ST. LOUIS ‹ An official made perhaps the biggest stop at the end of the St. Louis Rams' NFC West-clinching victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Running a deep pass pattern in the final minute of the Rams' 27-22 victory Sunday, Seahawks wide receiver Bobby Engram tripped over a back judge who had fallen and was rolling. Instead of a chance at scoring the go-ahead touchdown, the ball was nearly intercepted by Tommy Polley in the end zone.
''I thought I had it,'' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. ''We liked the matchup, one-on-one, Bobby on a middle linebacker who's kind of turned around. It's just a real bad break for us.''
Back judge Greg Steed said his feet got tangled as he cut across the field.
The Seahawks (8-6) stalled on the Rams 34 as St. Louis (11-3) clinched the division with two games to spare.
The Rams have won 13 in a row at home, tying a franchise record set from 1998-2000, and are 7-0 this year. They did just enough to continue the Seahawks' road woes and put a dent in Seattle's playoff hopes.
Chiefs 45, Lions 17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ‹ Kansas City clinched its first AFC West title in six seasons Sunday, and Detroit tied an NFL record with its 23rd straight road loss, 45-17.
The Chiefs (12-2) had not won their division since 1997, the last year they made the postseason.
Colts 38, Falcons 7
INDIANAPOLIS ‹ Peyton Manning threw five touchdowns, Edgerrin James ran for 126 yards and the defense manhandled Michael Vick in the first game since coach Dan Reeves was fired by Atlanta (3-11).
Indianapolis' win assured the Colts (11-3) a playoff berth. They need one more win or a Tennessee loss to clinch the AFC South.
Manning had six TD passes earlier in the season against New Orleans. He became only the fifth quarterback since 1970 to have two five-TD games in a season.
Bears 13, Vikings 10
CHICAGO ‹ Rex Grossman won in his NFL first start at quarterback. Another rookie, Charles Tillman intercepted Daunte Culpepper with 1:02 left to preserve the victory.
Minnesota (8-6) lost a chance to move closer to the NFC North title.
Culpepper drove the Vikings from their 81 to the Chicago 8 in the closing minutes.
But when he lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone, Tillman went up with Randy Moss and came down with the ball to seal the win.
Titans 28, Bills 26
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ‹ Backup quarterback Billy Volek, playing in place of Steve McNair, threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his first NFL start.
Drew Bledsoe drove the Bills (6-8) 81 yards in nine plays and threw a 6-yard TD pass to Mark Campbell with 24 seconds left. But Bobby Shaw couldn't control a low pass on the 2-point conversion try, and Erron Kinney recovered the Bills' onside kick.
Tennessee (10-4) remains atop the AFC wild-card standings.
Bengals 41, 49ers 38
CINCINNATI ‹ Chad Johnson caught the first of Jon Kitna's two touchdown passes, and Rudi Johnson ran for 174 yards and two scores as the Bengals stayed in playoff contention and the 49ers (6-8) remained winless on the road.
Patriots 27, Jaguars 13
FOXBORO, Mass. ‹ New England won its 10th straight as Tom Brady threw for two touchdowns.
However, Byron Leftwich's 27-yard TD pass to Kevin Johnson with 3:22 left gave the Jaguars (4-10) the first touchdown scored against the Patriots in Foxboro in five games.
New England already has clinched the AFC East.
Buccaneers 16, Texans 3
TAMPA, Fla. ‹ The Bucs got back to .500 for the first time in six weeks and remained in contention for an NFC wild-card berth as Thomas Jones ran for 134 yards and a touchdown.
The Super Bowl champs (7-7) have won three of four since ending a three-game skid that left them in danger of missing the postseason for the first time since 1998.
Martin Gramatica added three field goals. The Bucs' defense played without All-Pro tackle Warren Sapp, but limited Houston (5-9) to 107 yards.
Jets 6, Steelers 0
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ‹ Curtis Martin ran for 174 yards and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the ninth straight season as the Jets (6-8) won in the snow on Doug Brien's two field goals.
Martin joined Barry Sanders as the only players in NFL history to accomplish the feat. Sanders had 10 straight 1,000-yard seasons.
It was the first time in over three years the Steelers (5-9) were shut out, dating to a 16-0 loss to Baltimore on Sept. 3, 2000.
Panthers 20, Cardinals 17
TEMPE, Ariz. ‹ John Kasay kicked a 49-yard field goal with four seconds to play to give the Panthers the win and the NFC South title.
In clinching its second division title and first playoff berth since 1996, Carolina (9-5) snapped a three-game losing streak.
Eight of the Panthers' victories have come in the final two minutes or in overtime. Carolina tied an NFL record with its seventh win by three points or less this season ‹ the Cardinals did it in 1998.
Packers 38, Chargers 21
SAN DIEGO ‹ Brett Favre threw a season-high four touchdown passes to lead the Packers.
Combined with Minnesota's loss, it left the Packers tied with the Vikings in the NFC North at 8-6.
Three of Favre's TDs came in the fourth quarter after San Diego (3-11) had taken a 21-17 lead when LaDainian Tomlinson took a short pass from Drew Brees and zigzagged through the secondary for a 68-yard score.
Raiders 20, Ravens 12
OAKLAND, Calif. ‹ The Raiders shut down Jamal Lewis and the Ravens' offense to snap Baltimore's three-game winning streak.
The loss dropped Baltimore (8-6) into a tie with Cincinnati for first in the AFC North.
Zack Crockett scored on a 1-yard plunge set up by Phillip Buchanon's interception return on the Ravens' opening drive. Oakland (4-10) never lost that lead while snapping its three-game losing streak.
Broncos 20, Browns 17, OT
DENVER ‹ Jason Elam kicked a 36-yard field goal with six seconds left in regulation, then a 25-yarder in overtime, as the Broncos kept the lead for the final AFC playoff spot.
Denver (9-5) has won three straight and four of five. The Broncos hold a tiebreaker advantage over the Dolphins (8-5), who host Philadelphia on Monday night.
But the win over the Browns (4-10) may have come with a price: Star running back Clinton Portis, who had 139 yards and two touchdowns, had to be helped off the field after injuring his right leg the play before Elam's winning kick.
Cowboys 27, Redskins 0
LANDOVER, Md. ‹ Rookie Terence Newman tied a team record with three interceptions and Troy Hambrick ran for a career-high 189 yards for Dallas.
It was the first shutout in the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry in 32 years and the first time Washington coach Steve Spurrier has been held scoreless in a regular season game since he was with Duke in 1987. The Redskins also hadn't been shut out at home in 10 years.
Saints 45, Giants 7
NEW ORLEANS ‹ Saints wide receiver Joe Horn couldn't wait to spread the word about his big game against the New York Giants.
Horn had four touchdown catches Sunday night in New Orleans' 45-7 victory over the Giants. After the second score, he made a call in the end zone on a cell phone hidden in the padding of the goal post.
Horn, who scored on receptions of 50, 13, 7 and 18 yards, received a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and a tongue-lashing from coach Jim Haslett. But he also had a career night, setting a team record for TD receptions.
