American Football: Cincinnati sinking as Rivers keeps Chargers rolling on

In one of the wildest games of the season, the San Diego Chargers scored six touchdowns in the second half to edge out the Cincinnati Bengals 49-41, a result which maintains the Chargers' status as Super Bowl contenders but which also confirms that the once-fancied Bengals are in disarray.

Having lost four of their last five games, Cincinnati's players had begun to question each other but in the first half on Sunday they took a 28-7 lead. Everything changed in the second half, however, as the visitors ran riot. The running back LaDanian Tomlinson equalled a personal best with four touchdowns, while the young quarterback, Phillip Rivers, completed 24 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bengals' Chad Johnson set a franchise record with 260 receiving yards but spoke of the turmoil within the team. "There are a lot of unhappy people here," he said. "There are reasons why we lost today."

The Chicago Bears overcame a slow start to beat the New York Giants 38-20. Devin Hester returned a missed field goal 108 yards for a touchdown, which tied the all-time NFL record set a year ago by another Bear, Nathan Vasher. The only unbeaten team, the Indianapolis Colts, maintained their run, but failed to impress in a dour 17-16 struggle with the Buffalo Bills.