Not many players can overshadow a wild weekend of NFL playoff possibilities. Peyton Manning can. And did.

Manning broke Tom Brady’s single-season record with his 51st touchdown pass, the last of four on Sunday in Denver’s 37-13 win at Houston. New England’s Brady set the mark in 2007, beating Manning’s previous record of 49 in 2004 with Indianapolis.

“I think it’s a unique thing and a neat thing to be a part of NFL history, even though it may be temporary,” Manning said after the Broncos (12-3) clinched the AFC West and a first-round playoff bye. “So I’m going to enjoy it as long as it lasts, and hopefully the Hall of Fame will send the ball back once somebody throws for more.”

Manning might have seemed an outsider to re-establish the standard considering the neck injuries that required surgery and forced him to sit out the 2011 season with the Colts. But he’s been sensational in Denver and has more records in sight with one game remaining.

He has a career-high 5,211 yards passing this season, third in NFL history and 265 yards shy of the 5,476 yards Drew Brees gained in 2011.

“I’m grateful for people that helped me along the way and I’ve certainly put some time and work into it,” Manning said when asked if he could have predicted grabbing back the record. “But no, it would be hard to say you could have imagined this at that point, so we’re excited about the win and hopefully we can keep it going next week.”

Manning regained his record with 51 when he threw for 400 yards, with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The 51st was on a 25-yard pass to Julius Thomas with 4:28 remaining. Just 2½ minutes earlier, he tied the mark with a 20-yard pass to Eric Decker.

Chiefs 23, Colts 7

At Kansas City, Andrew Luck threw for 241 yards and a touchdown, Donald Brown ran 51 yards for another score, and Indianapolis (10-5) assured Denver of the AFC West crown.

Eagles 54, Bears 11

At Philadelphia, Nick Foles threw two touchdown passes, LeSean McCoy ran for two scores and Philadelphia (9-6) set up a winner-take-all NFC East matchup at Dallas. That game has been moved to prime time next Sunday.

The Bears (8-7) came in needing a win to clinch the NFC North and the No. 3 seed. But the Eagles (9-6) played like the team trying to lock up a playoff berth.

Cowboys 24, Redskins 23

Dallas (8-7) staged a late rally to stay in the postseason picture. Tony Romo recovered from a bad interception and rallied the visiting Cowboys from a nine-point, fourth-quarter deficit. He found DeMarco Murray for a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 1:08 remaining.

The victory ended a four-game December losing streak for Dallas.

Bengals 42, Vikings 14

At Cincinnati, Vincent Rey returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown as the Bengals clinched the AFC North. Andy Dalton threw four touchdown passes as the Bengals (10-5) remained perfect at home and secured an unprecedented third straight playoff appearance.

In his past four home games, Dalton has thrown for five, three, three and four touchdowns.

Patriots 41, Ravens 7

At Baltimore, Logan Ryan had two interceptions, LeGarrette Blount scored twice and the Patriots ended the Ravens’ four-game winning streak.

The previous time these teams met the AFC title hung in the balance and Baltimore used a strong second half to pull out a 28-13 victory. In this one, New England took a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter and never let up behind a defense that forced four turnovers and had four sacks.

It was Baltimore’s most lopsided loss since a 37-0 defeat at Pittsburgh in 1997.

Bills 18, Dolphins 0

The Dolphins had a three-game winning streak snapped and are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. With the loss, Miami (8-7) needs help from other teams, but must beat the New York Jets next weekend.

Kyle Williams had two of Buffalo’s season-best seven sacks to key a stifling defensive performance.

Panthers 17, Saints 13

Cam Newton threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon with 23 seconds left to lift the host Panthers to the team’s first playoff berth since 2008. Carolina (11-4) can wrap up the NFC South and a first-round bye with a win next Sunday at Atlanta.

The Panthers intercepted Drew Brees twice and sacked him six times to avenge a 31-13 loss two weeks ago.

Cardinals 17, Seahawks 10

At Seattle, Carson Palmer overcame four interceptions to throw a 31-yard touchdown to Michael Floyd with 2:13 left. The Cardinals kept their postseason hopes going while snapping the Seahawks’ 14-game home win streak.

Arizona (10-5) had to win after Carolina beat New Orleans. And the Cardinals did thanks to a stingy defense that flustered Russell Wilson into one of his worst days as a pro, delaying any celebration of an NFC West championship. The Seahawks can clinch the division with a win over St. Louis next Sunday.

Giants 23, Lions 20

At Detroit, Josh Brown’s 45-yard field goal lifted the Giants and knocked the Lions (7-8) from postseason consideration. They lost for the fifth time in six games, blowing fourth-quarter leads in each setback that might seal Jim Schwartz’s fate.

Chargers 26, Raiders 13

At San Diego, the Chargers beat Oakland by overcoming three turnovers while benefiting from two turnovers and 12 penalties for 73 yards by the Raiders.

Philip Rivers threw a go-ahead, 4-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Ryan Mathews ran for 99 yards

Jets 24, Browns 13

Geno Smith threw two touchdown passes to David Nelson and ran for another score. Smith had his first game with at least two TD passes since October, with no turnovers or sacks. The rookie was 20 of 36 for 214 yards and also ran for 48 yards — including a 17-yard scoring scamper in the fourth quarter.

Rams 23, Bucs 13

At St. Louis, Robert Quinn got three of St. Louis’ seven sacks and set a franchise season record. Quinn leads the NFL with 18 sacks. He broke Kevin Carter’s franchise mark of 17 in the 1999 Super Bowl title season.

Titans 20, Jaguars 16

At Jacksonville, Nate Washington scored on a 30-yard reception in the fourth quarter and Tennessee (6-9) got a much-needed defensive stop late.