Steelers Clinch AFC North with Win Over Ravens

BALTIMORE  — Santonio Holmes caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger with 43 seconds left as the Pittsburgh Steelers clinched their second consecutive American Football Conference North crown by beating the Baltimore Ravens 13-9 Sunday.

The Steelers (11-3) trailed 9-6 before moving 92 yards in 13 plays to take their only lead and score the game's lone touchdown. Roethlisberger went 7-for-11 for 89 yards on the drive.

Last week, Pittsburgh used a 17-point fourth quarter to rally past Dallas 20-13. The Steelers have won five straight, and this was their first win in Baltimore since 2002. It also earned the Steelers a first-round bye.

Matt Stover kicked three field goals for the Ravens (9-5), who remain in the wild-card hunt despite being eliminated from the AFC North race.

Cowboys 20, Giants 8

At Irving, Texas, DeMarcus Ware added three sacks to his NFL-leading total and Dallas took down Eli Manning eight times on the way to a crucial victory over New York in a game where all eyes were otherwise on Tony Romo, Terrell Owens and Jason Witten.

The Giants (11-3) locked up the National Football Conference East title when Dallas lost last Sunday. New York has lost consecutive games for the first time since starting 0-2 last season, with both losses coming since star receiver Plaxico Burress shot himself and was lost for the season.

Colts 31, Lions 21

At Indianapolis, Despite a litany of missed tackles and two lost fumbles, Peyton Manning kept Indiana (10-4) on track for a playoff run, and kept the Detroit (0-14) on track for a winless year.

The Lions, seemingly on their way to the first 0-16 season in NFL history, were victimized in the fourth quarter by Manning and the Colts.

Texans 13, Titans 12

At Houston, Andre Johnson atoned for one of the worst games of his career in Houston's first meeting with Tennessee this season with a career-high 207 yards and a touchdown to lead the Texans to their fourth consecutive win.

Kris Brown kicked two field goals for Houston.

Panthers 30, Broncos 10

At Charlotte, North Carolina, the Panthers finished off a perfect regular season at home with a dominating performance to clinch at least a tie for the NFC South title and moving closer to their first playoff berth in three years.

Four days after it was announced Jerry Richardson needs a heart transplant, he checked out of the hospital and was in his familiar spot in his end zone suite, watching Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams power Carolina (11-3).

Vikings 35, Cardinals 14

At Glendale, Arizona, Tarvaris Jackson got another shot at starting quarterback, and boy did he make the most of it. Playing in place of injured Gus Frerotte, Jackson threw for four touchdowns and the Vikings stayed alone atop the NFC North.

Adrian Peterson rushed for 165 yards on 28 carries, his franchise record ninth 100-yard game of the season for the Vikings (9-5), who won their fourth in a row. They can clinch the division title with another victory or loss by Chicago.

Dolphins 14, 49ers 9

At Miami, the Dolphins had possession for less than 22 minutes but held the opposition without a touchdown for the third game in a row and helped its playoff chances.

The 49ers ran 79 plays to 42 for the Dolphins, but Miami tight ends scored the only touchdowns on first-half passes from Chad Pennington. He threw a 61-yarder to David Martin and a 19-yarder to rookie Joey Haynos, making the first reception of his career.

Jets 31, Bills 27

At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Abram Elam sacked J.P. Losman and Shaun Ellis picked up the fumble and rumbled 11 yards into the end zone with 1:54 left for the go-ahead score.

The Jets (9-5) will win the AFC East with victories in their finals two games, against Seattle and Miami.Patriots 49, Raiders 26

At Oakland, California, Randy Moss caught two of Matt Cassel's career-high four touchdown passes in his first game against the Raiders since his trade to New England last season.

Cassel's sterling performance just six days after the death of his father, Greg, kept the Patriots (9-5) in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East with Miami and the Jets. Cassel left the team briefly during the week to be with his family, but looked sharp Sunday.

Falcons 13, Buccaneers 10, OT

At Atlanta, Michael Turner ran for 152 yards, John Abraham had three sacks and Jason Elam kicked a 34-yard field goal in overtime.

Atlanta twice turned it over near the Tampa Bay end zone and had a huge breakdown on special teams, allowing Tampa Bay to block a punt with less than 3 minutes left in regulation. That set up Matt Bryant's tying field goal with 48 seconds left.

Bengals 20, Redskins 13

At Cincinnati, the Redskins lost for the fifth time in six games, unable to keep up with one of the NFL's lowliest teams. Ryan Fitzpatrick ran for a touchdown and threw for another.

The main intrigue was how the Redskins (7-7) would react to injuries that decimated their offensive line and grumbling by running back Clinton Portis that rippled through the locker room. They held a players-only meeting at midweek after Portis derisively called coach Jim Zorn a "genius" for benching him the previous week.

Chargers 22, Chiefs 21

At Kansas City, Missouri, Philip Rivers rallied San Diego from a 21-3 third-quarter deficit, throwing two touchdown passes in the final 73 seconds.

The Chiefs (2-12), helped by a delay-of-game penalty against the Chargers, tried a 50-yard field goal on the final play, but Connor Barth's kick was wide left.

Rivers, who came in with an NFL-best 102.0 passer rating, was 34-for-48 for 346 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Jaguars 20, Packers 16

At Jacksonville, Florida, David Garrard threw two touchdowns passes, Maurice Jones-Drew scored twice and the Jaguars snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Packers (5-9) lost on a late drive for the third consecutive week. Carolina beat Green Bay 35-31 two weeks ago with a 55-yard drive in the final two minutes. Houston kicked a winning field goal as time expired to win 24-21 last week.

Seahawks 23, Rams 20

At St. Louis, Olindo Mare's 27-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Seahawks, who broke a six-game slide. Seattle (3-11) tied the game on T.J. Duckett's 1-yard run with 2:47 to go.

The Rams (2-12) scored 17 points in the first half, more than in all but two entire games, while rolling up 243 yards. They reverted to their bumbling form the rest of the way while losing to an injury-ravaged team without Matt Hasselbeck and tackle Walter Jones.

Contact Us