MINNEAPOLIS – Randy Moss made a noticeable impact in his return for the Minnesota Vikings. Most importantly, the defense made it count.

Moss caught a go-ahead touchdown pass in the third quarter, Kevin Williams returned Byron Leftwich’s fumble 77 yards for the clinching score and the Vikings beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-16.

Trailing 20-16 just before the 2-minute warning, with third-and-6 at the Minnesota 19, Leftwich had Jacksonville in position to take the lead after a sprained left knee kept him out of the last two games.

Rookie Kenechi Udeze sacked Leftwich from behind, the ball popped out and Williams picked it up on his way to an exhausting touchdown for the Vikings (7-4).

His hamstring finally healed, Moss had four receptions – his first in six weeks – for 40 yards. Daunte Culpepper completed 19 of 27 passes for 235 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He scored on a 1-yard run in the first half and committed what could’ve been a costly fumble in the fourth quarter.

Their lead whittled to four, the Vikings were on their way to another clock-eating touchdown drive when Culpepper was sacked by Bobby McCray at the Jacksonville 22. The fumble was recovered by Marcus Stroud with 7:46 remaining, and the Jaguars marched all the way down to the other end before Leftwich fumbled away their chance.

Bills 38, Seahawks 9

SEATTLE – Drew Bledsoe went all the way home to Washington state to help the Buffalo Bills collect a rare road win.

Willis McGahee had 116 yards rushing and four touchdowns, leading Buffalo to a 38-9 win over Seattle on Sunday, the worst loss for coach Mike Holmgren in his six seasons with the Seahawks.

Bledsoe offset his three interceptions by completing two-thirds of his passes for 275 yards and a touchdown, and the Bills (5-6) snapped a six-game road losing streak dating to last season.

It was Buffalo’s first road win in five tries this season and the team’s second victory in the last 12 trips.

McGahee led the way behind an offensive line that dictated the pace all day. He scored on a pair of 2-yard runs, took a lateral from Bledsoe for a 30-yard TD and added a 1-yard scoring run midway through the fourth quarter.

Dolphins 24, 49ers 17

SAN FRANCISCO – Although the Miami Dolphins doubled their victory total, there were no real winners. The NFL’s two worst teams played a game every bit as wretched as their records.

Randy McMichael caught a 15-yard touchdown pass with 10:35 to play, and the 49ers fumbled five times in the fourth quarter of the Dolphins’ 24-17 victory Sunday, leaving San Francisco as the league’s only one-win team.

It was the game of the weak, the battle of the bads – a meeting of two once-proud franchises brought to historic lows by injuries, infighting, poor management and insufficient talent.

The fans who booed both teams off the field at halftime saw a game that was just as painful and awkward as these clubs’ precipitous declines this season.

Steelers 16, Redskins 7

PITTSBURGH – No team needs a lot of offense these days to beat the Redskins. Antwaan Randle El and Jerome Bettis gave the Pittsburgh Steelers just enough to keep their longest winning streak in 28 years going.

Randle El, making only his second NFL start at receiver, took care of the big plays and Bettis again handled the short yardage in his fourth consecutive 100-yard game to lead the Steelers past Washington 16-7 Sunday.

The Steelers’ nine-game winning streak is their longest since they won their final nine in 1976.

Just like those Steel Curtain days, the Steelers are increasingly relying on the NFL’s top-ranked defense as opponents come up with ways to contain unbeaten quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The rookie had his second straight low-production game (9-of-20, 131 yards, four sacks) while constantly sidestepping Washington’s pass rush, but it hardly made any difference even as Pittsburgh was held to 207 yards.

Jets 13, Cardinals 3

TEMPE, Ariz. – Quincy Carter came back from a TKO to deliver the knockout blow against the Arizona Cardinals.

Carter left with a head injury after the third play of the game, but returned to throw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss and the New York Jets beat the Cardinals 13-3.

Curtis Martin carried 24 times for 99 yards and Doug Brien kicked field goals of 28 and 46 yards for the Jets (8-3).

The sluggish triumph followed a similar 10-7 victory for New York over Cleveland a week ago.

Martin and Emmitt Smith brought 30,817 career yards rushing into the game – the most by two backs playing in the same contest in NFL history.

But Smith wasn’t around long, injuring a toe on his left foot late in the first quarter. He played in the next series, then left the game for good.

Steelers 16, Redskins 7

PITTSBURGH – No team needs a lot of offense these days to beat the Redskins. Antwaan Randle El and Jerome Bettis gave the Pittsburgh Steelers just enough to keep their longest winning streak in 28 years going.

Randle El, making only his second NFL start at receiver, took care of the big plays and Bettis again handled the short yardage in his fourth consecutive 100-yard game to lead the Steelers past Washington 16-7 Sunday.

The Steelers’ nine-game winning streak is their longest since they won their final nine in 1976. They are 10-1 for the first time since 1975, the second of their four Super Bowl championship seasons.

Just like those Steel Curtain days, the Steelers are increasingly relying on the NFL’s top-ranked defense as opponents come up with ways to contain unbeaten quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The rookie had his second straight low-production game (9-of-20, 131 yards, four sacks) while constantly sidestepping Washington’s pass rush, but it hardly made any difference even as Pittsburgh was held to 207 yards.

Randle El scampered through the Redskins’ coverage team on punt returns of 60 and 43 yards to set up two first-half scores, Bettis’ 4-yard touchdown run – his 11th of the season – and the first of Jeff Reed’s three field goals on a blustery, windy day.

Randle El, making a spot start for the injured Plaxico Burress (hamstring), also made two catches for 37 yards and drew a 32-yard pass interference penalty, though it didn’t result in any scoring.

Bettis was a surprise starter when Duce Staley unexpectedly sat out a fourth straight game with a sore hamstring and responded with 100 yards on 31 carries. Bettis’ 47th career 100-yard game matches Franco Harris’ team record. Bettis last had four consecutive 100-yard games in the Steelers’ second through fifth games in 2001.

The Redskins (3-8), headed for one of the lowest-scoring seasons in NFL history, were held to 156 yards and to single-digit scoring for a second consecutive game, following a 28-6 loss to Philadelphia. They haven’t score more than 18 points all season.

Washington was held to 50 yards as Pittsburgh opened a 13-0 lead in the first half, and mounted only one sustained drive in the second half in quarterback Patrick Ramsey’s second start of the season.

With team rushing leader Clinton Portis sitting out – he was held to 17 yards on six carries – the Redskins drove 79 yards in 13 plays early in the third quarter for Ramsey’s 2-yard scoring pass to Chris Cooley on fourth-and-goal, cutting it to 13-7.

The only other time Washington threatened, with the fourth quarter winding down and Pittsburgh up 16-7, Ramsey (19-of-34, 138 yards) underthrew Laveranues Coles and Deshea Townsend intercepted on a first-and-10 play from the Steelers 40.

For Steelers coach Bill Cowher, it was his fourth victory in six weeks over a high-profile NFL coach – in this case, three-time Super Bowl winner Joe Gibbs. The Steelers also recently beat Super Bowl-winning coaches Bill Belichick of New England and Bill Parcells of the Cowboys and Eagles coach Andy Reid, whose teams have played in the last three NFC title games.

Roethlisberger won his 22nd consecutive start – his first nine in the NFL and his last 13 at Miami of Ohio.

AP-ES-11-28-04 1615EST