Broncos busted
This latest version of Brady vs. Manning was a rout.
And then it wasn’t, stretching deep into overtime before New England’s biggest winning rally in franchise history gave it a 34-31 victory over Denver.
In a game of turnovers in frigid and windy conditions Sunday night, Tom Brady brought the Patriots back from a 24-0 halftime hole created mostly by three lost fumbles. But Peyton Manning and Denver got sloppy in the second half, then Tony Carter had a punt hit him late in OT. New England (8-3) recovered, leading to Stephen Gostkowski’s 31-yard field goal to win it with 1:56 remaining.
“We had some of those plays in the first half that didn’t really go our way,” said Brady, who is 10-4 against Manning. “It was nice to get a good bounce when we needed it.
“It was not our best night, glad we won.”
The bitter defeat for the visiting Broncos (9-2) ruined a superb night for running back Knowshon Moreno. He rushed for 224 yards on 37 carries and a touchdown.
Brady outdueled Manning, throwing for 344 yards and three TDs, completing 34 of 50 passes. Manning was 19 for 36 for 150 yards with two TD passes.
Chargers 41, Chiefs 38At Kansas City, Philip Rivers threw for 392 yards and three touchdowns, the winner a 26-yarder to Seyi Ajirotutu with 24 seconds remaining to end a three-game slide. Kansas City (9-2) won its first nine games, but has lost two in a row. It remained tied with Denver atop the AFC West.The Chiefs had taken the lead when Alex Smith hit Dwayne Bowe for a go-ahead score with 1:22 left. But the Chargers (5-6) still had two timeouts, and they used both as they quickly moved downfield. Ajirotutu’s TD in tight coverage was just his third catch of the season.
Packers 26, Vikings 26At Green Bay, backup quarterback Matt Flynn threw for 218 yards to help the Packers storm back from a 16-point deficit, but Minnesota (2-8-1) and Green Bay (5-5-1) could only muster field goals in overtime.Mason Crosby hit from 20 yards at 10:28 of the extra period and Blair Walsh connected from 35 with 3:54 left.
Bucs 24, Lions 21At Detroit, Matthew Stafford’s fourth interception went in and out of Calvin Johnson’s hands to rookie Johnthan Banks inside the Tampa Bay 5 in the final minute, allowing the Buccaneers to hold on. Tampa Bay (3-8) has won three straight after losing its first eight, joining the 1978 St. Louis Cardinals as the only team to do that.Tampa Bay rookie Mike Glennon was 14 of 21 for 247 yards and threw two touchdowns to Tiquan Underwood, whose second score was an 85-yarder early in the fourth quarter.
Rams 42, Bears 21At St. Louis, Tavon Austin’s 65-yard touchdown run — his fourth straight this season from beyond midfield — jump-started a 21-point first quarter. The Rams (5-6) followed a 30-point rout of Indianapolis in front of their largest crowd of the season, about half of them clad Bears orange, with another big win. Late scores by rookie backup running back Benny Cunningham and defensive end Robert Quinn helped finish off the Bears (6-5), who remained tied for the NFC North lead with Detroit.
Panthers 20, Dolphins 16At Miami, the Panthers won their seventh in a row, with two consecutive late drives led by Cam Newton.The Panthers quarterback converted a fourth-and-10 at his 20 with a completion to keep alive the winning drive, and Carolina scored a touchdown with 43 seconds left. Newton hit Greg Olsen with a 1-yard pass to cap a 12-play drive.Cowboys 24, Giants 21Tony Romo came through with clutch plays to lift the visiting Cowboys (6-5) into the NFC East lead, tied with Philadelphia. Romo threw for two touchdowns and led a drive that set up Dan Bailey’ 35-yard field goal on the final play. Dallas ended the Giants’ four-game winning streak and most of their playoff hopes.
Cardinals 40, Colts 11Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald, Karlos Dansby returned an interception 22 yards for a score and the Host Cardinals (7-4) won their fourth in a row to strengthen their wild-card playoff chances.Cardinals coach Bruce Arians beat the team that propelled him to coaching prominence last season, when he took over as Colts interim coach while Chuck Pagano fought leukemia. Arians was the NFL’s Coach of the Year for 2012.
Ravens 19, Jets 3At Baltimore, Joe Flacco threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones and Justin Tucker kicked four field goals. Jones had four catches for 103 yards and returned five punts for 108 yards.
Titans 23, Raiders 19At Oakland, Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Wright with 10 seconds remaining capped a mistake-free performance that put the Titans back in playoff contention.Fitzpatrick also threw a 54-yard TD pass to Justin Hunter and Rob Bironas added three field goals for Tennessee (5-6).
Jaguars 13, Texans 6At Houston, Maurice Jones-Drew ran for a season-high 84 yards and a touchdown and the Jaguars extended the Texans’ losing streak to a franchise-record nine games.
