Peyton Manning has outgunned Aaron Rodgers in the marquee battle of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks with an unbeaten Denver handing Green Bay their first loss of the season.
Manning threw for 340 yards on Sunday as the Broncos picked their spots passing and used a powerful rushing attack to move to 7-0 by knocking the Packers off their unbeaten perch with a 29-10 victory.
Ronnie Hillman ran for two touchdowns and C.J. Anderson had another for the Broncos, whose offence finally broke out of its funk after the defence became the story of their undefeated start through the first six games.
Manning recorded his 186th career regular-season win, tying Brett Favre for most victories by a starting quarterback in NFL history.
Demaryius Thomas was his favourite target, with eight receptions for 168 yards, his team-record-tying 31st game with at least 100 yards receiving.
"We were very determined," Manning said.
"We eliminated some things, we added some things and it really paid off for us tonight."
The Broncos improved to 7-0 to start a season for just the second time in their history. They got off to a 13-0 start in 1998.
Green Bay fell to 6-1, snapping an eight-game regular-season winning streak dating to last year.
Denver's defence frustrated the Packers' high-powered offence, limiting Rodgers to 77 yards on 14-of-22 passing.
He was sacked by DeMarcus Ware and fumbled early in the fourth quarter. In the scramble, the ball rolled into the end zone and was recovered by tight end Richard Rodgers for a safety.
The Cincinnati Bengals also improved to 7-0 with a 16-10 victory over the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
Quarterback Andy Dalton overcame two fourth-quarter interceptions to throw for 235 yards that included the go-ahead touchdown - a late nine-yarder to wide receiver A.J. Green.
That put the Bengals ahead for the first time in the game, 13-10, and kicker Mike Nugent added a 44-yard field goal to seal it.
Both sides joined the New England Patriots on 7-0, with the Carolina Panthers hoping to join them when they host Indianapolis on Monday.
But the league's dominant teams weren't the only story on a day of thrills and spills.
Australian punter Brad Wing made a crucial error with five seconds remaining as the New York Giants were pipped 52-49 by New Orleans.
With the scores tied at 49-all, Wing punted for 46 yards but from the ensuing return, the 24-year-old was penalised for pulling the face mask of Willie Snead.
The 15-yard penalty put Saints kicker Kai Forbath in position to nail a 50-yard field goal to win the game as the clock ran out.
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and Giants signal-caller Eli Manning combined for a league-record 13 touchdown passes.
Brees became the eighth quarterback to throw for seven touchdowns in a single game in the scoring extravaganza.
In Dallas, the Seattle Seahawks took another step toward salvaging their season with a 13-12 victory over the Cowboys.
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