The Jets are mathematically still in the thick of the AFC wild card race, but if they don’t improve their play it’s not going to matter what the numbers say. Coming off a victory over the Bills in a must-win game, the Jets look to keep things rolling when they travel to FedEx to face the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

New York narrowly avoided a loss and possibly the end of their season when Mark Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for the game winning touchdown with just over a minute left last week against the Buffalo Bills. While they got the win it was hardly a pretty game as Sanchez struggled, despite throwing for a career high four touchdowns, and the defense had trouble stopping a Bills offense which was without its best player in running back Fred Jackson.

Their play wasn’t a good sign for a team likely forced to win at least four of their last five games, if not all, to have a shot at the final playoff spot in the AFC. For the Jets to have success down the stretch, they’ll have to rely on Sanchez to improve his play and lead the team. He completed 48.6 percent of his passes for only 180 yards last week.

The once feared defense allowed the Bills to drive 90 yards down the field for the score earlier in the game, and almost let Ryan Fitzpatrick lead the Bills down the field in less than a minute for the game winning score. Had Stevie Johnson made a wide-open catch on a play during that drive, the Bills probably would’ve scored and won the game.

“We have to keep improving, there’s no question,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “We’re not going to win and we’re not going to reach our goal if we don’t get better. But we definitely plan on getting better.”

“It is funny how if we make a mistake, we’re horrible and it’s, `Oh, they’re terrible,” Ryan said. “That could be bad luck there, too. But if we make a play, it’s, `Oh, we’re just lucky.’ So, maybe it’s the green (team colors). I don’t know. I hope karma is with us. I hope we continue to be lucky, and we’ll take that.

“The old saying, `I’d rather be lucky than good.’ I’d rather be both, and I think we are.” The Jets are hoping for luck, and that they gained momentum heading into the game Sunday because their track record against the ‘Skins isn’t good. The Jets are 1-8 all time versus Washington.

Washington also hopes to keep some momentum going, coming off a close win over Seattle to snap a six game losing streak. The Redskins came back from 10 down in the fourth to score 16 unanswered points. ”That’s what you’re in this game to do, is to win,” Washington coach Mike Shanahan said. “But at the same time, when you’re around a football team that’s giving you everything they’ve got, you feel good.

“That’s why I feel good about the character of this football team, and it was nice to find a way to win because they deserved to win. Our players have been working extremely hard, and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Rex Grossman is coming off of one of his best performances of the season completing over 73 percent of his passes and racking up 314 yards. To add to that, rookie running back Roy Helu earned himself the start this week rushing for 108 yards and a touchdown last week. He also caught seven passes for 54 yards as well.

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The Packers are still number one, but things changed after that as the Ravens knocked off the 49ers on Thanksgiving, moving them into the 2 spot. The 49ers, Steelers, and Saints round out the top 5. The Houston Texans moved up from 9^th to 7^th with a victory on Sunday, but with Matt Leinart going down leaving T.J. Yates as their only QB they could drop down in the next few weeks.

The Falcons saw themselves crack the top 10 moving up one from 11^th to 10^th after a solid win over Minnesota has them nipping at the Saints heels. The big winners this week are the Ravens, Patriots, Cowboys, and Raiders. The Ravens got a great win over the 49ers to prove they are legit title contenders moving from 5^th to 2^nd.

The Patriots beat up the Eagles, and with an easy schedule they now have their sights on a number 1 seed. The Cowboys moved up from 10^th to 8^th, but with the Saints win over the Giants and the Giants playing Green Bay next they look to pull away with the NFC East and vie for a top seed.

The Raiders moved from 14^th to 12^th and could easily keep moving up as Carson Palmer continues to learn the offense and Michael Bush continues doing his best Darren McFadden impression. The big losers this week are the Bears, Giants, Eagles, and Chargers. The Bears dropped the furthest by far this week falling from 6^th to 13^th and with Caleb Hanie under center their playoff chances are dwindling.

The Giants fell from 12^th to 14^th losing badly to the Saints and watching their playoff chances slip away due to a rough schedule. The Eagles, while remaining in the 18^th spot are big losers this week as they saw their season, which started with Super Bowl aspirations, essentially ended as the Patriots routed them at home.

The Chargers fell again this week from 20^th to 22^nd with their sixth straight loss and only a small hope of making the playoffs. Rounding out the bottom this week is the Vikings, Rams, and Colts. All three teams look like they’ll remain there for the rest of the season and the Colts don’t even look like an NFL team at this point.

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The Tampa Buccaneers (4-7) season ended in Nashville on Sunday after the Titans (6-5), behind a mammoth performance from running back Chris Johnson, had a fourth quarter comeback victory. The score was 23-17. Although running back LeGarrette Blount had 103 yards on 20 carries and Josh Freeman’s 199 yards and one touchdown pass on 18-33 passing were not enough to hold off the Titans in the game’s final minutes.

The game was a final stand for Tampa, who has completely fallen out of the NFC playoff race after its fifth straight loss following a 4-2 start. Bucs fans had a tough time swallowing this one, as they saw a 17-10 fourth quarter lead become a distant memory.

A 52-yard field goal from Titans’ kicker Rob Bironas cut the deficit to 17-13 at the beginning of the final period, but Tampa still appeared poised to end the game on the next drive with a touchdown. After starting at their own 20-yard line, Tampa’s penalties pushed them back into a 1st and 25 situation back near midfield. The offense was unable to make up the lost yardage, and was forced to punt.

The game was then put into the hands of the defense. With just 7:15 remaining they still had an excellent opportunity to preserve the lead and allow the offense to win the game. But Johnson, who ran for a season high 190 yards on 23 carries, put the Titans into excellent scoring position with a 34-yard run to the Tampa Bay 25 after back to back first down throws by Matthew Hasselbeck to open the drive, which began back at the Tennessee 20-yard line.

The Bucs were able to stop the Titans on 3rd and goal from the five after tackling Johnson at the 2-yard line, but needed one more stop, as Tennessee elected to go for it on the 4th down with only a few minutes remaining and trailing by four. Hasselbeck rolled right and threw back towards the middle of the end zone to receiver Damian Williams for the touchdown, giving the Titans a 20-17 lead.

Freeman, who has 2 game-winning drives this season, and a total of nine in his three seasons as the Bucs’ quarterback, aimed to lead his team on another, but was intercepted by linebacker Colin McCarthy at the Tampa Bay 47-yard line. Turnovers was the name of the game for both teams throughout the day due to the cold, rainy conditions.

Each side struggled to take care of the football and there was a total of eight fumbles and three interceptions. There was even a stretch of six plays in the 3rd quarter where the teams combined for three turnovers. “Looking back, we had our timeouts and we had plenty of time. It would have been fairly routine for us to drive down, but the turnover made things difficult.

That’s something that at that point just can’t happen,” said Freeman about the late interception. The Bucs’ defense could have easily lost all hope after Johnson’s second carry of that next drive went to the Tampa 21-yard line leading up to the two minute warning, but they still fought hard and allowed only a field goal with 1:44 remaining.

Freeman would have one more opportunity to win the game trailing 23-17. It only took three plays to move the ball from his own 20 to the Titans’ 34 and things certainly looked promising. However, the Bucs found themselves at the 4-yard line, and were unable to convert after Freeman fumbled on the quarterback sneak attempt, recovered, and was stopped at 26 yards.

The turnover  led to thoughts of the 2012 season for the Bucs faithful. Titans fans, however, kept their postseason hopes alive. “We knew that this was a do-or-die situation, a critical situation,” said Hasselbeck.

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It wasn’t as easy for the New York Jets in their second game with the Buffalo Bills, but the end result was the same. The Jets won a critical game and kept their playoff hopes alive. Led by Mark Sanchez and his career high four touchdown passes, the Jets escaped Sunday’s game with a win when Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for a 16-yard score with just over a minute left to keep the Jets in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

“He’s at his best in big moments,” coach Rex Ryan said. This was as big a moment as the Jets have had all season and with the win they now have only five more to go. The sentiment through the Jets locker room this week has been that they have to win in order to make it to the post season. It was looking like that was going to end with the first game when Dave Rayner hit a 53-yard field goal to put the Bills up 24-21.

Sanchez then led the Jets down the field, the key play coming on a third and 11 from the Bills 36 where Sanchez found Plaxico Burress along the sideline. Burress reached up and made an amazing one handed catch for 18 yards and the first down. ”It was crazy,” Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said of the catch. “He’s 6-foot-5 and he’s got those ‘Go-Go-Gadget’ arms. It was probably one of the best catches I’ve seen in a while.”

Sanchez ran a sneak to assure there would be no challenge and then on the next play rolled out right and found Holmes in the end zone for the go ahead score. Though posting a career high in touchdown passes, Sanchez was far from great. He finished 17 of 35 for 180 yards and a pick, but when things mattered most, he prevailed.

His Bills counterpart, Ryan Fitzpatrick, bounced back from a streak of bad games to go 26 of 39 for 264 yards and three touchdowns, but couldn’t manage one more at the end. Fitzpatrick found a wide open Stevie Johnson, but Johnson dropped the pass. He also missed Johnson in the end zone as he threw behind him and the catch couldn’t be made.

Johnson made headlines for other reasons than just the dropped pass. He scored a touchdown late in the first half and to celebrate mocked shooting himself in the thigh, clearly a shot at Plaxico Burress who had accidentally shot himself in the leg in a nightclub in 2008 when he was with the Giants.

He then continued by mocking the “flight” celebration many of the Jets use after they score and fell to the ground which got a flag for 15 yards and ended up leading to the Jets tying the game back up 14-14. ”I was just having fun and part of having fun ended up being a penalty and a touchdown for the Jets,” Johnson said. “It was a stupid decision by myself.”

“I’ve seen worse, and I’ve heard worse,” Burress said of Johnson’s celebration. “So, it doesn’t bother me at all. The result I’m looking at is we won the football game.”

The Jets have won their first game and look to continue their streak for the playoffs as they head down to Washington to square off with quarterback troubled Redskins. The Bills, now losers of four straight games look to snap the streak as they head home to face Matt Hasselback and the Tennessee Titans.
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The Miami Dolphins (3-8) and Dallas Cowboys (7-4) played what turned out to be a highly competitive game on Thanksgiving 2011, as Dallas edged Miami 20-19 on the game’s final play. Both teams entered on three game win streaks entering this one, and neither of them wanted theirs to end.

Two Tony Romo interceptions in the first quarter to Dolphins’ cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith gave Miami excellent field position, first to their own 42, then to the Dallas 26. However, the Cowboys defense stood their ground and only surrendered a field goal off those turnovers.

The takeaways were certainly a rarity for Miami, who entered the game ranked 31^st in the league in the department with just eight all season. What made them even more surprising was that Romo had gone 128 consecutive throws without an interception until his first on Thursday.

Dallas was extremely effective on the ground early on, as running back DeMarco Murray continued in his recent success accumulating 51 rushing yards over his first ten carries of the game. And despite becoming a non-factor during the middle of the game, Murray was able to gain significant yardage once again on the final drive of the game. Miami maintained its 3-0 lead until a 47 yard missed field goal attempt by Dolphins’ kicker Dan Bailey in the second quarter set up Dallas at its own 38, and eventually led to a Cowboys’ field goal.

Both sides struggled in the first half to finish off drives, even after beginning with good field position. With the exception of the Romo turnovers at the beginning of the game, drives were ending with either field goals or punts. This was the case until Dolphins’ quarterback Matt Moore fumbled a shotgun snap near his own end zone, which was recovered by the Cowboys’ DeMarcus Ware at the 4 with about a minute remaining in the half.

Romo proceeded to throw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Laurent Robinson on a play action fake, making this his fifth straight game with a touchdown reception. It also gave Dallas a 10-3 lead, their first of the game, with 55 seconds remaining in the first half. The Cowboys aspired to go into the tunnel with their one touchdown lead, but Miami added another field goal to end the half and cut the deficit to 10-6.

The second quarter ended quite strangely in comparison to the way the rest of the first half was played. The teams combined to score ten points over the final 61 seconds of the half after only putting up a total of only six over the first 58 minutes and 59 seconds.

Matt Moore led his team out of the locker room on a 70 yard drive, but had to settle for yet another field goal to cut the lead to 10-9. But after forcing a punt they finally got the ball into the end zone to acquire a 17-10 lead after a five play, 74 yard drive concluded with an outstanding 35 yard over the shoulder touchdown reception by wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who was also interfered with on the play.

Tony Romo then decided that it was his turn. The Cowboys covered 77 yards and concluded their drive with another touchdown reception by Robinson to begin the fourth quarter. This one went for 18 yards and gave Dallas a 17-16 lead. The Dolphins then regained the lead with another field goal with 7:14 remaining after starting at their own 19.

Dallas was forced to punt on the following drive, but got the ball back with 2:59 remaining after their defense forced one of their own. The drive began at the Dallas 36 after a 19 yard return from Dez Bryant. The Cowboys handed the ball off to Murray who had some solid carries to put his team into field goal range after a 23 yard completion from Romo to tight end Jason Witten.

Miami ran out of timeouts and Dallas called one with three seconds remaining at the 11 yard line, setting up a 28 yard field goal attempt for rookie kicker Dan Bailey. Bailey, who had made 24 consecutive attempts coming into this one, drilled it right down the middle as time expired to give Dallas a 20-19 victory.

With the victory, Dallas moves into first place in the NFC East after beginning the season just 3-4. Miami, the polar opposite, is one week closer to a great 2012 first round draft pick.

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Backup quarterback Vince Young and the Philadelphia Eagles were unable to keep up the offensive attack on a strong New England Patriots defense, losing at home to their visitors 38-20.

On paper, Young seemed to have a very good game; he threw for 400 yards in the game on 26 completions for one touchdown and one interception. Receiver Jason Avant was Young’s main target, making eight receptions for 110 yards and the only touchdown. New England’s quarterback Tom Brady also had a great game, throwing for 361 yards on 24 complete passes for three touchdowns.

Wes Welker was Brady’s most successful receiver, making eight catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Deon Branch also helped move the ball downfield after his receptions, making six catches for 125 yards. The Eagles’ rushing game was not too successful with Young and running back LeSean McCoy rushing for a total of 71 yards in the entire game.

Patriots’ running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis was able to make his runs count, rushing for two touchdowns on 14 attempts. The first quarter started out quite well for the Eagles, with McCoy rushing in for a touchdown on the Eagles’ first offensive possession. Four minutes later, field-goal kicker Alex Henery kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the Eagles a ten-point lead.

However, the Patriots were able to get on the scoreboard in the final two minutes of the first quarter after Green-Ellis ran for a four-yard touchdown. The Patriots got back the lead early in the second quarter when Green-Ellis ran in for his second touchdown of the night, after the Patriots were able to move the ball downfield in under two minutes with only four plays.

The Patriots widened the distance between the Eagles six minutes later when Brady threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Welker, making the score 21-10 halfway through the quarter. The only points obtained by the Eagles came off the boot of Henery with two minutes left in the half, but was equaled by a 45-yard field goal kick from Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

The only offensive action that came in the third quarter came from the Patriots when, after eight plays that took the team 69 yards, Brady threw a 9-yard pass to Welker for his second touchdown of the night and strengthened the Patriots lead 31-13.

Receiver Rob Gronkowski widened the Patriot’s lead even further halfway through the final quarter after making a 24-yard touchdown catch from Brady after the team spent seven minutes with possession. However, although there was no sign of a possible comeback, the Eagles had the last say in the game after Avant caught a one-yard pass from Young in the final minute of the game, making the final score 38-20.

The Philadelphia Eagles (4-7) travel to Washington on Thursday to face the Seattle Seahawks, while the New England Patriots (8-3) head back home to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

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Rex Grossman and the Washington Redskins were able to come back from being down three points against the Seattle Seahawks going into the final quarter, winning the game 23-17 on Sunday.

The Redskins were able to move downfield thanks to the help from Grossman, who threw for 314 yards on 26 completed passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions. Receivers Fred Davis and Anthony Armstrong were his two targets for the touchdowns, both making five receptions all together for a total of 108 yards.

Seattle quarterback Tarvaris Jackson helped offensively, throwing for 144 yards on 14 completed passes for two touchdowns and one interception. Receivers Marshawn Lynch and Golden Tate were caught the only two touchdown passes for the Seahawks, altogether collecting two receptions for a total of 35 yards.

Running back Roy Helu played well for the Redskins, rushing for 108 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. The same can also be said for Seattle’s Lynch, who ran for 111 yards on 24 carries. The Redskins were the first to take the lead halfway through the first quarter, when Davis caught a two-yard pass from Grossman after a time of possession that lasted 14 plays and almost eight minutes.

Seattle was able to tie the game up four minutes into the second quarter when Lynch caught a 20-yard pass from Jackson, making the score 7-7 after the first half. The only time points were scored in the third quarter was when Seattle took the lead after a 36-yard field goal kick from Steven Hauschka.

In the last quarter, both teams stepped up their game. Seattle widened their lead to 7-17 almost three minutes into the quarter with a 15-yard pass from Jackson to Tate after 12 plays that moved the ball 88 yards downfield. The Redskins responded three minutes later with Helu rushing for a 28-yard touchdown, leaving Washington down by three points.

Washington was able to score on their next drive thanks to a 50-yard touchdown pass from Grossman to Armstrong, giving the Redskins the lead with six minutes left to play. Seattle was unable to recover and make any successful attempts to score after a 25-yard field goal from the Redskins’ Graham Gano, which wrapped up the game with Washington winning 23-17.

The Washington Redskins (4-7) head home to face the New York Jets on Sunday, while the Seattle Seahawks (4-7) get to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.

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An exciting AFC North clash between the Cleveland Browns (4-7) and Cincinnati Bengals (7-4) ended in a 23-20 victory for the Bengals, who have been one of the surprise teams of the year. The Browns welcomed back running backs Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty from injury, as they joined Chris Ogbonnaya, who has performed admirably during their absences.

Cleveland were still without the services of defensive back T. J. Ward however, and Usama Young had to shoulder the responsibilities at strong safety. Cincinnati had injury concerns of their own, and were without defensive end Carlos Dunlap and offensive linemen Anthony Collins and Clint Boling.

They were boosted though by left tackle Andrew Whitworth being declared active after a thigh injury, and rookie wide receiver A. J. Green returning after missing their last game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Normally a ferocious contest between two sides battling it out for third place in the AFC North, the Bengals form in the first half of the season had many predicting that the Browns would struggle, as Cincinnati look to upset the old order of both Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Steelers dominating the division.

Cleveland, however, had no intention of sitting back and letting the game be dictated to them, and took an early lead when Colt McCoy found Jordan Norwood for a 24-yard touchdown pass at the end of an 82-yard drive for the visiting side. The Bengals hit back quickly though, leveling the scores by the end of the first quarter, as running back Cedric Benson found space and cruised in for a 16-yard touchdown, taking a big hit from the Cleveland defense as coasted into the end zone.

This served to reignite the Browns, who regained the lead in the second quarter, successfully kicking a field goal, before extending their lead to 10 points when rookie Greg Little climbed high at the back of the end zone to collect a 3-yard touchdown pass from McCoy. Both teams traded field goals early in the second half, maintaining the Browns lead of 10 points.

This lead was then cut to just three when Andy Dalton, who continued his excellent recent form, finishing with 271 yards, a touchdown and no interception, found tight end Jermaine Gresham for a 22-yard touchdown, with Gresham leaping acrobatically to take the ball above the heads of the Cleveland defense.

The game was tightly poised as time began to run down in the fourth quarter, but kicker Mike Nugent kept his cool as he kicked two field goals, the latter coming with just over a minute left on the clock, to give the Bengals a deserved victory over their AFC North rivals.

Cincinnati will now be looking to upset both Baltimore and Pittsburgh as they keep alive their goal of finishing top of the AFC North, and the return from injury of Green, who caught three receptions 110 yards, as well as the Pro-Bowl form of Dalton could combine to make this dream a very real possibility.

Cleveland continue to have a disappointing season, but will be more optimistic going into games now with the return of their two best running backs, and Hillis in particular will be keen to impress, with the Browns already admitting they may be willing to let the inconsistent tailback leave at the end of the season.

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Not much change this week at the top of the rankings as the top four remain the same with the Packers still at number 1. The Ravens saw themselves move up into the 5 spot with the injury to Bears QB Jay Cutler and could move up again with a Thanksgiving showdown against the 49ers.

The Cowboys find themselves in the top 10 this week after another victory and a Giants loss has them atop the NFC East with a game against Miami coming up on Thanksgiving.

The Big winners this week are the Broncos, Eagles, and Dolphins. The Broncos are 4-1 with Tim Tebow under center and after another comeback win to knock off the Jets the Broncos suddenly are contenders in the race for the AFC West and a wild card spot moving them up to 16^th from 19^th.

The Eagles got a win over the Giants moving them up to 18^th from 23^rd and giving them a record of 4-6 and giving them an outside shot at still making the playoffs. The Dolphins jumped from 29^th to 25^th with their third straight win and could jump even higher if they manage the upset against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

This wasn’t a good week for New York teams as it saw all three teams fall in the rankings. The Giants, Jets, and Bills make the list for big losers this week all losing games they should’ve won.

The Giants fell to 12^th from 6^th after a poor showing against the Eagles left them in 2^nd place behind the Cowboys for the AFC East title. The Jets fell from 14^th to 17^th after Tim Tebow performed his magic beating the Jets late and potentially ending their chances for a Super Bowl and a playoff spot. The Bills got beat down by Miami losing their third straight falling from 17^th to 19^th and losing their lead rusher Fred Jackson.

Rounding out the bottom of the list again this week are the Panthers, Rams and Colts. The Panthers and Colts play this weekend so look for one of those two teams to move up the rankings next week, but Cam Newton should be too much for the Colts to handle.

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The New England Patriots coasted to a victory Monday night over the Kansas City Chiefs, who were without their starting quarterback Matt Cassel, by a score of 34-3. After a slow offensive start Tom Brady and Co. were able to pick things up. Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski, and the Patriots got another score from Julian Edelman who returned a punt 72 yards for the score.

With the win the Patriots, who now sit at 7-3, increased their lead in the AFC East to two games, but by beating Kansas City who’s in the hunt for the wild card helped their division rivals the New York Jets.

No one was expecting much from the Chiefs who started quarterback Tyler Palko in place of the injured Cassel. He threw three interceptions, two which were picked off by Kyle Arrington, and the Chiefs only managed one scoring drive, a field goal that gave them the lead with 1:30 left in the first quarter.

“Three interceptions is inexcusable,” Palko said. “The game is hard enough as it is without making mistakes.” Palko finished 25 of 38 for 236 yards and three interceptions. The Patriots got off to a slow start punting on three of their first four possessions and the other ending in a fumble by Brady. On the next series Brady was sacked twice.

“Obviously, the first half we didn’t do anything,” Brady said. “I don’t think it could have gotten much worse.” After that the Patriots were lights out scoring on their next three drives. Brady found Gronkowski for a 52 yard touchdown in which Gronkowski ran for the last 35 yards and tiptoed the line barely remaining inbounds.

The Chiefs gave it right back when Arrington got his first of two picks to set up a field goal to make it 10-3 Patriots. ”We were still fighting and we knew it was a close game going into halftime,” Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis said. “They got a big play and a big score (Gronkowski’s second touchdown) in the second half and that started their rally.”

The Patriots drove 85 yards on plays to start the third quarter capping on a 19 yard pass to Gronkowski for his second score. Brady finished 15 of 27 for 234 yards and two scores. A minute after that Edelman got his chance and returned a punt for only the second time in his career to put the Patriots up 24-3 with just under nine and a half minutes left in the third.

Arrington got his second pick of the day on the next possession setting up another field goal by Stephen Gostowski to make it 27-3. ”We did too many things that get you beat in this league too many times,” Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali said. The Patriots got their final score in garbage time when rookie Shane Vereen scored his first NFL touchdown on a 4 yard score with a minute left.

The Patriots look to continue their quest for the number one seed in the AFC when they travel to Philadelphia to square off with the Eagles. The Chiefs will try to stay in the hunt for the AFC West and the wild card, but without Cassel it will be hard. They head home to face Pittsburgh, but after that travel to Chicago and to New York before heading back home to face the Packers.

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Normally the backup quarterback for the recently injured Michael Vick, Vince Young, threw a late touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to secure the 17-10 victory for the Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Giants on Sunday.

Although he threw three interceptions in the game, Young was the main man who helped to get the ball down the field for the Eagles, collecting 258 yards on 23 completed passes for two touchdowns. Receiver Riley Cooper was able to split the defense well, collecting 75 yards on five receptions for a touchdown. Steve Smith only caught one pass during the game, but from which he was able to collect 14 yards and a touchdown.

Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning helped in his team’s offense by throwing for 264 yards on 18 completed passes for one touchdown and one interception. Victor Cruz was the main target for Manning, gaining 128 yards on six receptions and one touchdown.

Philadelphia running back got a lot of action in the game, rushing for 113 yards on 23 attempts. The Giants, on the other hand, did not gain much on the running attack of Brandon Jacobs, who ran for only 21 yards on 12 attempts.

With no one able to score in the opening quarter, the Eagles were the first to get on the scoreboard with a 33-yard field goal from Alex Henery. The Eagles scored again with a minute left in the half with a 14-yard pass from Young to Smith. The Giants got the final points in the first half with Lawrence Tynes kicking a 48-yard field goal in the last second.

After the third quarter passed with no team being able to capitalize on offensive attempts, the Giants were able to tie the game up at 10-10 early in the fourth quarter off a 24-yard pass from Manning to Cruz. The Eagles would have the final say of the game, moving the ball 80 yards downfield on 18 plays and finishing up with an eight-yard pass from Young to Cooper to secure the win with two minutes left in the game.

The Philadelphia Eagles (4-6) head back home to prepare for a game against the New England Patriots, while the New York Giants (6-4) travel to Louisiana to face the New Orleans Saints on Monday.

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A 39-yard field goal off the boot of Dan Bailey helped secure the victory in overtime for the Dallas Cowboys, beating the Washington Redskins 27-24 on Sunday.

Tony Romo was another key factor to the comeback victory, throwing for 292 yards on 23 completed passes for three touchdowns. Recievers Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, and Laurent Robinson caught one touchdown pass apiece, making 10 receptions altogether for a grand total of 187 yards.

Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman also played very well throughout the game, throwing for 289 yards on 25 completed passes for two touchdowns and one interception. Receiver Jabar Gaffney was his main target, collecting 115 yards on seven receptions for one touchdown. Donte Stallworth also caught a touchdown pass, along with 51 yards on four receptions.

Running back Demarco Murray helped the Cowboys move the ball down the field, collecting 73 yards on 25 rushing attempts. Redskins’ running back Roy Helu only had eight rushing attempts, averaging four yards per carry.

After a slow start for both teams, the Cowboys were first to take the lead with a 22-yard pass from Romo to Bryant halfway through the first quarter. Bailey gave the Cowboys a 10-point lead with 10 minutes left in the second quarter after kicking a 37-yard field goal.

The Redskins got their first points of the night thanks to a four-yard rushing touchdown by Grossman with four minutes to go before halftime. Grossman then was able to hit Gaffney with a 16-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the quarter, making the score 10-14 going into halftime.

The only action in the third quarter happened in the first five minutes, when Graham Gano kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Redskins an eight-point lead going into the final quarter.

Romo shined in the fourth quarter, making a 7-yard touchdown pass to Robinson on the first drive of the quarter, then throwing a huge 59-yard pass to Witten later on to take the lead at 24-17. However, the Redskins were able to get a touchdown in the final minute of the fourth quarter, a 4-yard pass from Grossman to Stallworth, to tie the game up and bring them into overtime.

Both teams battled strong in extra time, but the Cowboys were able to defend a lead given by a 39-yard field goal from Bailey until the final whistle blew with the Cowboys winning 27-24.

The Dallas Cowboys (6-4) travel back home to face the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, while the Redskins (3-7) travel to Washington to face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

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In a game of two sides who have underperformed this season, the Cleveland Browns (4-6) emerged victorious at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7) in a close-fought match, the final score 14-10 to the Browns.

The Browns continue to be haunted by their lack of options at running back, with both Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty still ruled out due to injuries. The Jaguars were also missing key personnel in the form of Rashean Mathis, who was placed on Injured Reserve earlier in the week.

Although the Jaguars have been disappointing this season, they got off to the perfect start when running back Maurice Jones-Drew powered into the end zone from the six-yard line early in the second quarter.

Not to be outdone, the Browns responded in similar fashion, with running Chris Ogbonnaya getting the rushing touchdown from the one-yard line, leveling the scores as both sides headed into the halftime interval.

There was very little to separate the sides as they entered the second half, but the Browns nearly took the lead when Colt McCoy threw into the end zone from the six-yard line, only for the pass to be intercepted by Jaguars safety Dawan Landry.

Cleveland did finally propel themselves into the lead early in the fourth quarter when McCoy found wide receiver Josh Cribbs for a three-yard touchdown pass, putting the home side seven points ahead.

Although the Jaguars managed to kick a field goal and cut the deficit to four points, they couldn’t put anything else on the scoreboard and will head home disappointed to have lost to a side whose form has been as poor as their own.

Cleveland Head Coach Pat Shurmur will be pleased to have picked up the victory ahead of a tough end to the season which sees the Browns having to contend with the threat of all of their divisional rivals at least once.

The gradual improvement made by Ogbonnaya over the last few games, culminating in him running for 115 yards on 21 carries, will also please Shurmur. If Ogbonnaya can develop into a real threat running the ball, then his presence will allow McCoy to target the threats of Greg Little and Cribbs more efficiently.

With the Bengals up next for Cleveland, they will be hoping that they can welcome back some of their key injured players, as the Bengals continue to look dangerous despite losing to both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in their last two games.

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The Baltimore Ravens (7-3) moved to top position in the AFC North with a well-earned 31-24 victory over divisional rivals the Cincinnati Bengals (6-4). The most noteworthy injury news prior to this game revolved around Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.

A toe injury, which had ruled Lewis out of practice in the week running up to the game, brought to an end a streak of 57 consecutive games started for the 16-year Raven. The Bengals were not without injury concerns of their own, however, having ruled wide receiver A. J. Green inactive following a knee injury sustained a week ago during their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Both teams went three and out on their opening plays, perhaps inevitably, considering the inconsistencies of the Ravens offense recently and the fact, the Ravens are the only team in the N.F.L. to have not conceded points on the opening drive of the game. Despite having home field advantage, the Ravens were the first to give away points, running back Cedric Benson powering into the end zone.

Cincinnati’s lead was short lived, however, with quarterback Joe Flacco rolling right from the snap, and with plenty of time for his receivers to escape their coverage, found Anquan Boldin for a 35-yard touchdown pass.

Baltimore then added another touchdown, this time Ray Rice going over from the one-yard line after a couple of excellent catches from wide receiver Torrey Smith had allowed the Ravens to advance down the field.

The Bengals responded well after the half, answering a Ravens field goal with another rushing touchdown for Benson, reducing Baltimore’s lead to just three points. As in the first half, Ravens struck back quickly with rookie Jimmy Smith grabbing his first interception in the N.F.L.

Smith later fumbled the ball; fortunately for Ravens’ fans, the ball was recovered by Brendon Ayanbadejo, and set up Rice for the one-yard touchdown run. Things quickly went from bad to worse for Cincinnati with Ladarius Webb acrobatically picking off an Andy Dalton pass on the Bengals’ 38-yard line, and Flacco proceeded to throw a touchdown pass to Smith on the first play of Baltimore’s possession, lengthening their lead to 17 points.

Jimmy Smith could not continue to live up to the high standards he had set for himself with his first-ever interception in the N.F.L. as he let Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell get away from him and collect a 49-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, the longest scoring play allowed by the Ravens all season.

Hopes of a Cincinnati comeback ignited when tight end Jermaine Gresham juggled the ball as he moved into the end zone, managing to take control of the ball just before he was pushed out of bounds. The Bengals had to settle for a field goal, bringing them to within seven points of Baltimore.

With less than a minute to play, and the Bengals in a first and goal situation, the Baltimore defense, shorn of its on-field leader Lewis, put in a titanic effort, forcing the Bengals to go four and out and secure victory for the home side.

The Ravens’ stuttering performance last week against the Seattle Seahawks was put to bed after this vital victory over the Bengals, although question marks will remain over the consistency of the Ravens, especially against lesser opposition.

Head Coach John Harbaugh will be pleased with a number of players performances, notably wide receiver Smith, who had 165 yards on just six receptions, including one for a touchdown, as well as tailback Rice, who helped his side with 104 yards on 20 carries.

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The New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs have connections with each other. From the GM of the Chiefs, Scott Pioli, to the currently injured quarterback of Kansas City, Matt Cassel, to the defensive coordinator for Kansas City, Romeo Crennel. The one thing they don’t share is success on the football field.

The Patriots are coming off a crucial road win against the Jets to gain sole possession of first place in the AFC East and sweeping the season series with New York. The Chiefs have dropped two straight after winning four in a row, but without their starting quarterback, they will have to turn to Tyler Palko to keep them in the hunt for the AFC West.

For the Chiefs, they might not be getting Cassel back anytime soon. Coach Todd Haley said Cassel suffered a “significant” hand injury against the Broncos last Sunday and potentially could miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on Monday. Palko has only thrown 13 passes in the NFL and will be leading the Chiefs for now.

“Tyler is the next in line, and he’s done a terrific job, like I said, of keeping himself ready,” Haley said. “That’s what the No. 2 quarterback has to do, because you don’t know. At a moment’s notice, you could be in there playing, just like any other position.” The Patriots, on the other hand, are sitting pretty atop the AFC East after responding well against the Jets behind Brady’s 329 yards and three touchdowns.

Brady will look to continue that against a defense ranked 22^nd overall giving up 364.3 yards per game. ”No matter what happened last week, whether we won, lost, at home or on the road or in London, it doesn’t matter. Once that game is over, we have to put it behind us,” Belichick said.

“Now it’s about preparing for Kansas City, what they do, what their schemes are, what their players are, what their tendencies are in certain coaching decision situations that we’ll have to make.” Brady has not faced the Chiefs since the season opener in 2008 in which he was knocked out for the year, which led to Cassel starting for the Patriots and eventually getting traded to Kansas City.

“In order to make plays, you have to run good routes, you have to make good throws, you have to pass protect against one of the best pass rushers that we face in (Tamba) Hali,” Brady said. Hali has 6 of the Chiefs 9 total sacks, but even with pressure from him Brady should be able to find his tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

The Patriots offense has never been the problem; the problem lies with the defense that played very well against the Jets. Defensive end Andre Carter had four sacks against the Jets and, if he can keep that going, the battered Patriots secondary could have an easier time.

Cornerback Devin McCourty who suffered a shoulder injury in the game against New York will likely be out for a few weeks and safety Patrick Chung is questionable this week. Without those players, the Patriots may not be able to match up against wide receiver Dwayne Bowe who has 19 touchdowns since 2010.

Coach Bill Belichick isn’t counting on a significant drop off from Cassel to Palko. “I think that Palko can do everything that he needs to do from what Matt has done,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect them to deviate too far from what they like to do.” This is a must win for both teams.

The Chiefs are looking to keep pace in the crowded race for the West and the Patriots look to increase their lead over the Jets, who lost on Thursday to Denver, and stay a game ahead of Buffalo who right now owns the tiebreaker having beat the Patriots back in Week 3.

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In a span of five days, the Jets have gone from controlling their destiny for home field in the playoffs to potentially missing the playoffs all together. The Jets’ defense played great for 55 minutes on Thursday, but couldn’t stop Tebow on the final drive. Tebow capped a 95 yard drive with a 20 yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left to stun the Jets and give the Broncos the 17-13 victory.

“I like winning,” Tebow said after his third comeback in a month, “but I wish it wasn’t this stressful. Before the “drive,” the Broncos had punted on their eight previous possessions and Tebow seemed unable to do anything against the Jets defense. He then got the ball with less than six minutes and calmly engineered a 95 yard drive in which he had 57 yards on the ground.

“We played them well through the whole game, until that last play,” Jets star cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “We played them well. Tim Tebow’s legs took them to victory, ran them to victory.”

It was third and four from the Jets 20 with just over a minute left when the Broncos got a “timeout” when a fan ran onto the field and had to be chased by security. During this break the Jets made the decision to call their first all-out blitz of the night, a decision that will be talked about for weeks to come.

Tebow took the snap, read the blitz, and beat safety Eric Smith to the edge and cut back to find his way to the end zone. It was a horrible play by Smith who was supposed to set the edge, but came to far inside and couldn’t recover. ”You know he’s going to keep it in that situation. That’s what he does. You keep the ball in your playmaker’s hand,” Ryan said.

“We thought he was going to carry the ball and he didn’t disappoint us. But he ran for a touchdown. The kid’s a competitor and makes big plays with the game on the line.” Since Tim Tebow replaced Kyle Orton, the Broncos are 4-1 and have climbed back to .500 a half game behind Oakland for the lead in the AFC West.

“He’s a competitive dude,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “He’s super competitive. He never lays his sword down. He’ll fight you to the death. That’s just his nature. He’s a great young man.” Mark Sanchez heaved it up toward the end zone as time expired, but the pass was batted down dimming the hopes of the Jets to even make the playoffs.

The Jets were up 10-3 when Sanchez made a throw toward Plaxico Burress in which he followed him with his eyes the whole way, that was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Andre’ Goodman to tie the game up. Nick Folk broke that tie with a 45 yard field goal with 9:14 remaining.

The drive could’ve been over on the first play when safety Jim Leonhard had a chance to tackle Eddie Royal in the end zone for a safety, but was unable to wrap him up and Royal gained eight yards and got the drive started. Tebow impressed more with his running than his passing finishing 9 of 20 for 104 yards.

“I said before, I trust him. I trust him with everything,” teammate Von Miller said. “No matter how many interceptions he throws, no matter how many touchdowns he scores, that’s Tim Tebow and I’m going to ride with him to the end. I hope he shut up a whole bunch of critics today.”

Joe McKnight and rookie Bilal Powell had to share snaps for most of the night when Shonn Greene took a knee to the ribs and left the game. He never returned after that and with LaDanian Tomlinson being out already the Jets running back situation is very depleted. “He did it to us in college and he’s doing it here,” said teammate Robert Ayers, who went to Tennessee.

“It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be Aaron Rodgers-like. As long as we get it done, that’s all that matters.” The Broncos and Tebow look to continue their success in their race for the AFC West and the playoffs when they travel to San Diego to face division rivals the Chargers who have been reeling as of late.

The Jets return home to face the Bills in a must win for the Jets if they want to stay alive in the playoff hunt.

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The Bills are downplaying the significance of this game, but another loss would seriously hurt their playoff chances. Their opponents, the Miami Dolphins, have virtually no chance of making the playoffs, but they’ve started to play like a decent team and have been playing the role of spoiler the past two weeks.

The Bills are looking to avoid their third straight loss, while the Dolphins are looking to make it three straight wins since starting the season 0-7. Buffalo started out the season on a tear going 3-0, but have since gone 2-4 to drop into a tie for second place in the AFC East one game back of the New England Patriots.

The Bills are trying to catch the Patriots, but if they don’t, a wild card will be difficult with Baltimore and Cincinnati sitting at 6-3 and Tennessee at 5-4. If Buffalo is a playoff team, you couldn’t tell by their last game in which Dallas blew them out 44-7, scoring touchdowns on their first four drives.

“We will regroup and continue to work to get better,” coach Chan Gailey said. “But you have to go do it. Nobody’s going to give you anything in this league.” The recent troubles have stemmed from the offense’s lack of production. Through the first seven games, the Bills averaged 30.1 points, but have only scored 18 points and given the ball up 7 times in the past two games.

The defense has also struggled recently, surrendering 348 yards to the Jets and 433 yards last weekend to the Cowboys. ”We haven’t shown up two weeks in a row. It’s disheartening,” said Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick has only completed 56.5 percent of his passes with two TDs and five INTs in two games since signing a $59 million, six-year contract.

The Dolphins have rebounded the past two games with a 31-3 victory over Kansas City two weeks ago and a 20-9 win over the Redskins. ”The first seven games we were kind of in disarray,” said Reggie Bush.  ”We were trying to find our identity. The difference now is we’re playing 60 minutes and finishing at the end of games.”

Miami’s change has been their performance late in games. In their seven losses they were outscored 92-51 in the second half, but in their two wins have outscored their opponents 27-3. Reggie Bush is in the middle of his best three-game rushing stretch with 242 yards, and he will look to keep that up against a Bills defense that’s ranked 23^rd in the league surrendering 125.4 yards per game.

“We’ve been worrying about one game at a time and not worrying about where we’re going to be at the end of the season, the division, if we can make the playoffs or not,” Bush said. Fred Jackson, who only had 36 yards in the last meeting between these two divisional rivals, comes into the game as the NFL’s leading rusher with 917 yards.

He is also second in yards from scrimmage per game with 145.4 yards. However he’s been unable to find the end zone in the past three games. He will have his work cut out for him against the Dolphins who are ranked 10^th in the league in run defense only giving up 105.1 yards a game, and with the injury to Bills center Eric Wood, the running game could suffer.

“We know we’ve got a lot to prove. There’s still a lot of season left, and we have to go out and earn everything we get for the rest of the season,” Jackson said. “We know that, and it’s a challenge we’re looking forward to.” Ryan Fitzpatrick will look to bounce back facing a Dolphins pass defense that is ranked 25^th in the league giving up 256.3 yards per contest. Matt Moore will also be facing a defense that isn’t good against the pass. The Bills are ranked 27^th giving up 261.4 yards a game.

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