NFL week 14 recap: Panthers continue unbeaten streak, Patriots stay top of AFC

Denver Broncos blew a 12-point lead to lose to the Oakland Raiders

(Getty Images)

Carolina clinched a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs and remained on track for an unbeaten season by defeating Atlanta 38-0 on Sunday, with quarterback Cam Newton burnishing his MVP credentials by completing 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns.

The Panthers improved to 13-0 and, counting last season, have now won 17 straight regular-season games.

In other key results, Pittsburgh won at Cincinnati to cut the Bengals' lead in the AFC North division to two games with three to play, New England sealed a playoff spot with victory at Houston, and Denver blew a 12-point lead to lose against Oakland.

Carolina's Newton connected on scoring strikes of 74 and 46 yards to Ted Ginn Jr., and Jonathan Stewart ran for a touchdown as the Panthers scored on their first three possessions.

Newton also threw a 4-yard TD pass to Ed Dickson in the final seconds of the first half before leaving for good at the end of the third quarter with Carolina up 38. He finished with a career-high quarterback rating of 153.3.

Carolina's defense forced four turnovers and had five sacks against a struggling Falcons outfit which has slipped from a 6-1 win-loss record to 6-7.

Cincinnati lost 33-20 to nearest division rival Pittsburgh and also saw quarterback Andy Dalton suffer a broken right thumb that could sideline him for weeks.

The Steelers rumbled with the Bengals during pregame warm-ups and then led the whole game, sending Cincinnati to its first lopsided loss of the season.

The game - and potentially Cincinnati's season - turned on one interception. Stephon Truitt picked off Dalton's shovel pass in the first quarter, and the quarterback broke his thumb while making the tackle.

Backup Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron had one of his passes intercepted for a touchdown by William Gay.

Pittsburgh has scored 30 points in five straight games; a franchise record.

New England quarterback Tom Brady threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 27-6 win at Houston.

With the Patriots coming off rare back-to-back losses, Brady led them back to winning ways by throwing TD passes to Keshawn Martin and Rob Gronkowski in the first half.

New England's defense harassed Houston quarterback Brian Hoyer into multiple mistakes. Jabaal Sheard had strip sacks on Hoyer twice after halftime. The Patriots recovered the second one and James White made it 27-6 with a 2-yard run three plays later.

Hoyer left the game to be evaluated for a concussion with about 9 minutes remaining.

Oakland's Khalil Mack had five sacks of Brock Osweiler, including one in the end zone for a safety, as the Raiders overran Buffalo for a 15-12 victory.

The Broncos failed to hold onto a 12-0 halftime lead or several on-target throws from Osweiler, including two big drops by Demaryius Thomas, one that would have delivered a touchdown and another for a late first down.

The mistake that really stung was a drop by a wide-open Vernon Davis at the Oakland 42-yard line on fourth-and-5 with 3:45 left.

Oakland quarterback Derek Carr threw two touchdown passes as the Raiders recovered from a woeful first half when they were held to minus-12 yards; the worst first-half performance by any team in nearly a quarter-century.

Green Bay moved a game clear atop the NFC North by beating Dallas 28-7.

Eddie Lacy ran for 124 yards and a touchdown, while fellow running back James Starks added two scores for the Packers, who had 435 offensive yards and 29 first downs after coach Mike McCarthy assumed play-calling duties again.

The Cowboys dropped to 4-9 but are within two games of the top of the mediocre NFC East.

Seattle moved into position for an NFC wild card by winning 35-6 at an injury-depleted Baltimore.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes, three to Doug Baldwin. Wilson went 23 for 32 for 292 yards. The five TD throws matched a career high and gave him 16 over his past four games.

Baldwin scored on passes of 14, 22 and 16 yards. Tyler Lockett caught TD throws of 8 and 49 yards.

Philadelphia remained in a tie for the top of the NFC East by defeating Buffalo 23-20.

Caleb Sturgis kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:26 left to put the Eagles ahead, then Ed Reynolds intercepted Tyrod Taylor's pass with 1:16 remaining. That ended the Bills quarterback's run of 222 passes without an interception.

Buffalo's LeSean McCoy had 74 yards rushing and 35 receiving in his return to Philadelphia, but his efforts were not enough for the Bills, who fell two games behind in the AFC wild-card race.

St. Louis ended a run of five consecutive defeats by downing Detroit 21-14, with Todd Gurley running for 140 yards and two second-half touchdowns.

Washington's Kirk Cousins threw for 300 yards and a touchdown and the Redskins hung on to beat Chicago 24-21 after Bears kicker Robbie Gould a vital late field goal attempt for the second straight week.

Jacksonville ended Indianapolis' run of 16 consecutive wins against AFC South rivals by routing the Colts 51-16, with Blake Bortles throwing for three touchdowns and running for a score, all in the second half.

Kansas City held on for its seventh straight win and kept up its playoff chase by keeping San Diego out of the end zone twice in the final seconds.

The New York Jets won a third successive game for the first time in four years by beating Tennessee 30-8, thanks to three touchdown passes by Ryan Fitzpatrick.

New Orleans halted a run of four straight losses with a 24-17 win at Tampa Bay, as Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes to Marques Colston.

Cleveland stopped an even longer run of outs, ending a seven-game skid with a 24-10 victory over San Francisco, with quarterback Johnny Manziel shaking off a first-half interception and sideline meltdown in his first start since being benched for off-field antics.

AP