Giants rally for win in OT
Tennessee and the New York Giants wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by showing everyone what has made them the best in their conferences this season.
The Titans sacked Ben Roethlisberger five times in a 31-14 rout of Pittsburgh and the Giants ran for 301 yards in a 34-28 overtime win against Carolina on Sunday.
Roethlisberger tried to engineer another comeback for the Steelers, but Michael Griffin came up with his second interception of the day, returning it 83 yards for a touchdown with 16 seconds left.
"It sets the tone for the playoffs in the AFC," Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said.
Atlanta also clinched a playoff spot, but if the Falcons (10-5) are going to make it to the Super Bowl, they may have to beat one or both of the teams that needed overtime to settle the NFC's top seed.
In East Rutherford, N.J., the Giants (12-3) fell behind 28-20 in the fourth quarter, but Eli Manning led a tying touchdown drive with 3:21 left, tossing a slant to Domenik Hixon for the tying 2-point conversion after Brandon Jacobs barreled into the end zone from a yard out.
"Disappointing would be putting it mildly," Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme said. "The road to the Super Bowl goes through New York. We had a chance. We didn't get it done."
Jacobs powered into the end zone again in overtime, winning the game with 9:57 left. Derrick Ward ran for a career-high 215 yards kept the Giants in the game on a cold, blustery night.
The loss spoiled a record-tying, four-touchdown performance by Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams, who put Carolina up with a 30-yard TD run 2 minutes into the final quarter. He also scored on runs of 13, 5 and 1 yards.
Carolina (11-4) can clinch the NFC South and the No. 2 seed with a win at New Orleans this weekend.
At Detroit, the Lions became the first 0-15 team ever with a 42-7 loss to the Saints (8-7). The Lions will try to avoid going winless in the finale at Green Bay, where they haven't won since 1991.Drew Brees threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns and needs 402 yards at home against Carolina to break Marino's record of 5,084 set in 1984.
At Minneapolis, Matt Ryan threw for a touchdown, Justin Blalock recovered a fumble in the end zone for another score and the Vikings committed four turnovers.Michael Turner rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons (10-5), who were 4-12 a year ago and ended the season without a head coach or a franchise quarterback.
At Denver, the Broncos blew an early 13-0 lead and set up an all-or-nothing matchup against the Chargers next week for the division title.The Broncos (8-7) led the Chargers (7-8) by three games with three to go.
At Tampa, Fla., Philip Rivers threw for 287 yards and four touchdowns, helping the Chargers keep their playoff hopes alive and deal a crushing blow to the Buccaneers' chances.
At Kansas City, Mo., Chad Pennington threw three touchdown passes, continuing one of the most remarkable comeback seasons in NFL history in temperatures that plunged into single digits.With their fourth victory in a row and eighth in nine games, the Dolphins (10-5) can clinch the AFC East next week with a win over the Jets just one year after finishing 1-15.
At Foxborough, Mass., the Patriots pressured Kurt Warner into one of his worst games in 11 pro seasons as he threw for just 30 yards.The Cardinals' (8-7) defense allowed the Patriots (10-5) to score on nine of their 10 possessions before Matt Cassel got the rest of the game off.
At Seattle, Maurice Morris sliced through the snow for a season-high 116 yards and John Carlson scored the only touchdown on a short pass from backup Seneca Wallace as the Seahawks (4-11) ended the Jets' stay atop the AFC East.
At Landover, Md., the Redskins made a stop at the 1-yard line on the game's final play.As Reggie Brown caught the ball near the goal line, cornerback Fred Smoot lifted him into the air, and safety LaRon Landry supplied the shove that kept the Eagles receiver out of the end zone. With no timeouts remaining, Philadelphia (8-6-1) couldn't stop the clock.
At St. Louis, Isaac Bruce reached a pair of milestones in a late-game flurry in his old stadium to help San Francisco (6-9) to an improbable comeback win.
At Cleveland, Cedric Benson rushed for a career-high 171 yards and Leon Hall returned one of his three interceptions 50 yards for a touchdown to help the Bengals get their first road win this season with a victory over the hapless Browns.
At Oakland, Calif., Johnnie Lee Higgins caught a 29-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 80 yards for another score.The Texans (7-8) had won four straight for the first time in team history.
