The Bengals put an end to Kansas City’s winning streak with a 24-19 victory.
By The Associated Press

CINCINNATI – Pop the corks and make the toast, you ’72 Dolphins. The perfect record is safe for one more season.

It’s guaranteed.

With a punt return and a long touchdown catch, Peter Warrick eclipsed Kansas City’s playmakers and let the Cincinnati Bengals back up their boast Sunday with a 24-19 victory over the Chiefs.

Trying to become the first team to go 10-0 since the 1998 Broncos, the less-than-perfect Chiefs unraveled against the Bengals (5-5), who finished the day tied for first after making Chad Johnson’s guarantee come true.

“The worst thing is to have a guy come out and shoot his mouth making a statement, and they stood up to it,” Chiefs cornerback Eric Warfield said.

“This is a good team, but we feel like we shouldn’t have lost.”

The undefeated ’72 Dolphins get together for a toast when the last winless team falls each season, reveling in their distinction. Warrick made this unbeaten team fall hard.

“That’s having my back,” said Johnson, who apologized to some of the Chiefs on the field for his guarantee. “They didn’t leave me hanging in the wind, and I didn’t want to leave them hanging in the wind.”

The victory left them into a first-place tie with Baltimore in the AFC North. The Bengals haven’t been in contention this late in a season since 1990, the last time they had a winning record.

Warrick, a top draft pick who symbolized their 12 years of misery, pulled off the plays that got them out of the malaise.

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.

Plummer showed no signs of rust in his first game in a month and the Broncos made sure there was no Flutie magic for the second straight week in a 37-8 rout over the Chargers on Sunday.

Denver (6-4) came flying out of its bye week, dominating from the start to end a three-game losing streak.

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.

Titans 10, Jaguars 3

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Titans couldn’t score 30 points Sunday on a sloppy, wet field. They did score just enough.

The Titans snapped their 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 to preserve a 10-3 victory, their fifth straight.

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.

Scott McGarrahan tackled Cortez Hankton at the 2 after an 8-yard catch, then Byron Leftwich couldn’t find a receiver in the end zone on fourth-and-2.

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

Colts 38, Jets 31

INDIANAPOLIS – Edgerrin James wanted the ball, and he got it.

So did punter Hunter Smith.

James ran for a season-high 127 yards and three touchdowns, and Smith raced 21 yards on a fake field goal for the go-ahead score Sunday, giving the Indianapolis Colts a 38-31 victory over the New York Jets.

It was a wacky day for two teams that last met in a lopsided playoff game and are led by former defensive coaches.

On Sunday, the defenses seemed to disappear.

Dolphins 9, Ravens 6

MIAMI – Olindo Mare finally came through in the clutch.

The Miami Dolphins’ kicker had been shaky under pressure lately, but he hit a 43-yard field goal with 8:48 left in overtime to beat the Baltimore Ravens 9-6 Sunday.

Mare missed a 48-yard attempt wide right that would have put Miami ahead with 2:29 left in regulation. Last month he missed two 35-yard tries that would have beaten New England.

NFL rushing leader Jamal Lewis lost a fumble to set up Mare’s clincher, which ended a defensive struggle that produced no touchdowns and lots of missed opportunities.

Texans 12, Bills 10

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Even without David Carr, the Houston Texans got enough points to edge the offensively inept Buffalo Bills.

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 to spark the Houston Texans’ 12-10 victory Sunday.

The Texans (4-6) matched their win total from last year’s expansion season, and also won their second road game of the year.

Banks previously guided them to a victory over Carolina with Carr injured.

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.