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record for wins in a season. The Texans remain tied with Atlanta for the best record in the NFL with their sixth straight win. The Texans forced six turnovers and had six sacks of Jake Locker.
Patriots 23, Dolphins 16: Tom Brady was sacked four times and threw an interception, but visiting New England (9-3) took advantage of mistakes by Miami (5-7) and clinched its fourth consecutive AFC East title. A botched punt, roughing-the-punter penalty and fumble by Miami led to 17 New England points, and another penalty negated a Dolphins TD. Brady finished 24 for 40 for 238 yards.
Packers 23, Vikings 14: James Starks had Green Bay’s first rushing touchdown in almost two months, Morgan Burnett intercepted Christian Ponder twice and the Packers (8-4) beat visiting Minnesota despite Adrian Peterson’s 210 rushing yards. Ponder’s interceptions — one in the end zone and the other around the Green Bay 10 — were turned into field goals by the Packers.
Bengals 20, Chargers 13: QB Andy Dalton scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 4:11 left for the go-ahead score as visiting Cincinnati (7-5) defeated San Diego (4-8) for its fourth straight win. The Bengals remained tied with Pittsburgh in the race for the AFC’s second wild-card berth.
Browns 20, Raiders 17: Brandon Weeden threw for a career-high 364 yards and a touchdown as Cleveland (48) beat Oakland (3-9) to snap a 12-game road losing streak. The Browns last won on the road on Sept. 18, 2011, beating Indianapolis 27-19.
Bills 34, Jaguars 18: Ryan Fitzpatrick directed five straight scoring drives in helping Buffalo (5-7) beat visiting Jacksonville (2-10) and keep alive its slim playoff hopes. KANSAS CIT , MO. — Romeo Crennel stood in the middle of the Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room Sunday, the emotion threatening to overcome the good-natured coach.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt was at his side, offering support. Members of the team hugged each other, the mud smearing with tears on their cheeks. And over along the wall stood the empty locker that once belonged to Jovan Belcher, his jersey still hanging from a hook.
Just one day after the linebacker killed his girlfriend and then turned the gun on himself, the Chiefs banded together to play their finest game of the season, an inspired 27-21 victory over the Carolina Panthers that ended an eight-game losing streak suddenly rendered trivial.
“As far as playing the game, I thought that was the best for us to do, because that’s what we do,” Crennel said. “We’re football players and football coaches and that’s what we do. We play on Sunday.”
According to authorities, Belcher shot his girlfriend multiple times early Saturday at a residence near Arrowhead Stadium, then sped to the team’s practice facility and turn the gun on himself as Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli watched in the parking lot.
Pioli walked through the press box before the game and said he was doing “OK.”
“It’s been an incredibly difficult 24 hours for our family and our entire organization,” Hunt said. “We have so many