Texans throttle Jaguars

Domanick Davis ran for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown and the Houston Texans crippled Jacksonville’s postseason chances with a 21-0 victory over the Jaguars on Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla.

The shutout was the first in team history for Houston and marked the first time the Jaguars have been blanked since a 44-0 drubbing at Detroit on Dec. 17, 1995.

This one could be far more costly than that loss to the Lions in Jacksonville’s inaugural season.

Because Baltimore lost at Pittsburgh, the Jaguars (8-7) could have taken control of the final AFC wild-card spot with a victory against Houston (7-8). Instead, they will need to win next week at Oakland and have the Ravens, Denver and maybe even Buffalo lose to return to the postseason for the first time since 1999.

The Jags have no one to blame but themselves – because they did little on offense and couldn’t stop Davis all afternoon.

Byron Leftwich struggled from the start. He fumbled late in the first quarter, picked up the loose ball and then took a shot to the head when sacked by Robaire Smith.

Leftwich missed a play, returned on the next series but wasn’t the same. He finished 6 of 14 for 35 yards with an interception.

Saints 26, Falcons 13

With Michael Vick out for Atlanta, New Orleans remained in playoff contention.

Aaron Brooks threw for a touchdown and ran for another and the Saints kept their postseason hopes alive with a victory over the visiting Falcons.

Michael Lewis’ 96-yard kickoff return with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter was the final scoring play for the Saints, sealing their third straight victory.

Steelers 20, Ravens 7

Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes and Jerome Bettis ran for 117 yards, his sixth 100-yard game this season, as Pittsburgh cruised past visiting Baltimore.

The Steelers wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs and a first-round bye that means after their Jan. 2 game at Buffalo they won’t play again until Jan. 15 or Jan. 16.

The Steelers also went 8-0 at home for the first time since their last Super Bowl championship season in 1979.

Bettis moved past No. 4 Eric Dickerson on the NFL career rushing list with 13,294 yards. He is also just 60 yards from his ninth career 1,000-yard season.

Patriots 23, Jets 7

New England dominated division rival New York in East Rutherford, N.J., winning to clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs. The Jets, meanwhile, must win their finale at St. Louis next week to be assured of making the AFC playoffs as a wild card.

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and went 21 of 32 for 264 yards.

Bengals 23, Giants 22

Keiwan Ratliff’s 42-yard punt return set up Jon Kitna’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Chad Johnson with 44 seconds left, rallying Cincinnati to a victory over visiting New York.

The Giants were resigned to their eighth straight loss after Eli Manning’s final pass was tipped and intercepted by Carl Powell.

Panthers 37, Buccaneers 20

Jake Delhomme threw for 214 yards and four touchdowns, helping Carolina post a road win over Tampa Bay and move within a victory of clinching a playoff berth.

The Panthers won for the sixth time in seven games after a 1-7 start, and can earn a wild-card spot by beating New Orleans at home next Sunday.

Cowboys 13, Redskins 10

Vinny Testaverde overcame 3 1/2 quarters of booing from home fans wanting to see him benched by leading a dramatic final drive, capping it with a 39-yard touchdown to Patrick Crayton with 30 seconds left that gave Dallas a win over Washington in Irving, Texas.

The Cowboys beat the Redskins for the 14th time in 15 games.

Lions 19, Bears 13

Chad Hutchinson appeared to throw a 43-yard, game-tying TD pass to Bernard Berrian with 1:26 left, but an incomplete ruling on the field stood after a review despite replays that appeared to show it should’ve been overturned, giving Detroit a victory over visiting Chicago.

Lions running back Kevin Jones rushed for 123 yards and went over the 1,000-yard mark, something only Barry Sanders and Billy Sims did as Detroit rookies.

Dolphins 10, Browns 7

Olindo Mare kicked a 51-yard field goal with 7 seconds left, and Miami edged visiting Cleveland.

The Dolphins made it two wins in a row for the first time this season.