CHICAGO — The Green Bay Packers clinched their second straight NFC North title with a 21-13 victory over the archrival Chicago Bears on Sunday. CHICAGO — The Green Bay Packers clinched their second straight NFC North title with a 21-13
CHICAGO — The Green Bay Packers clinched their second straight NFC North title with a 21-13 victory over the archrival Chicago Bears on Sunday.
James Jones caught all three touchdown passes thrown by the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay has now won six straight in the NFL’s oldest — and fiercest — rivalry.
The Packers (10-4) have won 12 straight against NFC North opponents, the longest streak in the NFL.
Brandon Marshall had a 15-yard TD catch for the Bears, who have lost five of six and are in danger of missing the playoffs after beginning the year 7-1. Clay Matthews continued his torture of Jay Cutler with two sacks, and Alshon Jeffery hurt the Bears (8-6) with three offensive pass interference calls late in the second half.
TEXANS 29,
COLTS 17
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are AFC South champions for the second straight year.
Andre Johnson had 151 yards receiving and a touchdown, Bryan Braman scored on a blocked punt, and Shayne Graham kicked five field goals.
The Texans (12-2) grabbed their first AFC South title last season after the Colts nosedived without injured quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning is gone, and Andrew Luck couldn’t do much against Houston’s defense.
The Colts (9-5) had won three straight and needed a win to clinch a playoff berth a year after going 2-14.
J.J. Watt had three sacks as Houston’s defense got back on track a week after a 42-14 loss to New England.
The Texans will have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs in they win out.
REDSKINS 38,
BROWNS 21
CLEVELAND — Rookie Kirk Cousins threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns filling in for injured star Robert Griffin III, leading Washington to its fifth straight win.
Cousins connected with Leonard Hankerson for both TDs in his first career start, and the Redskins (8-6) barely missed a beat without the talented and multi-dimensional RG3, who sat out with a sprained knee.
Last week, Cousins came off the bench after Griffin got hurt. Cousins was behind center from the start of this one and delivered a performance that extended Washington’s longest winning streak since 2007 and moved the Redskins into a tie for first in the NFC East.
Rookie Trent Richardson had a pair of TD runs for the Browns (5-9).
VIKINGS 36,
RAMS 22
ST. LOUIS — Adrian Peterson ran for a season-best 212 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown that fueled Minnesota’s big second quarter.
Peterson has 1,812 yards rushing, leaving him 294 shy of breaking the NFL’s single-season record of 2,105 by Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. Peterson, less than a year removed from a serious knee injury, has two games left — at Houston and home against Green Bay — to top Dickerson.
The Vikings (8-6) scored 10 of their 23 points in the second quarter off turnovers by Sam Bradford, including a 29-yard interception return by defensive end Everson Griffen.
FALCONS 34,
GIANTS 0
ATLANTA — Matt Ryan threw three touchdowns passes, and Atlanta handed the Giants their first regular-season shutout since 1996.
Julio Jones caught a couple of scoring throws from Ryan, who broke his own franchise records for completions and passing yards in a season. He finished 23-of-28 for 270 yards.
The Falcons (12-2), who have already clinched the NFC South, moved a step closer to locking up home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs. One more win would lock it up.
BRONCOS 34,
RAVENS 17
BALTIMORE — Chris Harris returned an interception 98 yards for a momentum-turning touchdown, and Denver won its ninth straight.
Peyton Manning threw for 204 yards and a score in his ninth consecutive win against Baltimore, the first with the Broncos (11-3).
Down 10-0 late in the first half, the Ravens had a first-and-goal at the Denver 4 when Harris stepped in front of Anquan Boldin, picked off a pass by Joe Flacco and sprinted down the right sideline en route to the longest regular-season interception return in Broncos history.
The Ravens (9-5) were playing their first game under offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell, who replaced the fired Cam Cameron. Baltimore clinched a playoff spot by virtue of Pittsburgh’s overtime loss to Dallas.
SEAHAWKS 50,
BILLS 17
TORONTO — Seattle rookie quarterback Russell Wilson ran for three touchdowns and threw for another in leading the Seahawks to their second straight rout.
Wilson scored on runs of 14, 25 and 4 yards and then hit Zach Miller for a 4-yard touchdown in helping the Seahawks score 31 points on their first five possessions. The defense forced three consecutive turnovers to start the second half, including Earl Thomas scoring on a 57-yard interception return.
A week after a 58-0 win at home against Arizona, the Seahawks (9-5) inched closer to clinching a playoff berth and became the NFL’s third team to score 50 points on consecutive weekends. The Bills (5-9) were knocked out of playoff contention for a 13th consecutive season.
COWBOYS 27,
STEELERS 24 (OT)
ARLINGTON, Texas — Brandon Carr intercepted a pass from Ben Roethlisberger to set up Dan Bailey’s 21-yard field goal in overtime.
The Cowboys won a Bailey kick on the final play for the second straight week since practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown was killed in a one-car accident that led to manslaughter charges against teammate Josh Brent.
Carr intercepted Roethlisberger’s pass along the sideline and returned it 36 yards to the 1. Bailey’s kick came after Tony Romo took a 2-yard loss to put the kicker in better position.
The Cowboys (8-6) moved into a three-way tie for the NFC East lead with the Giants and Redskins. The Steelers (7-7) lost for the fourth time in five games.
CARDINALS 31,
LIONS 10
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Greg Toler returned an interception 102 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown as Arizona ended a nine-game losing streak.
The Cardinals (5-9) intercepted Matthew Stafford three times, returning two for touchdowns and setting up a TD with the other. The Lions (4-10) lost their sixth straight. Rashad Johnson brought back a pick 53 yards for a touchdown to cap Arizona’s 21-point second quarter. Patrick Peterson’s interception set up another score.
Detroit’s Calvin Johnson became the first player in NFL history with consecutive 1,600-yard receiving seasons and tied an NFL record with his seventh straight 100-yard receiving game.
PANTHERS 31,
CHARGERS 7
SAN DIEGO — Mike Tolbert scored twice against his former team, and DeAngelo Williams turned a tipped pass from Cam Newton into a 45-yard touchdown reception.
Carolina (5-9) won consecutive games for the first time since last December. The loss knocked the Chargers out of playoff contention for the third straight year.
The Chargers (5-9) clinched their first losing season since 2003, when they were an NFL-worst 4-12. Coach Norv Turner is expected to be fired at season’s end, most likely along with general manager A.J. Smith.
Tolbert capped Carolina’s first two drives with 1-yard scoring runs. His second TD was set up when Philip Rivers lost a fumble, his 21st turnover this season and 46th in less than two full seasons.
SAINTS 41,
BUCCANEERS 0
NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns, and New Orleans posted its first shutout since 1995.
Brees connected on his scoring passes with tight end David Thomas, running back Darren Sproles and receivers Lance Moore and Joe Morgan. Mark Ingram added an 11-yard touchdown run.
Josh Freeman endured one of his worst outings of the season for Tampa Bay (6-8), throwing four interceptions and losing a fumble. Jabari Greer made two interceptions, Rafael Bush and Isa Abdul-Quddus had the others. Cameron Jordan forced Freeman’s fumble on a sack and recovered it.
DOLPHINS 24,
JAGUARS 3
MIAMI — Miami kept former teammate Chad Henne out of the end zone, made three fourth-down stops deep in its own territory and benefited from an odd penalty.
Henne, playing in Miami for the first time since he departed as a Dolphins bust last offseason, threw for 221 yards with no turnovers. But the Dolphins turned back three scoring threats, and a go-ahead touchdown for the Jaguars came off the board because of an illegal-substitution penalty.
RAIDERS 15,
CHIEFS 0
OAKLAND, Calif. — Sebastian Janikowski kicked five field goals, and Darren McFadden rushed for 110 yards.
