The surprising Atlanta Falcons tested their mettle against another National Football League division leader at the weekend, and stunned the New England Patriots 41-10.
The Falcons knocked the Patriots out of the first-place tie in the AFC East, and went a long way toward disproving the notion that they can't beat good teams.
The Falcons sacked Drew Bledsoe four times and forced two turnovers in the first half when they built a 28-3 lead.
Defensive end Chuck Smith returned a fumble by Bledsoe 71 yards for a touchdown and Jamal Anderson ran for a pair of scores in the half.
"I really can't be more proud of my team," said Falcons coach Dan Reeves. "This game was big for us because we wanted to come in and show we were for real and win a road game against a very good opponent."
Chris Chandler connected with tight end OJ Santiago for a pair of touchdowns and Anderson recorded his sixth 100yard game of the season for the Falcons, who improved the best start in the franchise's 37year history.
Next week the Falcons move on to a showdown with NFC West rivals San Francisco for the outright division lead.
Wade Richey kicked a 46yard field goal with 33 seconds left as the 49ers rallied from a 16-point deficit then blew a lead before stealing the 25-23 victory from the Panthers.
The Panthers grabbed a 2322 advantage with 5:43 left when former 49ers fullback William Floyd barged in from two yards.
But the 49ers regained the lead behind Ty Detmer, who started for the injured Steve Young and marched them back down the field for the winning points.
Detmer improved to 10-9 in his career as a starter, though this was his first start for San Francisco.
The Patriots weren't the only team to lose ground in the tight AFC East race. Vinny Testaverde soundly outplayed Doug Flutie in the battle of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks as the New York Jets rolled to a 34-12 rout of Buffalo that cost the Bills their share of the division lead.
Testaverde completed 22-of-31 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns while Flutie appeared confused by the Jets' defensive schemes and finished 12-of-30 for 154 yards with two interceptions.
The Jets snapped a six-game losing streak against the Bills and continued to share first place in the AFC East with Miami, who defeated Indianapolis 27-14.
The Denver Broncos remained untouchable in the AFC West, indeed in the entire league, despite an injury to quarterback John Elway, who strained rib muscles warming up against San Diego.
Bubby Brister stepped in and threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Broncos remained the NFL's lone unbeaten team with a 27-10 victory over the Chargers.
Minnesota beat New Orleans 31-24, but suffered injuries to quarterbacks Randall Cunningham - who twisted a knee - and Brad Johnson.
Johnson, who broke his leg in week two to concede the starting job temporarily, came on for the injured Cunningham and broke his right thumb.
