Giants headed to playoffs
Brandon Jacobs scored twice and Ahmad Bradshaw had an 88-yard TD run in sloppy conditions as the usually pass-happy New York Giants leaned on their running attack to clinch a playoff berth, beating the Buffalo Bills 38-21 on Sunday at Orchard Park, N.Y.
Kawika Mitchell’s 20-yard interception return produced the go-ahead points and sparked a three-touchdown, fourth-quarter rally.
The Giants, who reached the playoffs for the third straight season, fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter.
Buffalo forced Eli Manning to fumble five times – he lost two of them – and throw two interceptions. But the Giants’ running game made up for the mistakes as they rushed for 291 yards, their most since they had 351 on Nov. 29, 1959, against Washington.
Bradshaw had a career-high 151 yards and Jacobs had 145, also a career high.
Titans 10, Jets 6: At Nashville, Tenn., Pro Bowler Kyle Vanden Bosch had three of Tennessee’s six sacks and Chris Brown ran for a touchdown to put the Titans back in control of their chase for their first playoff berth since 2003.
Tennessee has the edge over Cleveland in tiebreakers if tied for the AFC’s final wild-card berth.
Bengals 19, Browns 14: At Cincinnati, Derek Anderson’s consecutive interceptions set up a pair of rapid-fire touchdowns late in the first half, and he threw four in all in a loss that left Cleveland scrambling for a playoff spot.
Kenny Watson ran for 130 yards and a touchdown for Cincinnati.
Eagles 38, Saints 23: At New Orleans, Donovan McNabb accounted for 300 total yards and tossed three touchdown passes, leading Philadelphia to a victory that dealt a blow to a New Orleans squad still clinging to playoff hopes.
Brian Westbrook added 100 yards on 17 carries for the Eagles.
Cardinals 30, Falcons 27 (OT): At Tempe, Ariz., Neil Rackers kicked a 29-yard field goal to force overtime, then booted one from 31 yards on the first possession of the extra session to lead the Cardinals past Atlanta.
Kurt Warner completed 36 of 53 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns for Arizona.
Lions 25, Chiefs 20: At Detroit, T.J. Duckett ran for a season-high 102 yards and a touchdown as the Lions snapped a six-game losing streak and their seventh win surpassed the most they’ve had in any of seven seasons under team president Matt Millen.
49ers 21, Buccaneers 19: At San Francisco, Shaun Hill passed for three touchdowns and Michael Clayton landed out of bounds with his catch on a 2-point conversion attempt with 1:20 left as the 49ers defeated Tampa Bay.
Nate Clements’ 62-yard interception return set up Frank Gore’s TD catch with 14:11 left for San Francisco.
Darrell Jackson and Vernon Davis also caught touchdown passes for San Francisco, which won consecutive games for the first time since the season’s first two weeks.
Jaguars 49, Raiders 11: At Jacksonville, Fla., Fred Taylor’s 62-yard touchdown run on the Jaguars’ opening play set the tone for a playoff-clinching rout.
Taylor finished with 111 yards as the Jaguars won for the sixth time in seven games and clinched the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Colts 38, Texans 15: At Indianapolis, Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes, Joseph Addai and Clifton Dawson ran for TDs, and the Colts scored on six of their first eight possessions in a win over Houston.
In what was likely to be the last significant action for Indy’s starters until mid-January when the AFC’s No. 2 seed will play in the divisional round of the playoffs, Manning & Co. finished with 458 yards, scored 38 unanswered points and won their sixth in a row.
Redskins 32, Vikings 21: At Minneapolis, Todd Collins was 22 for 29 for 254 yards and two touchdowns and Clinton Portis had 124 total yards, threw a TD pass and ran for another score for Washington, which can clinch the final NFC playoff spot with a win over Dallas next week.
The Redskins held Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson to 27 yards on nine carries.