Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell rushes for 236 yards in win
Le’Veon Bell scored three times and set a franchise record with 236 yards rushing in finding traction on a slick, snow-covered field as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Bills 27-20 in Buffalo on Sunday.
The Steelers overcame three interceptions from Ben Roethlisberger to win their fourth straight and improve to 8-5, keeping pace in the AFC playoff race.
The loss all but mathematically eliminated the Bills (6-7) from contention, and puts them in jeopardy of extending the NFL’s longest active playoff drought to 17 years, the longest since New Orleans ended a 20-year drought with their first postseason appearance in 1987.
Lamar Miller scored the only touchdown for visiting Houston, and the Texans defense stopped Andrew Luck on Indianapolis’ final drive of the game to end a three-game losing streak.
Houston (7-6) retained a share of the AFC South lead and got its their first sweep of the Colts in franchise history.
Streaking Tampa Bay bolstered its playoff hopes by building an early lead and holding off Drew Brees and visiting New Orleans (5-8) for its fifth straight victory.
Doug Martin scored on a 1-yard run, Roberto Aguayo kicked three field goals and an improving defense intercepted Brees three times while holding the NFL passing leader without a touchdown pass.
Safety Keith Tandy picked off the quarterback’s final pass on 4th-and-1 from near midfield in the final minute.
Matt Asiata scored on a short touchdown run, Kai Forbath kicked four field goals and visiting Minnesota (7-6) won for just the second time in nine weeks.
Cam Newton was 10-for-27 for 160 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception for host Carolina (5-8), which snapped a two-game skid and kept its slim playoff hopes alive.
Despite missing middle linebacker Luke Kuechly and defensive end Charles Johnson, the Panthers had four sacks on Rivers and forced three turnovers in the first half to build a 23-7 lead over San Diego (5-8).
Matt Barkley completed two passes that put the Bears in a position to attempt a tying field goal in the final minute, but both were negated by penalties before Chicago turned over the ball on downs from the Detroit 44.