Giants still alive in NFC East

Victor Cruz set two franchise receiving records, and Ahmad Bradshaw ran for two touchdowns as the Giants kept their playoff hopes alive by winning the New York-area bragging rights with a 29-14 victory over the Jets on Saturday at East Rutherford, N.J.

After a week of trash talk about who ruled the city, neither team did much to boast about. But the Giants (8-7) did more than the Jets (8-7) and can win the NFC East with a victory next week against Dallas.

The Jets' playoff hopes took a serious hit, and they will need to win at Miami next week and get some help from several other teams.

Cruz, who had three catches for 164 yards, broke Amani Toomer's single-season mark for yards receiving - and the team's record for longest touchdown reception, a 99-yarder that gave the Giants the lead for good in the second quarter.

Patriots 27, Dolphins 24: At Foxborough, Mass., Tom Brady ran for two touchdowns and threw for another and New England rallied to clinch a playoff bye with a win over Miami.

The Patriots trailed 17-0 at halftime then scored on their first five possessions in the second half. The Dolphins helped when Matt Moore lost a fumble at his 38-yard line then threw an interception that Devin McCourty picked off at the Patriots 2.

New England (12-3) won its seventh straight game. After the Houston Texans lost to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night, the Patriots needed a win or a tie to lock up one of the AFC’s top two spots.

Miami (5-10) lost for the third time in eight games after opening at 0-7 and is 1-1 under Todd Bowles, who took over when Tony Sparano was fired.

Panthers 48, Buccaneers 16: At Charlotte, N.C., Cam Newton broke Peyton Manning’s rookie record for yards passing in a season and set a franchise record with a 91-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell as the Panthers handed the Bucs (4-11) their ninth straight defeat.

Newton threw for 171 yards and three touchdowns and scored on a remarkable 49-yard run up the middle in which he outraced smaller defensive backs to the end zone.

The Panthers (6-9) scored on eight of their first nine possessions and piled up 397 yards in three quarters against the league’s 30th-ranked defense. Coach Ron Rivera pulled Newton and the other key starters early in the fourth quarter.

DeAngelo Williams scored on runs of 8 and 22 yards, his sixth and seventh of the season, and Jonathan Stewart ran for 88 yards and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Newton.

Vikings 33, Redskins 26: At Landover, Md., Minnesota survived injuries to Adrian Peterson and Christian Ponder on back-to-back plays to beat Washington and end a six-game losing streak.

Toby Gerhart filled in for Peterson and set up a touchdown with a 67-yard run, and Joe Webb threw for two touchdowns and ran for another while subbing for Ponder.

Webb’s 8-yard pass to Percy Harvin broke a 23-all tie early in the fourth quarter, and rookie Mistral Raymond’s first career interception set up Ryan Longwell’s 23-yard field goal that gave the Vikings a 10-point lead with 4:05 to play.

The Vikings are 3-12. The Redskins lost their sixth straight home game to fall to 5-10.

Peterson’s left knee was hurt on the first offensive play of the second half. Ponder suffered a concussion.

Ravens 20, Browns 14: After Baltimore completed its first unbeaten season at home, all that’s left to accomplish during the regular season is securing at least one playoff game on their own turf.

Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, and the Ravens beat bumbling Cleveland to move one step closer to winning the AFC North.

Ray Rice ran for 87 yards and caught a TD pass for the Ravens (11-4), who led 17-0 at halftime and held on to wrap up an 8-0 season at home.

Baltimore would win AFC North by defeating Cincinnati on the road next week. That would also give the Ravens a first-round bye and a home playoff game — two if New England loses next Sunday at home against Buffalo.

Flacco went 11 for 24 with touchdown passes to Rice and tight end Ed Dickson. He also had a 33-yard run.

Josh Cribbs had a career-high 84-yard punt return for a TD for Cleveland (4-11). But the Browns generated very little offense and were guilty of questionable play calling, bad clock management and untimely penalties in their fifth straight loss.

Cleveland saved the worst for last. With no timeouts left, the Browns lined up on defense after the two-minute warning with the Ravens facing a fourth-and-2 at the Cleveland 37.

It appeared obvious that Flacco and the Ravens were merely hoping to draw the Browns offside. As the play clock moved close to zero, Cleveland tackle Phil Taylor jumped across the line of scrimmage to give Baltimore a first down.

The Ravens then ran out the clock on their eighth straight win over the Browns, including two this month.

Steelers 27, Rams 0: Charlie Batch played well enough on two good ankles to keep Ben Roethlisberger from having to play on a bad one.

The veteran backup quarterback played efficiently if not spectacularly in place of the injured Roethlisberger, passing for 208 yards as host Pittsburgh crushed lifeless St. Louis (2-13).

Rashard Mendenhall ran for 116 yards and a touchdown, and John Clay and Ike Redman also scored for the Steelers (11-4), who kept their hopes of an AFC North title alive even with Roethlisberger’s sprained left ankle forcing him to watch the game from the sideline as the team’s third quarterback.

The Steelers can win the AFC North next week with a win over Cleveland and a Cincinnati victory over Baltimore.

Bills 40, Broncos 14: At Orchard Park, N.Y., Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos’ comeback train were derailed by an opportunistic Buffalo Bills defense.

Safety Jairus Byrd and linebacker Spencer Johnson returned Tebow interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive plays from scrimmage in the fourth quarter to seal Buffalo’s rout. The Bills snapped a seven-game skid and stalled the Broncos in their bid to secure their first playoff berth since 2005.

Tebow finished with a career-worst four interceptions as the Broncos (8-7) lost their second in a row and fell into a tie with Oakland for first place in the AFC West. The Broncos close the season at home against Kansas City next week, while Oakland hosts San Diego.

Byrd scored on a 37-yard return with 8:03 left and Johnson had a 17-yarder just 18 seconds later as Buffalo (6-9) ended its home schedule with a victory. C.J. Spiller rushed for a career-best 111 yards and a touchdown, and Leodis McKelvin scored on an 80-yard punt return.

Dave Rayner shook off two missed field-goal attempts — and a booing crowd — to hit his final four, all from within 29 yards.

The Bills set a single-season franchise record with five interceptions returned for touchdowns.

The last two came at the expense of Tebow, who had generated a national buzz for his ability to produce in the clutch. Entering the game with two interceptions all season, he was picked off four times in the second half as his record dropped to 7-3 since taking over the starting job.

Rather than inspiring a fourth-quarter comeback — something he’s done five times this season — he essentially ended the Broncos’ chances in the final 8 minutes.

Dropping back from his own 10, Tebow attempted to hit Eric Decker up the left hash mark, only to have Byrd jump the route and return it for a score.

On the Broncos’ next play from scrimmage, linebacker Chris Kelsay batted the ball out of Tebow’s hand, and it fell into the arms of Johnson, who ran it in from 17 yards.

Tebow finished 13 of 30 for 185 yards with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Fells. He added 34 yards rushing, and scored on a 1-yard plunge.

Raiders 16, Chiefs 13, OT: Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 36-yard field goal 2:13 into overtime, giving visiting Oakland a victory over Kansas City that eliminated the Chiefs (6-9) from the playoff race and kept its own AFC West hopes alive.

Carson Palmer threw for 237 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders (8-7). His perfectly thrown 53-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey early in overtime set up Janikowski’s winning kick, allowing Oakland to avoid a second straight late-game meltdown.

Kyle Orton threw for 300 yards for Kansas City, his only touchdown pass going to Dwayne Bowe with 1:02 left in regulation to tie the game. The Raiders went three-and-out, giving Kansas City the ball back with little time on the clock, and Orton hit Bowe for 25 yards and Terrance Copper for 11 more to set up Ryan Succop for a potential winning field goal on the final play of the game.

Succop’s 49-yard try was blocked by Trevor Scott to send the game to overtime.

Bengals 23, Cardinals 16: Andy Dalton threw a pair of touchdown passes, and Cincinnati withstood yet another fourth-quarter comeback by Arizona, holding on for a victory that kept the Bengals in playoff contention.

Another small crowd at Paul Brown Stadium saw the Bengals (9-6) secure only their third winning record in the last 21 years and stay in the running for the final AFC wild card.

Dalton threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham and a 19-yarder to Jerome Simpson, who did a somersault over a defender and landed on both feet in the end zone. Dalton joined Peyton Manning (26), Charlie Conerly (22) and Dan Marino (20) as the only NFL rookies to throw 20 touchdowns.

Arizona (7-8) rallied from a 23-0 deficit and had a chance to tie. Receiver Early Doucet was uncovered at the goal line but tripped as he ran, letting a fourth-down pass fall incomplete with 1:11 left.

Titans 23, Jaguars 17: Matt Hasselbeck threw for 240 of his 350 yards in the first half, and Tennessee beat Jacksonville in its final home game, trying to keep faint playoff hopes alive.

The Titans (8-7) at least snapped a two-game skid and finished this season 5-3 at home under first-year coach Mike Munchak. They head to Houston for the finale with a chance at their first winning record since 2008.

Rob Bironas kicked three field goals, including a pair of 51-yarders, and Jamie Harper ran for a touchdown. Jared Cook had a 55-yard TD catch and finished with 169 yards receiving, a franchise high for a tight end.

Maurice Jones-Drew, the NFL’s rushing leader with 1,334 yards coming into the game, ran for 103 yards and a touchdown for the Jaguars (4-11). He has a career-high 1,437 yards this season.

San Diego at Detroit: Late

Philadelphia at Dallas: Late