Tom Brady conjured a last-gasp Houdini act to save the New England Patriots in a thrilling win over the Houston Texans on Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons preserved their unbeaten record.

The Carolina Panthers bounced back to winning ways with a 30-20 NFL victory over the Arizona Cardinals at the Bank of America Stadium.

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.

The start of a new American Football season rekindled some old — and troubling — issues for the NFL.

Some of the stranger stories from around the world

The Carolina Panthers withstood a furious second half comeback from the Seattle Seahawks last night to win 31-24 and set up a National Football Conference championship showdown against the Arizona Cardinals.

Quarterback Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and his Carolina Panthers pummelled the Atlanta Falcons 38-0 on Sunday to earn an NFL playoff first-round bye.

Quarterback Cam Newton threw five touchdown passes to lead the Carolina Panthers to a 10th straight NFL victory on Sunday, a 44-16 pounding of the Washington Redskins.

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.

Basketball: Portlaoise Panthers 63 Oblate Dynamos 48: Women’s Senior Cup

American Football

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.

US federal agents conducted surprise inspections of National Football League team doctors and trainers on Sunday as part of an ongoing probe into painkiller drug abuse, the US media reported on Sunday.

Spoiler: Seagull loses.

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.

The Patriots, Saints and Dolphins joined the Kansas Chiefs with their third straight victories of the new season while the New York Giants and Washington Redskins were left wondering where their first wins will come from after embarrassing defeats.

It’s December.

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher today committed suicide outside the club’s Arrowhead Stadium home minutes after shooting and killing his girlfriend, authorities have confirmed.

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.

TOM BRADY threw three touchdowns as the New England Patriots crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20 and Tim Tebow led the Denver Broncos to their fourth straight win in National Football League action on Sunday.

POLICE in riot gear rushed a downtown street to break up a standoff between hundreds of black and white extremists who exchanged screams of “Black power!” and “White power!” during a protest over the state’s handling of the case of a black man who was run over and dragged by a vehicle.

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

RICHARD ZEDNIK felt a stabbing pain in his neck and knew he had to get to the bench — fast.

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.

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.

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.

CAROLINA quarterback Jake Delhomme was sacked eight times as the marauding Chicago defence made sure the Bears beat the Panthers 13-3 in a meeting of the NFC’s hottest two teams.

THE Cowboys and the Jaguars worked overtime for NFL victories on Sunday.

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.

New Zealand have added Melbourne Storm prop Alex Chan to their squad for the English leg of the Gillette Tri-Nations series.