National Football League

The Latest: Washington loss clinches playoff spot for Dallas

Published Dec. 4, 2016 7:39 p.m. ET

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The Latest on Week 13 of the NFL season: (all times Eastern):

7:29 p.m.

Dallas is the first NFL team to clinch a playoff berth.

The Cowboys qualified for the postseason with Washington's loss to Arizona Sunday.

Dallas has won 11 consecutive games, tying the overall franchise record streak that bridged the 1968 and 1969 seasons. The Cowboys are led by a pair of rookie sensations in Dak Prescott, who replaced injured quarterback Tony Romo in the preseason, and NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott, the fourth overall pick in the draft.

The Cowboys are coming off a win over Minnesota on Thursday and getting ready to face the New York Giants, the NFC East rival that handed them their only loss. The rematch is next Sunday night.

Dallas (11-1) is seeking the top seed in the NFC for the first time since 2007, which is the only other time the Cowboys were 12-1.

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6:10 p.m.

The Giants' Jason Pierre-Paul has been ruled out for the rest of their game in Pittsburgh with a groin injury, while defensive back Coty Sensabaugh is out with a rib injury.

Pierre-Paul was hurt on a screen pass late in the first half. He walked slowly to the locker room but did not appear limping, but was ruled out for the rest of the game in the second half.

The Giants got a sack from Olivier Vernon on the play after Pierre-Paul left the game.

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5:45 p.m.

The Raiders, trying to remain a game ahead of Kansas City in the AFC West headed into their showdown Thursday night, trail the Bills 17-9 early in the second half at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Giants' six-game win streak is in jeopardy at halftime in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers tacked on a field goal in the final minute to take a 14-0 lead into the locker room.

Randy Bullock, signed by Pittsburgh as a fill-in kicker this week, is 2 for 2 on field goals.

San Diego leads Tampa Bay 14-7 at the half, while Arizona leads Washington 10-6.

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5 p.m.

Tampa Bay wide receiver Cecil Shorts III has been taken off the field on a cart after sustaining a knee injury on a hard hit by San Diego's Jahleel Addae.

Shorts was tended to for a few minutes and then put on the cart. The entire Buccaneers team came out near the cart, and several of the players slapped hands with the wide receiver.

Shorts pumped a fist toward his teammates as he was driven off.

- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego

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4:50 p.m.

Tom Brady became the NFL's career leader in victories by a quarterback, earning his 201st by throwing for 269 yards and a touchdown to lead the Patriots past the Rams 26-10.

Brady, who was 33 of 46, had tied Peyton Manning last week in a win over the New York Jets.

Elsewhere, Eric Berry had a pick-six and an interception returned 99 yards for a 2-point conversion that gave Kansas City a 29-28 victory in Atlanta; Bradley Roby had a pick-six to help Denver to a 20-10 win over Jacksonville; and the Bengals beat the Eagles for their first win since Oct. 23.

Jordan Howard had three TD runs for Chicago in its win over San Francisco, while Joe Flacco threw four touchdown passes as the Ravens routed the Dolphins in a matchup of playoff contenders.

NFC North contenders Detroit and Green Bay also won.

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4:15 p.m.

One week after leaving a game for a series with an injured pinkie on his throwing hand, Raiders Derek Carr ditched the glove he wore after returning from the injury.

Carr had tape on the finger on his right hand for Oakland's game against Buffalo. Just as he did last week against the Panthers after the injury, Carr took no snaps under center during the first series against the Bills.

- Josh Dubow reporting from Oakland, California

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4 p.m.

The Raiders had a moment of silence before their game against Buffalo for the victims of a warehouse fire. At least 30 people were killed by the blaze less than three miles from the Oakland Coliseum.

The Oakland Raiders have pledged to match up to $30,000 in contributions on the YouCaring.com page established by the Athletics.

- Josh Dubow reporting from Oakland, California

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3:55 p.m.

Chiefs safety Eric Berry added a go-ahead pick-two - he intercepted a 2-point conversion pass and returned it for two points - to his pick-six to help Kansas City beat the Falcons 29-28.

Atlanta had taken the lead in the closing minutes, but opted to go for the 2-point conversion to make the lead three points. Berry stepped in front of the pass and returned it for a conversion that instead gave the Chiefs the lead - with the ball.

Kansas City merely had to pick up enough first downs to run out the clock.

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3:30 p.m.

The Texans and Packers are slipping and sliding all over snowy Lambeau Field.

Light to moderate snow has fallen all afternoon in a low-scoring game. The Texans tied it 7-all on Brock Osweiler's 6-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Griffin with 7:32 left in the third quarter.

For the Packers, Aaron Rodgers has 111 yards passing through the third quarter. He doesn't seem to have his normal mobility on the cold, slippery turf after being limited in practice this week with a left hamstring injury.

- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin

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3:05 p.m.

Atlanta Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews left Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs with a left knee injury and won't return.

Matthews suffered the injury late in the first half and was escorted to the locker room at the 2-minute warning. He did not come out for the start of the second half.

Tom Compton has replaced Matthews at left tackle. The Falcons say Matthews won't return.

- Charles Odum reporting from Atlanta

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3 p.m.

Atlanta's Matt Bryant finished off the first half against Kansas City with the second-longest field goal of his career - then the Chiefs answer with a touchdown on a faked punt to start the second.

On the field goal, the Chiefs weren't sure the 41-year-old Bryant had the leg to boot it that far, so they sent wide receiver Tyreek Hill into the back of the end zone for a possible return.

But Bryant cleared the crossbar with several yards to spare, cutting Kansas City's lead to 20-16 at the half. The only longer kick in his career: a 62-yarder for Tampa Bay in 2006.

The Falcons forced the Chiefs to punt to start the second half, but wide receiver Albert Wilson went untouched to the end zone for a touchdown that took the air out of the Georgia Dome.

- Paul Newberry reporting from Atlanta

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2:50 p.m.

The Patriots brought back their 2001 team to celebrate their first Super Bowl championship.

Owner Robert Kraft and the players who beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI took the field at halftime of Sunday's game against the now-Los Angeles Rams. Drew Bledsoe told the crowd: ''We are all so proud to be a part of the team that started this tradition of championships in New England.''

His wide receiver, Troy Brown, dropped a naughty word in front of the crowd of 65,000.

The Patriots beat the heavily favored Rams 20-17 on a field goal by Adam Vinatieri as time expired to win their first NFL title. Tom Brady, who took over from Bledsoe when he was injured that season, has led New England to three more Super Bowl championships since then.

Jimmy Golen reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts

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2:35 p.m.

In a game dominated by offense, it was a pick-six by the Chiefs' Eric Berry in the waning seconds of the first half that has helped Kansas City to a 20-16 lead over the Falcons.

In other games involving playoff contenders, Joe Flacco has three touchdown passes as Baltimore leads Miami 24-0; Green Bay leads Houston 7-0 at snowy Lambeau Field; and Matthew Stafford's touchdown pass has Detroit ahead of New Orleans, 13-6.

The Patriots lead St. Louis 17-0 at halftime, so far spoiling newsworthy days for Rams coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead. The team announced both have received contract extensions.

Also at the half Sunday, Chicago leads San Francisco 7-6; Denver leads Jacksonville 10-3; and the Bengals are blanking Carson Wentz and the Eagles, 19-0.

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2:25 p.m.

Randall Cobb is having fun in the snow in Green Bay.

The wide receiver did a snow angel in the end zone after a sliding, 9-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead over the Houston Texans. It was the only score of the first half.

Aaron Rodgers' sore left hamstring appears to be OK. He's had good protection and hasn't been in trouble much against a Texans defense without injured end Jadeveon Clowney.

Footing appears to be an issue with snow falling throughout the half. Houston's Braxton Miller left the game with an apparent right shoulder injury after going down hard to the cold turf, while the Packers' Nick Perry left with a hand injury.

- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin

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2:10 p.m.

Jaguars receiver Allen Robinson continues to help opponents.

Robinson dropped his sixth pass of the season Sunday against Denver. It was also his third that resulted in an interception.

Robinson bobbled a deep pass from Blake Bortles down the left sideline, and it landed in Chris Harris Jr.'s hands for Bortles' 14th interception of the season. Robinson, a Pro Bowl pick last season, also bobbled passes that ended up as picks against Chicago and Oakland earlier this season.

- Mark Long reporting from Jacksonville, Florida

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1:35 p.m.

The Green Bay Packers have taken another hit at the linebacker position after Nick Perry left the game with the Houston Texans early with a hand injury. His return was questionable.

Perry leads the team with eight sacks. The Packers did get starting inside linebacker back Jake Ryan back after he missed two games with an ankle injury, while Clay Matthews appears to be on a limited snap count after hurting his shoulder last week.

The game was scoreless after one quarter at snowy Lambeau Field, where each team lost a fumble.

- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin

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1:30 p.m. ET

It appears that defense is optional between Atlanta and Kansas City.

And neither is opting to play any.

The Falcons raced downfield for a touchdown on their opening possession, only for the Chiefs to go the other way - averaging 18 yards per play - for a touchdown of their own. After they had their point-after blocked, the Falcons answered with a drive that ended inside the 5-year line.

The field goal gave the Falcons a 10-6 lead, though there is likely to be plenty more scoring.

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1:15 p.m. ET

It's beginning to look a lot like December in the NFC North.

It was cold and snowy when the Chicago Bears kicked off to the San Francisco 49ers, and the Green Bay Packers had similar weather for their matchup with the Houston Texans. The forecast for Chicago and Green Bay called for at least a couple of inches of snow and chilly temperatures for the rest of the day.

About an hour before kickoff in Green Bay, a couple Texans scooped up snowballs and threw them at each other - missing their intended targets badly - while jogging on the field as the grounds crew removed the tarp.

In Chicago, where the two-win Bears hosted the one-win Niners, there were lots of prime seats available at the start of the game.

- Jay Cohen reporting from Chicago

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12:30 p.m.

Chicago Bears linebacker Leonard Floyd is active for their game against San Francisco just two weeks after he was removed from a loss against the New York Giants on a stretcher.

Floyd was sidelined by a concussion that sent him to a hospital for evaluation. Floyd, this year's No. 9 overall pick out of Georgia, has five sacks and a fumble recovery in eight games.

Offensive lineman Josh Sitton also is active for the Bears after being sidelined by an ankle injury.

- Jay Cohen reporting from Chicago

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12:00 p.m.

The NFL's 13th Sunday gets underway with eight early afternoon games highlighted by the Kansas City Chiefs visiting the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons lead the NFC South by one game over Tampa Bay, which plays at San Diego in a late afternoon game. The Chiefs are in second place in the AFC West, a game behind the Raiders, who host the Bills in a late afternoon game.

The other 1 p.m. starts are: Detroit at New Orleans, Los Angeles at New England, Denver at Jacksonville, Houston at chilly Green Bay, Philadelphia at Cincinnati, Miami at Baltimore and San Francisco at Chicago.

The other late games are Giants at Pittsburgh and Washington at Arizona. Carolina plays Seattle Sunday night, with Indianapolis at the Jets Monday.

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