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UNDATED (AP) — The Carolina Panthers are 12-0 for the first time in franchise history, but it wasn't easy. Cam Newton passed for five touchdowns, capped by a 15-yard scoring strike to Jerricho Cotchery with 1:05 left to give the Panthers a hard-fought 41-38 win over the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome. Newton was 28 of 41 for 331 yards, but twice had to lead the Panthers back from fourth-quarter deficits against the 4-8 Saints.
In other Week 13 action:
— The New England Patriots have blown 14-point leads for two consecutive weeks and now they've blown their lead in the AFC playoff race, too The Pats lost 35-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Tom Brady and the Patriots have fallen into a three-way tie with the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals for best record in the AFC at 10-2. Najee Goode scored on a blocked punt, Malcolm Jenkins returned an interception 99 yards for another touchdown. It's the first time the Pats have lost back-to-back regular season games since 2012.
— First place in the NFC North is now shared by Green Bay and Minnesota as each team is 8-4. The Vikings lost their half-game lead over the Packers with their 38-7 loss at home to Seattle. Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another as the Seahawks improved to 7-5 with their third straight win. NFL rushing leader Adrian Peterson was limited to 18 yards on eight carries in the loss.
— The Bengals completed a season sweep of the in-state rival Browns with a 37-3 blitzing in Cleveland. Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score as the Bengals improved to 10-2. The hapless Browns, who have lost seven in a row, are a league worst 2-10.
— NFC West leader Arizona is 10-2 after a 27-3 victory over the Rams in St. Louis. Larry Fitzgerald hauled in his 1,000th career reception in the game for the Cards and went over 1,000 yards in receiving yards this season. He has now achieved that milestone seven times. Arizona has now won six in a row and seven of eight since losing at home to the Rams in Week 4. The Rams, who are 4-8, have lost five in a row and have been outscored 58-10 in their last two.
— The Buffalo Bills improved their playoff chances with a 30-21 win over the Texans in Buffalo. Tyrod Taylor threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Charles Clay with 1:53 left to give the Bills the lead and victory. Taylor finished 11 of 21 for 211 yards and three TDs. He also scored on an 8-yard run as the Bills improved to 6-6 by putting to an end a two-game losing streak. For the 6-6 Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer finished 26 of 44 for 293 yards with three touchdowns.
— Randy Bullock kicked a 31-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime to give the Jets a 23-20 win over the Giants, who have lost three straight. The 7-5 Jets didn't seal the win until Josh Brown of the Giants missed a 48-yard field goal field goal with 6:33 left in the extra session, his first miss in 26 attempts this season. Ryan Fitzpatrick rallied the Jets from a 10-point deficit in the final 4:24 of regulation to force the OT session. Fitzpatrick hit Brandon Marshall for a 9-yard touchdown with 27 seconds remaining to tie it and went 36 for 50 for 390 yards.
— The Miami Dolphins intercepted a pair of deflected passes from Ravens quarterback Matt Schaub to score two touchdowns 20 seconds apart late in the first half in a 15-13 win. The Dolphins improved to 5-7 and 4-4 under interim coach Dan Campbell. The win put to an end a streak of five consecutive losses to the 4-8 Ravens.
— Marcus Mariota (mar-ee-OH'-tah) of the Titans had a good day as they snapped an 11-game home losing streak at the expense of the Jaguars. Mariota scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 87-yard run midway through a wild fourth quarter in Tennessee's 42-39 win. The 3-9 Titans had not won on their own field since Oct. 12, 2014, when they needed a blocked field goal to beat the Jags 16-14. Mariota finished with 112 yards rushing along with three touchdown passes and 268 yards in the air.
— Blaine Gabbert threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith in overtime after running for the tying TD late in regulation as the 49ers got the better of the Bears in Chicago 26-20. The win gives the Niners a mark of 4-8 while the Bears dropped to 5-7.
— Jameis (JAYM'-ihs) Winston threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 1:39 remaining to give the Buccaneers a 23-19 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft also scored on a 5-yard run and scrambled up the middle of the field 20 yards on third-and-19 to prolong the third game-winning drive of his young career. Winston completed 18 of 27 passes for 227 yards as the Bucs improved to 6-6 while the Falcons, who've lost five in a row, fell to 6-6.
— Brock Osweiler is 3-0 in relief of injured Peyton Manning. He threw for one touchdown and Danny Trevathan intercepted Philip Rivers and returned it 25 yards for a score in the Denver Broncos' 17-3 victory against the hapless San Diego Chargers. The 10-2 Broncos stay atop the AFC West. San Diego falls to 3-9.
— Jeremy Maclin had two touchdowns catches after fourth-quarter interceptions and Tyvon Branch returned a third interception from Derek Carr for a game-clinching score against his former team and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied for their sixth straight win, 34-20 over the Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs improved to 7-5 while the Raiders fell to 5-7. KC leads the AFC wild card chase.
— The Pittsburgh Steelers ended the Indianapolis Colts' three-game winning streak in a big way, 45-10. That dropped the Colts into a tie with Houston at 6-6 atop the AFC South. The Steelers are 7-5 and tied with Kansas City for the AFC wild cards. Ben Roethlisberger (RAWTH'-lihs-bur-gur) threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns. The bloom came off of 40-year-old Colts backup QB Matt Hasselbeck, who had been 3-0 in relief of injured Andrew Luck. Hasselbeck threw a pair of interceptions, fumbled once and was sacked twice. Antonio Brown caught two TD passes and returned a punt 74 yards for a TD. The Steelers hold a 21-6 all-time lead over the Colts in this series.
The Monday Night game features two NFC East clubs as the Cowboys visit the Redskins. Despite the fact each team is under .500, the Redskins 5-6 and the Cowboys 3-8, each is still alive in the division race.
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