Quarterback Tom Brady's Patriots rallied to score 27 unanswered points as New England defeated the Denver Broncos 41-23 to clinch a post-season berth.
New England captured their ninth AFC East title in the past 11 years and snapped the Broncos' superb win streak at six straight.
Brady completed 23 of 34 passes for 320 yards with two touchdown passes for the Patriots who bounced back from a 17-6 deficit early in the game. Brady also ran for a touchdown.
"We knew it was going to a 60-minute game," Brady said. "I thought we played well for 60 minutes for the first time this season."
Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow got off to a fast start as Denver outgained the Patriots 167-4 in the first quarter. But this time there was no last-minute heroics from Tebow, who fizzled in the second half and at one point in the final quarter he was sacked for a whopping 28-yard loss.
Tebow was a disappointing 11 of 22 for 194 yards. Under pressure from the Patriots' pass rush, he ran 12 times for 93 yards. The loss dropped the Broncos to 8-6 on the season.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford tossed a six-yard touchdown strike to Calvin Johnson with 39 seconds remaining to cap a 98-yard scoring drive as the Detroit Lions rallied to beat the Oakland Raiders 28-27.
The victory was sealed when Ndamukong Suh, who was returning from a two-game suspension, blocked Sebastian Janikowski's 65-yard field goal attempt on the final play.
"For me it's just a great opportunity to be on the football field," Suh said. "That's just the things that I expect out of myself. I can't do it by myself. I continue to have great players around me."
Oakland appeared headed to victory with just under eight minutes left when Aaron Curry returned a fumble six yards for a touchdown to make it 27-14.
But Stafford seized the moment by leading a pair of late scoring drives to win it and give the Lions a two-game lead in the NFL wild-card race. Detroit now has nine wins and five losses on the season.
In another key game Sunday, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky says he wasn't about to go through another 0-16 season.
"I think in my career, I've learned not to take them (wins) for granted," Orlovsky said.
The Colts beat Tennessee 27-13 Sunday to earn their first win of the season Sunday after losing the first 13 games with star quarterback Peyton Manning on the injured list.
Orlovsky, a seven-year veteran, was with Detroit in 2008 when the Lions finished 0-16 on the season. He tossed one touchdown pass against Tennessee.
It was the Colts' first win in 14 years without Peyton Manning, who the team said Sunday would not play at all this season.
"I'm happy for a lot of people on this team, for a lot of people in this organization," Orlovsky said. "It's a lot better than the feeling we've had lately."
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