American football: Patriots clinch divisional honours

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.

It was also a memorable day for 11-time Pro Bowl defensive end Bruce Smith, who became the NFL’s all-time sack leader.

With snow falling throughout most of the game and a bitter wind chill at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots sealed their second AFC East title in three seasons under coach Bill Belichick with a 12-0 victory over Miami Dolphins.

The win was the ninth in-a-row for New England (11-2), who recorded their second straight home shutout and tied Kansas City (11-2) for the best record in the NFL.

The Dolphins (8-5) were coming off a 40-21 Thanksgiving Day win at Dallas, but had no success against Belichick’s defensive scheme.

Nine of New England’s 12 points came from the defence as linebacker Tedy Bruschi returned an interception five yards for a touchdown with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter and Jarvis Green tackled quarterback Jay Fiedler in the end zone for a safety with 1:13 remaining.

“We wanted to finish it (the division) today, on our own terms and get the hats and t-shirts in our lockers,” said Bruschi .

Bruschi’s touchdown prompted many of 45,738 fans to celebrate by flinging powdery snow into the wind.

The Chiefs couldn’t stop Clinton Portis and fell to the Denver Broncos, 45-27. But Miami’s loss clinched at least a play-off spot for the Chiefs, who lead Denver (8-5) by three games with three to play in the AFC West.

Donovan McNabb has the Philadelphia Eagles on the verge of another division title.

McNabb threw three touchdown passes as the Eagles ran their winning streak to eight games and clinched a play-off berth with a 36-10 rout of the Dallas Cowboys.

Sparked by McNabb, the Eagles (10-3) returned to the play-offs for the fourth straight season and moved two games ahead of the Cowboys (8-5) in the NFC East with three games left.

“Everything we’ve been through early in the year and up until this point has been a little different,” said McNabb, who completed 19-of-35 passes for 248 yards.

In Baltimore, Jamal Lewis simply ran over and around the Cincinnati Bengals.

Lewis rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns for his sixth straight 100-yard rushing effort against the Bengals as the Baltimore Ravens gained sole possession of first place in the AFC North with a 31-13 victory.

The Ravens (8-5) avenged a 34-26 loss in Cincinnati in October, snapped the Bengals’ four-game winning streak and spoiled the homecoming of Cincinnati rookie coach Marvin Lewis, Baltimore’s former defensive coordinator.

Smith, the 11-time Pro Bowl defensive end, became the NFL’s all-time career sacks leader with 199 in the Washington Redskins’ 20-7 victory over the New York Giants in a battle of NFC East rivals.

Defending Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) kept their slim play-off hopes alive with a 14-7 win over the New Orleans Saints (6-7). Both trail the Panthers by two games.

In other games, the San Francisco 49ers rolled to a 50-14 rout of the Arizona Cardinals; the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders, 27-7; the Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets, 17-6; the Jacksonville Jaguars blanked the Houston Texans, 27-0 and the San Diego Chargers posted a 14-7 victory over the Detroit Lions.