
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Carolina preserved a perfect season thanks to Graham Gano’s 43-yard field goal with five seconds remaining after blowing a huge third-quarter lead, beating the New York Giants 38-35 on Sunday.
The Panthers (14-0) wrapped up the top spot in the NFC playoffs and cinched homefield advantage, but it was a struggle in the last 20 minutes of the game. The Panthers went up 35-7 when wide receiver Ted Ginn caught a 14-yard pass for quarterback Cam Newton’s fifth touchdown toss of the day when the Giants went on a roll to respond to 28 unanswered points from Carolina.
Newton led the Panthers to their 18th straight regular-season victory. He has thrown for 19 touchdowns in the last five games and a career-best 33 this season.
Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was flagged for three personal fouls in the game and tested the patience of officials with repeated on-field tantrums. He was never tossed, and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 35-35, capping a two-minutes, 31-second drive. The Giants dropped to 6-8.
Patriots 33, Titans 16
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England moved a step closer to wrapping up the top seed in the AFC with a victory over Tennessee.
The Patriots (12-2) finished a 7-1 home season and are sure of earning the top seed. They finish the season at the New York Jets next Sunday and at Miami on Jan. 3.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and defensive end Akiem Hicks recovered a fumble and scored New England’s first non-offensive touchdown of the season in the first half as the Patriots reached 12 wins for the 10th time, tying them with the Denver Broncos for third on the NFL’s all-time list. Brady finished 23 of 35 for 267 yards.
Texans 16, Colts 10
INDIANAPOLIS — Third-string quarterback Brandon Weeden came off the bench in the second quarter to throw the deciding touchdown pass, and Nick Novak kicked three field goals, leading Houston to a victory against Indianapolis and sole possession of the AFC South lead.
Weeden, who finished 11 of 18 for 105 yards, replaced T.J. Yates with 1:14 left in the first half after Yates sustained a serious knee injury on a 19-yard scramble.
With the victory, the Texans are 7-7 and control their destiny in the AFC South. A victory at Tennessee and another at home against Jacksonville would end the Colts’ dominance in the AFC South, won by the Colts in nine of the 13 seasons the division existed. Indianapolis is now 6-8 and has lost three in a row.
Chiefs 34, Ravens 14
BALTIMORE — Kansas City took advantage of several miscues and continued its recent surge toward the playoffs with an easy victory over Baltimore.
The Chiefs (9-5) became the first team in NFL history to bounce back from a five-game losing streak with eight straight wins in the same season. The Ravens (4-10) suffered their third, three-game losing streak of the season.
Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown, while safety Tyvon Branch picked up a fumble and ran 73 yards for a score. Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith did an effective job managing the game, completing 21 of 25 for 171 yards with a touchdown and a quarterback rating of 108.5.
Vikings 38, Bears 17
MINNEAPOLIS — Teddy Bridgewater fired four touchdown passes and Minnesota won for the first time in a month, defeating Chicago.
Bridgewater also ran for a touchdown and passed for 231 yards as the Vikings (9-5) snapped a two-game losing streak and assured themselves of their first winning season since 2012.
The Bears (5-9) lost their third consecutive game and are assured of back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2003-04.
Redskins 35, Bills 25
WASHINGTON — Kirk Cousins tied his career high with four touchdown passes, including two to tight end Jordan Reed, and ran for another score as Washington defeated Buffalo to remain atop the NFC East.
Wide receiver DeSean Jackson caught six passes for 153 yards, including a 77-yard score for the Redskins (7-7), who posted consecutive wins for the first time since Weeks 7-8 of last season.
Cousins completed 22 of 28 passes from 319 yards, with no interceptions. Reed had seven catches for 84 yards. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor hit on 16 of 27 attempts for 235 yards and two touchdowns for Buffalo (6-8), which has lost four of five games.
Falcons 23, Jaguars 17
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Shayne Graham kicked three field goals, including a pair in the fourth quarter, to lift Atlanta over Jacksonville to end its six-game losing streak.
The game was tied at 17-17 entering the fourth quarter before Graham connected on a 33-yard effort with just over 10 minutes left. He then increased the lead to six points when he hit from 46 yards out with 1:42 left in the game as the Falcons moved to 7-7.
The Jaguars (5-9) had a final chance to score the winning touchdown but turned the ball over on downs in the closing seconds from its own 41-yard line.