Colts clinch playoff spot with win

Colts 38, Falcons 7\nINDIANAPOLIS -- Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts were in playoff form Sunday.\nNow they'll have two weeks to prepare for the postseason.\nManning threw for 290 yards and five touchdowns, Edgerrin James ran for 126 yards and the defense manhandled Michael Vick as the Colts beat Atlanta 38-7 to clinch a playoff spot.\nIndianapolis' second straight win assured the Colts (11-3) of their fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, the first time that's happened since 1964-68. The Colts are still hoping to get a first-round bye if New England or Kansas City stumbles in the season's final two weeks.\nManning was his usual brilliant self before leaving at the start of the fourth quarter.\nHe completed 25 of 30 passes, became the first Colts quarterback to throw for five TDs in a game twice in a season and also broke the NFL record for most consecutive seasons with 25 touchdown passes (six).\nRams 27, Seahawks 22\nST. LOUIS -- Bottled up all day, Marshall Faulk finally took matters into his own hands, lifting the St. Louis Rams to the NFC West title.\nWith the Rams ahead by two points, Faulk led a final, clock-killing march that clinched a 27-22 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.\nFaulk more than doubled his yardage for the first 3 1/2 quarters, when he was held to a measly 34 yards on 20 carries, to help the Rams (11-3) clinch their third division championship in five years.\nBears 13, Vikings 10\nCHICAGO -- While Rex Grossman showed poise and promise in his NFL debut for the Chicago Bears, fellow rookie Charles Tillman saved the day against the Minnesota Vikings.\nTillman leaped in the corner of the end zone and took a pass out of Randy Moss' hands, intercepting Daunte Culpepper with 1:02 left Sunday to preserve the Bears' 13-10 victory over the Vikings.\nBengals 41, 49ers 38\nCINCINNATI -- Rudi Johnson rambled, Chad Johnson celebrated, and the Bengals won a game like none other in their history.\nChad Johnson caught the first of Jon Kitna's two touchdown passes, and Rudi Johnson ran for 174 yards and two more scores in a 41-38 victory Sunday that kept the Bengals in playoff contention and the San Francisco 49ers winless on the road.\nPatriots 27, Jaguars 13\nFOXBORO, Mass. -- The Patriots gave up a touchdown at home for the first time in five games. Their unbeaten streak is still going strong.\nNew England beat Jacksonville 27-13 on a snowy Sunday for its 10th consecutive win, even though the Jaguars became the first visitor to reach the end zone in Foxboro in more than two months.\nChiefs 45, Lions 17\nKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Trent Green was perfect. In their own sad and historic way, so were the Detroit Lions.\nBecoming just the second quarterback this season with a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3, Green threw three touchdown passes in a 45-17 victory that clinched Kansas City's first AFC West title since 1997.\nJets 6, Steelers 0\nEAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A few hours before kickoff, Jets running back Curtis Martin went onto the field at the Meadowlands to practice running on the snow.\nWhatever he did worked. Martin had 30 carries for 174 yards, finished with 228 all-purpose yards and etched his name in the NFL record books Sunday, helping the New York Jets beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 6-0. It was the first time in over three years the Steelers (5-9) were shut out,\nBuccaneers 16, Texans 3\nTAMPA, 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.\nThe 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.\nTitans 28, Bills 26\nNASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Steve McNair finally sat out a game with an injury. Backup Billy Volek made sure his absence didn't hurt the Tennessee Titans.\nIn his first NFL start, Volek threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Tennessee snapped a two-game losing streak by rallying for 28-26 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.\nCowboys 27, Redskins 0\nLANDOVER, Md. -- Rain, mud and defense, defense, defense. A perfect Bill Parcells recipe to get the Dallas Cowboys back on track.\nRookie Terence Newman tied a team record with three interceptions, Pete Hunter had two fumble recoveries and an interception, and Troy Hambrick ran for a career-high 189 yards Sunday to power the Cowboys to a 27-0 victory over the Washington Redskins.\nPackers 38, Chargers 21\nSAN DIEGO -- It was practically a day at the beach for Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.\nFavre threw a season-high four touchdown passes and joined Ahman Green and kicker Ryan Longwell in setting franchise records in a 38-21 win over the San Diego Chargers that kept the Packers alive in the NFC North title race.\nBroncos 23, Browns 20, OT\nDENVER -- Jason Elam made sure the Denver Broncos kept their edge in the playoff race.\nElam hit a 36-yard field goal with six seconds left in regulation, then a 25-yarder in overtime, leading Denver to a 23-20 win over Cleveland Browns on Sunday that kept the Broncos in the lead for the final AFC playoff spot.\nPanthers 20, Cardinals 17\nTEMPE, Ariz. -- The Carolina Panthers never win anything easily, and that includes the NFC South title they finally clinched Sunday.\nJohn Kasay kicked a 49-yard field goal with 4 seconds to play to give the Panthers a 20-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.\nRaiders 20, Ravens 12\nOAKLAND, Calif. -- Jerry Rice and the Oakland Raiders still have some life in them -- at least enough to trip up the Baltimore Ravens.\nRice caught his second touchdown pass of the season and the Raiders shut down Jamal Lewis and the Ravens' offense in a 20-12 victory on Sunday, snapping Baltimore's three-game winning streak.\nZack 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, though neither team was terribly impressive in a game dominated by defense, penalties and mistakes.\nGiants at Saints was not completed when the IDS went to press.