Bengals 24 at Chargers 27
Nate Kaeding kicked a 52-yard field goal with three seconds left and the playoff-bound San Diego Chargers pulled out a dramatic 27-24 win over the grieving Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
The winning kick came after Philip Rivers moved the Chargers 46 yards in 51 seconds with no timeouts.
The Bengals, playing three days after the death of receiver Chris Henry, tied the game at 24 on Shayne Graham’s 34-yard field goal with 54 seconds left.
The Chargers (11-3) won their ninth straight game and clinched a playoff spot before halftime because of other results. The Bolts are in the playoffs for the fourth straight year. They improved to 17-0 in December dating to 2006.
The Bengals (9-5) failed for the second straight week to clinch the AFC North.
Packers 36 at Steelers 37
Ben Roethlisberger ended the game the way he started it by throwing a touchdown pass to Mike Wallace, a desperation 19-yarder on the final play that ended the Packers’ five-game winning streak and the Steelers’ five-game losing streak.
The Packers (9-5) stalled in their playoff run as they couldn’t hold leads of 28-27 and 36-30 in a frantic fourth quarter that was much like Oakland’s 27-23 win in Pittsburgh two weeks ago, when the lead changed hand five times in the final nine minutes.
Vikings 7 at Panthers 26
Steve Smith caught the go-ahead touchdown pass and his long catch and run set up the clinching score and Carolina used a ferocious defence to stifle Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and the Vikings in a victory.
Jonathan Stewart had 109 yards rushing on 25 carries, snapping Minnesota’s NFL-long steak of 36 games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.
Dolphins 24 at Titans 27
Rob Bironas kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime, and the Titans won after blowing an 18-point lead.
Vince Young threw for a career-high three touchdowns and Chris Johnson ran for 104 yards as the Titans (7-7) reached .500 for the first time this year.
Browns 41 at Chiefs 34
Jerome Harrison scored his third touchdown with 44 seconds left and rushed for a team-record 286 yards, and Joshua Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Raiders 20 at Broncos 19
JaMarcus Russell threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chaz Schilens with 35 seconds left. The former No. 1 overall draft pick entered when Charlie Frye was knocked out of the game early in the fourth quarter by a blow to the head from linebacker Andra Davis. He went 5-of-11 for 47 yards.
49ers 13 at Eagles 27
Donovan McNabb threw for one touchdown and ran for another and DeSean Jackson had 140 yards receiving as the Eagles clinched a playoff berth for the eighth time this decade.
Patriots 17 at Bills 10
New England receiver Randy Moss bounced back a week after being accused of quitting by Carolina Panthers defenders with five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown in a win over Buffalo.
The Patriots (9-5) won their first road game on this side of the Atlantic this season by beating their AFC East rival for the 13th straight time and 18th time in 19 meetings.
Bears 7 at Ravens 31
Joe Flacco threw a career-high four touchdown passes, and the Ravens capitalized on six Chicago turnovers. Jay Cutler threw three interceptions, upping his NFL-high total to 25, and backup Caleb Hanie was also picked off. In addition, the Bears (5-9) lost two fumbles.
Cardinals 31 at Lions 24
Kurt Warner threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin with 1:54 left, as Arizona (9-5) clinched the NFC West for the second straight season —the first time they have won consecutive division titles since 1974-75.
Falcons 10 at Jets 7
Tony Gonzalez caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan on a fourth-down play with 1:38 remaining and Atlanta beat the Jets.
The Falcons (7-7), eliminated from the playoff race with Dallas’ victory over New Orleans on Saturday night, are still in contention to post back-to-back winning records for the first time in their 44-year history.
Texans 16 at Rams 13
Matt Schaub had his eighth 300-yard passing game and Andre Johnson set a season best with 196 yards receiving, but the Texans ended up leaning on field goals to hold off the lowly Rams.
The Rams fell far short of a sellout for the second straight game with paid attendance of 46,256, the franchise’s worst since moving to the Midwest in 1995.
Buccaneers 24 at Seahawks 7
Rookie Josh Freeman shook off his ninth interception in just over two games to throw two touchdown passes in the second half.
Tampa Bay’s 26th-ranked defence forced five turnovers by Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, as the Buccaneers (2-12) won for just the second time in 17 games.