Colts and New Orleans remain unbeaten

A MERICAN FOOTBALL:TWO TEAMS remain unbeaten in the NFL after the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints both won at the weekend.

Quarterback Peyton Manning threw for four touchdowns as the Colts beat the Denver Broncos 28-16.

The Colts improved to 13-0 with a record 22nd consecutive regular-season win, one more than the New England Patriots’ streak which ended early last year.

New Orleans are also 13-0 after beating the Atlanta Falcons 26-23 with quarterback Drew Brees throwing for 296 yards and three touchdowns.

However, it took a Garrett Hartley field goal with less than five minutes remaining to win it for the Saints in another close contest.

Elsewhere, Adrian Peterson rushed for two touchdowns as the Minnesota Vikings eased to victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Vikings improved to 11-2 with the 30-10 victory as the Bengals dropped to 9-4.

Ryan Grant’s one-yard touchdown run proved the difference between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, the Packers coming from behind to win 21-14 at Soldier Field.

The New England Patriots avoided a third straight defeat but were unimpressive in beating the Carolina Panthers 20-10 in Foxborough.

Tom Brady completed 19 of 32 passes for 192 yards and one touchdown as the Patriots recovered from an early deficit.

An all-Florida affair saw the Miami Dolphins beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 14-10 in a low-scoring contest, with just three points scored in the second half.

There were more points on offer elsewhere with the New York Jets easing past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-3 and the Baltimore Ravens thrashing the hapless Detroit Lions 48-3.

The Houston Texans also had no problems beating the Seattle Seahawks 34-7.

Philadelphia Eagles won an incredible match at NFC East rivals New York Giants 45-38 to boost their play-off hopes and dent those of their opponents.

Wide receiver DeSean Jackson equalled an NFL record of eight 50-yard plus touchdowns in a season with a 72-yard punt return and a 60-yard reception as Brent Celek, Sheldon Brown and Leonard Weaver also scored for the Eagles.

Hakeem Nicks, Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs and Domenik Hixon found the Philly end-zone to no avail as Mario Manningham twice carried passes out of bounds to cost his side scores.

San Diego Chargers maintained a perfect December record stretching back 16 games to quarterback Philip Rivers’ first season as a starter in 2006.

Rivers hit Antonio Gates for a touchdown and then demonstrated his clock-management in a seven-minute drive which ended in Nate Kaeding’s ultimately decisive field-goal in a 20-17 win over Dallas Cowboys.

Running-back Chris Johnson’s hat-trick of touchdowns – including a 66-yard catch – helped Tennessee Titans romp to a 47-7 win over St Louis Rams.

Alge Crumpler and Vincent Fuller were also on the scoresheet as kicker Rob Bironas added 17 points, Randy McMichael scoring the sorry Rams’ one touchdown.

Quinton Ganther scored on two one-yard runs in the fourth quarter as Washington Redskins pulled away to beat Oakland Raiders 34-13.