NFL-National Football League highlights
Dec 20 (The Sports Xchange) - The Carolina Panthers preserved a perfect season thanks to Graham Gano's 43-yard field goal with five seconds remaining after blowing a huge third-quarter lead, beating the New York Giants 38-35 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The Panthers (14-0) wrapped up the top spot in the NFC playoffs and cinched homefield advantage but it was a struggle in the last 20 minutes of the game. The Panthers went up 35-7 when wide receiver Ted Ginn caught a 14-yard pass for quarterback Cam Newton's fifth TD toss of the day when the Giants went on a roll to respond to 28 unanswered points. With the win, the Panthers improve their franchise record-setting season record to 14-0. They will close out their 2015 regular-season campaign at Atlanta next week followed by a home date against Tampa Bay. - - - - The New England Patriots moved a step closer to wrapping up the top seed in the AFC with a 33-16 victory over the lowly Tennessee Titans. The Patriots (12-2) finished a 7-1 home season and are sure of earning the top seed. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and defensive end Akiem Hicks recovered a fumble and scored New England's first non-offensive touchdown of the season in the first half as the Patriots reached 12 wins for the 10th time, tying them with the Denver Broncos for third on the NFL's all-time 1ist. Brady hit tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back James White with his 34th and 35th touchdown passes of the season -- his fourth 35-touchdown season, tying him with Peyton Manning for the all-time record. - - - - Third-string quarterback Brandon Weeden came off the bench in the second quarter to throw the deciding touchdown pass, and Nick Novak kicked three field goals, leading the Houston Texans to a 16-10 victory against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Weeden, who finished 11 of 18 for 105 yards, replaced T.J. Yates with 1:14 left in the first half after Yates sustained a serious knee injury. With the victory, the Texans are 7-7 and control their destiny in the AFC South. Indianapolis falls to 6-8 and has lost three in a row. The Colts also lost quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in the fourth quarter and fell to 3-4 at home. - - - - Kirk Cousins tied his career high with four touchdown passes, including two to tight end Jordan Reed, and ran for another score as the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills 35-25 to remain atop the NFC East. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson caught six passes for 153 yards, including a 77-yard score for the Redskins (7-7), who posted consecutive wins for the first time since weeks 7-8 of last season. Cousins completed 22-of-28 passes from 319 yards, with no interceptions. - - - - The Kansas City Chiefs took advantage of several miscues and continued their recent surge toward the playoffs with a 34-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The Chiefs (9-5) became the first team in NFL history to bounce back from a five-game losing streak with eight straight wins in the same season. Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown, while safety Tyvon Branch picked up a fumble and ran 73 yards for a score. Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith completed 21 of 25 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown. - - - - Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater fired four touchdown passes and the Minnesota Vikings won for the first time in a month, 38-17 over the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. Bridgewater also ran for a touchdown and passed for 231 yards as the Vikings snapped a two-game losing streak and assured themselves of their first winning season since 2012. - - - - Shayne Graham kicked three field goals, including a pair in the fourth quarter, to lift the Atlanta Falcons to a 23-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, ending the Falcons six-game losing streak. (Compiled by Steve Keating in Toronto.)