SEATTLE — Tom Brady and the best offense in the NFL got upstaged by an undersized rookie.
In the final minutes, it was Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks making all the big plays.
“If guys didn’t believe in him," Seattle safety Earl Thomas said, “I guarantee they believe in him now."
Wilson found Sidney Rice behind the secondary for a 46-yard touchdown with 1:18 remaining, and the Seahawks rallied for 14 points in the final 7:31 to stun the New England Patriots 24-23 Sunday.
The matchup between the Patriots’ No. 1 ranked offense and Seattle’s No. 1 defense instead turned in to a starring performance for Wilson. And a shocking rally that gave Pete Carroll a win in the first matchup against the franchise he coached for three seasons in the late 1990s. Carroll was bouncing around the sideline in celebration after one of his biggest pro victories.
“I hadn’t even thought about that. That was a long time ago and there have been a lot of games," Carroll said. “I really love Robert Kraft, he’s a great man and he’s been great throughout the years about our separation of sorts. I respect the heck out of him. But I’m a competitor and, heck yeah, I want to win against those guys."
Wilson hit Braylon Edwards on fourth down for a 10-yard TD to get the Seahawks within 23-17. After a pair of holds by Seattle’s defense, Wilson found Rice streaking open on a double move for his third touchdown pass of the game. Steven Hauschka’s extra point gave Seattle (4-2) the lead with 78 seconds remaining.
Brady had a final chance to make up for all the opportunities the Patriots (3-3) squandered. Starting at his 20 with 1:14 left, Brady missed Brandon Lloyd then was sacked by Jason Jones, the first sack all day by Seattle. His pass for Aaron Hernandez, back after being out since Week 2 with an ankle injury, was incomplete, and Wes Welker was stopped short on fourth down.
Seattle’s winning touchdown came after Carroll showed confidence in his defense. The Seahawks went three-and-out with 3:20 left and Carroll risked never seeing the ball again and punted.
Even though Seattle had three timeouts and the two-minute warning, it was still a risky proposition.
“I wasn’t surprised. As a defense we want the game on our shoulders," Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “We have the confidence in us; we know Pete has the confidence in us."
Also on Sunday:
Lions 26
Eagles 23
PHILADELPHIA — Jason Hanson kicked a 45-yard field goal in overtime and Detroit rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Philadelphia. Held in check most of the game, Matthew Stafford led Detroit to 17 points in the fourth quarter. He threw a TD pass and ran for a score.
Falcons 23
Raiders 20
ATLANTA — Matt Bryant kicked his second game-winning field goal in three weeks, a 55-yarder with 1 second remaining. Overcoming Matt Ryan’s three interceptions, the Falcons (6-0) extended the best start in franchise history. But it wasn’t easy against the pesky Raiders (1-4).
Ravens 31
Cowboys 29
BALTIMORE — Jacoby Jones tied an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return and Baltimore won its 14th straight regular-season home game. Dallas ran for 227 yards, most ever against the Ravens, and totaled 481 yards offense. But the Cowboys (2-3) missed a 2-point conversion after closing to two points with 32 seconds left. Dallas recovered the onside kick, and Dan Bailey was wide left on a 51-yard field goal try with 6 seconds left.
Buccaneers 38
Chiefs 10
TAMPA, Fla. — Josh Freeman threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns and Ronde Barber scored on a 78-yard interception return. Freeman teamed with Mike Williams on a 62-yard scoring play in the first quarter and threw TD passes of 19 and 17 yards to Vincent Jackson in the second half as the Bucs (2-3) stopped a three-game losing streak.
Jets 35
Colts 9
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Shonn Greene ran for a career-high 161 yards and three touchdowns, Mark Sanchez was efficient and Tim Tebow made a few big plays. Even the Jets’ maligned defense was able to shut down Andrew Luck and the Colts’ offense as New York snapped a two-game losing streak that had many wondering if the season was about to spiral out of control.
Browns 34
Bengals 24
CLEVELAND — Rookie Brandon Weeden threw two touchdown passes and Cleveland snapped an 11-game losing streak that dated to last season. Cleveland had not won since Nov. 20, matching a franchise record for consecutive losses. But for the first time this season everything fell into place for the Browns (1-5).
Dolphins 17
Rams 14
MIAMI — Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes and Miami withstood a late rally. The Rams faced a fourth-and-8 at the Miami 48-yard line with 30 seconds left, and rather than go for a first down, coach Jeff Fisher sent out rookie Greg Zuerlein to try a 66-yard field goal, which missed wide left.
Bills 19
Cardinals 16
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jairus Byrd’s second interception of the game set up Rian Lindell’s 25-yard field goal 3:50 into overtime that gave Buffalo a victory over Arizona. The loss ended Arizona’s eight-game home winning streak. Byrd picked off a pass from John Skelton, who had replaced the injured Kevin Kolb, and returned it 29 yards to the Arizona 6 to set up the winning kick.
Giants 26
49ers 3
SAN FRANCISCO — Antrel Rolle intercepted two passes by Alex Smith, Prince Amukamara picked off another and the Giants shut down San Francisco in a victory over the 49ers in a rematch of last season’s NFC championship game. After outscoring the Bills and Jets by a combined 79-3 the past two weeks, the 49ers (4-2) met their match again with Eli Manning and New York’s top team.
Redskins 38
Vikings 26
LANDOVER, Md. — Robert Griffin III ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns, including a 76-yard scamper with 2:43 to play, and Washington snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a win over Minnesota. One week after he left the game early with his first NFL concussion, Griffin also completed 17 of 22 passes for 182 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Packers 42
Texans 24
HOUSTON — Aaron Rodgers set a career high and tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes, three to Jordy Nelson, and Green Bay routed previously unbeaten Houston. James Jones caught two touchdown passes for the Packers (3-3).
