American Football: San Diego continue charge: Lowery kicks way towards Hall of Fame

THE National Football League's only unbeaten team, the San Diego Chargers, held on to their record with a 20-6 victory over the visiting Kansas City Chiefs.

After five games, the Chargers have opened up a two- game lead over Kansas in the American Football Conference West.

Kansas, who failed to score a touchdown for the second straight game, moved to the Chargers' two-yard line in the final minute, but Joe Montana threw two incompletions as time ran out. 'Their defence wouldn't let us get on a roll, which made us force the ball,' Montana said.

In Buffalo, Thurman Thomas, who sat out last week with a sprained knee, ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries as the Bills beat Miami Dolphins 21-11. The teams share top spot in the AFC East with four wins out of six.

In Dallas, Emmitt Smith rushed for a pair of first-quarter touchdowns as the Cowboys routed the Arizona Cardinals 38-3.

In Chicago, Lewis Tillman rushed 23 times for 100 yards, including a 25-yard fourth- quarter touchdown, and the former Saint, Steve Walsh, threw a touchdown pass to Jeff Graham as the Bears beat New Orleans 17-7 on a treacherous, rain-soaked field.

Jim Mora, the New Orleans coach, said: 'They outcoached us, they outplayed us, they physically whipped us.'

In Green Bay, Edgar Bennett's one-yard touchdown run, early in the fourth quarter, broke a tie as the Packers (3-3) rallied for a 24-17 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Nick Lowery kicked his 336th field goal, passing George Blanda into second place on the all-time list. He also became the third player to surpass 1,500 points with 1,503. Only the Hall of Fame players, Blanda and Jan Stenerud, have scored more.

In Detroit, Merton Hanks, the cornerback, had an interception to set up the go-ahead touchdown and recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter to stop a Lions drive as the San Francisco 49ers rallied from a 14-0 deficit to win

27-21.

In Atlanta, Craig 'Ironhead' Heyward scored two first-half touchdowns in the Falcons' 34-13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In New England, Jeff Hostetler threw for one touchdown and ran for the go- ahead score in the third quarter as the Los Angeles Raiders held on to beat the Patriots 21-17 despite Drew Bledsoe's fifth 300-yard passing game of the season.

NFL: Atlanta 34 Tampa Bay 13; Buffalo 21 Miami 11; Chicago 17 New Orleans 7; Detroit 21 San Francisco 27; Green Bay 24 LA Rams 17; NY Jets 16 Indianapolis 6; Dallas 38 Arizona 3; New England 17 LA Raiders 21; San Diego 20 Kansas City 6; Seattle 9 Denver 16; Philadelphia 21 Washington 17.

----------------------------------------------------------------- NFL STANDINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------- AMERICAN CONFERENCE Eastern Division W L T F A Buffalo 4 2 0 117 116 Miami 4 2 0 160 129 New England 3 3 0 158 159 NY Jets 3 3 0 92 105 Indianapolis 2 4 0 113 128 Central Division Cleveland 4 1 0 118 58 Pittsburgh 3 2 0 100 101 Houston 1 4 0 79 123 Cincinnati 0 5 0 78 129 Western Division San Diego 5 0 0 134 84 Kansas City 3 2 0 90 80 Seattle 3 3 0 130 86 LA Raiders 2 3 0 116 141 Denver 1 4 0 108 146 NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE Eastern Division W L T F A Dallas 4 1 0 135 56 Philadelphia 4 1 0 127 82 NY Giants 3 1 0 101 90 Arizona 1 4 0 49 111 Washington 1 5 0 112 165 Central Division Chicago 4 2 0 113 108 Minnesota 3 2 0 107 85 Green Bay 3 3 0 107 84 Detroit 2 4 0 106 129 Tampa Bay 2 4 0 80 118 Western Division Atlanta 4 2 0 138 112 San Francisco 4 2 0 154 131 LA Rams 2 4 0 84 109 New Orleans 2 4 0 97 138 -----------------------------------------------------------------

(Photograph omitted)