Steve Young threw one touchdown and ran for another as the San Francisco 49ers beat Carolina 27-19 to claim their 10th straight win and their fifth NFC West title in six years.
The Panthers pipped the 49ers to the division title last season, and it looked like the veteran San Francisco squad would have an uphill struggle to get back to the NFL summit when they opened their season with a defeat that also saw them lose star receiver Jerry Rice to injury.
Instead the 49ers have since coasted to 10 victories, with the Panthers their nearest rivals in the division.
The Panthers had a chance to tie late in the game after Tyrone Poole blocked Gary Anderson's 46-yard field goal attempt and Renaldo Turnbull returned it to the 49ers' 28. But five plays later, 49ers safety Merton Hanks made sure of victory with an interception in the end zone.
Kansas City kept the AFC West race tight courtesy of Pete Stoyanovich's 54-yard field goal as time expired against the Denver Broncos.
The Chiefs defeated the Broncos 24-22, spoiling another fourth-quarter rally by Denver quarterback John Elway, who had moved the Broncos 59 yards in six plays to set up Jason Elam's 34-yard field goal with one minute remaining.
Kansas City's Rich Gannon answered with a six-play, 39-yard drive to set up Stoyanovich.
The Chiefs improved to 5-0 at home, 8-3 overall and within one game of first-place Denver.
The Green Bay Packers got a jolt from the Colts, as hapless Indianapolis - already eliminated from play-off contention - claimed their first victory of the season from the defending Super Bowl champions.
Cary Blanchard's fourth field goal of the game, a 20-yarder as time expired, gave the Colts a 4138 victory.
Colts quarterback Paul Justin, who threw for a career-high 340 yards, completed two passes to tight end Ken Dilger for 55 yards on the final drive, including a 28yarder to the Green Bay one-yard line. Justin downed the ball three times to run the clock before Blanchard came on.
"We decided to kneel on the ball," said Justin about the decision not to go for the touchdown in the final seconds. "The way our luck has been going this year, we could have fumbled the ball."
The Minnesota Vikings fell prey to Detroit 38-15 to remain tied with Green Bay at the top of the NFC Central at 8-3, where they were joined by Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers routed New England 27-7.
Yesterday saw the first NFL stalemate in eight years as the Baltimore Ravens and the Philadelphia Eagles finished overtime with a 10-10 tie.
Ironically, the Cleveland Browns, who relocated to Baltimore last season, were involved in the last NFL tie by the identical score, when the Browns and Kansas City tied 10-10 on November 19th, 1989.
The New York Giants defeated Arizona 19-10 to claim sole possession of the NFC East, one game ahead of Washington and Dallas, whose duel ended with the Cowboys 17-14 victors.
