ARLINGTON, Texas — Sunday’s highlights

RAMS 16, 49ERS 13, OT

ST. LOUIS - Rookie Greg Zuerlein kicked a 54-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in overtime after booting a 53-yarder as time expired in regulation as the St. Louis Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers, avoiding a second tie in three weeks against the NFC West leaders. The Rams scored twice in the final 3:04 of regulation, getting their lone touchdown when rookie Janoris Jenkins returned an errant pitchout by Colin Kaepernick 2 yards for a score. 4C

Tony Romo had three touchdown passes and broke Troy Aikman’s career franchise record. The Dallas Cowboys needed all of them to stay alive for what really made the three-time Super Bowl winner famous: the playoffs.

All three of Romo’s scoring passes came in the second half and offset strong games from Philadelphia’s rookie duo of Bryce Brown and Nick Foles, and the Eagles dropped theireighth consecutive game with a 38-33 loss Sunday night.

The Cowboys (6-6) trailed 27-24 when Romo led an 86-yard drive that was sparked by a 35-yard pass to Dez Bryant on third down. Bryant gave Dallas the lead when took a screen pass from the 6 and got inside the pylon with 5:40 remaining.

“It’s about winning games,” Romo said. “We desperately had to have this win tonight, and our team fought like heck to get a win.”

Romo broke Aikman’s record with his 166th touchdownpass in the third quarter, when Bryant took a short pass after a scramble by Romo and weaved through the Philadelphia defense for a 23-yard score.

“He made a lot of good throws, different kinds of throws in the ballgame,” Dallas Coach Jason Garrett said.

The Eagles’ slide continued despite 169 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Brown a week after he set a team rookie record with 178 yards on the ground.

After Romo’s go-ahead touchdown pass, Dallas went up by 11 when Morris Claiborne returned a fumble by Brown 50 yards for a touchdown.

Brown’s fumble snapped a streak of eight consecutive scoring drives by both teams. It was the second week in a row that he mixed big runs with critical fumbles after losing the ball twice in last week’s loss to Carolina.

Philadelphia (3-9) had a chance for an improbable rally when Damaris Johnson returned a punt 98 yards with 31 seconds left. After a failed 2-point conversion, the Cowboys recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

Foles, making his third start in Michael Vick’s place, led the Eagles to a 27-24 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 43-yard field goal by Alex Henery, who now has the longest current field goal streak at 21 after Cleveland’s Phil Dawson had a kick blocked Sunday.

Romo had another response, and ended up completing all 10 passes in the second half and his last 12 overall. He completed 22 of 27 passes for 303 yards with no interceptions.

Dallas running back De-Marco Murray, who started after missing six games with a sprained right foot, finished with 83 yards and a touchdown.

Brown, who started his first game since high school when he filled in for LeSean McCoy last week, went in untouched on both of his scoring plays in the first half. He ran around the left side for a 7-0 lead and trotted through a big hole up the middle to make it 14-3 midway through the second quarter.

Vick and McCoy are sidelined by concussions.

Philadelphia was in front after the first quarter for the first time all season, but Dan Bailey got the Cowboys on the board with a 39-yard field goal early in the second. DeMarco Murray’s 1-yard touchdown run trimmed the Eagles’ leadto 14-10 with 41 seconds left in the half.

Romo overcame a holding penalty and an 8-yard loss when Kevin Ogletree fumbled a handoff on a reverse by completing third-down passes to Jason Witten, Bryant and Miles Austin. Romo then found Witten all alone in the middle of the field for 28 yards to the 1, setting up Murray’s score.

The Eagles answered by driving 52 yards in 35 seconds to a 43-yard field goal by Henery on the last play of the half. Foles completed a 29-yard pass to Jason Avant to get the Eagles in scoring range.

Brown got Philadelphia’s first scoring drive going with a 42-yard run up the middle and finished it with a 10-yard run.

Trailing 7-3 early the second quarter, the Cowboys went three and out after a third-down completion from Romo to Witten was overturned on a challenge by Eagles Coach Andy Reid. Replay showed the ball hitting the turf as Witten grabbed it.

Two plays later, Brown went 39 yards down the sideline and later scored from 5 yards out.

The Cowboys welcomed Murray back by running him three consecutive times to start the game. The first time Murray went to the sideline, Romo was sacked by Brandon Graham on third-and-3.

After the first Philadelphia touchdown, the Cowboys drove down the field for Bailey’s field goal. Romo found Witten for 11 yards on third-and-10 and escaped pressure to complete a pass to Cole Beasley for 13 yards to the Eagles 41. Romo also had a 15-yard scramble.

CHIEFS 27, PANTHERS 21

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Just one day after Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend and then turned the gun on himself, the Chiefs banded together to play their finest game of the season, an inspired victory over the Carolina Panthers that ended an eight game losing streak suddenly rendered trivial. 4C

SEAHAWKS 23, BEARS 17

CHICAGO- Russell Wilson connected with Sidney Rice on a 13-yard touchdown with 7:33 left in overtime to lift the Seattle Seahawks to a wild victory over the Chicago Bears. The Seahawks, 1-5 on the road before Sunday, figured out a way to win away from Seattle, knocking off the NFC North leaders in the process. Seattle took a short-lived lead late in regulation on Wilson’s 14-yard pass to Golden Tate, only to watch the Bears’ Robbie Gould boot a 46-yard field goal as time expired to send it into OT. 5C

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Seattle 23, Chicago 17, OT Green Bay 23, Minnesota 14 St. Louis 16, San Francisco 13, OT Kansas City 27, Carolina 21 Houston 24, Tennessee 10 NY Jets 7, Arizona 6 Indianapolis 35, Detroit 33 Buffalo 34, Jacksonville 18 New England 23, Miami 16 Denver 31, Tampa Bay 23 Cleveland 20, Oakland 17 Cincinnati 20, San Diego 13 Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 20 Dallas 38, Philadelphia 33

TODAY’S GAME

NY Giants at Washington, 7:30 p.m.

Sports, Pages 13 on 12/03/2012