Little guys, big impact
The Chicago Bears' clinching of the NFC North was kicked out of the spotlight by — who else? — a bunch of kickers.
Martin Gramatica, Rob Bironas, Phil Dawson and Josh Brown provided the heroics Sunday with winning field goals, pushing the Bears' 23-13 victory over Minnesota for the division crown to the side.
Gramatica, signed by Dallas last week when the high-priced-but-inconsistent Mike Vanderjagt was cut, nailed a 46-yard field goal with 1 second left to give the Cowboys (8-4) a 23-20 win over the Giants (6-6) and a two-game lead in the NFC East. Gramatica's boot went straight through the uprights with plenty of power, more than making up for his wide-right miss from 44 yards to end the Cowboys' opening drive.
"I've got to thank the Cowboys for giving me a second chance," Gramatica said. "It's been a rough couple of years for me, being out all last year and then not making any teams this year."
Bironas has been around all season and, for the second straight week, staged the dramatics. He became only the sixth kicker to make a 60-yarder, hitting from that distance with 7 seconds left to lift Tennessee over Indianapolis 20-17. Bironas made a 49-yarder with 6 seconds remaining the previous week to cap another comeback and beat the Giants.
Dawson had to wait until overtime for his starring role. The Browns got two touchdown passes in the final 9 minutes of regulation from backup quarterback Derek Anderson, who also ran 33 yards in overtime to set up Dawson's 33-yard field goal for a 31-28 win over Kansas City.
Cowboys 23, Giants 20It was the fourth straight loss for the Giants and the fourth win in five games for Dallas since Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe at quarterback at halftime of a 36-22 loss to New York on Oct. 23. He finished 20-of-34 for 257 yards.
Titans 20, Colts 17At Nashville, Tenn., Bironas' 60-yarder was the franchise's longest ever, and the Titans (5-7) beat the Colts (10-2) for the first time since December 2002.
Browns 31, Chiefs 28At Cleveland, Anderson had never thrown an NFL pass and had taken only one snap before Sunday. However, he replaced injured starter Charlie Frye and rallied the Browns (4-8) to only their second December win at home since 1999.
Bears 23, Vikings 13Devin Hester had his fourth kick return for a TD, a 45-yard punt runback. Ricky Manning Jr. returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown, and host Chicago (10-2) claimed its second straight NFC North title.
Chargers 24, Bills 21LaDainian Tomlinson had 178 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns, helping visiting San Diego (10-2) win its sixth straight. It was Tomlinson's sixth straight 100-yard game and seventh of the season.
Patriots 28, Lions 21Corey Dillon had three short touchdown runs and the host Patriots (9-3) overcame 10 penalties, four turnovers and a safety. The Patriots didn't lead in the second half until Dillon scored on a 4-yard run with 2:33 left. New England had five turnovers.
Saints 34, 49ers 10At New Orleans, Reggie Bush had the breakout game the Saints (8-4) were waiting for. Bush tied Joe Horn's franchise record by scoring four touchdowns and gained 168 total yards.
Seahawks 23, Broncos 20At Denver, Brown tied an NFL single-season record with his fourth winning field goal in the final minute, nailing a 50-yarder with 4 seconds left.
Jaguars 24, Dolphins 10At Miami, David Garrard did his best work on the run, throwing for 229 yards and two scores. The Jaguars (7-5) won for only the second time on the road and ended a four-game winning streak by the Dolphins (5-7), likely ensuring Miami will miss the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.
Jets 38, Packers 10At Green Bay, Chad Pennington and the Jets took apart the Packers' defense in the first half. Pennington put together three touchdown drives of 70 yards or more in the second quarter and the Jets (7-5) cruised.
Falcons 24, Redskins 14The visiting Falcons staged a 24-point rally, highlighted by a pair of big plays in the open field. Defensive lineman Chauncey Davis and rookie running back Jerious Norwood did the damage.
Texans 23, Raiders 14At Oakland, the Texans didn't complete a pass in the second half, finished the game with negative yards passing and somehow found a way to win.
Cardinals 34, Rams 20At St. Louis, Marcel Shipp scored three touchdowns, Edgerrin James had 115 yards rushing, and Matt Leinart won for the second time in seven pro starts,
