The Tampa Bay Buccaneers stay on course for the play-offs at 8-5 after being almost gifted a 17-16 victory at Washington.
Road to Super Bowl set to run through Atlanta
Atlanta still boast the best record in the NFC after going 11-2 with a comprehensive demolition of the hapless Carolina Panthers.
The Jacksonville Jaguars look set to join them in the post-season after holding off the Oakland Raiders to get to 8-5.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers were given plenty of help by an error-strewn Washington display, as they held on for a 17-16 victory in the capital that keeps their play-off hopes very much alive.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-16 Washington Redskins
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers stay on course for the play-offs at 8-5 after being almost gifted victory at Washington.
The Redskins (5-8) muffed an extra point attempt with nine seconds remaining that would have taken the game into overtime. Earlier, Graham Gano missed two short field goal attempts in an error-strewn game that summed up the Washington season.
The hosts led 10-3 at the break, completely dominating Tampa on the ground but managing only a one-yard touchdown reception from tight end Logan Paulsen and a scratchy 25-yarder from Gano that just crept inside the left unpright.
Tampa hit back in the second quarter and led 17-10 when Kellen Winslow went in on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Josh Freeman, and the quarterback crashed over for a two-point conversion.
But veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb led the 'Skins on a long drive capped by Santana Moss' six-yard touchdown, only for special teams to once again prove Washington's undoing.
Oakland Raiders 31- 38 Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Oakland Raiders in a Florida shoot-out and at 8-5 look set to return to the play-offs.
David Garrard threw three touchdown passes and Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings each rushed for more than 100 yards, as the Jaguars overcame a 10-point deficit to win for the fifth time in the last six games.
There were six scoring plays of at least 30 yards in the game, including three by Oakland's Darren McFadden, but the Raiders drop to 6-7 after failing to build on last week's emotional win at AFC West divisional rivals San Diego.
Jacksonville (8-5) will take the AFC East title if they win at Indianapolis next week.
Atlanta Falcons 31-10 Carolina Panthers
Michael Turner ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns and Matt Ryan threw for another, as the Atlanta Falcons maintained their grasp on the best record in the NFC with a comfortable victory over the Carolina Panthers.
The Falcons (11-2) cruised to their seventh straight win. John Abraham and Kroy Biermann each had two sacks, while Mike Peterson picked off Jimmy Clausen.
Jonathan Stewart rushed for a season-best 133 yards, but lost a fumble on Carolina's first play from scrimmage to set up Atlanta's first TD.
Falcons QB Ryan wasn't particularly sharp, but completed 20 of 34 passes for 227 yards and an interception. Roddy White caught eight passes for 79 yards.
For the Panthers (1-12), Clausen was 14 of 24 for 107 yards, extending his streak to 193 passes since his lone TD of the season. Peterson picked him off midway through the fourth quarter off a deflected pass to set up Turner's final TD. Clausen was also sacked five times.
Green Bay Packers 3-7 Detroit Lions
Detroit quarterback Drew Stanton threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Heller midway through the fourth quarter as the Lions snapped a five-game losing streak to a Packers team that lost Aaron Rodgers to injury.
Detroit (3-10) ended a 19-game skid against the NFC North, the NFL's worst slump within a division since the merger four decades ago.
Green Bay (8-5) lost Rodgers and a game it desperately needed to win for play-off positioning. The star quarterback was knocked out in the second quarter with his second concussion this season.
Matt Flynn got Green Bay to the Detroit 31 before turning the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass into the end zone just past a diving Greg Jennings in the final minute.
Cleveland Browns 6-13 Buffalo Bills
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to David Nelson, while cornerback Leodis McKelvin made a late interception in helping secure Buffalo's 13-6 win Sunday.
Rian Lindell hit two field goals, both from 19 yards, for the Bills (3-10), as the Browns (5-8) were eliminated from play-off contention.
Cleveland's offense didn't cross midfield in five second-half possessions as the Browns managed nine first downs and 187 total yards.
The Browns fumbled five times, losing two, while Jake Delhomme's interception at midfield with under four minutes left turned out to be their final possession.
Cincinnati Bengals 7-23 Pittsburgh Steelers
Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley returned interceptions for Pittsburgh's only touchdowns as the Steelers sent Cincinnati to a franchise record-tying 10th consecutive defeat.
The Steelers (10-3) couldn't get into the end zone on offense despite dominating the time of possession - a nine-minute drive in the second half produced no scoring - but it didn't matter as they closed in on a playoff spot by playing just well enough to beat the Bengals (2-11).
Carson Palmer threw three interceptions, two to former college teammate Polamalu, as Cincinnati matched the David Shula-coached 1993 Bengals by losing 10 consecutive games in the same season. The overall franchise record is 11 consecutive defeats from 1992-93.
For the second week in a row, it was Polamalu who made the Steelers' pivotal play, cutting in front of intended receiver Terrell Owens to intercept Palmer's sideline pass and return it 45 yards for a touchdown, tying it at 7-7 with four minutes left in the first half.
New York Jets 6-10 Miami Dolphins
Miami turned two early turnovers into their only points as they overcame a flat Jets side at a wet Meadowlands Stadium.
Heavy rain led to a generally poor offensive display from both sides, with the Dolphins gaining 131 yards and Chad Henne passing for only 55.
The Jets moved the ball better, picking up 286 yards. But Mark Sanchez's fumble led to the game's only touchdown - Brandon Marshall's six-yard reception in the first quarter.
Earlier, Nolan Carroll's interception set up Dan Carpenter's 47-yard field goal.
By far the most effective player on the wet field was Dolphins (7-6) punter Brandon Fields. He finished with 10 kicks for a 50-yard average.
Nick Folk kicked field goals of 35 and 42 yards for New York (9-4).
San Francisco 49ers 40-21 Seattle Seahawks
San Francisco improved their playoff hopes after beating their NFC West rivals Seattle, whose receiver Deon Butler suffered a suspected broken leg in the final minutes of the game.
Butler left the field with 1:55 left after he caught a two-yard touchdown pass upon being hit by Phillip Adams.
Medical personnel placed a vacuum splint on Butler's lower leg before taking him for an X-ray.
Reappearing after a five-game absence, Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns as the 49ers (5-8) moved within a game of division leaders Seattle (6-7) and St. Louis.
Matt Hasselbeck went 27 for 42 for 285 yards and two touchdowns, but threw four interceptions and lost a fumble as Seattle had turnovers in five of six possessions during one stretch.
San Diego Chargers 31-0 Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego remained alive in the AFC West race with victory over division leaders Kansas City, who struggled without quarterback Matt Cassel.
Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Malcom Floyd as the Chargers (7-6) pulled within one game of the Chiefs (8-5).
Rivers was 18 of 24 for 226 yards and the Chargers outgained the Chiefs 426 yards to 67. Kansas City had only five first downs.
Cassel underwent an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday and backup Brodie Croyle completed seven of 17 passes for 40 yards and was sacked four times in his first start since the 2009 opener.
It was San Diego's first regular-season shutout against the Chiefs.
Arizona Cardinals 43-13 Denver Broncos
Jay Feely became just the fourth kicker in 40 years to run for a touchdown as Arizona ended a seven-game losing streak against Denver.
He also added a career-best five field goals while rookie quarterback John Skelton, in his first NFL start, completed 14 of 36 for 141 yards with no interceptions.
However, he did have at least four passes dropped by his Arizona (4-9) team-mates.
The Cardinals' Tim Hightower rushed for a career-best 148 yards, including fourth-quarter scoring runs of eight and 35 yards.
The Broncos (3-10) committed six turnovers, three of them interceptions by Kyle Orton, in what was their eighth loss in nine games.
It was an uninspired debut for interim coach Eric Studesville, who was promoted from running backs coach when Josh McDaniels was fired last Monday.
Chicago Bears 7-36 New England Patriots
New England scored a dominant win against Chicago to secure their eighth NFL playoff berth in 10 seasons.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady overcame gusting winds and swirling snow to throw for 369 yards and two touchdowns as his side (11-2) scored their fifth straight victory.
He completed 27 of 40 passes and went without an interception for the eighth consecutive game against Chicago's third-ranked defense.
Deion Branch caught eight passes for a career-high 151 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown in the first half.
Meanwhile, Wes Welker had eight receptions for 115 yards and the Patriots totalled 475 yards while holding NFC North division leaders Chicago, who had won five in a row, to 185.
New Orleans Saints 31-13 St. Louis Rams
Malcolm Jenkins intercepted two passes near the Saints' goal line and returned one of them 96 yards for his first career touchdown in the Saints' win.
The Saints (10-3) took the early lead through Drew Brees, who completed 13 of his first 15 passes and also threw two of his three touchdown passes in the first quarter. Overall, he was 25 of 40 for 221 yards and was intercepted twice.
Jenkins' touchdown came right after the Rams had recovered Courtney Roby's fumble on a kickoff return and appeared poised to cut what was then a 14-6 lead.
Instead, Jenkins made it 21-6 at half time, and his second-half interception ended any hopes the Rams had of mounting a comeback.
Rams rookie Sam Bradford scored the only St. Louis touchdown, but only after the game was out of reach. He passed for 231 yards but his day was marred by the two interceptions and he was also sacked twice.
Although the Rams (6-7) fell below .500, they remained in a first-place tie in the NFC West with Seattle.
Dallas Cowboys 27-30 Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia edged half a game ahead of the New York Giants in the NFC East with their narrow victory over Dallas
DeSean Jackson made a career-high 210 yards for the Eagles (9-4), the highlight being a 91-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter when the game was tied 20-20.
The Cowboys (4-9) fell behind in the opening minutes, yet stayed in touch and even led 20-14.
But Philadelphia fought back and in the end dropped the Cowboys to 3-2 under interim coach Jason Garrett. They are guaranteed their first losing season since 2004.
Despite his side's win, Michael Vick had a tough night with two interceptions, matching his season total, and also had trouble converting on third downs.
Dallas sacked him twice and hit him hard all night, including one that drew a penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit.
The Eagles will take a streak of five wins in six games to New York on Sunday for a showdown with the Giants.