Tom Brady and the New England Patriots shut down Tim Tebow and clinched a playoff berth with a 41-23 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

The Patriots (11-3) won their sixth consecutive game and another AFC East title by bouncing back from an early 17-6 deficit and an awful first quarter in which they were outgained on the ground 167 yards to 4.

This time, there was no last-minute magic from Tebow, the enigmatic quarterback who had guided the Broncos (8-6) to four consecutive fourth-quarter comebacks and six wins in a row.

Instead of another slow start followed by a fantastic finish, the Broncos started out fast and then fizzled. They scored on their first three possessions, then were done in by a trio of second-quarter turnovers.

 

The Indianapolis Colts are winless no longer.

Dan Orlovsky threw one touchdown pass and the key block on an 80-yard TD run, leading the Colts to their first win of the season, 27-13 over Tennessee on Sunday.

Indianapolis (1-13) avoided becoming the second team in NFL history to go 0-16.

The loss dealt a serious blow to the Titans’ playoff hopes. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was picked off twice, and Chris Johnson rushed for just 55 yards for Tennessee (7-7).

Orlovsky gave Indy a 10-6 lead with an 18-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne in the third quarter, and Jacob Lacey made it 17-6 with a 32-yard interception return for a TD.

Jake Locker got the Titans within 20-13 with a 7-yard TD pass to Nate Washington with 3:43 to go.

But on the next play, with Donald Brown reversing field, Orlovsky threw a block that helped Brown get to the corner, and he sprinted 80 yards to seal the win.

Cam Newton threw two touchdown passes, DeAngelo Williams ran for a score and the Carolina Panthers ended Houston’s seven-game winning streak with a 28-13 win over the Texans on Sunday.

Newton completed 13 of 23 passes for 149 yards, outplaying opposing rookie quarterback T.J. Yates. The Panthers (5-9) built a 21-0 halftime lead, then ended Houston’s second-half rally when linebacker James Anderson intercepted Yates in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter.

The Texans (10-4) are playing for home-field advantage in the playoffs after clinching the AFC South last weekend.

But their top-ranked defense looked vulnerable without coordinator Wade Phillips, who’s on medical leave after undergoing kidney and gall bladder surgery this week. Linebackers coach Reggie Herring made the defensive calls on Sunday.

Tony Romo threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score Saturday night, helping the Dallas Cowboys stop a two-game losing streak with a 31-15 victory over the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The win gave the Cowboys (8-6) a half-game lead over the New York Giants in the NFC East. The Bucs (4-10) lost for the eighth straight time.

Romo threw a pair of 8-yard TD passes to Miles Austin and Dez Bryant in the first quarter, then finished a seven-play, 89-yard drive with a 9-yarder to Laurent Robinson to make it 21-0 with just under 5 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Romo made it 28-0 on a quarterback sneak in the closing seconds of the opening half.