Bears Finally Get the Best of Favre, 19-7

The Bears roughed up Brett Favre. They knocked him down, intercepted two of his passes and beat the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field for the first time since 1993.

Their 19-7 victory Sunday was their eighth in a row -- their longest streak since the 1985 Super Bowl team started 12-0.

“All the years I’ve played against them, I think defensively this is as well as I’ve seen them play,” said a banged-up Favre, who had swelling in his wrist and a cut on his hand after hitting it on the helmet of a Bear linemen on a third-quarter pass.

Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher had game-changing interceptions against Favre, who completed 31 of 58 passes for 277 yards.

Tillman returned the first interception just before halftime 95 yards to set up one of Robbie Gould’s four field goals, and Vasher took a late interception 45 yards to secure the victory.

“With Brett Favre, you have to read your keys,” Tillman said. “He could be getting sacked and still throw it 30 yards. It’s kind of hit or miss with Brett Favre.”

The Bears (9-3) prevented Favre from throwing a touchdown pass against them -- he’d done so in an NFL-record 26 straight games -- and sacked him twice on hard hits from blitzing Tillman and Mike Brown.

Favre is now 21-6 against the Bears and 11-2 at Soldier Field. The Packers are 2-10 this season.

Washington 24, St. Louis 9 -- Clinton Portis ran for 136 yards in 27 carries with a pair of touchdowns in a victory at St. Louis that ended the Redskins’ three-game losing streak.

The Redskins (6-6) kept alive faint playoff hopes after losing the previous three games by a total of 10 points, and probably knocked the Rams (5-7) from the field of also-ran hopefuls. St. Louis is an NFL-best 42-12 at home since 1999 but a pedestrian 3-3 this year.

Seattle clinched the NFC West, thanks to the Rams’ loss.

New England 16, New York Jets 3 -- Corey Dillon scored on a one-yard run, and Kevin Faulk made three key third-down catches at Foxborough, Mass., as the Patriots (7-5) kept their AFC East lead at two games.

Adam Vinatieri set the Patriots’ all-time scoring record, kicking field goals of 21, 34 and 22 yards, giving him 1,134 points, four more than Gino Cappelletti.

The Jets (2-10) lost their seventh game in a row as their NFL-low average dropped to 11.9 points a game. They managed only 164 yards on offense.

Tampa Bay 10, New Orleans 3 -- Ronde Barber intercepted three passes by Aaron Brooks, and Chris Simms connected with Joey Galloway for the only touchdown the Buccaneers needed at Baton Rouge, La.

On New Orleans’ final drive, Brooks threw for the end zone on what could have been a tying score when Barber picked off the pass. Carnell Williams managed 96 yards rushing, but the Saint defense never folded and generally frustrated the Buccaneers (8-4). It was for naught, however, because of Tampa Bay’s clutch stops against New Orleans (3-9).

Miami 24, Buffalo 23 -- Chris Chambers leaped in the end zone to make one last grab with six seconds left, capping a frantic fourth-quarter comeback by the Dolphins at Miami.

Chambers outjumped cornerback Jabari Greer for his 15th reception of the game, a four-yard score on fourth down to help the Dolphins (5-7) overcome a 21-point deficit.

The stunned Bills (4-8) were all but eliminated from the postseason race. They can blame an 0-6 record on the road.

Baltimore 16, Houston 15 -- Matt Stover kicked a 38-yard field goal with six seconds left to lift the Ravens (4-8) at Baltimore.

Kris Brown’s fifth field goal with 1:08 to go put Houston (1-11) in position for its second win.

Jacksonville 20, Cleveland 14 -- David Garrard, making the fourth start of his career, threw two touchdown passes in the second half and made a crucial scramble for a first down in the final minutes at Cleveland as the Jaguars (9-3) rallied for their fifth win in a row.

Garrard came through in the clutch against the Browns (4-8), tossing two touchdowns as Jacksonville overcame a 14-3 halftime deficit.

Minnesota 21, Detroit 16 -- Brad Johnson threw two touchdowns, Michael Bennett scored twice and the Vikings held on to win at Detroit.

Minnesota (7-5) has won five in a row, salvaging its season after a bad start and the infamous boat party.

Detroit (4-8) has lost five of six and didn’t seem to be sparked by Dick Jauron in his debut as interim coach.

Arizona 17, San Francisco 10 -- Kurt Warner was 29 of 45 for 354 yards, and Anquan Boldin (11 catches for 156 yards and one touchdown) and Larry Fitzgerald (eight catches, 129 yards) ran wild against the 49ers’ secondary at San Francisco.

Filling in for injured kicker Neil Rackers, Nick Novak kicked three field goals as Arizona (4-8) got its second win in three games.

No. 1 draft pick Alex Smith remained winless -- and without a touchdown pass -- in his pro career. He was 11 of 12 for 138 yards in the first half, but five of 12 with three interceptions after halftime. The 49ers are 2-10.