NFL: Tom Brady leads Patriots past Chargers

The Patriots rebounded with a win against the Chargers, the Seahawks pounded the Eagles into submission, while the Broncos held off the pesky Bills. Here's your roundup of Sunday's Week 14 games in the NFL. 

Patriots 23, Chargers 14

Tom Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and the New England Patriots beat the San Diego Chargers.

The Patriots (10-3) won for the eighth time in nine games. It clinched their 12th straight 10-win season for the second-longest such streak in NFL history.

The Patriots spent the week in San Diego following a loss at Green Bay in order to cut down on late-season travel.

New England went ahead 16-14 on Stephen Gostkowski's 38-yard field goal with 10:34 left.

Brady faked a handoff and hit Edelman on a slant at about the 45. He broke two tackles and was gone.

Brady completed 28 of 44 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns.

Seahawks 24, Eagles 14

PHILADELPHIA — Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes, ran for another score and the Seattle Seahawks stifled Philadelphia's high-powered offence in a over the Eagles. 

Wilson had 263 yards passing and ran for 48 to help the Seahawks (9-4) win their third straight game. The defending Super Bowl champions have victories over NFC West-leading Arizona (10-3), San Francisco (7-6) and Philadelphia (9-4) in the last three weeks.

The Eagles host Dallas (9-4) with first place in the NFC East at stake next week.

Richard Sherman and Co. held the Eagles to 139 total yards, the fewest under Chip Kelly.

Pete Carroll was the winner in his first NFL matchup against Kelly. In the coaches' only other meeting, Kelly's Oregon Ducks beat Carroll and USC 47-20 on Oct. 31, 2009.

Broncos 24, Bills 17

DENVER — C.J. Anderson ran for three touchdowns and the Denver Broncos overcame a rare unsteady outing by Peyton Manning to beat the Buffalo Bills.

Manning's streak of 51 straight games with a touchdown throw — three shy of Drew Brees' NFL record — ended on a sun-splashed, almost still afternoon in Denver, where the game-time temperature was a balmy 63 degrees.

Despite three turnovers, the Broncos (10-3) won their third straight game since changing from a pass-oriented attack to a run-heavy approach.

Manning finished 14 of 20 for 173 yards with two interceptions. His top receiver, Demaryius Thomas, was held to two catches for 11 yards, and tight end Julius Thomas (ankle) was active but didn't play for the third straight week.

Buffalo is 7-6.

Colts 25, Browns 24

CLEVELAND — Andrew Luck threw a one-yard touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton with 32 seconds left, rallying Indianapolis to a 25-24 win on Sunday over the Browns.

Cleveland contained the Colts quarterback until the final minute, but couldn't finish him off.

Before Luck connected with Hilton, Colts running back Daniel Herron picked up two yards on fourth down to keep the drive alive. Luck, who threw two interceptions and spent the day being harassed by an energized Browns defence, then fired his second TD pass to Hilton.

The Colts (9-4) trailed 21-7 in the third quarter, but stormed back behind Luck, who finished 24-of-53 for 294 yards.

The Browns (7-6) got two defensive touchdowns, but Cleveland's offence, led by struggling quarterback Brian Hoyer, couldn't do enough to keep the team's playoff hopes from fading.

Steelers 42, Bengals 21

CINCINNATI — Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes, including a 94-yarder to rookie Martavis Bryant in the fourth quarter, and the Pittsburgh Steelers drubbed the Cincinnati Bengals 42-21 on Sunday, turning the AFC North into a wide-open race.

In a game they had to win, the Steelers (8-5) caught up and ran away with 25 points in the fourth quarter.

For Cincinnati (8-4-1), it was a second straight lopsided loss at home loss to a division rival. The Bengals fell to Cleveland 24-3 before going on the road and winning three straight to take control of the division.

Now, it's anyone's title.

Le'Veon Bell had another big all-around game, running for 185 yards, catching six passes for 50 yards, and scoring three touchdowns.

And Roethlisberger emerged from a three-game funk by making a bunch of big plays, including the longest touchdown pass in the NFL this season.

Cardinals 17, Chiefs 14

GLENDALE, Ariz.​ — Kerwynn Williams rushed for 100 yards two days after being elevated from the Arizona practice squad and the Cardinals rallied to beat Kansas City in a matchup of teams that had lost two in a row.

The NFC West-leading Cardinals (10-3) took the lead when Drew Stanton threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Brown in the third quarter.

Jamaal Charles scored two first-half touchdowns on a 63-yard run and 18-yard pass from Alex Smith, but the Chiefs (7-6) were shut out in the second half.

Arizona won a crucial call reversal when it challenged that tight end Travis Kelci fumbled deep in Cardinals territory late in the fourth quarter.

Raiders 24, 49ers 13

OAKLAND, Calif. — Derek Carr threw three touchdown passes and the Oakland Raiders put a major dent into San Francisco's dwindling playoff hopes with a over the 49ers in the Battle of the Bay.

Carr completed 22 of 28 passes for 254 yards and completely outplayed counterpart Colin Kaepernick as the Raiders (2-11) won their second straight home game surrounding last week's 52-0 loss at St. Louis.

With a second straight loss the 49ers (7-6) are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in coach Jim Harbaugh's four-year tenure.

San Francisco is two games out of the second wild-card spot with three games remaining after making three straight NFC title games.

Panthers 41, Saints 10

NEW ORLEANS — Cam Newton passed for three touchdowns, appeared to incite a scuffle with frustrated New Orleans after he went over the pile for another score, and the Panthers ended a six-game skid with a 41-10 rout of the Saints on Sunday.

Jonathan Stewart added a 69-yard touchdown as the Panthers (4-8-1) pulled within a game of NFC South leader Atlanta (5-7), which plays at Green Bay on Monday night.

Newton's jawing and ''Superman'' celebration of his 2-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter drew a shove from linebacker Curtis Lofton, igniting a scrum that went from a closed gate behind the goal post and into a tunnel.

Panthers tight end Brandon Williams was ejected for punching Cam Jordan, but Carolina kept rolling.

Newton's scoring passes went to Kelvin Benjamin, Greg Olsen and Fozzy Whitaker.

New Orleans (5-8) lost its fourth straight home game to drop a half-game behind Atlanta.

Vikings 30, Jets 24 (OT)

MINNEAPOLIS — Jarius Wright's 87-yard touchdown reception from Teddy Bridgewater in overtime gave the Minnesota Vikings a 30-24 victory over former teammate Percy Harvin and the New York Jets on Sunday.

After forcing the Jets to punt to start the extra period, the Vikings faced third-and-five. Bridgewater was blitzed and threw high on a bubble screen pass to his right. Wright jumped for the off-balance grab, slipped by Jaiquawn Jarrett and outran defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson the rest of the way.

Harvin had a 35-yard touchdown reception and a 47-yard kickoff return while finishing with 124 yards on six catches, but he hurt his ankle late in the fourth quarter and didn't return. This was his first game in Minnesota in more than two years after playing his first three and-a-half seasons with the Vikings.

Ravens 28, Dolphins 13

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Baltimore Ravens played more than 17 minutes before picking up a first down, then overcame a 10-point deficit to beat the Miami Dolphins 28-13 Sunday.

The Ravens rallied with consecutive touchdown drives of 97 and 75 yards, and added the clinching score after a favorable replay reversal.

A gamble by coach John Harbaugh in the third quarter helped. The Ravens made a first down on fourth-and-1 in their own territory, jump-starting the TD drive that put them ahead.

The victory gave Baltimore (8-5) a significant edge over Miami (7-6) in the AFC's scramble for a wild-card playoff berth. The Dolphins, who haven't been to the postseason since 2008, are now a long shot with three games to go.

Rams 24, Redskins 0

LANDOVER, Md. — The St. Louis Rams have back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1945, beating the Washington Redskins 24-0 Sunday and giving them their first winning streak of the season.

Jared Cook caught two touchdown passes, Tavon Austin returned a punt 78 yards for a score, and the defense allowed 206 total yards as the Rams improved to 5-7.

The Rams sacked Colt McCoy six times. He suffered a neck injury on the sixth sack just before the two-minute warning, so Robert Griffin III finished the game in his first appearance since getting benched two weeks ago. Griffin was sacked once during his brief appearance.

The Redskins (3-10) dropped their fifth straight.

Texans 27, Jaguars 13

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Arian Foster ran for 127 yards and a touchdown, and the Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-13 on Sunday.

The Texans won consecutive games for the first time since Week 2 and kept pace in the muddled AFC wild-card race.

Foster's one-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter gave Houston (7-6) a comfortable cushion in what had been a back-and-forth game.

After quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick got stuffed on third down, the Texans lined up for a field goal before calling time out and deciding to go. Foster started right and looked like he would be stopped for a loss, but he eluded a tackle, cut back the other way and high-stepped into the end zone.

The Jaguars (2-11) led 13-10 at halftime, but did little after the break.

Giants 36, Titans 7

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Eli Manning threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, and the New York Giants snapped a seven-game skid by routing the Tennessee Titans 36-7 Sunday.

The Giants (4-9) won for the first time since Oct. 5 with two rookies having big games. Odell Beckham Jr. set a team rookie record with his fourth game with 100 yards receiving this season: 11 catches for 130 yards and a TD. Andre Williams ran for a season-high 131 yards, including a 50-yard TD.

Tennessee (2-11) lost its seventh straight and for the 11th time in 12 games with a performance that had fans booing and even a handful wearing paper bags over their heads. This is the franchise's longest skid since losing 11 straight in 1994 as the then-Houston Oilers.

Lions 34, Bucaneers 17

DETROIT — Matthew Stafford threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns - including one off a fluky deflection late in the game - and the Detroit Lions kept the pressure on in the NFC North race with a 34-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

The Lions (9-4) trail first-place Green Bay by a half-game, with the Packers hosting Atlanta on Monday night.

Tampa Bay (2-11) was finally eliminated from playoff contention - the NFC South's mediocrity could only keep the Bucs in it for so long. They turned the ball over three times in the second quarter against Detroit and never led.

The Lions have won two in a row, and they figure to be favored again next weekend when they face Minnesota in their final home game of the regular season.