Atlanta Falcons 24, Minnesota Vikings 14
Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes, Roddy White caught 9 balls for 113 yards and a score, and the Atlanta Falcons improved to 7-4 to stay in the thick of both the NFC South and NFC wild card races.
Carolina Panthers 27, Indianapolis Colts 19
The Colts had a first and goal with less than a minute remaining, but Curtis Painter threw his second interception of the game, and the Panthers improved to 3-8. The Colts are 0-11, and travel to New England and Baltimore in the next two weeks.
Houston Texans 20, Jacksonville Jaguars 13
Houston won its first game without quarterback Matt Schaub, but may have lost backup Matt Leinart in the process. Leinart was impressive in the first half, but left with an arm injury and was later seen on the sidelines in a sling. Houston managed just 215 yards of total offense.
Buffalo Bills 28, New York Jets 24
In a seesaw game that featured one epic touchdown celebration, the Jets kept their playoff hopes alive by topping the Bills. Mark Sanchez tossed four touchdown passes, including the winning score to Santonio Holmes with less than a minute remaining. Stevie Johnson, who mocked Plaxico Burress, had a key drop on the Bills final possession
Tennessee Titans 23, Tampa Bay Bucanneers 17
Maligned Tennessee running back Chris Johnson exploded for 190 yards rushing as the Titans effectively eliminated the Bucs from playoff contention and strengthened their own slim playoff standing.
Arizona Cardinals 23, St. Louis Rams 20
In a battle of NFC West also-rans, Beanie Wells carved up the Rams defense for 228 yards rushing and a touch to lead Arizona over St. Louis. Wells ran for exactly twice as many yards (228) as Cardinals quarterback John Skelton threw for (114).
Cincinnati Bengals 23, Cleveland Browns 20
Cincy outlasted Cleveland in the battle of Ohio, winning on a Mike Nugent field goal with 38 seconds remaining. Cedric Benson ran for 106 yards for the Bengals, and rookies Andy Dalton and A.J. Green continued their surprising success, with Green finishing with 110 yards receiving.
