Colts grind out a victory over the Bills, 17-16

With the Buffalo Bills content to slow down the up-tempo offense of Indianapolis, a restrained Peyton Manning relied on short throws, an effective ground game and a time-consuming final drive to lead the host Colts to a 17-16 victory Sunday and into the NFL record book.

The Colts are the first team to have consecutive 9-0 records.

“They just stayed real deep and double-covered the outside receivers,” Manning said.

“When a team does that, taking away the deep patterns, you’ve got to be able to run the ball and you’ve got to be able to throw underneath and get yards after the catch. We were doing that.”

Manning completed 27 of 39 passes for 236 yards with one touchdown.

But the Colts needed some help from Rian Lindell, who pushed a 41-yard field-goal try wide right -- a play that would have given Buffalo (3-6) the lead with 6 minutes 22 seconds left.

A one-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Reggie Wayne early in the second quarter gave the Colts a 7-3 lead, and Adam Vinatieri’s field goal made it 10-3.

The Colts have won 31 of their last 34 regular-season games.

Pittsburgh 38, New Orleans 31 -- Willie Parker broke free on runs of 72 and 76 yards to set up his two short scoring runs in the second half, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns and the Steelers (3-6) rallied to defeat the Saints (6-3) at Pittsburgh.

Baltimore 27, Tennessee 26 -- Steve McNair threw his third touchdown pass with 3:35 left, and his new team, the Ravens (7-2), rallied from a 26-7 deficit to beat his old team, the Titans (2-7), at Nashville.

Seattle 24, St. Louis 22 -- Josh Brown made a 38-yard field goal with nine seconds left and the Seahawks (6-3) rallied to beat the Rams (4-5) at Seattle.

New York Jets 17, New England 14 -- Relying on short gains and long drives on a rainy day at Foxborough, Mass., the Jets repelled a late rally and ended the Patriots’ streak of 57 games without consecutive losses. Favorites to win the AFC East title, the Patriots (6-3) lead the Jets (5-4) by one game.

Dallas 27, Arizona 10 -- Tony Romo threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard pass to Terrell Owens, and the Cowboys (5-4) beat the crumbling Cardinals (1-8) at Glendale, Ariz.

Denver 17, Oakland 13 -- Jake Plummer threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Johnson early in the fourth quarter after a fumble by the Broncos (7-2) was negated by a penalty on the Raiders (2-7) at Oakland.

Miami 13, Kansas City 10 -- The Chiefs were denied a first down until nearly halftime, and a trick play set up the Dolphins’ lone touchdown at Miami. The Dolphins (3-6) won their second game in a row and ended a three-game winning streak by the Chiefs (5-4).

Philadelphia 27, Washington 3 -- Donovan McNabb threw an 84-yard touchdown pass to Donte’ Stallworth, Sheldon Brown returned an interception 70 yards for a score and the Eagles (5-4) ended a three-game losing streak with the victory over the Redskins (3-6) at Philadelphia.

San Francisco 19, Detroit 13 -- Frank Gore set a franchise record with 148 yards rushing in the first half before leaving because of a concussion, and Joe Nedney made all four of his field-goal attempts to give the 49ers (4-5) the victory over the Lions (2-7) at Detroit.

Green Bay 23, Minnesota 17 -- Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes without a turnover and Donald Driver had 191 yards receiving, leading the Packers (4-5) past the Vikings (4-5) at Minneapolis.

Houston 13, Jacksonville 10 -- David Carr threw for 167 yards before leaving because of a shoulder injury, and the Texans (3-6) defeated the Jaguars (5-4) to end a 12-game road losing streak.

Cleveland 17, Atlanta 13 -- Michael Vick threw two interceptions and fumbled once, and the Browns (3-6) escaped with a victory over the Falcons (5-4) at Atlanta.