LOS ANGELES — Dallas rookies Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott were their old selves in helping lead the Cowboys to a grinding 26-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys (12-2) rebounded from last week’s loss at the New York Giants to move a step closer to the NFC East title and the No. 1 playoff seed in the conference. Dallas needs one win or a Giants loss to clinch both.
Elliott, the NFL’s rushing leader, ran for season-high 159 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Raiders 19, Chargers 16: The Oakland Raiders clinched their first playoff berth since 2002 by beating the San Diego Chargers 19-16.
Oakland (11-3) forged ahead on Sebastian Janikowski’s 44-yard field goal with 2:40 left, his fourth field goal of the game.
San Diego (5-9) lost its third straight game and for the 12th occasion in its last 13 games against AFC West foes.
Patriots 16, Broncos 3: Quarterback Tom Brady led four scoring drives - two after turnovers - and New England’s defense kept the Denver Broncos out of the end zone in a 16-3 victory that clinched the Patriots’ eighth straight AFC East title and the playoff berth that goes with it.
The eight consecutive division titles by New England (12-2) is an NFL record.
It was a rare win in Denver for Brady, who improved to 3-7 lifetime in the Mile High City.
The mistake-prone Broncos (8-6) lost their hold on the sixth and final wild-card berth.
Packers 30, Bears 27: Ty Montgomery ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns and Mason Crosby kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired as the Green Bay Packers won their fourth straight game with a 30-27 win over the Chicago Bears at frigid Soldier Field.
Crosby’s game-winner came after Aaron Rodgers connected on a 60-yard completion on third-and-11 to Jordy Nelson while working with no timeouts to set up Crosby’s third field goal of the game. Rodgers finished with 252 passing yards on 19-of-31 passing for the Packers (8-6).
Connor Barth tied the game with a 22-yard field goal with 1:23 remaining as the Bears (3-11) wiped out a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Titans 19, Chiefs 17: Ryan Succop made a last-second 53-yard field goal and the Tennessee Titans pulled off a 19-17 road upset of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Under sunny skies and very frigid temperatures, the outcome was in doubt until the game’s final play when Succop, returning to face the team that drafted him in 2010, was on target.
The Titans improved to 8-6 and remained in playoff contention, while the Chiefs slipped to 10-4.
Texans 21, Jaguars 20: Tom Savage led a fourth-quarter rally after entering in the second quarter, guiding the Houston Texans to a 21-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Colts 34, Vikings 6: On a very cold day in Minnesota, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck could hardly have been hotter in leading Indianapolis to a 34-6 blowout of the Vikings.
Steelers 24, Bengals 20: Ben Roethlisberger passed for 286 yards including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Eli Rogers with seven minutes remaining as the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied for a 24-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
In other games it was: Ravens 27, Eagles 26; Bills 33, Browns 13; Giants 17, Lions 6; Falcons 41, 49ers 13; Saints 48, Cardinals 41.
