Houston
Jacksonville fired coach Gus Bradley after the game.
The win was Houston’s 10th straight in the division and left the Texans (8-6) tied with Tennessee for the AFC South lead. But Houston controls its playoff future with a 5-0 mark in the division.
Osweiler threw interceptions on consecutive drives in the second quarter to help Jacksonville build a 13-0 lead. Coach Bill O’Brien had insisted all season he hadn’t thought about benching Osweiler, but he’d seen enough after that and brought in Savage. The move was met with a huge ovation from the home crowd that had been booing Osweiler for most of the day.
The Jaguars got the ball back twice after falling behind, but they failed on a fourth-down conversion the first time and Blake Bortles was intercepted the second time. Bortles threw for 92 yards and ran for a touchdown for the Jaguars (2-12), who dropped their ninth straight.
Kansas City, Mo.
Succop, who spent the first part of his career with Kansas City, came up short on his first try at the winner, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid had called a timeout just before the snap. Given a second chance, Succop knocked it through with a couple feet to spare as the Titans poured off the bench to celebrate.
The Titans’ rallied from a 17-7 hole, and Derrick Henry’s second touchdown got Tennessee (8-6) within 17-16 with just over three minutes left. But Titans coach Mike Mularkey went for the 2-point conversion and the lead. Marcus Mariota was pressured immediately and his pass never reached the end zone.
San Diego
Playing before what looked like a home crowd at 70,000-seat Qualcomm Stadium, the visiting Raiders (11-3) earned a playoff nod on the same field where they made their last postseason appearance, an embarrassing 48-21 loss to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl on Jan. 26, 2003.
There was a surreal atmosphere to the game, which might be the Chargers’ second-to-last in San Diego. Team chairman Dean Spanos seems almost certain to move the Bolts (5-9) to the Los Angeles area after failing to get a big public subsidy to help him replace aging Qualcomm Stadium.
Chicago
Wide receiver-turned-running back Ty Montgomery ran for a career-high 162 yards and two touchdowns, and the Packers (8-6) earned their fourth straight victory despite blowing a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. They also moved ahead of Minnesota for second place in the NFC North and pulled within a game of division leader Detroit.
The game-time temperature was 11 degrees with a minus-4 wind chill.
Bills 33, Browns 13
Orchard Park, n.y.
LeSean McCoy had a season-best 153 yards rushing and scored twice, and the Bills kept their slim playoff hopes alive.
The Browns dropped to 0-14, matching the second-worst start to a season set by the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 1980 New Orleans Saints. The 2008 Detroit Lions , meanwhile, are the NFL’s only team to go without a win in a 16-game season.
Cincinnati
The Steelers (9-5) have won five straight and can clinch the AFC North title with a victory at home next Sunday against Baltimore (8-6). As a first step, they rallied from a 14-point deficit — kick by kick — and eliminated the defending champions at a place where they’re right at home.
Baltimore
On a wet and windy day, the Ravens maintained control of their playoff possibilities. If Baltimore defeats Pittsburgh on Christmas Day and Cincinnati in the regular-season finale, the Ravens will enter the postseason as AFC North champions.
East Rutherford, n.j.
The win was the eighth in nine games for the Giants (10-4) and it gave them their best record through 14 games since 2008, when they were 11-3.
Atlanta
Freeman rushed for 139 yards and capped his big day with a 34-yard touchdown run. Ryan completed 17 of 23 passes for 286 yards, including a pair of 9-yard scoring tosses to Taylor Gabriel and Austin Hooper.
Glendale, Ariz.
Brandin Cooks caught seven passes for a career-best 186 yards for the Saints (6-8), including touchdown plays of 65 and 45 yards.
Minneapolis
Frank Gore rushed for 101 yards and Indianapolis won on the road for the fourth time this season, dominating a Vikings defense that has been among the best in the league.
Adrian Peterson had just 22 yards on six carries and lost a fumble in his first game back from a knee injury for the Vikings (7-7).
Arlington, Texas
The Cowboys (12-2) bounced back after their franchise-record 11-game winning streak ended, hanging on after what looked to be a festive night following Elliott’s antics turned tense when Jameis Winston rallied the Bucs from a 17-3 deficit to a 20-17 lead.
Making his debut in the Sunday night spotlight, Winston threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns but had four turnovers, including an interception that led to Dan Bailey’s 38-yard field goal that gave Dallas a 23-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Tampa Bay (9-5) had its five-game winning streak snapped and fell a game behind Atlanta in the NFC South.
Dallas stayed two games ahead of the New York Giants in the NFC East and needs a win without any help to clinch the home field throughout the NFC playoffs.
Elliott, the NFL’s rushing leader, had a career-high 159 yards, including a 42-yard run to set up Bailey’s fourth field goal for the six-point lead.
Fellow rookie Dak Prescott bounced back from his worst game as a pro, going 32 of 36 for 279 yards a week after completing less than 50 percent of his passes in a 10-7 loss to the New York Giants.
Elliott had NFL career rushing leader and former Dallas star Emmitt Smith and plenty of other people laughing when he jumped into the kettle and disappeared when he crouched down following a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He drew a 15-yard penalty.
Winston had scoring passes of 42 yards to Adam Humphries and 10 yards to Cameron Brate to put Tampa Bay up 20-17, but couldn’t move the Bucs once the Cowboys regained the lead.
PASSING TO
Dallas tight end Jason Witten passed former teammate Terrell Owens for seventh place on the career receptions list, getting his 1,079th on a 6-yarder in the second quarter. The 34-year-old Witten, in his 14th season, had eight catches in the first half and 10 for the game, giving him 1,086.
Witten is one of two NFL tight ends with at least 1,000 catches and 10,000 yards receiving. Tony Gonzalez is the other. Owens spent three of his 15 seasons with the Cowboys.
RARE MULTIPLE MISSES
Bailey missed two in a game for the first time since his rookie year in 2011. The first came up short from 56 yards , and the second was wide left from 52 in the final seconds of the first half. The misses against Arizona five years ago were from 50 and 49. Bailey is the NFL’s career leader in accuracy among kickers with at least 100 attempts.
INJURIES
Tampa Bay defensive lineman William Gholston and Dallas linebacker Justin Durant left the game with elbow injuries.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Finish regular season with two games against NFC South opponents, at New Orleans on Saturday and home against Carolina on Jan. 1.
Cowboys: Wrap up regular-season home schedule against Detroit the day after Christmas, a Monday night, before visiting fading Philadelphia in finale.
___
For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
___
Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler
