The Carolina Panthers’ poor start to the season continued as they crashed to a third defeat in four matches after going down 48-33 to the Atlanta Falcons.

Tom Brady threw for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and notched a career rushing first, leading New England to a 30-23 win over the New York Jets that kept the Patriots unbeaten this NFL season.

On Monday, the Boston Celtics were the surprising beneficiaries of one of the most generous systems in professional sport.

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.

Andrew Luck enjoyed a landmark day as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Washington Redskins 49-27 on Sunday.

Chicago Bears’ defensive end Lamarr Houston will miss the rest of the season after a freak injury while celebrating a sack.

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.

The NFL play-off picture was completed on Sunday with a dramatic final series of regular season games delivering big results for the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers.

Burgundy College

The New England Patriots claimed their 10th consecutive NFL season-opening win when Stephen Gostkowski hit a 35-yard field goal with five seconds left to beat the Buffalo Bills 23-21.

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

Atlanta remained undefeated, Tom Brady won the battle of the marquee quarterbacks and Drew Brees had a record-setting day in week five of the National Football League season.

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.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw a career-best 510 yards to lead the reigning Super Bowl champions to their first win of the NFL season on Sunday.

THE New York Giants have a habit of beating the Superbowl favourites.

THE Green Bay Packers suffered a shock 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, shattering their hopes of a perfect season as three more teams joined them in the National Football League (NFL) playoffs.

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.

CARLOS BOOZER led the Chicago Bulls to victory after a superb late fightback by the Detroit Pistons took the game to overtime.

New Orleans Saints clinched the Super Bowl XLIV today in a victory hailed as the most popular in the history of the competition.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Officials ended their door-to-door sweep for corpses, finding far fewer bodies than once feared and school children returned to classes as New Orleans revved up efforts to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

TO the estimated 10,000 residents still holed up in this ruined city, the mayor had a blunt new warning: get out now or risk being taken out by force.

BRETT FAVRE and Green Bay are headed to the National Football League play-offs again, but the three-time Most Valuable Player lost his mantle of invincibility in the cold at Lambeau Field on Sunday night.

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