Sunday's NFL Capsules

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Last Updated: Mon, Dec 10, 2012 06:00 hrs

With Robert Griffin III sidelined with a sprained right knee, the Washington Redskins rallied behind backup Kirk Cousins to tie the game in the final minute of regulation, then Kai Forbath kicked a 34-yard field goal in overtime Sunday for a 31-28 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

Griffin was hurt at the end of a 13-yard scramble while attempting to lead the game-tying drive with the Redskins trailing 28-20. He left for one play, returned for four, then was no longer able to continue.

Cousins stepped in and hit Pierre Garcon for an 11-yard touchdown pass, then ran in the 2-point conversion with 29 seconds to play.

The Redskins have won four straight to improve to 7-6. The Ravens lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2009 and fell to 9-4.

COWBOYS 20, BENGALS 19

CINCINNATI (AP) — The grieving Cowboys rallied for a significant win on Dan Bailey's 40-yard field goal as time ran out.

Dallas overcame a nine-point deficit in the closing minutes behind Tony Romo, who held his hand over his heart during a moment of silence to honor teammate Jerry Brown before the kickoff.

Brown died in an auto accident early Saturday. Defensive lineman Josh Brent, who was driving, remained in jail in Irving, Texas, charged with intoxication manslaughter.

The Cowboys (7-6) learned about Brown's death on their flight to Cincinnati on Saturday. Coach Jason Garrett told his team that the best way to honor him was to play well in a game with playoff implications for both teams.

A late comeback was just enough to beat the Bengals (7-6).

Romo threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant, then led the drive to Bailey's kick.

GIANTS 52, SAINTS 27

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Rookie David Wilson returned a kickoff 97 yards for one touchdown, ran for two more scores and piled up 327 all-purpose yards and Eli Manning threw four touchdown passes to lead the Giants.

The win allowed New York (8-5) to maintain its one-game lead in the NFC East over Washington and Dallas. The loss all but ended the playoff hopes of Drew Brees and the Saints (5-8), who turned the ball over four times in losing their third straight.

Manning had TD passes of 6 yards to Martellus Bennett, 5 yards to Domenik Hixon, 25 yards to Hakeem Nicks and 10 yards to Victor Cruz. Wilson scored on runs of 6 and 52 yards and finished with 100 yards on 13 carries on the biggest day of his career.

SEAHAWKS 58, CARDINALS 0

SEATTLE (AP) — Marshawn Lynch had three touchdown runs and Seattle set a franchise record for points. The Seahawks forced eight turnovers. Richard Sherman and Bobby Wagner each had two interceptions.

Seattle (8-5) kept firm grasp on the final NFC wild-card spot and kept alive slim chances of catching San Francisco in the NFC West race. The Seahawks also picked up their first division victory and assured coach Pete Carroll of his first eight-win season in three years with them.

The 58-0 victory was the biggest shutout in Seattle's history. Leon Washington's 3-yard TD run with 2:32 left set a franchise record for points.

Arizona (4-9) was shut out for the first time since 2003 against Seattle. The effortless performance will only raise questions about Ken Whisenhunt's future as coach. Arizona lost its ninth straight overall.

PACKERS 27, LIONS 20

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay is a victory away from clinching the NFC North title after beating Detroit.

DaJuan Harris rushed for a score in his first appearance for the Packers, Aaron Rodgers added the longest TD run of his career, and Mike Daniels returned a fumble 43 yards as the Packers (9-4) opened a one-game lead over Chicago. Beat the Bears next weekend at Soldier Field, and Green Bay will win the NFC North for a second straight year.

The loss was the fifth straight for Detroit (4-9). This wasn't quite as excruciating as the previous three, though, when the Lions gave up fourth-quarter leads and fell by a total of nine points.

The Packers have won 22 straight at home against the Lions, the longest streak in the NFL.

49ERS 27, DOLPHINS 13

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Frank Gore ran for a 1-yard touchdown and reached 1,000 yards rushing for the sixth time in his career.

Gore finished with 63 yards, Anthony Dixon also had a 1-yard scoring run and Colin Kaepernick ran for a late 50-yard touchdown and threw for 185 yards in his fourth straight start since being promoted over Alex Smith.

NFL sacks leader Aldon Smith added two to his total for 19 1/2, passing Fred Dean's franchise-best single-season mark of 17 1/2 set in 1983. Smith also moved within three sacks of Michael Strahan's seasonal NFL record set in 2001 with the New York Giants.

Michael Crabtree had nine catches for 93 yards and rookie LaMichael James ran for 30 yards in a solid NFL debut for the 49ers (9-3-1).

PANTHERS 30, FALCONS 20

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cam Newton threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns and scored on a 72-yard run.

Newton piled up a career-high 116 yards on the ground as the Panthers racked up 475 total yards to avenge an early-season loss with a dominating performance against the NFC South champion Falcons.

Carolina (4-9) came in with little to play for except to gain a measure of revenge on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, whom they felt disrespected them after Atlanta's 30-28 come-from-behind win earlier this season at the Georgia Dome.

Ryan threw for 342 yards and two scores and had a costly fourth-quarter interception.

The Panthers opened a 23-0 lead en route to snapping a five-game losing streak against the Falcons.

VIKINGS 21, BEARS 14

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Adrian Peterson rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns and Harrison Smith returned an interception for a score.

Peterson topped 100 yards before the first quarter was over, helping the Vikings (7-6) overcome another lackluster day from quarterback Christian Ponder to get a win that will keep their faint playoff hopes alive.

Jay Cutler threw for 260 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions and couldn't finish the game for the Bears (8-5), who have lost four of their last five. He took a wicked hit to the head from Everson Griffen in the fourth quarter, remained in the game for the rest of that drive, but was replaced by Jason Campbell with 3 minutes to play.

Benjamin's game-changing runback helped the Browns (5-8) continue their resurgence under second-year coach Pat Shurmur, whose future in Cleveland remains uncertain. The Browns have one more win than last season, and their longest winning streak since 2009.

Trent Richardson had a pair of 1-yard TD runs for Cleveland.

Jamaal Charles ran for 165 yards, breaking off an 80-yard TD run on the game's first play for Kansas City.

It was the first road game for the Chiefs (2-11) following linebacker Jovan Belcher's suicide. The 25-year-old killed his girlfriend at their home before driving to the team's practice facility on Dec. 1 and shooting himself.

CHARGERS 34, STEELERS 24

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes, two to Danario Alexander, and San Diego won for the first time in 15 regular-season visits to Pittsburgh.

The Chargers (5-8), who snapped a four-game losing streak, dominated from the outset. They never let Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger get comfortable in his first game in nearly a month.

Roethlisberger completed 22 of 42 passes for 285 yards and three second-half touchdowns. But he also threw an interception and had a botched screen pass turn into an easy San Diego score as Pittsburgh (7-6) hardly played like a team readying for a postseason run.

COLTS 27, TITANS 23

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck led Indianapolis back from a 13-point second-half deficit and Adam Vinatieri made two fourth-quarter field goals.

Luck has now engineered six fourth-quarter comebacks for Indy (9-4).

It wasn't all Luck.

Delone Carter cut the deficit to 20-14 with a 1-yard TD run on Indy's opening possession of the second half. And after Pat McAfee's 52-yard punt went out of bounds at the Titans 1-yard line, Cassius Vaughn jumped in front of Nate Washington, picked off Jake Locker's pass and scored on a 3-yard interception return to make it 21-20.

Rob Bironas gave the Titans (4-9) a 23-21 lead with a 25-yard field goal, but Vinatieri hit from 53 yards to retake the lead and from 40 to seal it.

JETS 17, JAGUARS 10

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell ran for short touchdowns and the New York Jets kept their postseason hopes alive.

The Jets (6-7) were shut out at halftime for the second consecutive week, but they didn't need to change quarterbacks to spark the offense this time.

Instead, they just pounded the Jaguars (2-11) up the middle.

Mark Sanchez, benched last week in a 7-6 win against Arizona, was hardly a factor. Neither was backup Tim Tebow, who spent his homecoming on the sideline.

Greene scored on a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter, and Powell added a 4-yarder early in the fourth. Greene finished with 77 yards rushing. Powell added 78 yards on the ground.

EAGLES 23, BUCCANEERS 21

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nick Foles threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final four minutes, including a 1-yarder to Jeremy Maclin with no time remaining.

The rally allowed the Eagles to end an eight-game losing streak — their longest in 42 years.

Foles completed 32 of 51 passes for 381 yards in his fourth start in place of the injured Michael Vick. The rookie threw an 11-yard TD pass to Clay Harbor with 3:55 remaining, then led the Eagles on a 64-yard game-winning drive after the Philadelphia defense forced a Tampa Bay punt.

Doug Martin rushed for 128 yards and Josh Freeman shrugged off a slow start to throw for two second-half touchdowns to help Tampa Bay overcome a 10-0 halftime deficit and take a 21-10 lead on Martin's 4-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter.

Bradford was 5 of 8 for 68 yards to cap a 14-play, 84-yard drive. St. Louis (6-6-1) continued its late-season resurgence by winning its third straight for the first time since closing the 2006 season with three victories.

The Bills (5-8) blew a lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter for the second time this season. They squandered a six-point lead in a 35-34 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 21.