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 The four-time league MVP lifted the Denver Broncos to the top of
the AFC on Sunday by throwing for five touchdowns and 403 yards in a
35-28 at Kansas City. Denver (10-2) swept two games in three weeks
against its AFC West rival and ensured that by winning out, the
Broncos will have home-field advantage in the conference playoffs
for the second straight season.
"Sometimes, when you play a team close to back-to-back, there are
some ideas that are fresh in your mind," Manning said. "We thought
there were some chances to get down the field in that first game
that we never got to. We wanted to get to some of those plays."
Manning's main man on those plays was Eric Decker. He had four
touchdowns on his eight receptions for a career-high 174 yards for
the Broncos. On each of Decker's TDs, the ball was thrown perfectly
by Manning, who leads the NFL with 4,125 yards passing, the most
through the first 12 games of a season. He's in the midst of his
13th career 4,000-yard season, extending his league record, and it
was Manning's eighth career game with at least five touchdown
passes, tied with Drew Brees for the most in NFL history.
"I think he showed people why he's so great," Decker said. "How we
run our offense, we're very versatile as far as going inside,
outside, left, right, whatever it may be."
The Chiefs jumped to a 21-7 lead, but the Broncos answered with 28
points. Alex Smith threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas
City, which has dropped three straight after winning its first nine.
Knile Davis returned a kickoff 108 yards for another score.
Also Sunday, it was New England 34, Houston 31; Carolina 27, Tampa
Bay 6; Philadelphia 24, Arizona 21; Cincinnati 17, San Diego 10;
Indianapolis 22, Tennessee 14; San Francisco 23, St. Louis 13;
Minnesota 23, Chicago 20, OT; Atlanta 34, Buffalo 31, OT; the New
York Giants 24, Washington 17; Jacksonville 32, Cleveland 28; and
Miami 23, the New York Jets 3.
The holiday weekend began with Detroit (7-5) beating Green Bay (5-7)
40-10, Dallas (7-5) over Oakland (4-8) 31-24, and Baltimore (6-6)
downing Pittsburgh (5-7) 22-20.
On Monday night, a matchup for top record in the NFC has New Orleans
(9-2) at Seattle (10-1).
___
PATRIOTS 34, TEXANS 31
At Houston, the Patriots (9-3) came on again in the second half to
extend the Texans' franchise-record slide to 10 games. Tom Brady
threw for 371 yards and two scores, and Stephen Gostkowski made two
53-yard field goals in the fourth quarter.
"I wish we could start fast and put the foot on the gas pedal the
whole way," Brady said.
Gary Kubiak coached from the sideline for the first time since
suffering a mini-stroke Nov. 3. He missed one game before working
the last two games from the booth.
New England overcame a 24-point first-half deficit last week to beat
the Broncos 34-31 in overtime. The Patriots trailed by 10 at
halftime in this one and the lead changed five times in a wild
second half.
Ben Tate ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns for the Texans
(2-10), who haven't won since Sept. 15.
___
PANTHERS 27, BUCCANEERS 6
At Charlotte, N.C., the Panthers won their record eighth straight
regular-season game when Cam Newton threw for 263 yards and two
touchdowns and ran for another score.
Newton threw touchdown passes to Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn Jr. and
leaped over the pile for another score as the Panthers (9-3)
outgained the Buccaneers 426-206. Newton has thrown for 13 touchdown
passes and run for five scores during the Panthers' current win
streak.
"There is no roof, no sky," defensive end Greg Hardy said. "We're
going up. Every person on this team, every coach on this team has
the same mentality right now. I feel like it's contagious. Fans are
getting it. They feel like they can't be beat."
Carolina's defense came in allowing the fewest points in the league
and flexed its muscles again, forcing two turnovers and sacking
rookie Mike Glennon four times to snap a three-game winning streak
for Tampa Bay (3-9). Glennon had thrown a touchdown pass in an NFL
record eight straight games to start his career. ___
EAGLES 24, CARDINALS 21
At Philadelphia, Nick Foles threw three touchdown passes, two to
Zach Ertz, and the Eagles (7-5) won their fourth straight to remain
tied with Dallas for first place in the NFC East.
Foles finished 21 of 34 for 237 yards against a defense ranked
eighth. He set a team record for most passes without an interception
(233), breaking Michael Vick's mark of 224 set in 2010. He also
moved within one TD pass of tying Peyton Manning's mark of 20 and
zero interceptions to start a season.
Carson Palmer threw for 302 yards and three TD passes, but also had
two interceptions and lost a fumble as the Cardinals (7-5) had their
four-game winning streak snapped.
___
BENGALS 17, CHARGERS 10
At San Diego, Andy Dalton threw a go-ahead, 21-yard touchdown pass
to wide-open A.J. Green late in the third quarter and the AFC
North-leading Bengals (8-4), coming off their bye, kept a two-game
lead over Baltimore.
San Diego (5-7) lost the momentum it gained with a thrilling
comeback win at Kansas City a week earlier and saw its playoff hopes
dwindle after its fourth loss in five games.
___
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COLTS 22, TITANS 14
At Indianapolis, 40-year-old Adam Vinatieri, the best clutch kicker
in NFL history, tied his career high with five field goals,
including a 49-yarder to give the Colts the lead for good late in
the third quarter. He matched an NFL record with four field goals of
40 yards or longer in one game.
Vinatieri equaled Jason Elam's NFL record for
100-point seasons (16).
Surprise starter Donald Brown scored on a 4-yard touchdown run
with 1:56 left, giving Indianapolis (8-4) a three-game lead in
the AFC South with four to play. It owns the first tiebreaker
thanks to a season sweep of the Titans (5-7).
___
49ERS 23, RAMS 13
At San Francisco, Anquan Boldin caught nine passes from Colin
Kaepernick, and Michael Crabtree made his long-awaited season debut
six months after Achilles tendon surgery. Kaepernick threw for 275
yards and Frank Gore ran for a 3-yard touchdown as the reigning NFC
champion Niners (8-4) boosted their position in the playoff picture.
Crabtree had a 60-yard catch, while Vernon Davis hurdled into the
end zone on a 17-yard reception.
Phil Dawson kicked three field goals, and San Francisco's swarming
defense rattled Kellen Clemens and the Rams (5-7) all day.
___
VIKINGS 23, BEARS 20, OT
At Minneapolis, Blair Walsh's 34-yard field goal with 1:43 left in
overtime won it. Adrian Peterson rushed 35 times for 211 yards for
the Vikings (3-8-1), who tied Green Bay the previous week. Peterson
had two 11-yard runs on the final drive to get well within range for
Walsh, who missed a 57-yard try earlier in overtime.
Walsh had to kick that one because Rhett Ellison was called for a
15-yard face-mask penalty to wipe out a 39-yard make by Walsh that
would've ended the game.
The Bears (6-6) then reached the 29-yard line, but coach Marc
Trestman called for a field goal on second-and-7. Robbie Gould's
47-yarder went wide right hours after the birth of his first child,
a son.
"I'm happy for my wife and my little boy. Sorry I couldn't do it for
my teammates like I did for my wife this morning," said Gould, who
arrived in Minnesota about six hours before the game.
___
FALCONS 34, BILLS 31
At Toronto, Matt Bryant's 36-yard field goal 3 minutes into overtime
lifted Atlanta in Buffalo's annual "home" game in Toronto. Falcons
safety William Moore set up the decisive score in a back-and-fourth
game by forcing a fumble on Buffalo's second play from scrimmage. He
punched the ball out of the arms of Bills tight end Scott Chandler.
Cornerback Robert McClain also forced a fumble on the Bills' final
possession of regulation, when he knocked the ball out of the hands
of receiver Stevie Johnson at the Falcons 30 with 20 seconds
remaining.
Steven Jackson scored twice, including the tying 1-yard plunge with
1:28 left for the Falcons (3-9), who snapped a five-game skid and
won for the first time in six road games this season.
Fred Jackson scored twice for Buffalo (4-8).
___
GIANTS 24, REDSKINS 17
The host Redskins (3-9) were eliminated from contention as their
defense of the NFC East title was a dud.
Eli Manning completed 22 of 28 passes for 235 yards, and Justin Tuck
had four sacks to help shut down Robert Griffin III in the second
half. Andre Brown had a pair of touchdown runs, including a 1-yarder
early in the fourth quarter that put the Giants ahead for good.
Griffin was 16 for 17 at halftime, but he went 8 for 15 in the
second half, and the Redskins managed only 95 total yards after
halftime.
Game officials appeared to mismanage the downs on Washington's final
series, indicating that the Redskins made a first down before
reversing the decision despite moving the chains and switching the
down markers.
___
JAGUARS 32, BROWNS 28
At Cleveland, Cecil Shorts caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Chad
Henne with 40 seconds left, rallying the Jaguars. It was a dream
moment for Shorts, who grew up in Cleveland.
Henne drove the Jaguars (3-9) 80 yards in nine plays for the winning
TD.
The Browns (4-8) had taken a 28-25 lead on Brandon Weeden's 95-yard
TD pass to Josh Gordon with 3:55 remaining. Gordon returned from a
head injury and finished with 10 catches for a team record 261
yards. Gordon is the first player in NFL history to have consecutive
200-yard games. He had 237 in a loss last week against Pittsburgh.
___
DOLPHINS 23, JETS 3
Ryan Tannehill threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns, leading Miami
past the listless Jets to keep the Dolphins in the playoff mix.
The visiting Dolphins (6-6) played with more of a sense of urgency
while sending the Jets (5-7) to their third straight loss. New York
also has a quarterback controversy on its hands as Geno Smith was
benched in favor of Matt Simms after a dismal first half.
Brian Hartline and Mike Wallace had touchdown receptions for Miami,
while Tannehill finished 28 for 43 with an interception.
___
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