The Patriots (13-2) rolled to their seventh straight victory in winning the AFC East division and beating the Bills (4-11) for the 15th game in a row dating to 2003. New England is 20-1 in its past 21 meetings against Buffalo.
Two of Brady’s TD passes went to rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski. Alge Crumpler and Danny Woodhead also scored for the Patriots, who forced seven turnovers.
Brady finished 15 of 27 for 140 yards and set the NFL record for most attempts (319) without an interception. He topped the mark set by Bernie Kosar in the 1990-91 seasons.
At St. Louis, Sam Bradford set an NFL record for completions in a rookie season and his first touchdown pass in four games gave St. Louis breathing room in its playoff quest.
The Rams (7-8) need to win at Seattle next week to clinch their first playoff berth since 2004.
Troy Smith was benched in the fourth quarter of a loss that eliminated the 49ers (5-10) from playoff consideration in the weak NFC West.
Ted Ginn Jr. scored on a 78-yard punt return for San Francisco, his fourth career touchdown return.
At Cleveland, Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes and the Ravens clinched their third straight playoff appearance.
Ed Reed intercepted rookie Colt McCoy twice as the Ravens (11-4) stayed in contention for the AFC North title. They remain tied with Pittsburgh for the division lead with one game left.
McCoy threw three interceptions and the Browns (5-10) did nothing to help embattled coach Eric Mangini, who fell to 10-21 in two seasons and will await a postseason review by president Mike Holmgren.
At Kansas City, Missouri, Matt Cassel threw three touchdown passes and Eric Berry returned an interception 54 yards for another score for Kansas City.
Cassel hit 12 of his first 13 passes for the Chiefs (10-5), including touchdown tosses to Jamaal Charles on their first two possessions.
The Titans (6-9) spent much of the game dropping passes, missing arm tackles and piling up penalties while losing for the seventh time in eight games.
Dwayne Bowe had six catches for 153 yards, including a career-best 75-yard touchdown as the Chiefs remained unbeaten in seven home games. If they win at home next week against Oakland, they’ll clinch their first AFC West title since 2003.
At Chicago, Jay Cutler threw three touchdown passes and Chicago closed in on a first-round bye.
The Jets (10-5) lost for third time in four games, but clinched their second straight postseason trip under coach Rex Ryan when Jacksonville lost 20-17 in overtime to Washington.
The win was the seventh in eight games for the Bears (11-4), who blew an early 10-point lead and regrouped in the second half after being picked apart by Mark Sanchez early. Now, they’re in good position to lock up that bye, a scenario that seemed unlikely at best when they stumbled into their bye-week break.
Sanchez was intercepted by Chris Harris with about a minute left, ending the Jets’ comeback bid.
At Jacksonville, Florida, Kevin Barnes intercepted David Garrard’s second pass in overtime, setting up Graham Gano’s 31-yard field goal.
Rex Grossman had a TD pass early, and Ryan Torain added a 1-yard plunge on fourth down late as the Redskins (6-9) ended a four-game losing streak.
Washington played without several defensive starters, including linebacker Brian Orakpo and safeties Reed Doughty and Kareem Moore, and lost cornerback Carlos Rogers during the game. It didn’t matter. The Redskins stuffed Jacksonville’s running game, pressured Garrard and came up big when it mattered most.
The Jaguars (8-7) have lost two in a row and need help to make the playoffs. They need to win at Houston next week and have Tennessee upset Indianapolis to win the AFC South.
At Miami, Detroit took advantage of two interceptions to score 17 points in the final 4:37. With the comeback, the Lions (5-10) have won three consecutive games for the first time since 2007. The Dolphins (7-8) finished 1-7 at home to match a franchise low.
Trailing 24-14 with five minutes to go, the Lions forced a punt, and on the first play Jahvid Best turned a short pass from Shaun Hill into a 53-yard touchdown.
Nathan Vasher’s interception set up a 47-yard field goal by Dave Rayner to tie the game with 2:44 remaining. Then came an interception by DeAndre Levy, who zigzagged 30 yards for Detroit’s third score in less than 2½ minutes.
At Tampa, Florida, Josh Freeman threw for 237 yards and a career-best five touchdowns to help Tampa Bay keep its playoff hopes alive.
Kellen Winslow and rookie Mike Williams each had a pair of TD receptions for the Bucs (9-6), who guaranteed themselves a winning record after going 3-13 a year ago in their first season under coach Raheem Morris.
Seattle (6-9) played most of the game without injured quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Amazingly, the Seahawks can still win the NFC West by beating the first-place Rams (7-8) at home next Sunday.
At Cincinnati, Carson Palmer threw four touchdown passes during a near-perfect performance to end the Chargers’ run of four straight AFC West titles.
The Chargers (8-7) froze up in their coldest game in nearly three years, repeatedly self-destructing on a raw, windy evening. The loss gave the division title to Kansas City, which beat Tennessee 34-14 earlier in the day.
Palmer, a Southern California kid, led the Bengals (4-11) to their second straight win with two of his touchdown passes going to Jerome Simpson, including a 59-yarder in the fourth quarter.
At Green Bay, Wisconsin, Aaron Rodgers threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in his return from a concussion to lead Green Bay to an easy victory over New York.
The loss leaves the Giants (9-6) clinging to fading playoff hopes and wondering if there was a hangover effect from the previous week’s collapse against Philadelphia.
John Kuhn ran for two TDs and caught a pass for a score for the Packers (9-6), who need to beat the Bears in the next weekend to make the playoffs.
At Oakland, California, Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes in a game that turned out to have little playoff meaning.
The Colts (9-6) allowed Jacoby Ford to return the opening kick for a TD and overcame a pair of interceptions by Manning in the second half to move within a win of clinching the AFC South title for their ninth straight playoff berth.
But when Jacksonville lost earlier, the Colts knew that no matter what happened in this game they could clinch the division with a win at home next week against the Titans or a Jaguars loss at Houston. The Raiders (7-8) were eliminated earlier when the Chiefs beat the Titans.
At Denver, Tim Tebow scored with three minutes left in his first home start to cap Denver’s comeback from a 17-0 halftime deficit.
The Broncos (4-11) won for the first time since Nov. 14 and avoided a franchise record 12th loss in handing the Texans (5-10) their eighth loss in nine games.
Tebow threw for 308 yards but when it mattered most, he used his legs to give the Broncos their first win since Nov. Vikings-Eagles, postponed At Philadelphia, the Eagles celebrated an NFC East championship despite their game against Minnesota being postponed until Tuesday because of heavy snow.
Sidelined by the storm, the Eagles went home and watched the Packers beat the Giants 45-17 which gave Philadelphia its first division title since 2006 and sixth in 12 seasons under coach Andy Reid.
