Clayton's Byrd turns feat not done since '60 —Bills safety Jairus Byrd, who never had played in an NFL game until September, now has done something that has been accomplished only once — and that was 49 years ago.

Byrd, a Clayton High product, had two interceptions Sunday against the Texans before leaving late in the contest because of a groin ailment and became only the second player to have two or more in three straight games. The other was the 49ers' Dave Baker, who turned the feat in 1960 — his second NFL season.

Byrd, a second-round pick out of Oregon, has interceptions in four straight games and seven overall to lead the league by one over the Saints' Darren Sharper, who plays tonight. Byrd is halfway to the NFL record for a season, set in 1952 by the Rams' Dick "Night Train" Lane in his rookie year.

Byrd was a quarterback who led Clayton to the 2004 Missouri Class 4 title, then moved to cornerback at Oregon and had 17 interceptions for the Ducks.

"He's doing an amazing job,'' backfield mate Terrence McGee told the Buffalo News. "I've never seen anything like that before. ... He deserves it because he works hard each week preparing himself to be in the right position."



Young again — Vince Young was back, and although he was far from dominant he helped the Titans do something they hadn't done all season — win.

At the urging of team owner Bud Adams, coach Jeff Fisher benched Kerry Collins in favor of Young, and he was eased back into action by being called on to make a lot of short throws. He was 15 of 18 passing for 125 yards and a touchdown and ran 12 times for 30 yards. His best moves actually were handing off to Chris Johnson, who ran for 228 yards and two long TDs. Nonetheless, Young was happy to make his first start after being benched almost all of last season and dealing with some personal problems.

"The year off has helped me a whole lot," said Young, the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft.

One of the reasons Adams wants Young to play is that the club hasn't been competitive, and he wants to have a significant period of time to evaluate a player who is due a $4.25 million bonus if he's on the roster in March.

"He's coming around a lot,'' Adams said.



Browns stay down — At least the Browns' offensive unit scored a TD — it now has a grand total of five in eight games — but Cleveland was blown out by the Bears. QB Derek Anderson was yanked in favor of Brady Quinn, the man he replaced in Week 3 after Quinn was ineffective. Coach Eric Mangini was noncommittal on who will start next time. Meanwhile, running back Jamal Lewis apparently has had enough. He said he'll probably retire after this season.

(Post-Dispatch news services contributed to this report.)