DENVER — The Denver Broncos took the city's minds off the Colorado Rockies for a few hours last night.

"However we can take it," Jason Elam said after his 49-yard field goal as time expired beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-28. "We want to do this whole Rockies thing, 21 out of 22, that works for us."

It's a start.

Rookie Tim Crowder had a 50-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown and Jay Cutler threw three TD passes as the Broncos (3-3), coming off their worst home loss in 41 years — routed 41-3 by San Diego — looked nothing like a troubled team.

Able to get to the passer despite Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey (thigh) missing a game for just the third time in his career, Denver forced three turnovers and sacked Ben Roethlisberger four times.

The Steelers (4-2) had allowed just five touchdowns all season and surrendered four on this night, including Cutler's throws of 15 yards to Brandon Stokley and 1 yard each to Tony Scheffler and Cecil Sapp.

Elam, a University of Hawai'i alum who has the game-winner in all three of the Broncos' wins so far, nailed his 49-yarder to cap a seven-play, 49-yard drive.

"He's a darn good closer," safety John Lynch said. "You wouldn't want anyone else in that position. You have a sense of calm when he's booting it. He's very good at what he does. No question, right down the middle.

"This is the first step in turning this thing around."

PATRIOTS 49, DOLPHINS 28

MIAMI — Tom Brady was flawless, even returning to the game to throw a team-record sixth touchdown pass. Brady's TD total exceeded his career high of five, set last week against Dallas.

Brady completed his first 11 passes for 220 yards and four scores, including throws of 35 and 50 yards to Randy Moss. His other touchdown passes covered 14 and 16 yards to Wes Welker, 30 to Donte Stallworth and 2 to Kyle Brady.

Willie Andrews returned a kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown to help the Patriots lead 42-7 at the half.

The Patriots improved to 7-0 for the first time in their 48-year history, while the drubbing was the biggest downer yet for the Dolphins, who fell to 0-7 for the first time in their 41 seasons.

"We've got a long way to go," Brady said. "Our goals are bigger than winning seven games this year."

Miami lost its 10th consecutive game, extending a franchise record, and lost running back Ronnie Brown to a knee injury in the third quarter. He came in leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage.

TITANS 38, TEXAS 36

HOUSTON — Rob Bironas made an NFL-record eight field goals, with a 29-yarder as time expired the winner in the Titans' wild victory over the host Texans.

Bironas also connected from 52, 43, 25, 21, 30, 29 and 28 yards to break the previous record of seven field goals held by four players. His 26 points also established a mark for a kicker in one game.

"I knew we'd hit quite a few, but I try not to count," Bironas said. "I try not to know the distances when I go out there, so I'm always concentrating on making the same kick. ... I'll remember this one, though."

The kick foiled a spirited comeback by the Texans (3-4), who scored 29 points in the fourth quarter, capped by a 53-yard touchdown pass from Sage Rosenfels to Andre' Davis to take a 36-35 lead with 57 seconds remaining.

The Titans (4-2) faced a third-and-10 at their 37 when Kerry Collins found Roydell Williams on a 46-yard pass that set up the winning kick.

CHIEFS 12, RAIDERS 10

OAKLAND, Calif. — Larry Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter and the Chiefs beat the Raiders (2-4) for the ninth straight time, winning in Priest Holmes' return from a two-year absence.

Holmes, Kansas City's career leader in yards rushing and touchdowns, was activated this week for the first time since suffering a neck injury on a vicious hit from San Diego's Shawne Merriman on Oct. 30, 2005.

Holmes rushed four times for 9 yards, gaining a key first down with under 3 minutes left and Kansas City (4-3) protecting a 12-10 lead.

"What I love to do is run the ball, so I'm looking forward to doing that a little more," Holmes said. "But if I have to be a decoy, if I have to help out in whatever role they need me to play."

BENGALS 38, JETS 31

CINCINNATI — Kenny Watson ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns in the best performance of his career, and the Bengals (2-4) turned the Jets' second-half meltdown into their first victory in five games.

Watson led the way, playing like a star instead of Rudi Johnson's fill-in. The seventh-year runner with a half-dozen career starts scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards in the second half, finishing off the Jets (1-6), which couldn't hold a 13-point lead.

"It's just not good enough, and I'm tired of giving the same speech each week," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "We're going to find out about every person in the locker room. It should hurt deeply. It's a matter of it's all got to get better."

Chad Pennington, the main target of New York fans' wrath, put the Jets ahead with touchdown passes of 57 and 36 yards to Laveranues Coles, showing he can still make a big play. He couldn't make any meaningful ones in a horrid second half, though, as the Jets were done in by two costly pass interference penalties, a shanked punt, a personal foul for punching a downed runner, a botched snap and Johnathan Joseph's 42-yard interception return for a touchdown that made it 38-23 with 37 seconds left.

BILLS 19, RAVENS 14

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Making good on an opportunity to secure the starting job, rookie quarterback Trent Edwards went 11-of-21 for 153 yards and engineered five scoring drives for Buffalo (2-4).

"If you look back at our season, we could be sitting here at 4-2, but fortunately we were able to finish this one off today," Edwards said. "We just beat a really good football team. But we still have a lot to improve on."

Rian Lindell hit four field goals, including a 41-yarder, and Marshawn Lynch scored on a 1-yard plunge.

Willis McGahee made his mark, overcoming a slow start and a booing crowd, by scoring on a 46-yard run in his first game back since the Bills traded him to Baltimore (4-3) in March.