The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - Edgerrin James softened up the New York Jets' defense and punter Hunter Smith blasted through it.

While James carried for a season-high 127 yards and three touchdowns Sunday, it was Smith's 21-yard run on a fake field goal that gave the Indianapolis Colts a 38-31 win.

"It just opened wide up," Smith said after scoring his first touchdown in five NFL seasons. "I think anyone could have scored on that one."

Perhaps anyone could have scored Sunday, period.

Peyton Manning threw for a season-high 401 yards on a wacky day for two teams that last met in a lopsided Jets playoff win and are led by former defensive coaches in Tony Dungy and Herman Edwards.

The game had a little bit of everything.

The Jets (3-7) and Colts combined for 862 total yards, 69 points and scored on a myriad of big and strange plays - none more critical than Smith's go-ahead burst late in the third quarter.

The Colts (8-2) also looked much different than the team that took a day off in a 41-0 loss to the Jets last January.

This time, Indianapolis' offense pretty much did anything it wanted despite missing three starters: left tackle Tarik Glenn, wide receiver Marvin Harrison and tight end Marcus Pollard. It also lost Harrison's replacement, Troy Walters, with a hamstring injury.

Yet Manning and James had little trouble exposing the Jets' holes.

James, who complained he wasn't getting enough work after last week's loss, had 36 carries, second most of his career.

Manning was superb, completing 27-of-36 with one touchdown - a 46-yarder to Walters. Reggie Wayne caught nine passes for 141 yards, and Dallas Clark had five receptions for 100 yards.

"We said if they could run it and pass it, it was going to be hard to defend them," Edwards said.

The Colts took advantage of just about everything, including the Jets' aggressive rush on the field-goal attempt that made Smith the unlikeliest hero.

New York got two touchdowns from Jonathan Carter, on a 62-yard touchdown pass and a 90-yard kickoff return. Santana Moss caught a 48-yard TD pass from Chad Pennington and Curtis Conway caught a 28-yarder.

Pennington completed 11-of-14 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns, finishing with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Curtis Martin carried 13 times for 105 yards.

James ran over, through and around Jets defenders most of the day and rushed for three touchdowns for the first time since Dec. 9, 2000. He also broke Lydell Mitchell's franchise rushing record (5,487). James now has 5,540 yards.

"At one point we thought we were going to put them away. We put them behind by two scores," James said. "But they came back and we never really got to where we could just grind 'em, grind 'em, grind 'em."

Late in the third quarter, Manning and James led Indianapolis on a 57-yard drive. That's when Dungy emptied the playbook.

Mike Vanderjagt, who had made 29 straight field goals, lined up for a 38-yarder. Smith took the snap, saw an opening and darted 21 yards virtually untouched to the end zone.

"They put nine guys on one side of the left guard and two guys outside," said Smith, a former high school quarterback. "It was kind of a no-brainer. We had five-on-two on that side."

The Indianapolis defense held from there, and Manning's 35-yard pass to Wayne clinched the game.

"Championship teams find ways to win games differently," Dungy said. "We've won 9-6 games, we've won games where we shut people down, we won today because we outscored them."

Dolphins 9, Ravens 6

MIAMI - Fans booed when Ricky Williams failed to find running room, and they chanted a profanity at coach Dave Wannstedt as time ran out in regulation. Then a clutch kick by Olindo Mare turned the jeers to cheers.

Mare made a 43-yard field goal with 8:48 left in overtime, and the Miami Dolphins salvaged an ugly afternoon by beating the Baltimore Ravens 9-6 Sunday.

"Ugly or not, we needed it," defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. "When the season's over, nobody is going to say, 'They barely beat the Ravens.' "

The Dolphins won despite another dismal offensive effort and another untimely miss by Mare, who has been shaky under pressure this season. His 48-yard attempt sailed wide right with the score tied and 2:29 left in regulation, but Mare redeemed himself in overtime.

NFL rushing leader Jamal Lewis, who finished with 88 yards on 26 carries, lost a fumble to set up Mare's clincher, which ended a defensive struggle that produced no touchdowns and lots of missed opportunities.

The Dolphins (6-4) snapped a two-game losing streak and eased pressure on the much-criticized Wannstedt - at least for a week. Fans mocked the coach with a chant when he chose to run out the clock with a first down at the Miami 20 and 51 seconds left in regulation.

"We were going to take it to overtime," Wannstedt said. "I was not going to take a chance of throwing the ball and having to punt into the wind and then give them the ball at the 50-yard line."

His strategy proved smart. Lewis bobbled a handoff in overtime, and Zach Thomas wrestled the ball away from him at the Baltimore 33. Three plays later, Mare made his third field goal of the day.

Titans 10, Jaguars 3

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee snapped its string of games with 30 or more points at six, but Steve McNair threw for a touchdown and the defense held off the Jaguars at the goal line in the final minute for their fifth straight win.

Jacksonville (2-8) had first-and-goal needing to score to force overtime, but the Titans stopped Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala twice up the middle for losses.

The Titans (8-2) then ran out the final 45 seconds for their 10th victory in 12 games in this series.

Tennessee never came close to the standard it set in becoming only the third team since 1970 to top 30 points in six consecutive games.

Texans 12, Bills 10

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Even without David Carr, the Houston Texans (4-6) got enough points to edge offensively stagnant Buffalo.

Tony Banks, filling in for Carr, who hurt his right shoulder in the first quarter, hit rookie receiver Andre Johnson for a 46-yard touchdown, and Kris Brown made two field goals for the win.

The Bills (4-6) failed to score a touchdown for the third straight game, and kicker Rian Lindell compounded the problem by missing two field goals.

In its last three games, Buffalo has combined for 21 points, including three safeties. Its last offensive score was Henry's 14-yard run with 10:24 left in a 24-7 win over Washington on Oct. 19. The Bills have lost six of their last eight.

Banks finished 11-of-16 for 207 yards, while Drew Bledsoe was 15-of-26 for 184 yards.

Broncos 37, Chargers 8

DENVER - Jake Plummer made a triumphant return with the Denver Broncos. San Diego's Doug Flutie fell flat in his encore performance.

Plummer showed no signs of rust in his first game in a month and the Broncos (6-4) made sure there was no Flutie magic for the second straight week.

The Broncos had 448 total yards and led 27-0 at the half after holding San Diego (2-8) to 18 yards and one first down.

Shannon Sharpe caught seven passes for 101 yards and had three touchdown receptions to pass Jerry Smith's league record by a tight end with 61. Sharpe is already the all-time leader in receptions and yards at his position.

Plummer played like he had never left, hitting 23-of-34 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns after missing four games with foot and shoulder injuries.

Flutie finished 9-for-25 for 70 yards and fumbled twice. He at least improved over the first half, when he was 3-for-12 for 15 yards with a quarterback rating of 4.9.

Browns 44, Cardinals 6

CLEVELAND - A tumultuous week for the Cleveland Browns ended with another shocker: A blowout win.

The Arizona Cardinals can come back and visit any time.

Kelly Holcomb passed for 392 yards and three touchdowns and the Browns showed no signs of disarray, rolling to a 44-6 rout Sunday over the embarrassingly inept Cardinals.

James Jackson had two TD runs and Phil Dawson kicked three field goals for the Browns (4-6), who came into the game with three straight losses and seemingly in turmoil.

On Tuesday, coach Butch Davis released wide receiver Kevin Johnson - Cleveland's leading receiver - and on Thursday the NFL suspended star running back William Green four games for violating the league's substance abuse program.

But the Browns showed no after effects, and it certainly helped that they were facing the Cardinals (3-7). Arizona didn't cross midfield until late in the first half, were outgained 235-60 by halftime and finished with just 10 first downs.

Cleveland outgained Arizona 481-187 in total yards.

Raiders 28, Vikings 18

OAKLAND, Calif. - The mistake-prone Minnesota Vikings sure made it easy for the Oakland Raiders to forget all their off-field problems.

Phillip Buchanon scored on a 64-yard interception return 49 seconds into the game and third-string quarterback Rick Mirer calmly directed the Raiders. Oakland (3-7) ended a five-game losing streak.

Daunte Culpepper passed for 396 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score. But his mistakes far outweighed his contributions as Minnesota (6-4) lost for the second straight week in California to a team with a losing record.

Patriots 12, Cowboys 0

FOXBORO, Mass. - Bill Belichick's Patriots showed his old boss how to really play defense.

New England won this much-hyped meeting of masterminds with Bill Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys. The Patriots, sparked by two long passes by a mostly ineffective Tom Brady, had enough offense to win their sixth straight game and give Belichick a 3-2 career record over Parcells.

New England (8-2) maintained its two-game lead over Miami in the AFC East. Dallas (7-3) dropped into a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the NFC East.

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