LITTLE ROCK — TV GAMES - All times Central

Texans at Colts Noon, CBS

LINE - Texans by 7 LAST MEETING Houston beat Indianapolis 29-17, Dec. 16 LAST WEEK Houston lost to Minnesota 23-6; Indianapolis beat Kansas City 20-13 RANKINGS Texans: offense (8), defense (16); Colts: offense (9), defense (19) NOTES Houston can clinch first-round bye and AFC’s top seed for first time with victory or losses by Denver and New England. Texans have won 3 of last 5 in series but has never won 2 consecutive vs. Colts, never swept season series and are 0-10 in Indianapolis. ... Indianapolis Coach Chuck Pagano expected to return to sideline for first time since Week 3 loss to Jacksonville after spending 12 weeks battling leukemia. Colts 6-1 at home and locked into No. 5 seed in AFC playoffs.

Chiefs at Broncos 3:25 p.m. CBS

LINE - Broncos by 16 LAST MEETING Denver beat Kansas City 17-9, Nov. 25 LAST WEEK Kansas City lost to Indianapolis 20-13; Denver beat Cleveland 34-12.

RANKINGS Chiefs: offense (22), defense (17); Broncos: offense (4), defense (3) NOTES Denver QB Peyton Manning can set career high in yardage with 346 yards vs. Chiefs. Current best 4,700 in 2010. Manning needs 172 yards to pass Jay Cutler for most in season for Broncos (4,526 in 2008). ... Kansas City RB Peyton Hillis (Conway, Arkansas Razorbacks) posted first 100-yard rushing game of season last week, as Chiefs became first team to run for 350 yards and lose.

Cowboys at Redskins 7:20 p.m., NBC

LINE - Redskins by 3 LAST MEETING Washington beat Dallas 38-31, Nov. 22 LAST WEEK Dallas lost to New Orleans 34-31 OT; Washington beat Philadelphia 27-20 RANKINGS Cowboys: offense (6), defense (19); Redskins: offense (5), defense (28) NOTES NFC East title on line in 256th and final game of regular season, also 106th edition of 52-year-old division rivalry. Dallas can only make playoffs by winning - it would own tiebreaker over Washington - while Redskins could lose and still get wild-card berth if both Chicago and Minnesota lose. ... Dallas seeking first division title and playoff berth since 2009. Redskins vying for first postseason nod since 2007, first division title since 1999.

Jaguars at Titans Noon

LINE - Titans by 4 1/2LAST MEETING Jacksonville beat Tennessee 24-19, Nov. 25 LAST WEEK Jacksonville lost to New England 23-16; Tennessee lost to Green Bay 55-7 RANKINGS Jaguars: offense (31), defense (31); Titans: offense (25), defense (25) NOTES Jacksonville can finish .500 in AFC South with victory. Jaguars have won three of past four in series. ... Tennessee has won 3 of 4 at home against Jaguars. RB Chris Johnson needs 13 yards to reach 1,200 for fourth time in career.

Panthers at Saints Noon

LINE - Saints by 5 LAST MEETING Carolina beat New Orleans 35-27, Sept. 16 LAST WEEK Carolina beat Oakland 17-6; New Orleans beat Dallas 34-31 OT RANKINGS Panthers: offense (17), defense (8); Saints: offense (3), defense (32) NOTES Carolina has won 3 consecutive. QB Cam Newton has 11 touchdowns and 1 interception in last 6 games. ... New Orleans QB Drew Brees has 4,781 yards passing, making him first NFL QB with 3 consecutive 4,500-yard seasons. Brees needs 219 yards to be first in NFL with three 5,000-yard seasons.

Jets at Bills Noon

LINE - Bills by 3 1/2 LAST MEETING New York beat Buffalo 48-28, Sept. 9 LAST WEEK New York lost to San Diego 27-17; Buffalo lost to Miami 24-10 RANKINGS Jets: offense (30), defense (7); Bills: offense (19), defense (22) NOTES New York QB Mark Sanchez returns as starter, taking over after Greg McElroy began showing signs of concussion-like symptoms Thursday. ... Sanchez had been benched after five turnovers in 14-10 loss at Tennessee on Dec. 17. ... In three seasons under coach Chan Gailey, Buffalo 3-14 against AFC East. Defense has allowed 426 points, third-most in team history and 28 shy of team low set in 1984.

Ravens at Bengals Noon

LINE - Bengals by 2 1/2 LAST MEETING Baltimore beat Cincinnati 44-13, Sept. 10 LAST WEEK Baltimore beat New York 33-14; Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh 13-10 RANKINGS Ravens: offense (15), defense (20); Bengals: offense (20), defense (6) NOTES Baltimore clinched second consecutive AFC North title with victory last week over New York. Ravens could move up to No. 3 seed if they win today and New England - No. 3 seed heading into final weekend - loses at home to Miami. Baltimore would then host Bengals following weekend. ... Cincinnati locked into No. 6 seed.

Browns at Steelers Noon

LINE - Steelers by 10 LAST MEETING Cleveland beat Pittsburgh 20-14, Nov. 25 LAST WEEK Cleveland lost to Denver 34-12; Pittsburgh lost to Cincinnati 13-10 RANKINGS Browns: offense (27), defense (24); Steelers: offense (21), defense (1) NOTES Cleveland last swept Pittsburgh in 1988. Browns’ last victory in Pittsburgh came in 2003. ... Steelers committed 8 turnovers in previous meeting. Pittsburgh hasn’t finished with losing record since 2003.

Eagles at Giants Noon

LINE - Giants by 7 LAST MEETING Philadelphia beat New York 19-17, Sept. 30 LAST WEEK Philadelphia lost to New York 27-20; New York lost to Baltimore 33-14 RANKINGS Eagles: offense (12), defense (14); Giants: offense (14), defense (30) NOTES New York must beat Philadelphia, then have Minnesota and Chicago lose and have Washington beat or tie Dallas to make playoffs. ... With rookie Nick Foles out with broken hand, Michael Vick returns to Eagles’ starting lineup for first time since suffering concussion Nov. 11. It might also be last start with team. ... After 6-2 start, Giants missing playoffs for third time in four years seems likely for defending Super Bowl champs.

Bucs at Falcons Noon

LINE - Falcons by 5 LAST MEETING Atlanta beat Tampa Bay 24-23, Nov. 25 LAST WEEK Tampa Bay lost to St. Louis 28-13; Atlanta beat Detroit 31-18 RANKINGS Buccaneers: offense (10), defense (29); Falcons: offense (7), defense (23) NOTES Tampa Bay RB Doug Martin third in NFL with 1,766 scrimmage yards (1,312 rush, 454 receiving), a Bucs rookie record. Martin tied for lead among NFC rookies with 10 rushing touchdowns. ... Atlanta clinched home-field advantage through NFC playoffs in last week’s win over Lions. QB Matt Ryan’s 56 victories in first 5 seasons are most in NFL history.

Bears at Lions Noon, FOX

LINE - Bears by 3 LAST MEETING Chicago beat Detroit 13-7, Oct. 22 LAST WEEK Chicago beat Arizona 28-13; Detroit lost to Atlanta 31-18 RANKINGS Bears: offense (28), defense (5); Lions: offense (2), defense (13) NOTES Chicago can clinch playoff spot with victory and Minnesota loss. After victories Nov. 4, Bears were 7-1, Lions were 4-4. Since then, Bears have lost 5 of 7 and Lions have dropped 7 consecutive. ... Detroit QB Matthew Stafford needs 7 attempts to break NFL single-season record (691) by Drew Bledsoe. Lions WR Calvin Johnson surpassed Jerry Rice’s single-season record for yards receiving last weekend and now has 1,892.

Packers at Vikings 3:25 p.m. FOX

LINE - Packers by 3 1/2 LAST MEETING Green Bay beat Minnesota 23-14, Dec. 2 LAST WEEK Green Bay beat Tennessee 55-7; Minnesota beat Houston 23-6 RANKINGS Packers: offense (13), defense (10); Vikings: offense (23), defense (16) NOTES Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown for 5,927 yards, 49 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions in 20 career games indoors. Rodgers has thrown 20 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in 9 career starts vs. Vikings. ... Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson 102 yards away from 2,000 for season and 208 away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record set in 1984.

Raiders at Chargers 3:25 p.m.

LINE - Chargers by 9 1/2 LAST MEETING San Diego beat Oakland 22-14, Sept. 10 LAST WEEK Oakland lost to Carolina 17-6; San Diego beat New York 27-17 RANKINGS Raiders: offense (18), defense (21); Chargers: offense (29), defense (11) NOTES Oakland and San Diego have combined for 10 victories; 4 of them have been against Kansas City (2-13). ... Chargers Coach Norv Turner, General Manager A.J. Smith expected to be fired after season since team out of playoffs for third consecutive season. Turner 113-122-1 in three stints as head coach, including at Oakland in 2004-2005.

Cardinals at 49ers 3:25 p.m.

LINE - 49ers by 16 1/2 LAST MEETING San Francisco beat Arizona 24-3, Oct. 29 LAST WEEK San Francisco lost to Seattle 42-13; Arizona lost to Chicago 28-13 RANKINGS Cardinals: offense (32), defense (12); 49ers: offense (11), defense (2) NOTES San Francisco can clinch NFC West for second consecutive season with victory or Seattle loss against St. Louis. If 49ers win and Green Bay loses at Minnesota, San Francisco will earn No. 2 playoff seed and first-round bye. If 49ers lose and Seattle wins, San Francisco will be wild-card team and head on road for first round. ... Brian Hoyer will be fourth different quarterback to start for Arizona this season.

Rams at Seahawks 3:25 p.m.

LINE - Seahawks by 10 1/2 LAST MEETING St. Louis beat Seattle 19-13, Sept. 30 LAST WEEK St. Louis beat Tampa Bay 28-13; Seattle beat San Francisco 42-13 RANKINGS Rams: offense (24), defense (15); Seahawks: offense (16), defense (4) NOTES Seattle has already wrapped up postseason berth and will be No. 5 seed in NFC playoffs at worst. A victory over St. Louis and San Francisco loss would give Seattle division title and at least No. 3 seed. If both 49ers and Packers lose, Seattle could jump as high as No. 2 seed. Seahawks have top scoring defense in NFL at 15.5 ppg. ... St. Louis trying to finish with winning record for first time since 2003. Rams finished 8-8 in both 2004 and 2006.

Dolphins at Patriots 3:25 p.m.

LINE - Patriots by 10 1/2 LAST MEETING New England beat Miami 23-16, Dec. 2 LAST WEEK Miami beat Buffalo 24-10; New England beat Jacksonville 23-16 RANKINGS Dolphins: offense (26), defense (18); Patriots: offense (1), defense (27) NOTES Miami missed playoffs for fourth consecutive season and 10th in 11 despite winning past 2 games. ... New England enters weekend with chance of being seeded in any of top four AFC spots. QB Tom Brady needs 3 touchdown passes to become first player with at least 35 in 4 seasons, also tied for second with Johnny Unitas with scoring pass in 47 consecutive games. Patriots won 20 consecutive December games at home before losing 2 weeks ago to San Francisco, 41-34.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, JAN. 5-SUNDAY, JAN. 6 Wild card round SATURDAY, JAN. 12-SUNDAY, JAN. 13 Divisional round SUNDAY, JAN. 20 Conference championships SUNDAY, FEB. 3 Super Bowl XLVII, New Orleans

Sports, Pages 28 on 12/30/2012