After last year’s dreadful exhibition of football between the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants and the then-hapless Dolphins, London was understandably a bit underwhelmed at the idea of another NFL game coming to town this season.

But the Wembley crowd was treated to a thrilling game as the Saints beat the Chargers 37-32. It was almost as if the two teams were committed to putting on the best show they could, as the teams were hucking the ball downfield with reckless abandon all game. Phil Rivers threw for 341 yards, but an ill-advised throw into triple coverage with just over a minute left sealed the Chargers’ fate. The game also featured the huge dumbassery of Eric Weddle, who got an “excessive demonstration” penalty after intercepting Drew Brees in the fourth quarter, then had his pick overturned by replay (he didn’t have control of the ball when he landed). But the penalty, of course, still stood. Hope it was worth it, dude.

Miami 25, Buffalo 16. The Bills stumbled in Miami and now find themselves in a tie with the Patriots for first place in the AFC East. The Dolphins scored the last 18 points in the game after falling behind 16-7 in the third quarter. The Bills lost three fumbles in the fourth quarter, and another fumble by Trent Edwards was recovered by the Bills in the end zone for a safety.

Washington 25, Detroit 17.  The dream of a winless season is still alive for the Lions. They actually had a 10-3 lead in this game and were right in it until Santana Moss returned a punt 80 yards in the fourth quarter to put the Redskins up 22-10. Jason Campbell was 23 of 28 for 328 yards for the ‘Skins.

New England 23, St. Louis 16. The Rams were driving late for a potential game-tying touchdown, but Deltha O’Neal intercepted Marc Bulger inside the Patriots’ 30 to preserv the win. How much did the Rams hate Scott Linehan? Ever since they dumped him, they’ve played pretty solid football, and perhaps a healthy Steven Jackson may have made the difference for them today.

Dallas 13, Tampa Bay 9. The Cowboys only got 172 yards of total offense but held on to beat the Bucs. Tampa was driving late, but Jeff Garcia misfired on a fourth-down pass from the Dallas 18-yard line to end it.

NY Jets 28, Kansas City 24. The Jets were very lucky to escape with a win, as Brett Favre was outplayed by Tyler Thigpen all day. Favre’s third interception of the day was returned 91 yards for a touchdown and have the Chiefs a 24-21 lead, but Favre was able to lead the Jets on a late TD drive, finding Laveranues Coles with a minute left to give them the win over their old coach, Herm Edwards.

Baltimore 29, Oakland 10. The Ravens are 4-3 with Joe Flacco at quarterback? Well, those wins are over Cincinnati, Cleveland, Miami, and now the Raiders. So I’m not exactly penciling the Ravens into an AFC wild card spot just yet. No word on whether or not Sebastian Janikowski finally attempted the 100-yard field goal.

Carolina 27, Arizona 23. The Panthers got 108 yards and a touchdown from DeAngelo Williams as they were able to hold off the Cardinals. Kurt Warner threw for 381 yards for Arizona, but he never got an opportunity to win the game late. The Cards punted with 5:47 remaining and never got the ball back, as the Panthers got three first downs and ran out the clock.

Philadelphia 27, Atlanta 14. Brian Westbrook ran for 167 yards and two TDs for the Eagles. The Falcons rallied to within 20-14 with four minutes left in the game, but Westbrook put it out of reach with a 39-yard TD run inside of two minutes to ensure the win.