Warner's end-zone fumble dooms Cards
Everybody beats the San Francisco 49ers -- except the Arizona Cardinals.
Tully Banta-Cain pounced on Kurt Warner's fumble in the Cardinals' end zone to give the host 49ers a wild 37-31 overtime victory and end their eight-game losing streak Sunday.
"You could have swore we just won the Super Bowl the way we were celebrating," Banta-Cain said.
The 49ers are 2-0 against Arizona, 1-8 against everybody else.
The Cardinals (5-6) could have won moments before Warner's fumble, but Neil Rackers missed a 32-yard field goal.
First-year Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt acknowledged he made several mistakes on the sidelines, probably none more important than on that bizarre field-goal sequence.
Rackers initially lined up for a 27-yard try and kicked it through the uprights. But a delay-of-game penalty nullified the kick and pushed Rackers 5 yards back, where he hooked his attempt just to the left of the upright.
"The clock ran out fast," Whisenhunt said. "That's my fault. I take full responsibility for that. I thought we had time. It wasn't any different than normal. Obviously, I should have called a timeout there."
Moments later, the Cardinals found themselves pinned on their own 3.
Warner dropped back to pass and was hit by Ronald Fields. The quarterback fumbled, then Banta-Cain fell on the ball to give San Francisco its first victory since Sept. 16.
"The ball was supposed to be out quick," Whisenhunt said. "We had success with that before, and we couldn't do it. In hindsight, yes, I would have liked to run the ball."
Warner, who threw for 484 yards and 2 TDs, didn't have much to say about the play.
"I didn't see anything open," he said, "and I was just looking for a place to get rid of it at that point, and wasn't able to do so."
Oakland 20, Chiefs 17: Justin Fargas and LaMont Jordan each rushed for a touchdown and the defense came up with a big stop on fourth down, snapping a 17-game losing streak in the division for visiting Oakland.
Oakland hadn't beaten anybody in its division since a 25-24 squeaker over Denver on Nov. 28, 2004, the longest ongoing streak of divisional futility in the NFL.
Fargas had 139 yards on 22 carries for the Raiders (3-8), who also snapped a six-game skid overall and a nine-game losing streak to the Chiefs.
Kansas City (4-7) got a huge day from rookie Kolby Smith, who rushed for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns after languishing on the third team behind Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes all season.
But Smith failed on fourth-and-1 from the Raiders' 23 when he slammed over left guard and lost a yard.
Bengals 35, Titans 6: In Cincinnati, Chad Johnson had a career-high 12 catches, set the Bengals' record for career receptions, and scored 3 touchdowns against fast-fading Tennessee.
After emerging as one of the NFL's first-half surprises, Tennessee (6-5) has lost three in a row to slip back into the pack. The offense has been sloppy and the defense, without standout tackle Albert Haynesworth, suddenly has lost its ability to stop anybody, giving up 28, 34 and 35 points during the slide.
Johnson piled up 103 yards and his first touchdowns since a 51-45 loss in Cleveland on Sept. 16. Johnson eclipsed Carl Pickens' club mark with his 531st career reception in the second quarter.