Falcons edge Bucs in OT
Michael Turner ran for 152 yards, John Abraham had three sacks and Jason Elam kicked a 34-yard field goal in overtime to give the Falcons a crucial 13-10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta.
Atlanta twice turned it over near the Tampa Bay end zone and had a huge breakdown on special teams, allowing Tampa Bay to block a punt with less than three minutes left in regulation. That set up Matt Bryant’s tying field goal with 48 seconds left.
The Falcons pulled even with Tampa Bay behind first-place Carolina, strengthening their playoff hopes and ensuring their first winning season since 2004.
Jets 31, Bills 27: Abram Elam sacked J.P. Losman and Shaun Ellis picked up the fumble and rumbled 11 yards into the end zone with less than two minutes left to give the Jets the go-ahead score for a critical victory at East Rutherford, N.J. The Jets are tied with Miami and New England atop the AFC East, but hold the tiebreaker.
Dolphins 14, 49ers 9: The Dolphins held the opposition without a touchdown for the third game in a row and helped their playoff chances by beating San Francisco at Miami. The 49ers ran 79 plays to 42 for the Dolphins, but Miami tight ends scored the only touchdowns on passes from Chad Pennington. The surprising Dolphins (9-5) are tied with the Patriots and Jets for the AFC East lead.
Colts 31, Lions 21: The Lions, seemingly on their way to the first 0-16 season in NFL history, were victimized in the fourth quarter by Peyton Manning and the Colts at Indianapolis. Manning kept the Colts (10-4) on track for a playoff run. Indianapolis has won seven straight games.
Chargers 22, Chiefs 21: Philip Rivers rallied San Diego from a 21-3 third-quarter deficit, throwing two touchdown passes in the final 73 seconds, and the Chargers stunned Kansas City at Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs, aided by a delay of game penalty against the Chargers, tried a 50-yard field goal on the final play, but Connor Barth’s kick was wide left. The victory kept alive the slender playoff hopes of the Chargers (6-8).
Bengals 20, Redskins 13: Ryan Fitzpatrick ran for a touchdown and threw for another, leading the Bengals to a victory in Cincinnati. The main intrigue was how the Redskins (7-7) would react to injuries that decimated their offensive line and grumbling by running back Clinton Portis.
Jaguars 20, Packers 16: David Garrard threw two touchdowns passes, Maurice Jones-Drew scored twice and the Jaguars snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory against Green Bay at Jacksonville, Fla. The Packers entered the fourth quarter with a 13-7 lead, poised to snap a three-game slide, but Garrard directed two scoring drives that gave Jacksonville (5-9) its second win in eight games.
Vikings 35, Cardinals 14: Playing in place of injured Gus Frerotte, Tarvaris Jackson threw for four touchdowns and Minnesota beat the NFC West champion Cardinals at Glendale, Ariz., to stay alone atop the NFC North. Adrian Peterson rushed for 165 yards on 28 carries, his franchise-record ninth 100-yard game of the season for the Vikings (9-5), who won their fourth in a row. They can clinch the division title with another victory or loss by Chicago.
Panthers 30, Broncos 10: Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams powered Carolina past Denver at Charlotte, N.C. In clinching at least a tie for the NFC South title and moving closer to their first playoff berth in three years, the Panthers (11-3) improved to 8-0 at home and prevented the Broncos (8-6) from clinching the AFC West.
Patriots 49, Raiders 26: Randy Moss caught two of Matt Cassel’s career-high four touchdown passes in his first game against the Raiders since his trade to New England last season, leading the Patriots to a victory at Oakland, Calif. New England (9-5) is tied for first place in the AFC East with Miami and the New York Jets.