Talk about a frenzied finish.
With each of the NFL's eight divisions tightly jumbled after this weekend's games, the last five weeks of the regular season are sure to be filled with plenty of unpredictable drama.
Take the wild NFC West, where Seattle and St. Louis are matched at the top with records below .500 at 5-6 - with Arizona and San Francisco playing Monday night and the winner moving a game behind at 4-7.
"This was a huge step for this team, taking it to the next level,'' Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford said of his first road win, 36-33 at Denver on Sunday. "It's obviously something we've struggled with earlier in the year. But to finally clear that hurdle, I feel like only things can get better now.''
After Sunday, every division has either two teams tied for the lead or the second-place squad only a game behind.
How about the NFC East, where the New York Giants topped Jacksonville 24-20 ,and Michael Vick and Philadelphia fell at Chicago 31-26 to put both in a tie for the division lead at 7-4.
Then, there's the mediocre AFC South, where struggling Peyton Manning and Indianapolis are tied with the Jaguars at 6-5, with Houston and Tennessee just a game behind.
At Baltimore, the Ravens (8-3) improved to 5-0 at home this season with a 17-10 win over Tampa Bay and remained tied atop with the AFC North with Pittsburgh, which squeaked past Buffalo 19-16 in overtime. The division rivals play each other next Sunday night.
New England and the New York Jets won their games on Thanksgiving to earn matching 9-2 records, setting up a playofflike meeting at Foxborough next Monday night.
At Chicago, Jay Cutler tied a career high with four touchdown passes as the Bears (8-3) took sole possession of first place in the NFC North. The win, their fourth straight, put them a game ahead of Green Bay, which lost 20-17 to Atlanta.
"It was a big game for us,'' Cutler said. "We talked about it in there. We have to keep going.''
Vick and the Eagles had won three straight, but were unable to break off big plays against one of the league's stingiest defenses. Vick threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw his first interception of the year when he got picked off by Chris Harris in the end zone late in the first half, stopping a potential go-ahead scoring drive.
Chargers 36, Colts 14
San Diego picked off Manning four times, returning two for scores, and handed Indianapolis its most lopsided home loss since the four-time MVP has been the team's starting quarterback.
"Offensively, we didn't do a real good job,'' Manning said. "I didn't do a real good job.''
The last time the Colts lost by this much at home was Sept. 14, 1997, when Seattle won 31-3.
San Diego (6-5) won its fourth straight and kept pace in the AFC West race, one game behind Kansas City.
Manning finished 31 of 48 for 285 yards with two TDs and has thrown seven interceptions in the last two weeks - the most over any two-week span in his 13-year NFL career. Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne walked off the field after getting hurt with 2:45 to go, and the Colts (6-5) finished with only 24 yards rushing.
Falcons 20, Packers 17
At Atlanta, Matt Bryant kicked a 47-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining to give the NFC-leading Falcons their fifth straight win and remain a game ahead of New Orleans in the NFC South.
The Falcons (9-2) have their longest winning streak since 1998 and assured themselves of a third straight winning season.
"It's great to get a winning season,'' coach Mike Smith said. "But the expectations and goals we talk about are a lot higher than that.''
Aaron Rodgers guided Green Bay (7-4) on a 90-yard drive to tie the game with 56 seconds remaining. But Eric Weems broke loose on the kickoff return and was dragged down by Matt Wilhelm with a flagrant facemask tackle. The Falcons took over at the Green Bay 49, Matt Ryan completed four straight short passes and Bryant made the winning kick.
Steelers 19, Bills 16, OT
At Orchard Park, N.Y., Shaun Suisham kicked a 41-yard field goal with 2:14 left in overtime to lift Pittsburgh.
Buffalo (2-9) blew an opportunity to win it with 10:30 left in overtime. Wide receiver Stevie Johnson got in behind the Steelers secondary but dropped a 40-yard pass on the run, while he was 2 yards into the end zone.
Texans 20, Titans 0
At Houston, Andre Johnson finally had enough from Cortland Finnegan, sparking a fistfight in the fourth quarter that led to both players being ejected and could end up in further discipline from the NFL.
Houston cornerback Glover Quin set a franchise record with three interceptions for the Texans (5-6). Arian Foster rushed for 143 yards and caught nine passes for the Texans, who posted their first shutout since 2004.
The fight came at the end of a tumultuous week for the Titans (5-6), who've lost four in a row.
Rams 36, Broncos 33
At Denver, St. Louis escaped with a rare road win, which came just over a day after the NFL fined the Broncos (3-8) and their coach for a videotaping scandal.
There was more than a smattering of boos when Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was introduced before the game. There were also signs in the crowd calling for his firing following the latest embarrassment that also resulted in the firing of the video operations director who broke NFL rules by taping a San Francisco practice in London last month.
Giants 24, Jaguars 20
At East Rutherford, N.J., Eli Manning threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Boss with 3:15 to play and the Giants rallied to snap a two-game losing streak and end the Jaguars' three-game winning streak.
Manning also threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham, Lawrence Tynes kicked three field goals and the defense came up with three consecutive sacks and a late turnover with 1:25 to go as the Giants rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit.
David Garrard and Rashad Jennings ran for touchdowns as the Jaguars (6-5) lost for only the third time in eight games.
Ravens 17, Buccaneers 10
Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes and Baltimore won a franchise record-tying eighth straight game at home.
Flacco connected with Todd Heap for a 65-yard score and hit Derrick Mason for a 10-yard touchdown during a three-minute span of the second quarter to stake Baltimore to a 17-3 halftime lead. Flacco now has 53 career TD passes, surpassing Vinny Testaverde (51) for most in Ravens history.
Tampa Bay fell to 7-4 and still has not beaten a team with a winning record.
Chiefs 42, Seahawks 24
At Seattle, Matt Cassel threw three touchdown passes to Dwayne Bowe, Jamaal Charles rushed for 173 yards and Kansas City remained atop the AFC West.
Facing Pete Carroll, his former coach at Southern California, Cassel threw for 233 yards and four touchdowns. Bowe extended his streak of games with at least one touchdown reception to seven straight. The pair connected on TDs of 7, 36 and 9 yards for Kansas City (7-4). Seattle (5-6) has lost four of five.
Vikings 17, Redskins 13
At Landover, Md., Brett Favre was perfect on two scoring drives, and Minnesota won Leslie Frazier's NFL head coaching debut despite Adrian Peterson's early injury.
Minnesota (4-7) ended its nine-game road losing streak, less than a week after firing coach Brad Childress and promoting Frazier. Washington is 5-6.
Browns 24, Panthers 23
At Cleveland, John Kasay missed a 42-yard field goal that grazed the left upright as time expired, allowing the Browns (4-7) to escape and give ex-Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme a little satisfaction.
Kasay had a chance to win it for the Panthers (1-10) after rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen drove them to Cleveland's 25, completing a beautiful sideline pass to Brandon LaFell with 5 seconds left. After the play was reviewed, Kasay pulled his kick just wide to the left.
Cleveland's Peyton Hillis rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns, and Delhomme passed for 245 yards in his first start at home for the Browns, who signed him in March after he was released by Carolina.
Dolphins 33, Raiders 17
At Oakland, Calif., Chad Henne returned from a benching and injury to throw for 307 yards and two scores, and Dan Carpenter kicked four field goals for Miami.
Davone Bess had 111 yards receiving in his first game as a pro in his hometown, and Ricky Williams ran for 95 yards and a score for the Dolphins (6-5), who won for the fifth time in six road games to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Raiders are 5-6.
