Ravens overcome, clinch berth

The crowd in Baltimore had become quiet and restless. Needing a victory over the Cleveland Browns to clinch a playoff berth, the Ravens had blown a 14-point lead and were without injured quarterback Steve McNair.

In the time it took Demetrius Williams to run under Kyle Boller’s long pass and take it into the end zone, everything changed.

Boller threw two touchdown passes, including a 77-yard strike to Williams that snapped a tie and propelled Baltimore to a 27-17 victory Sunday.

Jamal Lewis ran 22 times for 109 yards and a touchdown for the Ravens, who are assured a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Baltimore will win the AFC North if Cincinnati loses to Indianapolis on Monday night.

Cleveland did not go down easily. Former Ravens draft choice Derek Anderson went 23 for 32 for 233 yards, and his touchdown throws to Joe Jurevicius and Braylon Edwards brought the Browns out of a 17-3 hole.

Broncos 37, Cardinals 20: At Glendale, Ariz., Jay Cutler threw two touchdown passes and Denver beat Arizona.

In his third start, Cutler completed 21 of 31 passes for 261 yards and was intercepted once.

Matt Leinart was 20 of 35 for 214 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions for the Cardinals. He was sacked three times and hit as he threw on several other occasions.

Rams 20, Raiders 0: At Oakland, Calif., the Rams took advantage of five Oakland turnovers, including two that set up touchdown runs by Steven Jackson, in St. Louis’ victory over Oakland.

Jackson finished with 127 yards on 31 carries, scoring on runs of 4 yards after Chris Carr fumbled a punt and 19 yards after Andrew Walter threw the first of two interceptions.

Bills 21, Dolphins 0: At Orchard Park, N.Y., J.P. Losman overcame wet and blustery conditions, throwing three touchdown passes in a win over Miami.

The Bills defense was solid, forcing two interceptions while limiting the Dolphins to 118 yards through three quarters and 212 overall.

Losman finished 13 of 19 for 200 yards passing.

Patriots 40, Texans 7: At Foxborough, Mass., the Patriots led 27-0 at halftime behind Kevin Faulk’s two touchdowns, Tom Brady’s two scoring passes and the defense’s four sacks and three interceptions. Houston was outgained 147 yards to 76 in the first two quarters in their loss to New England.

Stephen Gostkowski made all four of his field goal attempts for New England.

Redskins 16, Saints 10: At New Orleans, Ladell Betts gained 119 yards on 22 carriers, while quarterback Jason Campbell outplayed Drew Brees to lead Washington over New Orleans.

Campbell threw for 204 yards, while Brees finished 21 of 38 for 207 yards and was held without a touchdown.

The Redskins’ defense held Reggie Bush to only 14 yards rushing and 19 yards receiving.

Steelers 37, Panthers 3: At Charlotte, N.C., Willie Parker rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown and Ben Roethlisberger threw for a score and ran for another to lead Pittsburgh past Carolina.

The Steelers also blocked a punt and returned another for a touchdown.

Chris Weinke threw for 170 yards and an interception and was sacked five times for the Panthers.

The Panthers were limited to 43 yards rushing for the game.

Jets 26, Vikings 13: At Minneapolis, Chad Pennington had a very productive day with 339 yards passing and one touchdown leading New York past Minnesota.

Laveranues Coles had 12 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown for the Jets before leaving with an apparent back injury late in the fourth quarter. Mike Nugent kicked four field goals.

Titans 24, Jaguars 17: At Nashville, Tenn., Vince Young and the offense couldn’t move the ball against the Jaguars. So the Titans’ defense beat up David Garrard and returned turnovers 83, 92 and 61 yards to defeat Jacksonville.

Adam “Pacman” Jones returned an interception 83 yards for a touchdown.

Rookie Cortland Finnegan picked up a Garrard fumble and returned it 92 yards. Six plays later, safety Chris Hope picked off a Garrard pass and ran 61 yards up the left sideline.

Packers 17, Lions 9: At Green Bay, Wis., Brett Favre was 20 of 37 for 174 yards, but failed to throw a touchdown pass. With two games remaining in the season, Favre needs eight more touchdown passes to pass Dan Marino’s career mark of 420.

Jon Kitna was 16 for 26 for 135 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Lions had only 142 net yards.