6B - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, September 18, 1995 b... v -L Sanders fumbles for first time in three years as Lions drop to 0-3 Associated Press Barry Sanders' first fumble in three seasons set up Arizona's final scoring drive and the Cardinals overcame a 17- 6 deficit anddefeated the Detroit Lions, 20-17, Sunday. Dave Krieg passed to Anthony Edwards with 2:31 remaining for the go-ahead score. The second fumble by Sanders, who had touched the ball 803 times without a mistake, ended the Li- ons' last chance. Sanders carried 24 times for 147 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown run for Detroit (0-3). But his fourth- quarter fumble was recovered by Arizona's Terry Irving, giving the Car- dinals the ball at their own 31 with 5:06 remaining. Nine plays later, on fourth-and-10 at the Lions' 24, Krieg threw atouchdown pass to Edwards. Krieg's 2-point con- version pass to Frank Sanders gave the Cardinals the 3-point lead. Seahawks 24, Bengals 21 Dennis Erickson got his first NFL vic- tory Sunday as the Seattle Seahawks found some offense and downed the previously unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals, 24-21. Held to a pair of touchdowns in their first two games, the Seahawks had 406 yards in offense thanks to Rick Mirer's passing and Chris Warren's running. Seattle hung on to win when Doug Pelfrey missed a 49-yard field goal in the closing minutes. Mirer completed 21 of 30 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Warrenpickedup 110 yards on 24 carries, including an 11- yard touchdown run. Cincinnati tried to rally as Jeff Blake threw his second touchdown pass, a22- yarder to Carl Pickens with 3:18 left. He also had an 88-yard scoring pass to Darnay Scott in the first quarter. The Bengals (1-2) drove 76 yards in a dozen plays in 3:46 for their third touchdown. Blake completed 22 of 42 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Broncos 38, Redskins 31 John Elway threw a 43-yard touch- down pass to rookie Rod Smith on the final play of the game and gave the Denver Broncos a 38-31 victory Sun- day over the stunned Washington Redskins. With the game about ready to go into overtime tied, 31-31, Elway took the snap on a fourth down with 6 seconds left. He dropped back, then stepped up to avoid the rush and found Smith at the goal line. He leaped and beat the Redskins' Darrell Green to the ball. The 35-year-old Elway now has his the 35th fourth-quarter comeback of his career. Brian Mitchell's kick returns and Gus Frerotte's three TD passes pulled the Redskins (1-2) into a tie, but the Bron- cos went 80 yards in eight plays in the final 67 seconds to steal the game. Elway completed 30 of 47 passes for 327 yards and two TDs. Mitchell had five kickoff returns for 188 yards and a punt return for 52 more. The Broncos (2-1) scored on four straight possessions in the first half, the last a disputed touchdown, for a 24-14 halftime lead. Washington fell to 1-2. Rams 31, Panthers 10 The St. Louis Rams spoiled Carolina's inaugural home game Sunday by forc- ing seven Panther turnovers and turn- ing four of those into 24 points on the way to a 31-10 victory. A crowd of 54,060 watched the game in the 76,000-seat Memorial Stadium on the campus of Clemson University, about 145 miles from Charlotte. The Rams are 3-0 for the first time since 1989, which also was the last year the franchise made the playoffs. The expansion Panthers fall to 0-3. Ineffective starter Frank Reich was replaced in the second quarter by Jack Trudeau, who didn't have any better luck. Late in the third quarter, top draft pick Kerry Collins entered the game - and was intercepted on his first play by Torn Dorn, who returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. Chargers 27, Eagles 21 Junior Seau and Andre Coleman proved to be the problem for the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, not Randall Cunningham. Seau scored on a 29-yard fumble return and Coleman returned a punt 88 yards for a score as the San Diego Chargers rallied from a 14-0 deficit with a 17-point explosion in a 3:11 span for a 27-21 victory over the Eagles. The big plays by the Chargers (2-1), which came at the end of the second period and the start of the third, turned the game around and gave them control with a 24-14 lead. Cunningham, benched last week amid trade rumors, played well enough to keep his job, completing 23 of 40 for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He recovered from a sore right shoul- der to lead the Eagles (1-2) on an 80- yard drive that ended with a 3-yard TD pass to Ed West that cut the San Diego lead to six with 1:30 left in the third quarter. But San Diego's defense held and the Chargers gave the ball to Natrone Means, who rushed for 87 of his 122 yards in the second half despite sprain- ing his left ankle in the third quarter. Jets 27, Jaguars 10 Boomer Esiason led the New York Jets to a 27-10 rout of the Jacksonville Jag- uars Sunday. Afterbeing blown out in their opener and blowing a big lead last week, the Jets(1-2)found ateam they couldhandle in the expansion Jaguars (0-3). Esiason found rookie Wayne Chrebet for a touchdown on the first drive of the game, then connected with rookie Kyle Brady for another score on their open- ing series of the second half. He also threw a TD to Charles Wilson, who was acquired in a trade late in the preseason. Hugh Douglas, like Brady a first- round draft pick, had three sacks in the first half, and cornerback Otis Smith picked off his third pass in as many games. Esiason moved into 14th place on the career TD pass list with 213. He was 27-of-43 for 296 yards. Linebacker Bobby Houston recovered two fumbles. Backup tight end Fred Baxter had six receptions for 99 yards, his first catches of the season. The Jaguars, losers in close games against Houston and Cincinnati, never were in this one. Browns 14, Oilers 7 A little defense from Stevon Moore, a little offense from Vinny Testaverde and the Cleveland Browns had a little victory Sunday over the Houston Oil- ers. Moore, a cornerback, intercepted three passes by backup starter Will Furrer in the first half, helping the Browns get off to a 7-0 lead. And Testaverde rallied from a poor first half with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jackson with 9:17 to play, giv- ing Cleveland a 14-7 victory. The Oilers (1-2) tied it with Furrer's 4-yard touchdown pass to Haywood Jeffires, who made a leaping catch with defender Don Griffin hanging on his waist with 2:43 gone in the fourth quar- ter. Testaverde,whohitonly 2-of-11 first half passes, needed only three minutes to give the lead back to the Browns. Furrer was booed in the first half but hung in there for 22-of-41 passes for 258 yards and four interceptions. The Browns moved to 2-1. Falcons 27, Saints 24, OT Morten Andersen kicked the winning field goal Sunday at the Superdome, just as he had done so many times in the past. This time, however, his 21-yarder gave the Atlanta Falcons a 27-24 over- time victory against the New Orleans Saints. Andersen, who now has 22 game- winning field goals in his career, made the winning kick eight times for the Saints (0-3) against the Falcons before jumping to the NFC West rival prior to training camp in a salary dispute. Atlanta (2-1) setup the overtime when another former Saint, Craig Heyward, pounded in for an 8-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and Jeff George hit Terance Mathis in the end zone for the two-point conversion to tie it at 24. George was sacked seven times, in- cluding once when he had to be helped from the field in the fourth quarter. He completed 26 of 39 for 286 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted twice. George set up Andersen's game-win- ner with a 21-yard pass to Mathis. It's the first time the Saints have opened 0-3 since 1980 when they fin- ished 1-15. Jim Everett completed 29 of 43 for 370 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked three times. Chiefs 23, Raiders 17, OT James Hasty returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown 4:27 into overtime to give the Kansas City Chiefs a 23-17 win over the Oakland Raiders Sunday. It was the second week in a row that Kansas City (3-0) came back from a fourth quarter deficit to win in over- time. The Raiders (2-1) dominated forthree quarters and led, 17-7, entering the fourth period. They suddenly fell apart, however, and lost for the 11th time in their last 12 games with the Chiefs. Bills 20, Colts 14 Jim Kelly bounced back from the worst game of his career and directed the Buffalo Bills on two first-half touch- down drives as the Buffalo Bills held off the Indianapolis Colts, 20-14, Sun- day. Kelly, directing the no-huddle of- fense, completed 19 of 35 passes for 201 yards and surpassed 30,000 career passing yards with a 15-yard comple- tion to tight end Lonnie Johnson in the third quarter. Last week, he completed a career-low four passes in a victory over Carolina. With the score tied, 14-14, Steve Christie's 35-yard field goal with 7:10 left in the third quarter gave the Bills the lead. Christie added a 38-yarder with 4:27 left after a penalty wiped out a previous miss. Buffalo also scored on Thurman Tho- mas' 2-yard touchdown run and full- back Carwell Gardner's fumble recov- ery in the end zone. Kelly's yardage gives him 30,058 in 135 NFL games, making him the fourth- fastest to throw for more than 30,000 AP PHOTO Barry Sanders coughs up the ball during the Lions' 20-17 loss to the Cardinals. The fumble, which was Sanders' first in three seasons, led to Arizona's game-winning drive. Sanders also fumbled later in the game. Previous to the turnovers, he had touched the ball 803 times without giving it up. yards in his career. Kelly also had 9,842 yards in two years in the USFL. Marshall Faulk, who gained 47 yards on 15 carries, scored on a 13-yard run in the first quarter and an 18-yard catch in the second quarter. The Colts were held scoreless in the second half. Packers 14, Giants 6 Brett Favre threw touchdown passes to Mark Ingram and Robert Brooks and the Green Bay Packers' defense made it stand up Sunday in a 14-6 victory over the winless New York Giants. The loss marked the first time coach Dan Reeves has started a season 0-3. The Giants' bumbling offense rarely threatened, although they had a chance at the end. Dave Brown brought the Giants to the Packers' 22, but Mike Prior's interception with 15 seconds left sealed the victory for Green Bay (2- 1). Favre finished 14 of 25 for 141 yards and no interceptions. 49ers 28, Patriots 3 Steve Young turned his duel with Drew Bledsoe into a one-sided affair with plenty of help from his defense. Young threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers dominated .New England, 28-3, and left Bledsoe still looking for his first TD pass of the season. Bledsoe was sacked four times and missed a series in the first half with a sore left shoulder after being hit by linebacker Ken Norton while throwing. He also fumbled after being sacked by Lee Woodall and was intercepted twice by Merton Hanks, ending second-half drives that had advanced to at least the San Francisco 25. Woodall came up with a third inter- ception of Bledsoe with just under eight minutes remaining, setting up Young's 3-yard touchdown pass to Derek Loville with 5:33 remaining. Young, whose other two scoring passes went to Jerry Rice, ended the day 29 of42 for 284 yards, shaking off a bad start which saw him intercepted by Vincent Brown on his first pass. Bledsoe completed only five of his first 16 passes, finishing 22 of 51 for 241 yards and three interceptions. San Francisco moved to 3-0, the Pa- triots fell to 1-2. Bears 25, Buccaneeers 6 The Chicago Bears ruined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' home opener Sunday, intercepting two passes and blocking a punt within a two-minute span of the third quarter to pull away to a 25-6 victory. Jeremy Lincoln returned one of the interceptions 32 yards to set up Robert Green's 7-yard touchdown run. An- thony Marshall blocked Reggie Roby's punt four plays later, picked up the ball and ran 11 yards for a TD that broke open the game slightly over three min- utes into the second half. Chicago (2-0) had four interceptions and sacked Trent Dilfer twice before Tampa coach Sam Wyche benched the second-year pro with 10 minutes re- maining. Kevin Butler kicked first-half field goals of24, 37 and 22 yards. The Bears, capitalizing on the sixth of Tampa Bay's seven turnovers, put the finishing, touches on the victory with Butler fourth field goal with 3:13 to go. It was a disappointing day for the Bucs (1-2), who honored Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon at halftime. Cowboys 23, Vikings 17 The Dallas Cowboys weren't super Sunday night, just good enough to win again. Emmitt Smith overcame a rare fumble with a 31-yard touchdown run in over- time to give the Cowboys a 23-17 vic- tory over the Minnesota Vikings. Smith broke through a huge hole on the left side and outran Charles Mincy to the end zone marker just 2:26 iptp overtime. The run stunned the Vikings (1,2-), who tied the game with 30 seconds left in regulation on an 8-yard pass from Warren Moon to Cris Carter. But the Cowboys (3-0) won the coin toss and needed just five plays to end the game. Smith finished with 150 yards on 20 carries for his third straight 100-yard game. LSU holds on for upset of No. 5 Auburn; USC rambles past Houston Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. - Troy Twillie capped a big night for LSU's defense by intercepting a pass in the end zone as time expired Saturday and the Tigers upset No. 5 Auburn, 12-6, Saturday night. LSU (2-1 overall, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) limited Auburn (2-1, 0-1) to 274 yards and two field goals. But Auburn had one last chance, with Patrick Nix moving the Tigers to the LSU 11 in 14 plays. Nix stopped the clock by downing the ball with 4 sec- onds to play. Then, on fourth-and-3; Twillie intercepted the pass in the end zone. Auburn, second in the SEC in of- fense and averaging 8.1 yards a play, had scored 17 touchdowns in its first two games. But the Tigers managed only 18 first downs, three in the first half. Stephen Davis, who averaged 6.3 yards a carry in Auburn's first two games, gained 76 yards on 14 carries. LSU had lost four straight and five of six to Auburn. It was the first time since 1988 that Auburn and Alabama were beaten on the same day. Arkansas stunned No. 13 Alabama, 20-19, Satur- day afternoon. No. 6 USC 45, Houston 10 Brad Otton, splitting time at quarter- back, threw for four touchdowns and Keyshawn Johnson caught two scor- ing passes Saturday night as No. 6 Southern California overwhelmed Houston, 45-10. Otton threw for scores the first two times USC had the ball and the heavily favored Trojans (2-0) were in com- mand the rest of the way against the Cougars (0-3). Johnson finished with eight catches for 176 yards, with a touchdown re- ception of 57 yards on the Trojans' first play from scrimmage and an- other scoring grab of 26 yards. Otton played the first and third quar- ters, then sat while Kyle Wachholtz was at quarterback in the second and fourth. USC coach John Robinson used the same rotation in the Trojans' opening 45-7 victory over San Jose State. E. Michigan 51, UNLV 6 Rick Granata and Mike Scott ran for two touchdowns apiece Saturday as Eastern Michigan beat UNLV, 51-6, in a game that appeared even on paper. Eastern Michigan (2-1) gained 210 yards on the ground and 223 in the air, compared with 194 and 233 forUNLV (1-2). The Eagles controlled the ball for 26:16 to the Rebels 34:47. Granata, who ran for 30 yards on seven carries, scored on a 1-yard run in the first and another 1-yard run in the second. Justin Ventura added a 42-yard field goal as the Eagles took a 17-0 lead into halftime. UNLV's only scores came on third quarter fields goals by Marshall Mathews of 47 and 46 yards. Mathews also missed a47 yard field goal try. Savon Edwards, who led the Eagles with 104 yards on 18 carries, scored on an 11- yard run in the third. Eastern Michigan scored three times in the fourth quarter. Charlie Batch, who gained 223 yards while complet- ing 15 of23 passes, hit Bristol Greene for a 20-yard TD pass. Jerome Adams gained his only ground of the game on a 1-yard touch- down run. The two-point conversion pass failed. Mike Scott added a 32- yard scoring run, his longest run of the game, with 3:25 left in the game. Scott had 74 yards on six carries UNLV used three quarterbacks in the game. Starter Jared Brown was 7 of 16 for 47 yards but was intercepted twice. Jason Davis was 11 of 29 for 160 yards and Kevin Crook was 3 of 4 for26 yards. The 25,009 on hand was the largest crowd ever in Rynearson Stadium, surpassing the record of 24,622 who saw Eastern Michigan play Central Michigan Oct. 27, 1990. .. ,; ... .. . .. L . f::. f t.: . ~. -A Nqk 52- . Ark