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Bears clinch NFL playoff edge while Tomlinson sets more records
2006-12-18
San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson set the National Football League one-season scoring record while the Chicago Bears won in overtime to clinch a home-field playoff advantage. Tomlinson ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns to erase Paul Hornung's 1960 points mark as the Chargers beat Kansas City 20-9 for a club record-tying eighth win in a row. The Bears outlasted Tampa Bay 34-31, leaving each playoff-bound winner at a league-best 12-2. Clinching playoff berths Sunday were the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints. That left six undecided playoff spots with two weeks remaining in the season. Tomlinson set the scoring mark with a 15-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and added a career-long 85-yard scoring run in the second quarter, giving him 186 points, 10 more than Hornung's 46-year-old mark. "It's incredible," Tomlinson said. "It has been a magic run for me. It has been just great. It has been a great record for a long time. We're just happy to have it." Tomlinson's second scoring run gave him an NFL one-season record 28 rushing touchdowns and an eighth consecutive multi-touchdown game, also an NFL record. He pushed the NFL one-season touchdown record he set last week to 33. "He's a heck of a football player," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "He's a fantastic player and made some big plays for them." Robbie Gould kicked a game-winning 25-yard field goal with 3:37 remaining in overtime to give Chicago a home victory over Tampa Bay as the Bears, with a first-round bye, clinched a home-field National Conference playoff edge. "We got it done," said Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, who made a team-high 11 tackles. "We're happy we're going to be staying home for the playoffs." Rex Grossman completed 29-of-44 for 339 yards and two touchdowns, the most prolific passing day for a Bears quarterback in four years. But Chicago blew a 24-3 lead before snuffing out the Buccaneers' comeback bid in the extra period. "Now everyone in the NFC has to come to Chicago. It's a great advantage. We want to make full use of to get to where we are going," Grossman said. Baltimore backup quarterback Kyle Boller threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns after Steve McNair suffered a right hand injury and the host Ravens beat Cleveland 27-17. The Ravens (11-3) will win the AFC North division if Cincinnati loses Monday night at Indianapolis. The Saints clinched the NFC West divison title and a playoff berth despite a 16-10 loss to Washington, completing a remarkable rally from 3-13 last year when their home city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Carolina's loss ensured the Saints their first playoff berth since 2000 and only their sixth playoff appearance in 40 seasons. The Cowboys, who beat Atlanta on Saturday, clinched a playoff spot when both Carolina and Minnesota lost at home. Pittsburgh routed Carolina 37-3 while the New York Jets ripped the Vikings 26-13. Chad Pennington completed 29-of-39 passes for a season-high 339 yards to spark the Jets. Reigning Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh improved to 7-7 to sustain playoff hopes, winning for the fifth time in six games. Willie Parker rushed for 132 yards on 23 carries and rookie Santonio Holmes scored on a 65-yard punt return. The idle Colts were assured the AFC South division crown when Jacksonville lost 24-17 at Tennessee, the Titans stretching their win streak to five games. Tennessee dominated with defense, scoring touchdowns when Adam Jones returned an interception 83 yards, Cortland Finnegan returned a fumble 92 yards and Chris Hope returned an interception 61 yards. Philadelphia's Jeff Garcia threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Brown with 2:57 to play and Trent Cole scored on a 19-yard interception 10 seconds later to power the Eagles past the New York Giants 36-22. The victory pulled the Eagles (8-6) within a game of Dallas for the NFC East lead entering a Christmas Day showdown between the rivals. The Giants cling to the last NFC playoff spot, level with Atlanta at 7-7. Brett Favre set an NFL career completions record while Vernand Morency ran for two touchdowns to give Green Bay a 17-9 home victory over Detroit. Favre stretched his NFL record for consecutive starts by a quarterback to 255, then completed 20-of-37 passes for 174 yards to stand on 4,974 career completions, seven more than former Miami star Dan Marino. In other games, New England routed Houston 40-7, Denver beat Arizona 37-20, Buffalo blanked Miami 21-0 and St. Louis shut out Oakland 20-0.
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