Saints sink but Giants go on

Manning: Season-high yards

Also see

• Schedule
• On Sky TV
• Messageboards

Week 13 proved to be unlucky for some in the NFL as the play-off picture begins to become a little clearer.

Elsewhere, the Vikings and the Ravens recorded emphatic victories while the Colts were forced to work hard on the road in Cleveland.

New York Giants 23-7 Washington Redskins

Eli Manning passed for a season-high 305 yards and a touchdown while John Carney kicked three field goals to lead the New York Giants to a 23-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in early NFL action on Sunday.

Manning completed 21-of-34 passes, including a 40-yard touchdown to Amani Toomer, with one interception for the Giants (11-1), who made it seven wins on the bounce.

Brandon Jacobs' one-yard touchdown run gave the Giants a 20-7 lead with 8:38 remaining in the third quarter. Jon Carney's 39-yard field goal with 6:26 left provided the final margin.

Redskins wide receiver Devin Thomas scored his first career touchdown on a 29-yard reverse that pulled Washington within 13-7 with 8:31 remaining in the second quarter.

Cincinnati Bengals 3-34 Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco threw a pair of touchdown passes to lead the rampant Ravens to victory, Mark Clayton and fellow wideout Derrick Mason doing the catching.

Flacco threw for 70 yards and 32 yards respectively for a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter as Baltimore made it six wins from seven, while the Bengals slumped to 1-10-1.

Clayton had five receptions for 164 yards and Mason added six catches for 91 yards as Flacco finished with 19-of-29 for 280 yards.

Ryan Fitzpatrick was shackled by the Ravens, completing 12-of-31 passes for 124 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Jim Leonhard.

Green Bay Packers 31-35 Carolina Panthers

The Panthers snatched victory with a late touchdown from DeAngelo Williams, his fourth of the game, to take them a step closer to the play-offs.

Steve Smith's 54-yard reception set up Williams for a one-yard run with 1:30 remaining after Carolina had squandered a 21-10 half-time lead.

Packers hit back after the break, scoring on their first four possessions, and led 28-21 on Aaron Rodgers' 21-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings with 13:43 remaining before the Panthers tied it on Williams' third score, another 1-yard burst with 11:10 to play.

Green Bay (5-7) had to settle for Mason Crosby's 19-yard field goal after a 16-play, 79-yard drive that consumed more than nine minutes. However, Williams plunged into the end zone in the final minute to win it for the Panthers.

Cleveland Browns 6-10 Indianapolis Colts

Defensive end Robert Mathis returned a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown with just under 10 minutes left for his first career score as the Colts moved to 8-4.

Through three-plus quarters, the Colts were held to only a field goal and seemed headed for their first game without a touchdown since a 9-6 season-opening win at Cleveland in 2003.

But defensive end Dwight Freeney stripped Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson. The ball bounced right into the hands of Mathis, who returned it the distance to give Indianapolis their fifth straight victory.

Browns third string QB Ken Dorsey saw his first action of the season after Derek Anderson was sacked, but threw two incompletions and an interception, ending Cleveland's hopes.

Anderson completed his first seven passes, but finished just 16-of-26 for 110 yards as the Browns were held without a touchdown for the second straight game.

St Louis Rams 12-16 Miami Dolphins

The resurgent Dolphins made it five wins from their last seven games to remain in with a shot of the play-offs for the first time since 2001.

The lowly Rams have now lost their last six, Ronnie Brown scoring on a short touchdown run in the first half and finishing with 48 yards on 15 carries.

Dan Carpenter kicked three field goals for the Dolphins, who intercepted St Louis' Marc Bulger three times in the second half.

Bulger finished just 16-for-35 for 149 yards while Steven Jackson, who had missed four of St Louis' previous five games with a thigh injury, ran for 94 yards.

Denver Broncos 34-17 New York Jets

Jay Cutler threw the skids under the surging New York Jets as Denver suggested they could be the team to beat in the AFC.

Cutler threw for two touchdowns and 357 yards, while Peyton Hillis ran for 129 yards and a score to see the Broncos end the Jets' five-match winning streak.

Brandon Stokley and Eddie Royal both scored touchdown for the new AFC West leaders, while Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham combined for 13 catches and 149 yards.

For the Jets, Brett Favre struggled in the wet and windy conditions, although running back Thomas Jones scored two touchdowns.

Atlanta Falcons 22-16 San Diego Chargers 16

Quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner combined to see the Falcons past San Diego, who now seem certain to miss out on the play-offs.

Turner, who left San Diego as a free agent in the close season, passed the 100-yard mark for the sixth time this season with his 31 carries.

Rookie Ryan continued to impress, throwing touchdown passes to tight end Justin Peele and fellow first-year pro Harry Douglas.

The Falcons also shackled dangerman LaDainian Tomlinson, with the two-time rushing champion held to just 24 yards on 14 carrries.

Kansas City Chiefs 20-13 Oakland Raiders

Kansas City Chiefs ended their seven-match losing streak as they won the battle of the two worst teams in the AFC West divison.

Tyler Thigpen engineered a 91-yard drive, which was finished off by Larry Johnson's two-yard tiebreaking run, to seal the victory.

Tight end Tony Gonzalez had eight catches for 110 yards while Connor Barth slotted over a pair of field goals. The Chiefs' other touchdown came when Maurice Leggett returned a fumble 67 yards to the end zone.

Oakland, who are 3-9 for the season, scored on a one-yard run from Justin Fargas in the third quarter, their first touchdown for 15 quarters.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 New Orleans Saints

The NFL's leading passer Drew Brees was intercepted twice in the closing minutes as Tampa Bay snatched a narrow win over their NFC South rivals.

Jermaine Phillips and Phillip Buchanon snaffled passes from Brees, while Matt Bryant kicked a 37-yard field goal with just under two minutes left to seal the win.

Brees did threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns, however he was picked off three times in total, the final interception ending any hopes of a late win.

Tampa Bay found the end zone once through the air - quarterback Jeff Garcia hitting Antonio Bryant with a 37-yard strike - and once on the ground, when Carnell Williams rumbled in from eight yards out.

Pittsburgh Steelers 33 New England Patriots 10

Pittsburgh plundered 30 unanswered points at Foxboro to beat the Patriots and remain the top team in the the AFC North.

Once again the Steelers defence was superb, rebounding from an early New England touchdown from Sammy Morris to force five turnovers.

Ben Roethlisberger threw touchdown passes to Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward while Gary Russell made it 23 Pittsburgh points in the second quarter when he ran in from a yard out.

New England were held to just 267 yards of offence and after throwing for over 400 yards in the past two weeks Matt Cassell struggled, throwing two interceptions as well as being sacked five times.

Chicago Bears 14-34 Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota scored three times on the ground to crush NFC North rivals Chicago in Sunday's late game.

Running back duo Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor both made it into the end zone, as did quarterback Gus Frerotte from one-yard out to make it 17-7 at half-time.

The Bears had taken an early lead on a 67-yard throw from Kyle Orton to Devin Hester. However, they only managed 125 yards through the air in total.

Ryan Longwell kicked two field goals for the Vikings while former Chicago receiver Bernard Berrian managed a 99-yard touchdown pass from Frerotte.

San Francisco 49ers 10-3 Buffalo Bills

The Bills saw their hopes of reaching the play-offs all but ended as they came unstuck against the 49ers.

Linebacker Patrick Willis had 14 tackles and a forced fumble as the 49ers also prevented the Arizona Cardinals from clinching the NFC West.

Isaac Bruce scored from a 12-yard touchdown pass and Joe Nedney struck over a 50-yard field goal as the Bills lost for the fifth time in six games.

All Buffalo managed was a lone field goal from Rian Lindell in the fourth quarter, despite managing 350 yards on offence in comparison to 195 for the 49ers.