49ers beat Giants to extend NFL win streak

Defensive end Justin Smith batted down Eli Manning's fourth-down pass late in the fourth quarter to preserve the San Francisco 49ers' 27-20 win over the New York Giants. With his team trailing, star quarterback Manning completed a pair of long fourth-down passes and got the Giants into scoring position late in the game. Unlike last week's rally by the Giants at New England, this time San Francisco's Smith made a leaping smack of the ball on fourth-and-two from the 10. "I just walked off the field with joy inside. Right now, we're 8-1," said Carlos Rogers, who had a couple of key interceptions. "We stuck to it to the end, and last minute of the game made a play." The 49ers posted their seventh consecutive win to extend their best start since 1997. They also matched the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers for the most wins in the National Football League this season with eight. "It was a big win for us. As we continue to win we're getting on a bigger stage, and that's exactly what we want, we want to continue to climb and get on bigger stages," quarterback Alex Smith said. "That's it. You're as good as your record, and you're as good as your last game. And we beat a really good football team." San Francisco was forced to play without runningback Frank Gore, whose franchise-record streak of five-straight games with 100 yards rushing ended with a knee injury. Manning finished 26-for-40 for 311 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. In Cincinnati, Rashard Mendenhall ran for a pair of touchdowns Sunday, and the Pittsburgh Steelers intercepted quarterback Andy Dalton twice late in the game, holding on for a 24-17 win over the Bengals. Cornerback William Gay guessed correctly on rookie quarterback Dalton's throw and stepped in front of Jerome Simpson for the key interception inside the Pittsburgh 20-yard line with 2:27 remaining. Pittsburgh came into Sunday's contest with only two interceptions all season. Pittsburgh's victory snapped the Bengals' five-game winning streak in front of the first sold out crowd at Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium. "We're a great defence because of the way we play," safety Ryan Clark said. "Turnovers tend to come in spurts. That's what separates teams from being a great defence. Today, we were able to help us win it." Dalton completed two more touchdown passes, giving him 14 overall - the most by a rookie quarterback in his first nine games since the AFL-NFL merger 41 years ago. In Atlanta, John Kasay kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime to give the New Orleans Saints a 26-23 victory over Atlanta after Falcons coach Mike Smith decided to gamble on fourth down deep in his own zone. The Falcons rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final quarter, tying it on Matt Bryant's 27-yard field goal on the final play of the fourth quarter. In overtime, the Falcons failed to pick up a first down on a pass to Mike Cox. Smith decided to go for it on fourth down at their own 29 instead of kicking the ball, but their attempt backfired. Michael Turner was stopped, allowing Kasay to kick the winning field goal for the Saints. In other games Sunday it was, Jacksonville 17 Indianapolis 3, Dallas 44 Buffalo 7, Miami 20 Washington 9, Denver 17 Kansas City 10, St. Louis 13 Cleveland 12, Arizona 21 Philadelphia 17, Tennessee 30 Carolina 3, Houston 37 Tampa Bay 9, Seattle 22 Baltimore 17 and Chicago 37 Detroit 13