AMERICAN FOOTBALL REVIEW:THE NEW Orleans Saints needed an overtime field goal to get past the Washington Redskins and maintain their unbeaten start to the season on Sunday.
Garrett Hartley converted from 18 yards with eight minutes and 35 seconds left of the opening overtime period to give the Saints a 33-30 win in the American capital and stretch New Orleans’ record to 12-0.
The Redskins, bottom of the NFC East, had threatened one of the upsets of the season when they took a 27-20 lead into the final quarter only for a Hartley field goal and a 53-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Robert Meachem to tie things up with 1:20 left on the clock.
The Indianapolis Colts remain the only other unbeaten team in the National Football League as they moved to 12-0 by seeing off the visiting Tennessee Titans in an all-AFC South battle at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The resurgent Titans were looking to advance their wild card prospects as they headed to Indianapolis having turned around an 0-6 start with five straight wins.
The Colts, though, were too strong, scoring a 27-17 win with Joseph Addai rushing for the first two touchdowns and Peyton Manning throwing a touchdown pass to Austin Collie for the third before Matt Stover kicked two field goals to secure victory.
The Saints had been the class act of last week when they brushed aside Tom Brady and New England and the Patriots were humbled again, losing to their AFC East rivals Miami as the Dolphins won 22-21 in Florida thanks to a fourth quarter field goal from Dan Carpenter.
AFC North leaders Cincinnati strengthened their grip on the division with a 23-13 home win over the Detroit Lions. The win moved the Bengals to 9-3, while the Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers slipped to 6-6 with a 27-24 home defeat to the Oakland Raiders.
The Denver Broncos moved to 8-4 and boosted their play-off prospects behind the 8-3 AFC West leaders San Diego with a 44-13 win at the Kansas City Chiefs, while the Jacksonville Jaguars did likewise with a 23-18 win over AFC South rivals Houston.
Play-off hopefuls Philadelphia upped the ante ahead of the NFC East clash between divisional leaders Dallas and the New York Giants by advancing to 7-4 with a 34-7 win at the Atlanta Falcons.
Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb threw one touchdown pass and 238 yards while his back-up Michael Vick scored his first touchdown since 2006 against the team that fired him following his conviction and subsequent imprisonment in connection with a dog-fighting ring. Vick was booed on his return.
In a battle between two NFC South teams with losing records, the Carolina Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16-6 in Charlotte. And the Chicago Bears beat the visiting St Louis Rams 17-9 at Soldier Field.
