Saints close in on bye for 1st round

The reborn New Orleans Saints are a game away from a first-round playoff bye. Tom Coughlin may be a game away from the end of his coaching career with the New York Giants.

Reggie Bush ran for a career-best 126 yards and a touchdown and the Saints limited the Giants to six first downs and 142 yards in a 30-7 win on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., that turned Giants Stadium into a ghost town in the fourth quarter.

The Saints can clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a bye if Dallas losses either of its final two games or New Orleans wins at home against Carolina.

Unbelievably, the Giants, who did not have a snap in Saints’ territory all game, remain in the playoff hunt despite losing for the sixth time in seven games. The sellout crowd was so upset with the performance that twice it chanted “Fire Coughlin” before heading for the exits. A year ago, New York won the NFC East.

Texans 27, Colts 24: It doesn’t take a Heisman Trophy winner to run through the Colts’ defense. But on Sunday it certainly made it easier.

Ron Dayne, who won the award in 1999, had a career-high 153 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Kris Brown kicked the winning 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving host Houston its first win over Indianapolis.

The loss denied the AFC South champion Colts the chance to clinch a first-round playoff bye.

Panthers 10, Falcons 3: At Atlanta, Carolina snapped a four-game losing streak and all but ended the Falcons’ playoff hopes, beating Atlanta by shutting down the league’s top running attack.

The Falcons, who lead the league with 193 yards rushing per game, were outrushed 183-83 by a balanced Carolina attack that helped fill-in quarterback Chris Weinke snap a 17-game losing streak as a starter.

Buccaneers 22, Browns 7: Spending Christmas Eve away from home wasn’t so bad for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Derrick Brooks returned one of Tampa Bay’s four interceptions 21 yards for a touchdown and the Bucs won their first road game in more than a year, a victory over host Cleveland.

Titans 30, Bills 29: With Vince Young running the show, anything seems possible for Tennessee, highlighted by a remarkable late-season playoff push.

The rookie first-round draft pick threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another, keeping the Titans’ playoff hopes alive with a narrow win over Buffalo in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Bears 26, Lions 21: At Detroit, The Chicago Bears made a quarterback change in the fourth quarter that led to a go-ahead score and added some ruse to a game with nothing at stake.

Brian Griese directed a 72-yard drive that set up Robbie Gould’s field goal midway through the fourth quarter, helping the Bears beat the Lions.

Ravens 31, Steelers 7: Beating Pittsburgh decisively once in a season wasn’t good enough for the Baltimore Ravens. They did it again and effectively ended the host Steelers’ reign as Super Bowl champions.

Steve McNair, masterfully running an offense that was productive and efficient, threw three touchdown passes and Baltimore moved ahead in the race for a first-round AFC playoffs bye by shutting down the Steelers for the second time in a month.

Rams 37, Redskins 31 (OT): Steven Jackson wrapped up a big day with a 21-yard touchdown run in overtime and Marc Bulger tied his career best with four touchdown passes as St. Louis defeated visiting Washington.

Jackson had 150 yards on 33 carries and six catches for 102 yards, a 252-yard day that allowed him to become the Rams’ first 2,000-yard man since Marshall Faulk in 2001.