ST. LOUIS — The Indianapolis Colts were too good Sunday for Peyton Manning to tie the NFL record with his sixth straight 300-yard game.
It wouldn’t have been appropriate for Manning to try for the mark the way his unbeaten team was beating up on the woeful St. Louis Rams. Manning still threw for three touchdowns in a 42-6 victory.
“He functions pretty well within the system,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “He does a great job leading our team and being a field general. I don’t think he reached 300 yards, but nevertheless he was very effective.”
Manning was 23-for-34 for 235 yards, and the defense got its first score of the year on rookie Jacob Lacey’s 35-yard interception return. Looking fresh coming off their bye, the Colts won their 15th straight regular-season game and set a franchise record with their eighth straight road victory.
“My hat’s off to them,” Rams defensive tackle Clifton Ryan said. “Don’t be surprised if they compete for a Super Bowl.”
There were plenty of cheers from a sellout crowd that included a healthy contingent of Indianapolis fans, many of whom lingered to salute players after the game.
“We had a great following today. It was outstanding,” said tight end Dallas Clark, who had a 27-yard TD catch. “When we were introduced it felt like a home game.”
The Colts are 6-0 for the fourth time in five seasons.
The Rams (0-7) lost their 17th straight regular-season game, wasting a season-best 134 yards on 23 carries by Steven Jackson.
St. Louis’ highlight came on its opening possession, a 50- yard flea-flicker from Marc Bulger to Donnie Avery to the Colts 14, but the drive fizzled and the Colts forced a field goal.
Jackson has three 100-yard games but no touchdowns. The Rams have been drilled by the Packers, Vikings and Colts in three home games by a combined 116-33.
“We have to learn to put four good quarters together,” Jackson said. “We don’t know how to win a game right now.”
Patriots 35, Buccaneers 7
WEMBLEY, England — Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and had more than 300 yards as the Patriots (5-2) beat the winless Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium in the NFL’s third regular-season game at the iconic London venue.
For the Bucs, who gave up a home game to play in London, the new surroundings didn’t help. They fell to 0-7 and saw their losing streak extended to 11 games overall.
Packers 31, Browns 3
CLEVELAND — Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes, Ryan Grant rushed for 148 yards against Cleveland, which has scored just four offensive touchdowns and 72 points this season.
Rodgers threw two TD passes in the second quarter as the Packers built a 21-3 halftime lead that might as well have been 51-3 against Cleveland’s inept offense, which managed just 82 yards before halftime and 139 for the game.
Bills 20, Panthers 9
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t make a big mistake in his first start at quarterback and Buffalo won despite being outgained 425-167.
Carolina led in first downs 20-9 and held the ball for nearly 35 minutes. But Jake Delhomme was intercepted three times, Kenny Moore fumbled a punt, John Kasay missed two field- goal attempts, and the Panthers (2-4) saw their two-game winning streak snapped.
Jairus Byrd, a rookie, had two interceptions to set up touchdowns as Buffalo (3-3) won road games in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2004.
The Associated Press
