-Philip Rivers, Chargers, passed for 313 yards in San Diego’s 33-28 win over Denver.
-Josh Freeman, Buccaneers, was 21 of 26 for 255 yards and two touchdowns in Tampa Bay’s 23-13 win over New Orleans.
-Matt Ryan, Falcons, was 22 of 32 for 236 yards and two touchdowns in Atlanta’s 31-10 win over Carolina.
-Matt Schaub, Texans, completed 18 of 22 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown in Houston’s 34-17 win over Jacksonville.
-Alex Smith, 49ers, passed for 276 yards and two TDs in San Francisco’s 38-7 win over Arizona.
-Peyton Manning, Colts, was 27 of 41 for 264 yards with two TDs in Indianapolis’ 23-20 win over Tennessee.
Rushing=
-Arian Foster, Texans, ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns to clinch the NFL rushing title in Houston’s 34-17 win over Jacksonville. Rashad Jennings, Jaguars, rushed for 108 yards.
-Rookie Joe McKnight, Jets, ran for a career-high 158 yards in New York’s 38-7 win over Buffalo.
-Michael Bush, Raiders, rushed for 137 yards in Oakland’s 31-10 win over Kansas City.
-Ryan Mathews, Chargers, had a career-high 120 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries in San Diego’s 33-28 win over Denver. Quarterback Tim Tebow, Broncos, ran for 94 yards and a TD. Both are rookies.
Receiving=
-Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals, caught 11 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown in Arizona’s 38-7 loss to San Francisco.
-Jerome Simpson, Bengals, caught 12 passes for 123 yards and a score in Cincinnati’s 13-7 loss to Baltimore.
-Mario Manningham, Giants, had 101 yards receiving on four receptions, including a 92-yard touchdown catch, in New York’s 17-14 win over Washington.
-Mike Wallace, Steelers, had three catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 41-9 win over Cleveland.
Special Teams
-Julian Edelman, Patriots, returned a punt 94 yards for a touchdown in New England’s 38-7 win over Miami.
-Eric Weems, Falcons, scored on a 55-yard punt return in Atlanta’s 31-10 win over Carolina, clinching the NFC South.
-Adam Vinatieri, Colts, kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired in Indianapolis’ 23-20 win over Tennessee, clinching the AFC South.
-Cassius Vaughn, Broncos, returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score in Denver’s 33-28 loss to San Diego.
Defense=
-Ed Reed, Ravens, had two interceptions in Baltimore’s 13-7 win over Cincinnati.
-Marquice Cole, Jets, had a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown in New York’s 38-7 win over Buffalo.
-Stanford Routt, Raiders, returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown in Oakland’s 31-10 win over Kansas City.
-DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys, had three sacks and returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown in Dallas’ 14-13 win over Philadelphia. Terence Newman had two interceptions.
PLAYOFF PICTURE=
Indianapolis, Atlanta and Pittsburgh clinched division titles, while Green Bay grabbed the final wild-card berth. The Colts (10-6) host the New York Jets (11-5) in a rematch of last January’s AFC championship game on Saturday night. Before that, the Saints (12-4) are at the NFC West winner, either St. Louis or Seattle. On Sunday, NFC East champion Philadelphia (10-6) hosts Green Bay (10-6) after AFC West winner Kansas City (10-6) is at home against Baltimore (12-4).
FAVRE DONE?=
Brett Favre sat out the Minnesota Vikings’ 20-13 season-ending loss to the Detroit Lions with a concussion, and the 41-year-old quarterback insisted that this time, his retirement really would stick. His record streak of 297 straight starts ended three weeks ago because of a sprained throwing shoulder.
MILESTONES=
Houston’s Arian Foster finished with 1,616 yards rushing, the highest single-season total for an undrafted player. He also had 604 yards receiving to become the sixth player in league history to reach 1,500 yards rushing and 600 yards receiving in the same year. Teammate Matt Schaub has thrown for 9,170 yards over the past two seasons, becoming the sixth quarterback to reach 9,000 yards passing in a two-year span. … Indy’s Peyton Manning broke the single-season record for completions (450) that Drew Brees set earlier in the day. He also started his 208th straight game, breaking Gene Upshaw’s record for consecutive starts to open a career. Manning finished the season with a career-high 4,700 yards passing. … The Patriots set an NFL record with just 10 turnovers in a season, although they did commit their first turnover in eight games, Danny Woodhead’s fumble. BenJarvus Green-Ellis earned his first 1,000-yard rushing season. … The Ravens’ Derrick Mason joined Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez as the only players in NFL history with 60-plus receptions in 11 straight seasons. … Miami’s Brandon Marshall passed the 5,000-yard mark for career receiving at 5,033. … The Jets earned the fourth 11-win season in franchise history and first since the 1998 team went to the AFC championship game. Linebacker Jason Taylor had a sack to tie Lawrence Taylor and Leslie O’Neal for eighth on the career list with 132 1/2. … Detroit’s Brandon Pettigrew broke a franchise record for tight ends with 71 catches. … The Saints’ Drew Brees threw his career-high 22nd interception of the season. … Roddy White set Falcons season records with 115 catches for 1,389 yards. Tony Gonzalez is tied for 10th in NFL history with Don Maynard with 88 career touchdown catches. … The Broncos set a franchise worst with their 12th loss.
STATS=
After defeating Kansas City 31-10, the Raiders became the only team since the 1970 merger to go unbeaten in their division and still not make the playoffs. … The Chiefs’ Jamaal Charles, who had 87 yards on 14 carries, came within a whisker of catching Jim Brown’s NFL record of 6.40 yards per carry. He finished at 6.38. … New England’s Tom Brady’s .81 percentage of four interceptions on 492 passes is third best in NFL history behind Damon Huard of Kansas City at .41 (one in 244 in 2006) and Joe Ferguson of Buffalo at .66 (one in 151 in 1976). … Ed Reed’s second consecutive two-interception game for Baltimore gave him eight INTs for the season - in only 10 games. His two returns totaled 48 yards, placing him second on the NFL career list with 1,438. … The Jets’ Mark Brunell had his first touchdown passing since he threw for one against Dallas in November 2006, when he was with Washington. LaDainian Tomlinson finished 86 yards rushing short of his ninth 1,000-yard season. … Pittsburgh gave up only 62.8 yards rushing per game, shattering the team record set in 2001. … The Buccaneers improved by seven wins from last season’s 3-13 record. … The Saints’ Adrian Arrington, a 2008 draft pick, made his first career reception and finished with seven catches for a team-high 79 yards. … The Falcons are the No. 1 seed in the playoffs for the first time in 30 years. … The Giants and Tampa Bay became the first NFC teams since 1991 to miss the playoffs despite double-digit victories.
STREAKS=
The Raiders (8-8) posted their best record since 2002, when they went to the Super Bowl. They had lost at least 11 games in each of the seasons since. … With a 20-13 win over the Vikings, Detroit avoided finishing alone in last for the first time in three years and put Minnesota in a last-place tie for the first time since 1990. … Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger has thrown 158 passes without an interception, the longest streak of his career. … The Saints are 0-5 in regular-season finales under coach Sean Payton. … Matt Ryan’s 33rd win for Atlanta matched Dan Marino’s mark for most wins by a quarterback in his first three seasons since 1970. He has at least one touchdown pass in 15 straight games. … The Colts reached the playoffs for the ninth straight season, tying the NFL record Dallas set from 1975-83. … Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson had 14 carries for 31 yards, falling 2 yards short of joining Earl Campbell as the only players with at least 1,300 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns in their first four seasons.
SPEAKING=
“It was all self-inflicted. We were in the driver’s seat. And then we were in the passenger seat. And now we’re in the back seat.” - Giants linebacker Keith Bulluck, on New York blowing what seemed to be a near-certain playoff berth.
