AMERICAN FOOTBALL:THE HOUSTON Texans and New Orleans Saints both booked their spots in the National Football League (NFL) play-offs with wins on Sunday while the unbeaten Green Bay Packers secured a first-round bye with their 13th win.
The Texans (10-3) wrapped up the AFC South division title with a 20-19 comeback victory at the Cincinnati Bengals to clinch their first play-off berth since joining the league in 2002. The Saints (10-3) advanced with a 22-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans while the Packers crushed the Oakland Raiders 46-16 to earn the luxury of skipping the first round of play-offs but lost top wide receiver Greg Jennings to injury.
The reigning Super Bowl champions were untroubled against the Raiders and were able to rest quarterback Aaron Rodgers after he threw for two touchdowns and 281 yards. Green Bay led 31-0 at the break and pulled Rodgers in the third quarter with the outcome already beyond doubt and coach Mike McCartney perhaps worried about another injury to go with the loss of the influential Jennings.
Rookie quarterback TJ Yates set up the win for the Texans with a six yard touchdown pass to Kevin Walter with just two seconds left on the clock. The conversion sealed Houston’s seventh straight victory. Houston trailed 16-3 at half-time and were 19-13 down with just 2:21 left when Yates led a 13-play drive from his team’s 20 yard line to complete the comeback. The Bengals (7-6) have now lost three of their last four games to damage their hopes of grabbing one of the AFC wild card spots.
New Orleans, Super Bowl champions two seasons back, clinched their fifth straight win after quarterback Drew Brees threw two fourth quarter touchdowns to Marques Colston. Brees threw for 337 yards and his two touchdowns meant he had thrown for at least one touchdown in 40 consecutive games, a record bettered only by Johnny Unitas’ 47. The NFC South leading Saints were assured of their play-off spot later when the Chicago Bears lost to Denver, 13-10, in another Tim Tebow inspired overtime comeback. The Denver quarterback, written off by many critics even before he got a chance as a starter, now has a 7-1 record since taking over from Kyle Orton for the Broncos (8-5).
Denver’s sixth straight win came after they trailed 10-0 with just 2:08 left on the clock as Tebow marched his team downfield for Matt Prater to kick a long-range field goal to force the game into overtime then another to seal the win.
Weekend Results (home team in caps) – New Orleans 22 TENNESSEE 17, Philadelphia 26 MIAMI 10, NY JETS 37 Kansas City 10, New England 34 WASHINGTON 27, Atlanta 31 CAROLINA 23, JACKSONVILLE 41 Tampa Bay 14, BALTIMORE 24 Indianapolis 10, Houston 20 CINCINNATI 19, DETROIT 34 Minnesota 28, GREEN BAY 46 Oakland 16, ARIZONA 21 San Francisco 19, SAN DIEGO 37 Buffalo 10, NY Giants 37 DALLAS 34, DENVER 13 Chicago 10 (OT). (OT denotes overtime win)
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