Call this man shrewd. With five seconds left Sunday, the Chiefs trailed by three and the ball was on the Oakland 1. Kick a field goal to force overtime or go for the touchdown and risk losing? Vermeil went for the TD, and Larry Johnson dived over the pile for a memorable 27-23 victory over the Raiders.
Elsewhere in the National Football League on Sunday, it was: Carolina 34, Tampa Bay 14; Atlanta 17, Miami 10; San Diego 31, New York Jets 26; Jacksonville 21, Houston 14; Cincinnati 21, Baltimore 9; Minnesota 27, Detroit 14; Cleveland 20, Tennessee 14; Pittsburgh 20, Green Bay 10; Chicago 20, New Orleans 17; New York Giants 24, San Francisco 6; and Seattle 33, Arizona 19.

At Kansas City, Mo., placekicker Lawrence Tynes, who already had two field goals and hasn't missed in 13 straight attempts, was warmed up and ready. But in one of the toughest decisions of his career, Vermeil opted to go for the win.

Randy Moss, who hadn't caught a pass all day, beat Dewayne Washington in the corner of the end zone for a seven-yard reception with 1:45 left, giving the Raiders (3-5) the lead. Then Trent Green, playing through the pain of his father's funeral just four days earlier, whipped the Chiefs (5-3) downfield 72 yards.

The Chiefs, who have beaten the Raiders six in a row, were missing their best running back (Priest Holmes), best offensive lineman (Willie Roaf) and best cornerback (Patrick Surtain), as well as two of their top backups in the secondary.

Panthers 34, Buccaneers 14

At Tampa, Fla., Stephen Davis ran for two touchdowns, Steve Smith caught his ninth TD pass of the season and Chris Gamble scored on a 61-yard interception return to lead surging Carolina over the Bucs for its fifth straight victory.

Falcons 17, Dolphins 10

At Miami, Michael Vick led four drives of more than 70 yards, and Keion Carpenter's interception stopped a scoring threat with less than three minutes left to help Atlanta beat the Dolphins for its third win a row.

Chargers 31, Jets 26

At East Rutherford, N.J., LaDainian Tomlinson scored a career-high four touchdowns - three rushing, one receiving - and San Diego needed every one of them to hold off pesky Brooks Bollinger and the Jets.

Jaguars 21, Texans 14

At Jacksonville, Fla., Byron Leftwich directed two long scoring drives in the fourth quarter to rally the Jaguars over injury-riddled Houston.

Bengals 21, Ravens 9

At Baltimore, Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes, Rudi Johnson ran for 97 yards and a score, and Cincinnati kept the Ravens out of the end zone.

Vikings 27, Lions 14

At Minneapolis, Brad Johnson passed for 136 yards and two touchdowns in relief of the injured Daunte Culpepper, Michael Bennett rushed 18 times for 106 yards and the Vikings beat the Lions to create a tie for second place in the punchless NFC North.

Browns 20, Titans 14

At Cleveland, Reuben Droughns, arrested earlier in the week on a drunken driving charge, rushed for 116 yards and caught a crucial third-down pass for 51 yards, powering the Browns over Tennessee.

Steelers 20, Packers 10

At Green Bay, Wis., Troy Polamalu returned Brett Favre's fumble 77 yards for a touchdown, and Tyrone Carter's interception set up the offence's only touchdown in Pittsburgh's win over the Packers.

Bears 20, Saints 17

At Baton Rouge, La., Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson combined for 137 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown in place of the injured Thomas Jones, and Robbie Gould hit the winning field goal with six seconds to go for Chicago in a win over New Orleans.

Giants 24, 49ers 6

At San Francisco, Eli Manning passed for 251 yards and a touchdown, Brandon Jacobs rushed for two short fourth-quarter scores and New York yielded just 138 total yards to beat the 49ers.

Seahawks 33, Cardinals 19

At Tempe, Ariz., Shaun Alexander gained 173 yards on 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 88 and 14 yards, and Seattle won its fourth in a row by beating the Cardinals.

Redskins 17, Eagles 10

At Landover, Md., with or without Terrell Owens, the Eagles are losing and in danger of slipping out of the playoff race.

The Eagles (4-4) fell to sole possession of last place in the NFC East because of their anemic running game and an offense that produced only one touchdown. The Redskins, rebounding from the worst loss of coach Joe Gibbs' career, rode a more balanced attack and touchdown runs by Mike Sellers and Clinton Portis.