Packers clinch NFC North title

— The Green Bay Packers clinched their second consecutive NFC North title with a 21-13 victory over the arch rival Chicago Bears on Sunday.

James Jones caught all three touchdown passes thrown by quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay has now won six in a row in the NFL’s oldest - and fiercest - rivalry.

The Packers (10-4) have won 12 consecutive against NFC North opponents, the longest streak in the NFL.

Brandon Marshall had a 15-yard touchdown catch for the Bears, who have lost five of six and are in danger of missing the playoffs after beginning the year 7-1. Clay Matthews continued his torture of Jay Cutler with two sacks, and Alshon Jeffery hurt the Bears (8-6) with three offensive pass interference calls late in the second half.

TEXANS 29, COLTS 17 The Houston Texans are the AFC South champions for the second consecutive year. Andre Johnson had 151 yards receiving and a touchdown. Bryan Braman scored on a blocked punt and Shayne Graham kicked five field goals. The Texans (12-2) grabbed their first AFC South title last season after the Colts nosedived without injured quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning is gone and Andrew Luck couldn’t do much against Houston’s defense. The Colts (9-5) had won three consecutive and needed a victory to clinch a playoff berth a year after going 2-14. J.J. Watt had three sacks as Houston’s defense got back on track a week after a 42-14 loss to New England. The Texans will have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs in they win out.

SEAHAWKS 50, BILLS 17 Seattle rookie quarterback Russell Wilson ran for three touchdowns and threw for another in leading the Seahawks to their second rout in a row, a victory over the Bills in Buffalo’s annual home game in Toronto. Wilson scored on runs of 14, 25 and 4 yards and then hit Zach Miller for a 4-yard touchdown in helping the Seahawks score 31 points on their first five possessions. The defense then took over by forcing three consecutive turnovers to start the second half, including Earl Thomas scoring on 57-yard interception return. A week after a 58-0 victory at home against Arizona, the Seahawks (9-5) inched closer to clinching a playoff berth and became the NFL’s third team to score 50 points on consecutive weekends. The Bills (5-9) were mathematically knocked out of playoff contention for a 13th consecutive season - the NFL’s longest active drought.

VIKINGS 36, RAMS 22 Adrian Peterson ran for a season-best 212 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown that fueled Minnesota’s big second quarter. Peterson has 1,812 yards rushing, leaving him 294 shy of breaking the NFL’s single-season record of 2,105 by Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. Peterson, less than a year removed from a serious knee injury, has two games left - at Houston and home against Green Bay - to top Dickerson. The Vikings (8-6) scored 10 of their 23 points in the second quarter off turnovers by Sam Bradford, including a29-yard interception return by defensive end Everson Griffen.

BRONCOS 34, RAVENS 17 Chris Harris returned an interception 98 yards for a momentum-turning touchdown, and Denver won its ninth consecutive. Peyton Manning threw for 204 yards and a score in his ninth consecutive victory against Baltimore, and the first with the Broncos (11-3). Down 10-0 late in the first half, the Ravens had a first-and-goal at the Denver 4 when Harris stepped in front of Anquan Boldin, picked off a pass by Joe Flacco and sprinted down the right sideline en route to the longest regular-season interception return in Broncos history. The Ravens (9-5) were playing their first game under offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell, who replaced the fired Cam Cameron.

SAINTS 41, BUCCANEERS 0 Drew Brees passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns, and New Orleans posted its first shutout since 1995. Brees connected on his scoring passes with tight end David Thomas, running back Darren Sproles and receivers Lance Moore and Joe Morgan. Mark Ingram added an 11-yard touchdown run. Josh Freeman endured one of his worst outings of the season for Tampa Bay (6-8), throwing four interceptions and losing a fumble. Jabari Greer made two interceptions, Rafael Bush and Isa Abdul-Quddus the others. Cameron Jordan forced Freeman’s fumble on a sack and recovered it. New Orleans (6-8) also bottled up standout rookie running back Doug Martin, holding him to 16 yards on nine carries.

DOLPHINS 24, JAGUARS 3 Miami kept former teammate Chad Henne out of the end zone, made three fourth down stops deep in its own territory and benefited from an odd penalty. Henne, playing in Miami for the first time since he departed as a Dolphins bust last off season, threw for 221 yards with no turnovers. But the Dolphins turned back three scoring threats, and a go-ahead touchdown for the Jaguars came off the board because of an illegal-substitution penalty. Ryan Tannehill completed 22 for 28 passes for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions to help Miami (6-8). The Jaguars (2-12) helped their chances of getting the No. 1 draft pick next April.

PANTHERS 31, CHARGERS 7 Mike Tolbert scored twice against his former team and DeAngelo Williams (Wynne) turned a tipped pass from Cam Newton into a 45-yard touchdown reception as Carolina beat San Diego and eliminated the Chargers from playoff contention for the third consecutive season. Carolina (5-9) won consecutive games for the first time since last December. The Chargers (5-9) clinched their first losing season since 2003, when they were an NFL-worse 4-12. Coach Norv Turner is expected to be fired at season’s end, most likely along with general manager A.J. Smith. The game was played before thousands of empty seats on a dreary, misty afternoon. Tolbert, who left San Diego as a free agent in March, capped Carolina’s first two drives with 1-yard scoring runs. His second touchdown was set up when Philip Rivers lost a fumble, his 21st turnover this season and 46th in less than two full seasons.

CARDINALS 38, LIONS 10 Greg Toler brought back an interception 102 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown, the longest return in franchise history, to seal Arizona’s victory over Detroit, snapping the Cardinals’ nine-game losing streak. The Cardinals (5-9) intercepted Matthew Stafford three times, returning two of them for touchdowns and setting up another score with the other, while sending the Lions to their sixth consecutive loss. Rashad Johnson brought back a pick 53 yards for a touchdown to cap Arizona’s 21-point second quarter. Patrick Peterson’s interception set up another score. Another touchdown by Arizona came after Detroit (4-10) muffed a punt. Detroit’s Calvin Johnson became the first player in NFL history with consecutive 1,600-yard receiving seasons and tied an NFL record with his seventh 100-yard receiving game in a row.

RAIDERS 15, CHIEFS 0 Sebastian Janikowski kicked five field goals, Darren McFadden (Pulaski Oak Grove, Razorbacks) rushed for 110 yards and Oakland shut out Kansas City. The Raiders (4-10) overwhelmed the undermanned Chiefs (2-12) to snap a six-game losing streak. Sandwiched around those losses are two victories over Kansas City. The Chiefs have lost 10 of 11 games and are tied for the second most losses in franchise history.

Playoff picture

DIVISION CHAMPIONS

AFC EAST New England (10-4)

AFC SOUTH Houston (12-2)

AFC WEST Denver (11-3)

NFC SOUTH Atlanta (12-2)

NFC NORTH Green Bay (10-4)

CLINCHED SPOT

AFC Baltimore (9-5)

NFC San Francisco (10-3-1)

THURSDAY’S GAME

Cincinnati 34, Philadelphia 13

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Green Bay 21, Chicago 13 New Orleans 41, Tampa Bay 0 Minnesota 36, St. Louis 22 Houston 29, Indianapolis 17 Atlanta 34, NY Giants 0 Washington 38, Cleveland 21 Miami 24, Jacksonville 3 Denver 34, Baltimore 17 Carolina 31, San Diego 7 Arizona 38, Detroit 10 Seattle 50, Buffalo 17 Oakland 15, Kansas City 0 Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 24, OT San Francisco 41, New England 34

TODAY’S GAME All times Central

NY Jets at Tennessee, 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, DEC. 22

Atlanta at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, DEC. 23

Tennessee at Green Bay, noon Indianapolis at Kansas City, noon New Orleans at Dallas, noon Minnesota at Houston, noon Oakland at Carolina, noon Buffalo at Miami, noon Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, noon New England at Jacksonville, noon Washington at Philadelphia, noon St. Louis at Tampa Bay, noon San Diego at NY Jets, noon Cleveland at Denver, 3:05 p.m.

Chicago at Arizona, 3:25 p.m.

NY Giants at Baltimore, 3:25 p.m.

San Francisco at Seattle, 7:20 p.m.

Sports, Pages 19 on 12/17/2012

Upcoming Events