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Cowboys 24, Cardinals 7

IRVING, Texas - Emmitt Smith was all smiles. Fans were cheering his every move, and flashbulbs were popping. He looked around happily, savoring his return to Texas Stadium. Everything was going his way.

Then the game began, and nothing went right. Smith lost 4 yards on his first carry and finished with minus-1, the worst outing of his career. He was sidelined early in the second quarter with a sprained left shoulder. Smith spent the rest of the game in the locker room, his arm in a sling, as his former Dallas teammates polished off a win.

"Every player wants to play four quarters, play his best and do everything possible to help his team win," a disappointed Smith said.

Quincy Carter passed for 277 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense allowed just 151 yards and provided two safeties in a four-play span of the third quarter as new Cowboys coach Bill Parcells earned his first home win. Dallas was up by a touchdown when Smith went out, then pulled away for its first three-game winning streak since opening 3-0 in 1999.

"This game was nothing personal to Emmitt," said safety Darren Woodson, who played 11 years with Smith. "It was about beating the Cardinals."

Thousands of fans wore blue No. 22 jerseys and Smith was applauded the moment he stepped onto the field. He shared a hug with Dallas owner Jerry Jones, who wished him luck.

FOXBORO, Mass. - It was a dream come true for Mike Cloud - literally.

Cloud returned from a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 15-yard run with 3:14 remaining Sunday.

"As I went to bed last night, I had visions of something good happening," Cloud said. "I guess the dream was right."

Cloud, who grew up in Rhode Island and played at Boston College, signed with the Patriots from Kansas City in the offseason despite facing a suspension after testing positive for a banned supplement.

Playing for a crowd cheering as much for the Red Sox, Cloud put the Pats ahead for good with his TD run. Then Ty Law clinched it with a 65-yard interception return for a score.

The sequence started with 4:40 remaining. Quarterback Steve McNair bulled into the end zone from a yard out to give Tennessee a 25-24 lead and threw for a two-point conversion to rookie Tyrone Calico. It came at the end of a 17-play, 86-yard drive that consumed more than seven minutes.

But another rookie, New England's Bethel Johnson, returned the kickoff 71 yards to the Titans 30. Three plays later, Cloud raced up the middle for the winning TD, capping a day in which he gained 73 yards on seven carries. "I felt good," Cloud said, "and I felt things would come."

CHICAGO - Tired of the same old boos in new Soldier Field, quarterback Kordell Stewart and Chicago found a way to appease their fans.

Putting a penalty-filled display behind them in the fourth quarter, the Bears rallied to win on Paul Edinger's 48-yard, last-play field goal.

"I was booing, too, sometimes to be honest with you," Stewart said after Chicago overcame an 18-3 halftime deficit for its first victory. "The good thing about it is that we got cheers at the end."

Stewart finished 13 of 24 for 160 yards and with 52 rushing. Anthony Thomas ran for 123 yards. Oakland got five field goals from Sebastian Janikowski, but he missed the first extra point of his career and had a 47-yard field goal blocked in the second half.

"It's probably what we deserved for not playing well across the board," QB Rich Gannon said.

The struggling Bears showed some punch against Oakland's soft defense, moving from their 27 to the Raiders 30 in the final 3 minutes, 30 seconds. Stewart kept the drive alive, leaping for a first down on fourth and 1 from Chicago's 49 with 22 seconds to go.

After his scramble to the 31 was nullified by a penalty, Stewart pumped and allowed Dez White to get open for a 29-yard gain to Oakland's 31. A running play to get the ball in the middle of the field set up Edinger. The Raiders used a timeout to try to ice him before he hit his third field goal of the day.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Travis Henry played through the pain of a rib injury, and Eric Moulds wouldn't let a nagging groin injury hold him back. It took both offensive stars to lead Buffalo to a come-from-behind overtime victory.

Henry scored twice, including a 2-yard plunge 4:53 into overtime, in his first game in two weeks.

Moulds set up the touchdown with what might have been a costly 28-yard reception. Tackled at the Cincinnati 7, he strained his groin as he tumbled to the sideline. Henry scored two plays later.

"I wanted to come out and help this team," said Henry, who gained 85 yards rushing on 25 carries.

Moulds described the injury as "a slight pull," and said he hopes to play this weekend at the Jets.

Despite playing without star running back Corey Dillon (groin strain) the Bengals looked nothing like the "Bungles" of the past ... until the final 10 minutes, when they allowed Buffalo to overcome a 16-13 deficit.

Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe (19 of 35 for 211 yards) responded after the Bengals scored on Rudi Johnson's 16-yard run and Shayne Graham's 30-yard field goal for the lead with 5:33 left.

Bledsoe marched the Bills 59 yards to set up Rian Lindell's 29-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in regulation. Then Bledsoe secured the win, taking Buffalo 57 yards after Cincinnati opened overtime by going three and out.

SAN FRANCISCO - Once Terrell Owens and Jeff Garcia got back in step over breakfast, not even Steve Mariucci could trip them up.

Owens caught five passes for 79 yards and a score as the 49ers spoiled their ex-coach's homecoming.

Garcia was 15-for-27 for 192 yards and rushed for a score, but his biggest play came before kickoff. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback and Owens, the All-Pro receiver, reached a delicate peace and celebrated by making several big plays against Mariucci's Lions.

Garcia barely spoke to Owens last week after the receiver criticized him but was the first to greet Owens after their touchdown connection in the first quarter.

"Both of us were very uncomfortable with the way it had gotten and didn't want to see it go on any longer," Garcia said. "I don't like having any sort of negativity in the locker room."

The day also was difficult for Mariucci, who knows plenty about San Francisco's penchant for drama. He was 57-39 in six seasons and led the 49ers to the NFC West title but was fired three days after a second-round playoff loss to the Bucs in January.

"I suppose a little bit of everything - hard, exciting, different," Mariucci said. "I tried to minimize it as much as I could."

The 49ers took a 14-point lead on Garcia's 1-yard TD sneak late in the third quarter, but Detroit's Olandis Gary closed the gap to 24-17 in the fourth on a 2-yard run.

PITTSBURGH - Tim Couch played like he never has for Cleveland. Even worse for the Steelers, Tommy Maddox played exactly as he has been.

Couch threw for two touchdowns and ran for one in the first half of his second start since last season, and the Browns took advantage of three turnovers by Maddox.

The Browns shook off the absence of the injured Kelly Holcomb and the effect of two tough losses in Pittsburgh last season, one in which they squandered a 17-point lead in a first-round playoff game.

Couch was 20-of-25 for 208 yards. Browns coach Butch Davis called it Couch's best game, saying, "He made some really good decisions."

Maddox led both Steeler comeback wins last season but his mistakes prevented a rally this time. He was lifted after going 11-of-24 for 136 yards. He has been intercepted eight times this season.

Maddox became agitated when asked if he has confidence in himself.

"Of course I do," he said. "You want me to go jump off a cliff? Yeah, I've got confidence in myself and my teammates."

His fumble on Pittsburgh's third offensive play led to Phil Dawson's 19-yard field goal and a 10-0 Browns lead. In the third quarter Daylon McCutcheon picked off Maddox; his 75-yard touchdown return gave Cleveland a 30-10 lead.

Steelers coach Bill Cowher said he doesn't expect to change quarterbacks.