CLEVELAND – The Pittsburgh Steelers protected their rookie quarterback’s head – and his perfect start.

Ben Roethlisberger became the first rookie QB to begin 7-0 since 1970 as Jerome Bettis had two short touchdown runs, leading the Steelers to a 24-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

The Steelers (8-1) took smashmouth football to a new extreme. Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter bloodied Browns running back William Green in a fight during pregame drills. Both were ejected before the game began.

After handing New England and Philadelphia their first losses the past two weeks, Pittsburgh figured to be due for a letdown. That will have to wait until next week – maybe – as the Steelers remained the NFL’s hottest team with their seventh consecutive win.

Bettis, starting in place of the injured Duce Staley for the second straight week, gained 103 yards on 29 carries. He scored on TD runs from the 5 and 1 yards in the first half.

Bettis had a chance to score a third TD, but couldn’t get over the goal line despite three cracks from Cleveland’s 1 in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers settled for Jeff Reed’s 20-yard field goal with 12:25 left instead. They put the game away moments later when Aaron Smith stripped quarterback Jeff Garcia and safety Russell Stuvaints ran it in from 24 yards.

Roethlisberger wasn’t spectacular, just efficient. He finished 10-of-16 for 134 yards. He also had 41 yards rushing as he smartly avoided pressure by running from trouble the few times the Browns (3-6) were able to get him in any trouble.

Bears 19, Titans 17

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Chicago Bears are getting defensive at the right time of the season.

Alex Brown sacked backup Billy Volek in the end zone and knocked the ball loose, and Tennessee tackle Fred Miller recovered but was tackled for a safety to give the Bears a 19-17 overtime win over the Titans on Sunday.

It was only the second time an NFL game has ended in overtime on a safety. The first was Nov. 5, 1989, when Minnesota beat the Los Angeles Rams 23-21 when Mike Merriweather blocked Dale Hatcher’s punt and the ball rolled out of the end zone.

The victory gave the Bears (4-5) their first three-game winning streak since the end of the 2001 season – Chicago’s last playoff appearance – and kept them alive in the NFC North race.

Bengals 17, Redskins 10

LANDOVER, Md. – By the time Joe Gibbs finally lost his patience with Mark Brunell, Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals were already in control of the game.

Second-year quarterback Palmer, displaying the smooth efficiency lacked by the veteran Brunell, completed 24 of 39 passes for 217 yards Sunday against the league’s top-ranked defense, leading the Bengals to a 17-10 victory over the Washington Redskins.

Rudi Johnson added 102 yards on 31 carries for the Bengals (4-5), who defeated Dallas 26-3 last week and have won three of four. They also broke a six-game road losing streak.

Palmer’s day was marred by two interceptions, but he has completed 45 of 71 passes for 429 over his last two games. His first pass was picked off by rookie Sean Taylor, and two poor throws fell incomplete on the next drive.

Falcons 24, Bucs 14

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Falcons were irate, feeling they had just been robbed of a touchdown.

They didn’t let it keep them down for long.

Bouncing back after the officials denied an apparent defensive TD, Alge Crumpler hauled in a 49-yard scoring pass from Michael Vick and the Falcons held on for 24-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Crumpler had four catches for a career-best 118 yards, and the Falcons rushed for 205 yards. Meanwhile, the Atlanta defense had a season-high seven sacks to make life miserable for Brian Griese, and pressured him into a late interception that sealed the victory.

Saints 27, Chiefs 20

NEW ORLEANS – Aaron Brooks threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Joe Horn midway through the fourth quarter and the New Orleans Saints rallied to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-20 on Sunday.

Comebacks have been rare this season for New Orleans (4-5), which routinely falls behind early. The Saints trailed 10-0 after one quarter in this game, but for a change were able to rally – and then hold on to win.

With the score tied at 20, the Saints drove 72 yards to take the lead with 5:35 remaining. The Chiefs (3-6) responded by driving to the Saints 17, but running back Derrick Blaylock could not handle a pass from Trent Green and linebacker Orlando Ruff grabbed it to preserve the victory.

Jaguars 23, Lions 17

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – David Garrard proved he’s much more than just a scrambling quarterback.

Garrard threw two touchdown passes, including a 36-yarder to Jimmy Smith in overtime, to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 23-17 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Garrard, making his first start in nearly two years, finished 19-of-36 for 198 yards and added 42 yards rushing.

Fred Taylor had a season-high 144 yards rushing as the Lions were gashed on the ground for a second consecutive week and lost their third straight game.

Washington’s Clinton Portis ran for 147 yards against Detroit last week.

Panthers 37, 49ers 27

SAN FRANCISCO – With their punter kicking field goals and their defense kicking Tim Rattay all over the field, the Carolina Panthers doubled their win total.

Muhsin Muhammad caught three touchdown passes from Jake Delhomme in the second half, and Todd Sauerbrun made the go-ahead field goal with 4:25 left in the Panthers 37-27 victory over the hapless San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Delhomme was 19-of-34 for 303 yards – 123 on six passes to Muhammad – as the Panthers (2-7) overwhelmed the Niners’ terrible defense with 34 points after halftime.

The beleaguered defending NFC champions had no running game and no kicker, thanks to John Kasay’s calf injury, but still snapped their six-game losing streak.

Ravens 20, Jets 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Matt Stover and the Baltimore Ravens ruined Quincy Carter’s first start for the New York Jets.

Stover kicked a 42-yard field goal with 7:39 remaining in overtime to lift the Ravens to a 20-17 victory over the Jets on Sunday. Last year, Stover kicked two game-winning field goals in overtime for Baltimore.

Kyle Boller got the Ravens in position for the winning score by converting a third-and-5 from the Baltimore 49 with a 21-yard pass to Kevin Johnson. Boller then completed a 10-yard pass to Travis Taylor on third-and-14 from the Jets 34 to put the Ravens (6-3) in field goal range.

Boller was 19-of-33 for 213 yards with two touchdowns, both to rookie Clarence Moore. Jamal Lewis had 30 carries for 68 yards.

Rams 23, Seahawks 12

ST. LOUIS – Mike Martz got angry, and the St. Louis Rams got the message.

Marc Bulger got off to a red-hot start and a beleaguered defense held Seattle to three field goals in five trips inside the 20 in a 23-12 victory that earned them a first-place tie with the Seahawks in the NFC West on Sunday. The Rams had drawn the ire of their head coach, who twice put the season on their backs after consecutive losses to the beat-up Patriots and previously winless Dolphins.

The Rams (5-4) responded to Mad Mike by sweeping the season series against their top competition in the West, this time benefiting from an early cushion rather than a fast finish. The Rams led 17-0 early in the second quarter in the rematch; they scored 17 points in the final 51/2 minutes of regulation of an overtime victory in Seattle on Oct. 10.

Colts 49, Texans 14

INDIANAPOLIS – Peyton Manning never had it so easy.

The Houston Texans made mistake after mistake Sunday and Manning converted them into touchdown after touchdown.

Manning completed 18 of 27 passes for 320 yards and threw five touchdowns for the third time this season as the Indianapolis Colts made Houston pay for its sloppiness with a 49-14 rout.

Houston (4-5) is now 0-5 all-time against the Colts after matching the worst loss in franchise history. The Texans lost 38-3 to Cincinnati in their inaugural season of 2002.

Packers 34, Vikings 31

GREEN BAY, Wis. – What a difference a month has made for the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.

Ryan Longwell’s 33-yard field goal as time expired gave the Packers a 34-31 victory over their archrivals on Sunday after the Vikings had rallied to tie it with two touchdowns in the final 2:53.

After Daunte Culpepper’s fourth touchdown toss, Robert Ferguson returned the kickoff to midfield, where Antoine Winfield forced a fumble. The officials ruled that Packers tight end Ben Steele recovered, even though Minnesota’s Larry Ned emerged from the scrum with the ball as the Vikings celebrated. Brett Favre, who also threw four touchdown passes, calmly guided Green Bay to the Vikings’ 15-yard line, where Longwell split the uprights. It was Favre’s 18th game with four or more touchdowns.