Saints 33 Redskins 30
LANDOVER, Md. — The New Orleans Saints are still perfect.
Garrett Hartley kicked an 18-yard field goal 6:29 into overtime Sunday, and the Saints improved to 12-0 with a 33-30 victory over the Washington Redskins.
The Saints clinched the NFC South with a far-from-perfect win that shows just how charmed their season is becoming.
They trailed by seven points late in regulation when Washington’s Shaun Suisham was wide right with a gimmie 23-yarder that would have sealed the victory for the Redskins (3-9).
Instead, Drew Brees led an 80-yard drive with no timeouts, taking just 33 seconds to tie the game. He hit a wide-open Robert Meachem over the middle for a 53-yard touchdown with 1:19 to play.
Colts 27, Titans 17
At Indianapolis, the Colts tied the NFL record for longest winning streak, beating Tennessee for its 21st consecutive regular-season victory.
The only other team to win that many in a row: New England from 2006-08. The Colts (12-0) can break the record next week at home against Denver.
Peyton Manning threw one TD pass, Joseph Addai ran for two scores and the Colts spent the second half protecting the lead against the Titans (5-7). It was the first time in six games Indy didn’t need a fourth-quarter comeback to win.
Tennessee’s Chris Johnson ran 27 times for 113 yards, his seventh straight 100-yard game, but failed to become the first player in league history to top 125 yards rushing in seven straight.
Raiders 27, Steelers 24
At Pittsburgh, Louis Murphy caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Bruce Gradkowski with nine seconds remaining, his second score in the final 5 1/2 minutes, and Oakland scored three late touchdowns to deal Pittsburgh its fourth consecutive loss.
The Steelers (6-6), in danger of missing the playoffs after winning the Super Bowl for a second time in four seasons, went ahead 24-20 on Ben Roethlisberger’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward with 1:56 remaining, only to have the Raiders (4-8) rally and win it.
Pittsburgh, seemingly in good position to secure a high seed in the AFC playoffs after starting 6-2, has lost to two of the NFL’s worst teams in the last three weeks, the Chiefs (3-9) and the Raiders.
Dolphins 22, Patriots 21
At Miami, when Tom Brady missed repeated chances to put the game away in the fourth quarter, Chad Henne and the Miami Dolphins took advantage.
Henne threw for a career-high 335 yards and directed a 51-yard drive for the winning field goal with 1:02 left, and Miami rallied past New England.
The Dolphins (6-6) overcame an early 14-point deficit to keep their slim playoff prospects alive, while AFC East leader New England (7-5) remained winless in five games in opponents’ stadiums this season.
For the third time on the road, the Patriots lost after leading in the fourth quarter.
The defeat was sealed when Channing Crowder made his first career interception, picking off Brady at the Patriots 40 with 35 seconds left.
Eagles 34, Falcons 7
At Atlanta, Michael Vick took the snap, sprinted to his right, made a quick cut to the left, broke a tackle and dove into the end zone.
He wasn’t done, either.
Turns out, No. 7 still rules Atlanta.
Making quite a return to the Georgia Dome, Vick accounted for a pair of touchdowns — one running, the other passing — and basked in the cheers of his former home and Philadelphia thoroughly dominated the short-handed Atlanta.
The Eagles (8-4) pulled two games ahead of the reeling Falcons (6-6) in the NFC wild-card standings, bringing a little more clarity to the playoff race.
But most of the attention was on Vick’s first game in Atlanta since he went off to prison for dogfighting.
Bengals 23, Lions 13
At Cincinnati, running back Cedric Benson returned from a two-game layoff because of an injured hip and tied the team record with his fifth 100-yard game of the season, setting up Cincinnati’s victory over Detroit that had even greater significance for the franchise.
Jaguars 23, Texans 18
At Jacksonville, Fla., David Garrard threw two touchdown passes, Josh Scobee kicked three field goals and Jaguars stayed in the AFC wild-card hunt with a victory over Houston.
It was Jacksonville’s fifth straight victory at home and came in front of an announced crowd of 42,079 — the lowest in franchise history.
Panthers 16, Buccaneers 6
At Charlotte, N.C., Jonathan Stewart rushed for 120 yards and the game’s only touchdown, and the Panthers intercepted rookie Josh Freeman five times — three times near the goal-line — in a victory over Tampa Bay.
Bears 17, Rams 9
At Chicago, Jay Cutler fizzled after a strong start, throwing for 143 yards and a touchdown without an interception, and Chicago beat St. Louis.
Broncos 44, Chiefs 13
At Kansas City, Mo., Kyle Orton threw two touchdown passes and Denver used a punishing running game to manhandle the Chiefs.
Chargers 30, Browns 23
At Cleveland, LaDainian Tomlinson scored his 150th career TD and stiff-armed Hall of Famer Jim Brown for eighth place on the career rushing list and San Diego won its seventh straight and 15th in a row in December by beating the Browns.
Giants 31, Cowboys 24
At East Rutherford, N.J., Brandon Jacobs had the Giants’ longest play of the season for just a few minutes, then Domenik Hixon topped it, lifting New York past Dallas.
The Giants (7-5) tightened the NFC East with their win, dropping Dallas (8-4) into a tie with Philadelphia for the lead.
New York has swept Dallas this season and plays Philadelphia here next Sunday night.
Jacobs covered 74 yards after taking a short pass from Eli Manning, his touchdown putting the Giants ahead 21-17 in the third quarter. Not to be outdone, Hixon went 79 yards with a punt return for a 31-17 lead in the final period.
Seahawks 20, 49ers 17
At Seattle, Olindo Mare kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to send Seattle over San Francisco, which wasted a career passing day from Alex Smith and many other opportunities.