Tom Brady sparked the New England Patriots to their seventh consecutive victory in a 34-9 rout of Detroit, while Indianapolis receiver T.Y. Hilton scored a touchdown for his newborn daughter.

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.

Baltimore Ravens have released running back Ray Rice hours after a shocking video surfaced showing the NFL star punching his then-fiancee.

A stunning comeback sent the Indianapolis Colts through to the next round of the NFL play-offs at the expense of the Kansas City Chiefs as the post-season got off to a thrilling start.

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.

Houston coach Gary Kubiak collapsed at half-time and was taken by ambulance to hospital, a chilling blow for the reeling Texans after their best start to a game in months.

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

Yet another sign that I’ve been in America too long — now it’s an NFL coach giving me a lump in the throat.

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.

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.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has welcomed the return of the United States to the sport’s calendar.

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

ARIZONA scored a touchdown off a blocked punt to finish off a wild 30-24 overtime victory over Dallas on Sunday as the NFL produced a flurry of frenetic endings.

SEASON-ENDING victories by the Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans advanced both teams into the NFL playoffs, with reserve quarterbacks named Collins leading each triumph.

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

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.

JOSEPH ADDAI had just run through the New England Patriots’ team picture, the RCA Dome was delirious and the Indianapolis Colts had both momentum and the lead.

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.

Millions tuned in to watch the NFL football Super Bowl, the most-viewed programme all year on American television. Indianapolis beat Chicago in a rainy championship match in Miami that featured a halftime performance by Prince.

SUPER BOWL XLI (41) is the first to feature two black head coaches, but tomorrow night the spotlight will be on the super-powered Indianapolis offence and Chicago’s vaunted defence.

THE New England Patriots last night settled a bitter season-long contest with divisional rivals the New York Jets when they won the wild card match between the two sides at the Gillette Stadium in Boston.

DETROIT shocked Dallas 39-31 to deny the Cowboys the NFC East title on the final day of the NFL’s regular season.

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.

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.

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.

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.

BALTIMORE rallied to shock Cleveland, Cincinnati left their mark on the Steelers and Indianapolis held off Jacksonville as three NFL grudge matches lived up their billings.

PITTSBURGH completed an improbable road sweep of top seeds and Seattle achieved a dream 30 years in the making. Each side won lopsided playoff triumphs on Sunday to book a Super Bowl 40 showdown.

NFL win leader Indianapolis saw a Super Bowl dream end in misery while road triumphs on Sunday allowed bottom-seeds Pittsburgh and Carolina to sustain their title hopes.

PITTSBURGH’S ‘Big Ben’ tolled doom for Cincinnati’s first NFL play-off game in 15 years, while the Carolina Panthers advanced on Sunday with a defensive effort unseen in 25 years.

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.

THE INDIANAPOLIS Colts have a message for the NFL: The Triplets are back and better than ever.

A BEAT UP Patriots defence and a supercharged San Diego offence was enough to hand Super Bowl champions New England their first home defeat in nearly three years during an exciting weekend of National Football League action.

Indianapolis officials have confirmed the United States Grand Prix will go ahead in 2006, revealing they have been given a July 2 date for the race.

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.

THE Tampa Bay Buccaneers have scuppered Atlanta’s hopes of locking up a division title with weeks to spare in the National Football League.

SUPER BOWL berths are at stake tomorrow when the Indianapolis Colts try to avenge a November loss to New England and the jinx-plagued Philadelphia Eagles seek their first title game since 1981.

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.