Steelers 33, Patriots 10

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Pittsburgh's NFL-best defense stopped Matt Cassel's two-game offensive surge and pushed New England closer to strange territory: a sideline seat for the playoffs.

The Steelers (9-3) held the Patriots (7-5) to 267 yards, got two touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger and four field goals from Jeff Reed and beat the Patriots, 33-10, on a cold, rainy Sunday.

Cassel lost two fumbles and two interceptions in the second half and was sacked five times after throwing for at least 400 yards in his past two contests.

Pittsburgh stayed a game ahead of second-place Baltimore in the AFC North. New England dropped into a second-place tie in the AFC East with Miami and fell a game behind the Ravens and Indianapolis Colts in the wild-card race.

AFC

Colts 10, Browns 6

CLEVELAND - Defensive end Robert Mathis scooped up Derek Anderson's fumble and rumbled 39 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Colts stayed in the thick of the AFC playoff chase by winning their fifth straight.

Mathis' big play helped bail out Peyton Manning and Indy's high-octane offense, which never got humming with its usual efficiency. Still, the Colts (8-4) got a 30-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri and improved to 5-0 in November, a monthlong run that has allowed them to recover from a 3-4 start.

Broncos 34, Jets 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Jay Cutler and the Broncos stopped the surging Jets, and showed they might be a team to reckon with in the wide-open AFC.

Cutler passed for 357 yards and two touchdowns and Peyton Hillis, a rookie from Arkansas, ran for 129 yards and a score at a wet and windy Meadowlands. The Broncos (7-5) stopped the Jets' five-game winning streak. Denver leads the AFC West by three games.

Thomas Jones had 138 yards rushing and two touchdowns for New York (8-4).

Chiefs 20, Raiders 13

OAKLAND, Calif. - Tyler Thigpen engineered a 91-yard drive capped by Larry Johnson's 2-yard tiebreaking run early in the fourth quarter to lead Kansas City to just its second win in its last 21 games. Kansas City had lost seven in a row. Kansas City (2-10) scored its first touchdown on Maurice Leggett's 67-yard fumble return on a botched fake field goal by Oakland (3-9).

Ravens 34, Bengals 3

CINCINNATI - Receiver Mark Clayton threw a touchdown pass on a reverse, then made a spectacular one-handed catch for a 70-yard score as Baltimore beat Cincinnati (1-10-1).

The Ravens (8-4) have won six of their past seven games with a renowned defense and an offense coming into its own behind quarterback Joe Flacco.

NFC

Vikings 34, Bears 14

MINNEAPOLIS - With a gutty goal-line stand and one big heave by Gus Frerotte, Minnesota grabbed control of the NFC North and sent Kyle Orton and Chicago home with a humbling defeat.

Seconds after the Bears were stopped four times at the 1, Bernard Berrian pulled in a 99-yard touchdown pass from Frerotte that sent the Vikings to a 34-14 victory and sole possession of the division lead.

Giants 23, Redskins 7

LANDOVER, Md. - Eli Manning had his first 300-yard game of the season, Clinton Portis was held to 22 yards rushing, and New York (11-1) put aside the Plaxico Burress mess with another dominating performance.

The Giants manhandled the Redskins in the major statistical categories, including total yards (404-320) and time of possession (35:44-24:16).

The loss not only dropped the Redskins (7-5) out of contention for the division title, but now they also trail Dallas in the wild-card race.

AFC vs. NFC

Falcons 22, Chargers 16

SAN DIEGO - Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and the rest of the Falcons are very much alive in the playoff picture. The Chargers are on life support.

Ryan, the rookie from Boston College, was 17-of-23 passing for 207 yards and two TD passes and Turner ran for 120 yards against his former team. The Falcons (8-4), one of the NFL's most surprising teams behind rookie head coach Mike Smith, remained a game behind Tampa Bay and Carolina in the NFC South.

San Diego (4-8) lost for the fifth time in six games.

49ers 10, Bills 3

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Linebacker Patrick Willis (Ole Miss) had 14 tackles and a forced fumble in a win that all but ended the Bills' dwindling playoff hopes.

Isaac Bruce scored on a 12-yard TD pass and Joe Nedney hit a 50-yard field goal as the 49ers never trailed.

Buffalo (6-6) came away with no points on four trips inside the red zone, and also got nothing on two extended drives of 15 plays or longer.

Dolphins 16, Rams 12

ST. LOUIS - The Dolphins (7-5) made it into the end zone only once, but relied on stingy play from a defense that got routed last week by the Patriots to secure their fifth victory in six games.

The Rams (2-10) ended a string of blowout losses the previous four games behind Steven Jackson, who had 94 yards on 21 carries, but were undone by mistakes in the second half against a franchise that's quickly become competitive after going 1-15 last season.