Eagles clinch home-field advantage
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Dorsey Levens’ 2-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left helped Philadelphia clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 12-7 win over the Cowboys Sunday. But the win was costly for Philadelphia, which lost star wide receiver Terrell Owens to an ankle injury. Owens didn’t return after spraining his right ankle early in the third quarter.
Philadelphia plays its first playoff game on Jan. 15 or 16.
The Eagles (13-1) set a franchise record for regular-season victories. They’ve finished first in the conference three straight years, but couldn’t take advantage of playing at home in the last two NFC championship games.
Donovan McNabb threw for 223 yards and one TD, but was intercepted twice.
Vinny Testaverde also was intercepted twice, including a pick by Lito Sheppard on Dallas’ final drive. Keyshawn Johnson had a TD catch for Dallas (5-9).
Vikings 28, Lions 27
DETROIT – Detroit botched an extra-point kick with 8 seconds left that would’ve tied the game, allowing Minnesota to hang on for a much-needed victory.
The Lions went 80 yards in 1:29 to pull within a point on Joey Harrington’s second touchdown pass to Roy Williams. Then, Don Muhlbach’s snap bounced to holder Nick Harris, who was tackled before he could get the football spotted for kicker Jason Hanson.
Despite losing five of their previous seven games, Minnesota (8-6) can win the NFC North with a victory Friday at home over Green Bay and at Washington.
The Lions (5-9) almost certainly fell out of the postseason race with their seventh loss in eight games, a heartbreaker they’ll be thinking about for a long time.
Daunte Culpepper was 25-of-35 for 404 yards with three TD passes and Moe Williams scored the go-ahead TD on an 11-yard run with 1:37 left.
Jets 37, Seahawks 14
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Chad Pennington threw three touchdown passes and Curtis Martin had 134 yards and two touchdown runs, helping New York keep its lead in the AFC wild-card standings.
The Seahawks (7-7) had another disappointing day in their bid to stay atop the NFC West, with three turnovers the Jets (10-4) converted into 14 points.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck injured his right elbow later in the quarter, and Trent Dilfer came on in relief.
The Seahawks also were on the losing end of another call officials appeared to blow. Martin scored on a 3-yard run in the second quarter even though replays showed he never reached the goal line. Coach Mike Holmgren challenged the call, but referee Scott Green determined the TD should stand.
The Jets had their highest output since a 41-14 win over Miami on Nov. 1, and second highest of the season. They never punted.
Chiefs 45, Broncos 17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Larry Johnson and Eddie Kennison each scored two touchdowns and Dante Hall returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for another score in Kansas City’s win over slumping Denver.
The Chiefs (6-8) scored on four of their first five possessions, aided on every drive by Denver mistakes.
It was the Chiefs’ biggest margin of victory in the long series since a 31-point win in 1983.
The Broncos (8-6) lost for the third time in four games, and were flagged 10 times for 100 yards.
Jake Plummer, who was fined $5,000 last week for making an obscene gesture at a fan in Denver, threw two interceptions that set up Kansas City touchdowns and was sacked six times.
Johnson had his third straight game with over 100 yards rushing, running for 151 yards on 30 carries. Trent Green hit 16 of 19 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. He had touchdown tosses of 7 and 18 to Kennison, who beat star cornerback Champ Bailey each time.
Texans 24, Bears 5
CHICAGO – Houston allowed the fewest points in its three-year history and got four turnovers to beat the bumbling Bears.
With the temperature 9 degrees at kickoff and the wind chill 10 below zero, it was the Texans (6-8) who handled Soldier Field’s frigid conditions better than the Bears.
David Carr threw a TD pass to Corey Bradford and also set up a field goal with a 69-yard toss to Jabar Gaffney. Domanick Davis scored on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter and Charlie Anderson capped the victory by returning a fumble 60 yards for a TD with 2:37 left.
Carr was 13-of-28 for 220.
The Bears (5-9) failed to score a touchdown for the second straight game and their bundled-up fans booed at another inept performance by the NFL’s worst offense.
Chad Hutchinson, under a heavy rush all day, finished 17-of-34 for 168 yards.
Cardinals 31, Rams 7
TEMPE, Ariz. – Josh McCown threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more and the Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak.
McCown, starting his second game since being benched for three, went 22-of-34 for 287 yards with no interceptions. He had TD passes of 8 and 4 yards to Larry Fitzgerald, and scoring runs of 1 and 9 yards.
A victory would have moved the Rams into a tie with Seattle atop the NFC West, the league’s weakest division, and St. Louis holds the tiebreaker with two wins over the Seahawks.
Instead, the Rams fell to 6-8, just one game ahead of the Cardinals (5-9), who improbably are still alive in the division race.
With Rams quarterback Marc Bulger out with a shoulder injury, 39-year-old Chris Chandler lasted just one quarter before he was replaced by Jamie Martin, who couldn’t get the offense into the end zone, either. The Rams’ touchdown came on Leonard Little’s 61-yard fumble return with seven seconds left in the first half.
Raiders 40, Titans 35
OAKLAND, Calif. – Kerry Collins threw for 371 yards and matched his career high with five touchdown passes, hitting Jerry Porter for three scores, and outdueling Billy Volek.
Volek had the second-best passing day in franchise history with 492 yards and four touchdowns. But it wasn’t enough to keep Tennessee (4-10) from losing its fourth straight game.
Drew Bennett established a career high with 13 receptions (for 160 yards), tying the Titans’ franchise record for catches. He caught two touchdown passes in the first half, reaching 10 TDs for the first time in his career .
Collins had five touchdown passes for the first time since his New York Giants beat Minnesota in the NFC championship game Jan. 14, 2001. The last time a Raiders quarterback passed for five was Rich Gannon against Carolina on Dec. 24, 2000.
Porter caught scoring passes of 32, 18 and 3 yards, his second three-TD game of the season, and had eight catches for 148 yards for the Raiders (5-9).
Jaguars 28, Packers 25
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Byron Leftwich threw two touchdown passes, Fred Taylor rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown and Rashean Mathis picked off Brett Favre twice, helping the Jaguars stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
Jimmy Smith caught two touchdowns for Jacksonville (8-6).
Favre turned over the ball four times and fell to 31-4 at home after Dec. 1, losing for just the second time in 40 cold-weather games at home.
Nevertheless, the Packers (8-6) became the ninth team in NFL history to reach the playoffs after a 1-4 start. They clinched before kickoff because Chicago, Dallas, Carolina and New York all lost in the run-of-the-mill NFC.
The Packers fell into a tie with Minnesota atop the NFC North. They travel to Minnesota for a Christmas Eve matinee that will likely decide the division.
Saints 21, Bucs 17
TAMPA, Fla. – Aaron Brooks threw two touchdown passes in the last four minutes, including a 7-yarder to Donte’ Stallworth with 32 seconds left, to keep alive the Saints’ playoff hopes.
Colts 20, Ravens 10
INDIANAPOLIS – Peyton Manning couldn’t get a record-setting touchdown pass against Baltimore’s rugged defense. But he got the Indianapolis Colts a victory.
Manning led two second-half touchdown drives, pulling within one of Dan Marino’s record for touchdown passes in a season, and the Colts defeated Baltimore for their seventh straight victory.
Manning has 47 TD passes; Marino had 48 in 1984.
The fans even booed when Manning knelt down twice in the final minute at the Baltimore 4, running out the clock with a chance to tie the record.