A kicker’s lot is proof that, sometimes, there is an ‘I’ in ‘team’. I miss. We lose.

PEYTON MANNING has a championship game to be at next weekend after all. He can go watch baby brother Eli guide the New York Giants.

GREEN Bay quarterback Brett Favre marked another NFL milestone as he guided the Packers to a 31-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

SOME of his team-mates couldn’t watch David Akers when he lined up for the winning kick, preferring to let the crowd’s reaction tell the outcome.

AMERICAN football’s National Football League regular season concludes with a mad dash for the playoffs this weekend, with 11 teams still chasing three postseason berths.

THE Indianapolis Colts, the only team in NFL history to start 9-0 in consecutive seasons, fell to the upstart Dallas Cowboys 21-14 on Sunday.

INDIANAPOLIS Colts quarterback Peyton Manning provided the fourth-quarter heroics, Santana Moss’s overtime catch won it for the Washington Redskins and the Baltimore Ravens rallied to win the clash of unbeaten teams.

AFTER all the star pass-catchers who graced Monday Night Football for 35 years, the final memorable receiving performance was left to a linebacker.

WHILE the Indianapolis Colts took another step towards perfection, the defending NFC champions Philadelphia Eagles hit the end of their road to the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

NEW ENGLAND Patriots boss Bill Belichick is fuming about the sub-standard practice facilities his players have been given in the build-up to Sunday’s Superbowl XXXIX against Philadelphia in Jacksonville.

SEEKING a third Super Bowl crown in four years, the New England Patriots made an early start to their NFL campaign last night in the American football season opener.

The New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers will meet at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas for Super Bowl XXXVIII.

COLTS quarterback Peyton Manning is well on his way to building a National Football League post season reputation, piloting Indianapolis to a 38-31 triumph over Kansas City on Sunday to reach the American Conference championship game.

REIGNING Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers nearly dug themselves out of a huge hole, but finally saw their NFL playoff hopes buried in a 30-28 loss to Atlanta at the weekend.

THE New England Patriots became the first team to clinch a divisional title and the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs earned play-off berths in Week 14 of the NFL.

THE San Diego Chargers hadn’t a prayer bidding to stop Priest Holmes.

RICKY WILLIAMS carried a franchise-record 42 times for 153 yards and a touchdown and Miami used an overwhelming defensive performance to post a 17-7 victory over AFC East rivals Buffalo in the NFL on Sunday night.

KURT WARNER was hospitalised with concussion and coaches Dave Wannstedt and Bill Belichick were also suffering with major headaches after the first weekend of American Football’s NFL season.

TAMPA Bay broke the bank to get coach Jon Gruden from Oakland last year, and next Sunday Gruden will lead the Buccaneers in their first Super Bowl — against a Raiders team he himself shaped.

GARY ANDERSON made what could be his final kick at the Metrodome a memorable one.