EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Curtis Martin ran here and dashed there, leaving Carson Palmer to watch the veteran running back ruin his NFL debut.

Martin ran for 196 yards and a touchdown, and added another score on a 3-yard TD reception to help the New York Jets beat the Cincinnati Bengals 31-24 Sunday.

The game marked the regular-season NFL debut for Palmer, the No. 1 overall pick in 2003. The Heisman Trophy winner commanded the offense well and made very few mistakes, going 18-of-27 for 248 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

But Palmer could not do anything about Martin, who looked better than he has in years.

Vikings 35, Cowboys 17

MINNEAPOLIS – Daunte Culpepper showed the Dallas Cowboys just how good he can be.

Culpepper threw a career-high five touchdown passes, two to Randy Moss, and led the Vikings to a 35-17 victory over the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon.

At 27, Culpepper should be entering his prime, and the Vikings are hoping that his inconsistent days are behind him. Against a depleted Dallas defense, he was both sensational and efficient, going 17-for-23 for 242 yards with no turnovers.

Chargers 27, Texans 20

HOUSTON – LaDainian Tomlinson got a little help for a change and the San Diego Chargers won – for a change.

Coincidence? Probably not.

Tomlinson, largely a one-man show for San Diego during his first three seasons, ran for 121 yards and a touchdown and the Chargers revved up a mistake-free passing game and an opportunistic defense to beat the Houston Texans 27-20 on Sunday.

With the score tied 20-20 midway into the fourth quarter, Tomlinson was practically a bystander as Drew Brees drove the Chargers downfield using his new favorite target, tight end Antonio Gates.

Falcons 21, 49ers 19

SAN FRANCISCO – Although the swirling wind was the most impressive force at Candlestick Park, Atlanta’s maligned defense made sure coach Jim Mora’s homecoming was a hit.

Aaron Beasley returned a goal-line interception 85 yards in the fourth quarter, and Rod Coleman batted down Tim Rattay’s pass on a 2-point conversion attempt with 40 seconds left in the Falcons’ 21-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Warrick Dunn rushed for two touchdowns and Michael Vick was 13-of-22 for 163 yards in an uninspiring debut under Mora.

Jaguars 13, Bills 10

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Byron Leftwich was best when it counted most, stealing a victory with a touchdown pass as time ran out.

Ernest Wilford came down in traffic with Leftwich’s 7-yard toss to cap an 80-yard drive in the final 2:07 and lift the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 13-10 win over the Buffalo Bills.

It was a remarkable effort from Leftwich, who had struggled all game and raised questions about his readiness to lead the Jaguars after failing to generate a touchdown drive in four preseason games.

Leftwich shed the doubts when facing fourth-and-goal from the 7 with four seconds remaining. He sent up a touch pass to the back of the end zone, where Wilford out-muscled three Bills defenders and came down with the ball as he fell out of bounds.

Lions 20, Bears 16

CHICAGO – Finally, a road win for the Detroit Lions.

Detroit ended its NFL-record 24-game streak of futility away from home Sunday, rallying to beat the mistake-prone Chicago Bears 20-16 in Lovie Smith’s debut as head coach.

Bracy Walker, who earlier returned a blocked field goal 92 yards for a third-quarter TD, intercepted a third-down pass in the end zone by Rex Grossman with 18 seconds to go, preserving the win.

Seahawks 21, Saints 7

NEW ORLEANS – Who says the Seattle Seahawks can’t win on the road? As long as Shaun Alexander finds his footing, they can.

Alexander scored three touchdowns Sunday to get the Seahawks got off to a good start on the season – and on the road – with a 21-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Playing behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, Alexander rushed for 135 yards on 28 carries. He ran for two touchdowns and caught another.

Browns 20, Ravens 3

CLEVELAND – Jamal Lewis didn’t run wild, Deion Sanders didn’t do much and Baltimore’s offense didn’t do a thing.

Jeff Garcia threw a 46-yard touchdown pass and ran for another TD in his Cleveland debut, leading the Browns to their first opening-week win since 1999, a 20-3 victory over the Ravens on Sunday.

Lewis, who rushed for 500 yards, including an NFL single-game record 295 last season against Cleveland, got just 57 yards on 20 carries.

Rams 17, Cardinals 10

ST. LOUIS – Competition for his job is bringing out the best in Marshall Faulk.

The St. Louis Rams’ running back shared time with first-round pick Steven Jackson in Sunday’s 17-10 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. But Faulk, who has missed 11 games due to injuries the last two seasons, carried the load with 128 yards on 22 carries.

Steelers 24, Raiders 21

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers brought the Bus out of the garage and showed off their new Duce coupe.

The Steelers returned to their roots – a strong running game and creative pressure defense – to open an early two-touchdown lead, then held off Oakland’s comeback to win 24-21 on Jeff Reed’s 42-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining.

Bettis, relegated to the bench behind Duce Staley despite being the No. 6 rusher in NFL history, was used only in goal-line situations but scored a career high-tying three TDs – all on 1-yard runs. He had more touchdowns (3) than yards rushing (1).

, as Staley, the former Eagles 1,000-yard rusher, did most of the damage with 91 yards.