-4) lost their 10th straight dating to last season. Quarterback Derek Anderson sparked Cleveland in his first start this season, throwing for one TD and running for another.

Garrard shredded the Titans’ injury-depleted secondary, completing 27 of 37 passes. Sims-Walker was Garrard’s top target. He had a 9-yard TD reception in the second quarter and a 15-yarder with 27 seconds remaining in the half that made it 27-3. Sims-Walker had seven catches for 91 yards.

The Titans’ Kerry Collins completed 29 of 48 passes for 284 yards and two interceptions. His 14-yard TD pass to Nate Washington late in the third quarter cut the deficit to 30-9.

The Redskins (2-2) gave up two sacks and lost a fumble in the first two minutes and allowed new Bucs starter Josh Johnson to throw for a TD on his first pass of the game. Trailing by 10 at halftime, Campbell (12 of 22, 170 yards) led Washington to scores on three straight possessions in the third quarter, going ahead on a 59-yard TD pass to Santana Moss, who beat Talib down the right sideline.

Tampa Bay (0-4) had its chances to give coach Raheem Morris his first win. Mike Nugent missed two first-half field goals, Johnson passed for just 106 yards, and the Bucs converted only 2 of 13 third-down opportunities against the league’s worst third-down defense.

The Texans (2-2) entered the game with the NFL’s worst run defense, but kept the Raiders to 45 yards rushing. Houston also forced three turnovers and got its first safety in almost seven years.

The Raiders (1-3) did little right. JaMarcus Russell was 12-of-33 passing for 128 yards and Darren McFadden finished with six carries for minus-3 yards. Oakland also gave up a 95-yard kickoff return for a TD by Jacoby Jones, who wasn’t even touched on the play.

The Rams (0-4) lost their 14th straight, the longest skid in the NFL. Kyle Boller had a tough first start for St. Louis - 13 of 24 for 108 yards and five sacks, half of them by Willis.