The Associated Press

SEATTLE - Mike Holmgren shuffled to the podium in the interview room and tried to keep a straight face. "Never in doubt," he said, making everyone around him burst into laughter.

Holmgren is soaking up the good cheer surrounding the Seattle Seahawks, who rallied to beat St. Louis 24-23 Sunday to start 3-0 for only the second time since the Reagan administration.

Matt Hasselbeck threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Koren Robinson with a minute remaining and Josh Brown made the PAT as the Seahawks erased a 13-point deficit.

"Unbelievable," Hasselbeck said. "It really is. We were talking at the start of the year that we could be 3-0 going into our bye week. To actually do it is another thing."

Brown, a rookie, missed a 35-yard field goal earlier in the fourth quarter but helped win the game with his crucial PAT.

Rams running back Marshall Faulk, held to 31 yards on 15 carries, left in the third quarter with what is believed to be a broken left hand.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are undefeated after three games for the first time in five years and only the second time since 1986.

"We are real," linebacker Chad Brown said. "If we continue to work like we are, then we will be one of those teams contending for it at the end."

St. Louis (1-2) led 23-10 after Jeff Wilkins kicked a 33-yard field goal with just under four minutes to play in the third quarter. Marc Bulger fell to 7-2 as St. Louis' starting quarterback, with both of those losses coming in Seattle.

The Seahawks went on their winning drive when linebacker Anthony Simmons intercepted a tipped pass that Rams receiver Dane Looker couldn't haul in.

Seattle, listless through the first half, took over with 3:15 remaining.

On the very next play, Hasselbeck found Robinson for a 32-yard gain across midfield. He also made a third-down pass to Bobby Engram for a 13-yard gain to the Rams 29, and got a break after an incomplete pass on third-and-8 at the 13, when the Rams were flagged for holding.

That gave the Seahawks a first down at the 8, and it took three plays before Hasselbeck found Robinson for the game-winner. The final drive covered 74 yards in 10 plays.

Hasselbeck was 22 of 39 passes for 256 yards and two TDs.

Bulger was 21-of-34 for 226 yards with one TD.

Cardinals 20, Packers 13

TEMPE, Ariz. - Jeff Blake wore out the Green Bay Packers on a day of record heat in the desert, then Dexter Jackson sealed it with a clutch interception at the finish.

Jackson, last year's Super Bowl MVP, intercepted Brett Favre's pass in the end zone with 10 seconds left to save the Arizona Cardinals' 20-13 victory over Green Bay Sunday.

Blake completed 20 of 31 passes for 273 yards, including a 1-yard pass to James Hodgins for the winning touchdown with 3:59 to play.

Blake directed a field-goal drive of 7 minutes, 29 seconds in the third quarter and used up 7:09 of the fourth with the 11-play, 68-yard drive for the winning score.

Favre, 23-for-33 for 226 yards and a touchdown, drove the Packers (1-2) to the Arizona seven in the final seconds. But on third-and-goal, his pass was picked off by Jackson, who helped Tampa Bay win the Super Bowl last year, and returned it to the Arizona 22 to end it.

Giants 24, Redskins 21, OT

LANDOVER, Md. - The New York Giants blew another fourth-quarter lead. This time, they recovered to win in overtime.

Matt Bryant kicked a 29-yard field goal 4:15 into the extra period to give the Giants the win against Washington and put the two teams in a tie for first place in the NFC East.

The Giants led 21-3 at halftime, but a mistake-filled second half and bad clock management late in the game allowed Washington to tie it on John Hall's 34-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in regulation.

Kerry Collins threw three touchdown passes, completing 24 of 39 passes for 276 yards. Tiki Barber ran for 126 yards, and the defense held the Redskins without a touchdown until late in the third quarter.

The Redskins (2-1) dug themselves in a hole with a franchise-tying 17 penalties for 142 yards, including nine in the first half.

Vikings 23, Lions 13

DETROIT - Gus Frerotte threw for 184 yards and a touchdown in relief of injured starter Daunte Culpepper as Minnesota won.

Culpepper left late in the second quarter with a bruised back after his second rushing TD gave the Vikings the lead for good. He was scheduled to have his back examined Sunday night.

Minnesota (3-0), with three wins in the NFC North, is off to its best start since winning seven games to start the 2000 season. The last two years, the Vikings were a combined 11-21.

Minnesota outscored Detroit 23-3 after trailing 10-0 late in the first quarter.

Minnesota's Moe Williams had 95 yards rushing and 54 yards receiving.

Culpepper's first rushing TD - the 23rd of his career - moved him past Fran Tarkenton for the most by a Vikings quarterback and pulled Minnesota within four early in the second quarter.

Buccaneers 31, Falcons 10

ATLANTA - Warren Sapp, normally a defensive tackle, scored the first offensive touchdown of his career on a 6-yard catch and the defending Super Bowl champions bounced back from an embarrassing defeat by routing Atlanta.

Tampa Bay (2-1) took out all its frustration on the hapless Falcons (1-2), who failed for the second straight week to give Dan Reeves his 200th coaching victory.

Michael Vick watched from the sideline, but it's highly doubtful the injured Atlanta quarterback would have made much of a difference against a Tampa Bay defense that wasn't going to let this one get away.

The Falcons managed just 29 yards on the ground.

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