Tom Brady notched his 50,000th passing yard in a virtuoso display last night to silence his critics and drive the New England Patriots to a dominant 43-17 victory over previously unbeaten Cincinnati.
Brady and the Patriots came under fire after last week's 41-14 defeat to Kansas City, with pundits questioning whether it was the beginning of the end for the 37-year-old quarterback.
But the veteran signal-caller responded with 292 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's late kick-off (1.30am Irish time), as the Gillette Stadium home crowd showered him with chants of "Brady."
Brady became the sixth quarterback in NFL history to surpass 50,000 career passing yards and New England's (3-2) offense looked reborn and collected 505 total yards.
"Coming off a tough loss like we did last week, a lot of guys dug deep," Brady said. "We executed better, a lot of guys made great plays. It was a great opportunity for us."
Running back Stevan Ridley opened the scoring with a one-yard rush in the first quarter where Brady added a 17-yard strike to Tim Wright.
Trailing the Patriots 20-3 at halftime, QB Andy Dalton found Mohamed Sanu for a 37-yard TD to pull Cincinnati within 20-10 early in the third, but it was mostly downhill from there for the Bengals.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski added a 16-yard touchdown reception in the third where Kyle Arrington had a nine-yard fumble recovery score to help the home team pile it on.
Cincinnati (3-1) had three turnovers on the night and became the final undefeated team in the NFL to suffer a loss.
Earlier, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning became the second quarterback in NFL history to throw 500 touchdown passes.
Manning hooked up with tight end Julius Thomas for a 7-yard touchdown with just under five minutes left in the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals to inflict the visitors' first defeat of the season.
Quarterback Manning joined Brett Favre in an exclusive two-man club by reaching the 500-milestone when he connected with Thomas.
Manning threw for 479 yards and four touchdowns in a commanding 41-20 win. It was the 13th time in his career he had more than 400 yards in passing, tying Dan Marino for the most ever in the NFL.
"I think about how many people have helped me, and I'm grateful for that," Manning told reporters after totalling 503 career touchdown passes, just five short of Favre's record.
Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas finished with eight catches and two touchdowns for a franchise record of 226 yards receiving as Denver improved to 3-1 for the season while the Cardinals slipped to 3-1.
Quarterback Tony Romo threw for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Cowboys scraped past the Texans, kicker Dan Bailey administering the finishing touch with a 49-yard field goal five minutes into extra time.
Bailey had missed an earlier attempt from 53 yards with just three seconds left in regulation and his overtime conversion earned Dallas (4-1) its first four-game winning streak since 2011.
The rampant San Diego Chargers also improved to 4-1 after quarterback Philip Rivers completed 20 of 28 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-0 shutout of the New York Jets in San Diego.
Andrew Luck threw his 14th touchdown pass of the season and also scored on a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter in Indianapolis as the Colts beat the Ravens, who had won their last three games.
The Philadelphia Eagles, fielding their fourth different offensive lineup in five games, held off a late comeback by the St. Louis Rams to win 34-28 and improve to 4-1.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles had 207 yards passing and two touchdowns while the Rams' Austin Davis threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns.
In New Orleans, the Saints suffered a few anxious moments before completing a nail-biting 37-31 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Trailing 31-20 with 13:28 left, the Saints scored the final 11 points in regulation before running back Khiry Robinson bulldozed into the end zone from 18 yards out in overtime.
Running back Frank Gore rushed for 107 yards and the 49ers used a fake field goal to keep a drive going as they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 22-17 in San Francisco.
San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh will not return next season even if the team wins the Super Bowl, Fox Sports reported Sunday.
It has been widely reported that Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke have had a tense relationship.
Andre Williams and Odell Beckham scored touchdowns as the New York Giants scored 20 unanswered points to beat the Atlanta Falcons 30-20, their third win in a row.
Tight end Greg Olsen scored two touchdowns as the Carolina Panthers came from 21-7 down to beat the Chicago Bears 31-24 in a wild game. Philly Brown's 79-yard touchdown after being taken out while catching a punt was another highlight.
The Detroit Lions were beaten 17-14 by the Buffalo Bills, and their new starting quarterback Kyle Orton, as Dan Carpenter's late 58-yard field goal capped a comeback from 14-0 down.
The Cleveland Browns beat the Tennessee Titans 29-28 as Brian Hoyer found Travis Benjamin in the back of the end zone just after the two-minute warning.
