Kansas City 19 Green Bay 14
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Green Bay Packers’ perfect season came to a crashing halt on Sunday against the beleaguered Kansas City Chiefs, who rallied behind interim coach Romeo Crennel and new quarterback Kyle Orton to a shocking 19-14 victory.
Orton finished 23 of 31 for 299 yards in his first start for the Chiefs (6-8), who fired coach Todd Haley last Monday with the team having lost five of its last six games. The loss also ended the Packers’ 19-game winning streak.
But behind an inspired performance by the defence, four field goals by Ryan Succop and Jackie Battle’s short touchdown run with 4:53 left in the game, Kansas City managed to hand the Packers (13-1) their first loss since Dec. 19, 2010, at New England — exactly one day shy of a full year.
Aaron Rodgers was just 17 of 35 for 235 yards and a touchdown, and he also scampered eight yards for another touchdown with 2:12 left in the game. But the Packers were unable to recover the onside kick and then pick up a couple of first downs to secure the victory.
Indianapolis 27 Tennessee 13
Dan Orlovsky threw one touchdown pass and the key block on an 80-yard TD run, leading the Colts to their first win of the season.
Indianapolis (1-13) avoided becoming the second team in NFL history to go 0-16. The loss dealt a serious blow to the Titans’ playoff hopes. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was picked off twice and Chris Johnson rushed for only 55 yards for Tennessee (7-7).
New England 41 Denver 23
Tom Brady and the Patriots shut down Tim Tebow and clinched a playoff berth with their sixth straight victory.
The Patriots (11-3) won another AFC East title by bouncing back from an early 17-6 deficit and an awful first quarter in which they were outgained on the ground 167 yards to 4.
This time, there was no last-minute magic from Tebow, Denver’s enigmatic quarterback who had guided the Broncos (8-6) to four straight fourth-quarter comebacks and six straight wins.
Instead of another slow start followed by a fantastic finish, the Broncos started out fast and then fizzled. They scored on their first three possessions and then were done in by a trio of second-quarter turnovers.
Philadelphia 45 NY Jets 19
LeSean McCoy ran for three touchdowns to set two team records and keep Philadelphia alive in the NFC East race.
The Eagles (6-8) have won two straight for the second time this season and somehow still have a chance to repeat as division champions despite underachieving most of the year. But they have to catch Dallas (8-6) and the New York Giants (7-7).
The loss snapped New York’s three-game winning streak, dropping the Jets (8-6) into a tie with Cincinnati for the final wild-card spot in the AFC.
Michael Vick threw for 274 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for a score.
Detroit 28 Oakland 27
Matthew Stafford threw a 6-yard TD pass to Calvin Johnson with 39 seconds remaining to cap a 98-yard scoring drive as Detroit rallied from 13 points down late in the fourth quarter.
The win wasn’t sealed until Ndamukong Suh blocked Sebastian Janikowski’s 65-yard field goal attempt on the final play. Suh threw his helmet in celebration after providing a perfect exclamation in his return from a two-game suspension.
Arizona 20 Cleveland 17
Patrick Peterson returned a punt 32 yards and John Skelton threw 32 yards to Larry Fitzgerald to set up a 22-yard field goal by Jay Feely.
It was the Cardinals’ third overtime win in seven games.
Arizona (7-7), winner of six of its last seven, trailed 17-7 entering the fourth quarter.
Both teams were without their starting quarterbacks because of concussions. Skelton, in relief of Kevin Kolb, completed 28 of 36 for 313 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Seattle 38 Chicago 14
Red Bryant returned an interception 20 yards for the go-ahead TD in the third quarter and Seattle kept its faint playoff hopes alive.
Chicago quarterback Caleb Hanie was hit hard on the play by K.J. Wright and threw the ball right into Bryant’s arms as Seattle (7-7) scored two TDs in a 50-second span early in the third quarter.
Brandon Browner returned another interception 42 yards for a TD in the final quarter as the Seahawks outscored Chicago 31-0 in the second half.
New Orleans 42 Minnesota 20
Drew Brees threw for 412 yards and five touchdowns to New Orleans to its sixth win in a row.
Brees completed 32 of 40 passes to help the Saints (11-3) overcome a slow and sloppy start and stay two games ahead of Atlanta in the NFC South. Brees is 304 yards from breaking Dan Marino’s single-season record for yards passing with two games to play.
Brees threw two touchdown passes to Lance Moore and one each to Darren Sproles, Jimmy Graham and John Gilmore.
Washington 23 NY Giants 10
Rex Grossman threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss and Washington hurt New York’s playoff hopes.
Grossman threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Santana Moss, Darrel Young scored on a 6-yard run after one of three interceptions by the Redskins (5-9) and Graham Gano kicked three field goals. It was Washington’s second win in its last 10 games.
The loss knocked the Giants (7-7) out of first place in the NFC East.
Jacksonville 28 Houston 13
Cam Newton threw two touchdown passes, DeAngelo Williams ran for a score and Carolina ended Houston’s seven-game winning streak.
Newton completed 13 of 23 passes for 149 yards, outplaying opposing rookie quarterback T.J. Yates. The Panthers (5-9) built a 21-0 halftime lead, then ended Houston’s second-half rally when linebacker James Anderson intercepted Yates in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter.
Miami 30 Buffalo 23
Reggie Bush ran for a career-best 203 yards and touchdown to lead Miami to a 30-23 win over the Buffalo Bills in interim Dolphins coach Todd Bowles first game.
Bush sealed the win with a 76-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Bills (5-9) have lost seven straight and could finishing last in the AFC East for the fourth straight year.
Cincinnati 20 St. Louis 13
Rookie A.J. Green had six catches and topped 1,000 yards for the season, and Cincinnati kept pace in the AFC playoff race.
Brandon Tate’s 56-yard punt return set up Bernard Scott’s go-ahead touchdown run late in the third quarter and Cedric Benson added a short scoring run in the fourth for the Bengals (8-6), who won for the second time in six games.
San Diego 34 Baltimore 14
Philip Rivers threw for one score and reached the 4,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season, Ryan Mathews ran for two scores and hit 1,000 yards rushing, and the San Diego Chargers kept their slim post-season hopes alive with a 34-14 victory against the playoff-bound Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.
The Chargers (7-7) neutralized Baltimore’s normally ferocious defence, which got Ray Lewis back after a four-game injury absence, and scored on six of their first seven possessions. San Diego is tied with Oakland, a game behind Denver with two to play. San Diego has won three straight after a six-game losing streak.
The Ravens (10-4) had their four-game winning streak snapped, but clinched a playoff berth earlier in the day thanks to losses by the New York Jets, Oakland and Tennessee.
Baltimore’s Joe Flacco was sacked five times — three by former Ravens linebacker Antwan Barnes — and intercepted twice.