CAN WE GET A T.O. FOR BAD BEHAVIOR?

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL 

It wasn't a bad fourth quarter to begin with for Indianapolis and the New York Jets, the lead changing hands five times in the final 13 minutes.

Then came the Jets' last-second lateral fest, which after a couple of moments of ... well, this is interesting. ... No way. ... I don't believe this ... turned out to be one trombone player short of a miracle.

Pennington pass to L. Washington for 8 yards, lateral to B. Smith for minus-3, lateral to L. Coles for 19, lateral to C. Pennington for 7, lateral to J. McCareins for 2 and a fumble, recovered by B. Smith for minus-4 and a fumble, recovered by L. Coles for 13, lateral to N. Mangold for 0 and a fumble, recovered by J. David.

For those keeping score at home, it looked a lot like the NFL action off the field last week, which saw too many players running away from trouble and tossing the Men Behaving Badly badge around like the Jets did the football.

Consider the week that was:

DEA agents called Chargers safety Terrence Kiel into the locker room, handcuffed him and took him away on drug trafficking charges. On the bright side, this went considerably smoother than the last time the cops tried to take in a Charger. Steve Foley ended up with a few bullet holes.

Bears cornerback Ricky Manning pled no-contest to felony assault charges that he beat, kicked and berated a customer at a Westwood Denny's, asking, among other things, if he was ``a ... Jew?''

It was the second assault conviction for the former UCLA player. He received three years probation, a year of anger management counseling and 100 hours of community service, which unfortunately didn't include spending Monday -- the Jewish day of atonement, Yom Kippur -- in a synagogue.

Then there was ``The Cry For Help Heard 'Round The World,'' better known as the Terrell Owens suicide attempt/accidental overdose/ESPN around-the-clock programming.

Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen was arrested for the second time this year on drunken-driving charges.

Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman, already suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy, was arrested for drunken driving. He told police he was driving because he was more sober than his two teammates in the car: Reggie McNeal, the owner of the car, and Chris Henry. Who were the police to argue when Henry vomited out the window?

So, to recap, we have an arrest for drug dealing, a conviction for assault, the usual dose of T.O. drama, and a couple of drunken-driving arrests.

The good news? There were no reported wife beatings, though the Titans' Albert Haynesworth did manage to use his cleats to pretty up the face of the Cowboys' helmetless Andre Gurode.

After this week, it's hard to believe the NFL once complained that ``Playmakers'' was over the top.

Cinema verite is more like it.

It's not like the NFL has been standing idly by. It is taking bold, decisive action. They suspended Haynesworth for five games on Monday.

As for the others, whose transgressions weren't replayed on sports highlight loops?

While making the rounds to all 32 teams, newly appointed commissioner Roger Goodell recently admonished the Bengals to clean up their act after five players were arrested in the offseason. Henry was picked up a team-leading four times.

``I was very direct with the players about their responsibility in their community and what they represent in their community and how important they are in setting a positive tone,'' Goodell said. ``I think they understood the message.''

Sure they did.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, following through on his Five Strikes policy, deactivated Henry for Sunday's game.

Lewis could have used the second-year receiver the same way they did the week before, when he caught two touchdown passes to beat the Steelers.

Instead, Cincinnati was pounded by New England 38-13.

It's also fair to wonder how the Chargers would have fared if Kiel, their starting strong safety, had been on the field at the end of a 16-13 loss to Baltimore.

Would he have tackled Todd Heap?

Then again, it wasn't a great day for moralizing.

Manning intercepted two passes in Chicago's 37-6 assault on Seattle, Allen recovered a fumble that helped the Chiefs on their way to a 41-0 romp over San Francisco and Owens caught five passes for 88 yards in Dallas' 45-14 win at Tennessee, even if he did drop a pass in the end zone.

For Manning and Allen, it could be a brief respite. Both could be subject to league discipline.

And as for Owens, it sure doesn't feel like there's a happy ending around the bend.

That's the thing about karma. It usually evens out in the box score.

Elsewhere around the league in Week 4:

The Colts haven't missed Edgerrin James in the red zone. Instead, the past two weeks they've had last-minute, game-winning touchdown runs from Payton, er, Peyton Manning. It was the 26th fourth-quarter comeback of Manning's career and if the Colts don't shore up their run defense, he'll get plenty more chances.

After four weeks, Mario Williams played like a No.1 pick. He notched his first sack and then got his fingertips on a potential tying two-point conversion, sealing the Texans' first win, 17-15 over Miami.

You can take the man out of baseball, but you can't take the baseball out of the man. Said Dick Enberg, a former Cal State Northridge coach and voice of the Angels, as he called the end of the Redskins' 36-30 overtime win over the Jaguars: ``A walk-off touchdown by Santana Moss!''

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(color) Dallas receiver Terrell Owens' overdose drama was just part of the off-field issues NFL players were involved in last week.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press