MIAMI (Reuters) - A field goal in overtime from John Kasay gave the New Orleans Saints a thrilling 26-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons as they took over control of the NFC South in the National Football League Sunday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, meanwhile, continued their rise in the AFC with a 24-17 victory over Cincinnati.
The main talking point in Atlanta will be coach Mike Smith's decision to go for it on fourth down on his own 29 yard line - a brave move which failed to come off and allowed divisional rivals the Saints to win the game with Kasay's 26 yard kick.
The Falcons had fought back well in the fourth quarter with Tony Gonzalez collecting on a 20 yard Matt Ryan touchdown pass and then Matt Bryant's 27 yard field goal leveling the scores.
Smith's decision to run the ball with only inches to make a first down didn't come off when Michael Turner failed to advance and that gave Drew Brees the ball knowing he need only make some forward progression to get within field goal range.
A 12 yard pass to Jed Collins was followed by a six yard run from Mark Ingram to set up Kasay for the decisive kick. Brees passed for a total of 322 yards and touchdowns.
The increasingly impressive Houston Texans moved to 7-3 with a 37-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Matt Schuab threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns while the Texans' ability on the ground was evident again with Arian Foster, Ben Tate and Derrick Ward all running in touchdowns.
Tampa have now lost their last three games and have fallen to 4-5, trailing the Falcons and the Saints.
DALTON'S TOUGH DAY
There has been plenty of praise for Cincinnati's rookie quarterback Andy Dalton in recent weeks but he had a tough day against the Steelers - throwing two interceptions as Pittsburgh moved to 7-3.
Rashard Mendenhall ran in two touchdowns for the Steelers who ended the Bengals' five-game winning run, although Cincinnati showed spirit and Dalton quality as they fought back from 14-0 in the first quarter.
Dalton's one yard pass to Jermaine Gresham in the third made it 17-17 before Mendenhall's second touchdown, on a nine-yard run, restored the Steelers advantage and the game was Pittsburgh's after Dalton was picked off by William Gay.
Tony Romo led the Dallas Cowboys to an easy 44-7 win over the Buffalo Bills - the quarterback's three touchdown passes leading Dallas to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter which they never looked back from.
Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow only attempted eight passes all game against Kansas City and completed just two - but one of those was a 56 yard touchdown pass to Eric Decker in the fourth quarter which secured his team a 17-10 win.
Tebow had opened the scoring in the first quarter with a seven yard run and while his numbers look bizarre, given the amount of times the team ran, he has now led the Broncos to wins in three of their last four games.
(Editing by Rex Gowar)
