GERMANY:

The Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys booked their places in the play-offs after victories on Sunday while the New England Patriots earned a first round bye for the post-season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers came on strong in the fourth quarter on Sunday night for a 42-21 NFL triumph over Cincinnati that blew open the AFC North division race.

Peyton Manning broke Brett Favre’s all-time record for touchdown passes, leading Denver to a 42-17 rout of San Francisco to cap a scintillating Sunday in the NFL.

Age: 28 

The Green Bay Packers needed their biggest comeback in history on Sunday to somehow keep their play-off hopes alive ahead of the long-awaited return of Aaron Rodgers from injury.

A win over divisional rivals Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday evening saw the Denver Broncos emerge from the toughest part of their NFL campaign relatively unscathed and in poll position in the AFC and will now retain home advantage throughout January’s play-offs.

Unstoppable Peyton Manning continued his electric start to the NFL season by throwing four touchdown passes as the Denver Broncos moved to 4-0 with a 52-20 crushing of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Any fears that austerity might take the wind out of the sales were banished yesterday as bargain hunters flocked in their thousands to major stores and retail outlets around the country.

As the NFL heads into December, nearly every division race has an outright favourite.

Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes on Sunday to help Pittsburgh beat the New York Giants 24-20 in an NFL game played with Hurricane Sandy’s devastation as a backdrop.

Late field goals kept the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals undefeated while Houston won a rout to also stay perfect four weeks into the season.

Hours after his younger brother’s death in a motorcycle accident, Torrey Smith caught six passes for 127 yards and scored two touchdowns to spark Baltimore to a last-play 31-30 NFL win over New England.

Peyton Manning made a sparkling return after a year’s injury absence from the NFL, leading Denver to a 31-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in his Broncos debut.

IN A win that evoked their Superbowl triumph from the 2007 season, the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in dramatic fashion on Sunday with a touchdown pass from Eli Manning in the final seconds.

THE New Orleans Saints suffered a shock 31-21 defeat to the previously winless St Louis Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New England Patriots in NFL action on Sunday.

God knows our little-stitious rugby stars may need every bit of luck we can rub together, deep behind enemy lines

SUPER Bowl champions The New York Giants shrugged off the latest publicity surrounding absent receiver Plaxico Burress to defeat Washington 23-7 on Sunday.

THE Tennessee Titans remained unbeaten in the NFL as Rob Bironas booted a 41-yards field goal to seal a 19-16 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

DEFENDING champions New York struggled to score on Sunday but they managed a touchdown when it mattered most to defeat Pittsburgh 21-14 in a showdown of division leaders.

THE Arizona Cardinals ended the Buffalo Bills’ unbeaten start to the season with a surprisingly easy 41-17 victory in Week 5 of the NFL.

BRETT FAVRE has returned to his record-setting ways with the New York Jets as Washington rocked old rivals Dallas in the NFL.

MIAMI snapped New England’s record regular season win streak as Ronnie Brown romped for four touchdowns and passed for another in the Dolphins’ 35-13 shocking win over the Patriots on Sunday.

WHILE New England try to complete the first undefeated NFL regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, Washington and Tennessee will attempt to simply reach the playoffs.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS secured a record 15th successive victory in the NFL with a 28-7 success against Miami Dolphins.

THE New England Patriots continued their historic charge on Sunday by overcoming a winter blast of snow to beat the New York Jets 20-10 and extend their season record to 14-0.

NEW ENGLAND preserved their perfect NFL season on Sunday, while Dallas, Green Bay and Seattle locked up divisional titles and Indianapolis booked their playoff berth.

PEYTON MANNING threw for four touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts edged Jacksonville 28-25 to deny the Jaguars a share of the NFL AFC South division lead.

THE PHILADELPHIA Eagles gave the rest of the NFL a smidgen of hope on Sunday night: they showed the New England Patriots can be vulnerable.

THE NEW England Patriots are showing no mercy to any opponent, not even the Buffalo Bills, a team for which coach Bill Belichick has publicly expressed affection.

ATLANTA FALCONS kicker Morten Andersen became the first NFL player to pass 2,500 career points on Sunday night.

NEW ENGLAND’S Tom Brady threw a team-record six touchdown passes and Tennessee’s Rob Bironas kicked a NFL-record eight field goals to spark impressive triumphs on Sunday.

BRETT FAVRE broke Dan Marino’s National Football League record for career touchdown passes, inspiring the unbeaten Packers to a 23-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

LADAINIAN TOMLINSON seized the NFL single-season record for touchdowns on Sunday as the San Diego Chargers captured the AFC West division crown.

TOM BRADY threw for 269 yards and a touchdown, while Asante Samuel picked off three passes as the New England Patriots beat Chicago 17-13 in a showdown of American football division leaders on Sunday.

UNDEFEATED Indianapolis and once-beaten Chicago made National Football League history Sunday in proving themselves the teams to beat for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

THE Miami Dolphins stunned the Chicago Bears on Sunday, leaving the Indianapolis Colts to emerge from the day’s action as the lone unbeaten team in the NFL.

ATLANTA, Kansas City and Tampa Bay all won their NFL games in dramatic fashion Sunday with late field goals, including Matt Bryant’s 62-yarder as time expired to lift the Bucs over Philadelphia.

THREE touchdowns off six turnovers sparked Washington past Philadelphia 31-20 on Sunday, launching the Redskins into the NFL play-offs for the first time in six seasons.

WHILE Cincinnati and the New York Giants battled to key division victories in the NFL on Sunday, Indianapolis remained unbeaten and clinched a play-off berth.

NEW YORK Jets quarterback Chad Pennington dug himself and his team out of a hole in the fourth quarter on Sunday night to hand coach Herman Edwards his first victory of the fledgling NFL season.

Buffalo Bills are set to release Drew Bledsoe after the veteran quarterback was not guaranteed a starting role in the team’s line-up, according to reports.

ST LOUIS and Denver got the victories they needed, while Minnesota and the New York Jets didn’t have to win to book their play-off berths as the National Football League regular season ended on Sunday.