Patriots 12, Dolphins 0
FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 12-0 Sunday to become the first team to clinch a division title this season.
Tedy Bruschi returned an interception 5 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown, prompting many of the 45,738 fans who braved the snow — at least 28 inches in the area since Friday night — to clutch fistfuls of the powdery stuff and fling them into the wind, giving the stadium a festive and frosty air. All 68,436 seats at Gillette Stadium were sold, but there were 23,058 no-shows.
The Patriots (11-2) won their ninth consecutive game, including two over division rival Miami (8-5), which would give them an edge in a tiebreaker. The shutout was New England's second in four games, both 12-0, and the first sustained by the Dolphins in 32 games.
VIKINGS 34, SEAHAWKS 7: At Minneapolis, Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss connected on a pair of long touchdown passes. The Vikings (8-5) played the way they did in September and October, before five losses in six games wiped out a 6-0 start.
Culpepper was 21-for-33 for 274 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers. Moss had eight receptions for 133 yards, including scores of 47 and 45 yards. Kelly Campbell caught a 43-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, and rookie Mike Nattiel returned an interception 80 yards for a score.
The Seahawks (8-5) were stymied by a defense that fell to 29th in the league after a 48-17 loss at St. Louis last week. After scoring 110 points in the last three games, Seattle continued to struggle on the road and fell further behind the Rams (9-3 entering Monday) in the NFC West. The Seahawks are 1-5 away from home.
REDSKINS 20, GIANTS 7: At East Rutherford, N.J., Bruce Smith set the career mark for sacks when he trapped Jesse Palmer in the fourth quarter. Smith tackled Palmer for a 7-yard loss with 8:33 to play. The 40-year-old defensive end put an inside power move on tackle Ian Allen, grabbed Palmer around the left ankle and pulled him down for his 199th sack. (See Page D5.)
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Redskins (5-8) and handed the Giants (4-9) their fifth straight loss, eliminating New York from the playoff picture.
BUCCANEERS 14, SAINTS 7: At New Orleans, Tampa Bay scored two touchdowns in the final 1:25 of the first half, including one by Warren Sapp on a 1-yard reception.
Losers of four of their last five, the defending Super Bowl champions need to win all their games to just finish above .500. They were determined to start a run by beating the Saints (6-7), who had beaten them in their last three meetings.
Tampa Bay (6-7) swarmed Deuce McAllister every time he got the ball and held McAllister to 69 yards rushing, snapping his nine-game streak of gaining 100 yards or more.
PACKERS 34, BEARS 21: At Green Bay, Wis., Mike McKenzie, burned early for a 61-yard score, returned his second interception of the day 90 yards for a touchdown. The Packers (7-6) were clinging to a 19-14 lead when McKenzie stepped in front of receiver Dez White and picked off Kordell Stewart's pass at his 10-yard line and ran it all the way back.
Packers RB Ahman Green ran 30 times for 80 yards. He needed 92 to break Jim Taylor's 41-year-old single-season rushing record, the oldest team rushing mark in the NFL.
Jerry Azumah returned a kickoff for an 88-yard score for the Bears (5-8), who took a quick 14-0 lead but they turned the ball over five times.
JAGUARS 27, TEXANS 0: At Jacksonville, Fla., Tony Brackens had two sacks to help Jacksonville stifle Houston's undermanned offense. The Jaguars (4-9) handed the second-year Texans (5-8) their first shutout. Houston's hopes were hurt when starting quarterback David Carr (shoulder) and running back Domanick Davis (thigh) were scratched.
Fred Taylor broke a late 62-yard run to finish with a season-high 163. Jimmy Smith caught a 32-yard touchdown and Byron Leftwich threw for 194 yards to lift Jacksonville to its second straight victory.
CHARGERS 14, LIONS 7: At Detroit, LaDainian Tomlinson's best game as a receiver was enough to beat the Lions. Tomlinson caught nine passes for 148 yards, a season-high for running backs, and had two touchdown receptions. Tomlinson's 73-yard and 16-yard scores in the first half gave San Diego (3-10) a 14-0 lead.
Tomlinson also had 88 yards rushing on 25 carries. He surpassed 200 yards offense for the fourth time this season with a season-high 236.
The Lions (4-9) had won three straight at home.
STEELERS 27, RAIDERS 7: At Pittsburgh, the Raiders' collapse a season after playing in the Super Bowl reached new depths as they fell to 3-10.
Jerome Bettis moved past Thurman Thomas into ninth place on the NFL career rushing list with 106 yards. It was the first 100-yard game by a Steelers runner this season and only Bettis' second in 2 1/2 seasons.
Antwaan Randle El set up three scorers with catches of 24 and 15 yards and a 51-yard punt return for the Steelers (5-8). He also had a 26-yard punt return and an 18-yard run while lining up at quarterback.
49ERS 50, CARDINALS 14: At San Francisco, Terrell Owens caught seven passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns on his 30th birthday, and Jeff Garcia threw four TD passes and ran for two more scores.
Kevan Barlow rushed for a career-best 154 yards and a touchdown as the 49ers (6-7) got their sixth win in seven games at Candlestick Park and their highest-scoring performance since 1994.
The sad-sack Cardinals (3-10), who beat San Francisco in overtime six weeks ago, lost their fifth straight.
BILLS 17, JETS 6: At Orchard Park, N.Y., playing with a broken bone in his right leg and torn rib cartilage, Travis Henry ran for a career-high 169 yards and a touchdown for Buffalo (6-7).
Drew Bledsoe had a 6-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reed, and the defense, led by Sam Adams' two sacks, limited the Jets (5-8) to two field goals — the first time in Chad Pennington's 18 career starts that New York failed to score a touchdown.
FALCONS 20, PANTHERS 14: At Atlanta, Michael Vick handled things in regulation. Kevin Mathis took care of overtime.
Vick rushed for 145 yards — the third-highest total by a quarterback in NFL history — before Mathis scored on a 32-yard interception return in overtime to lead Atlanta over Carolina.
"We've only won three games, but this is the biggest," Vick said.
After Deon Grant picked off Vick's pass at the Carolina 2 to deny the Falcons (3-10) a chance to win in regulation, the Panthers (8-5) got the ball first in overtime.
On third down, Jake Delhomme attempted a pass over the middle. Mathis stepped in front of the intended receiver, picked off the ball and headed the other way.
Delhomme attempted to knock Mathis out of bounds at the 1, but Mathis dived for the pylon. After calling off the Falcons' celebration to review the play, referee Bill Carollo ruled Mathis had scored.
The Falcons — and Vick — got to celebrate again, having won their first home game of the season and denying Carolina a chance to clinch the NFC South championship.