NFL: Patriots rally to hog-tie Denver Broncos

Quarterback Tom Brady's Patriots rallied to score 27 unanswered points yesterday as New England defeated the Denver Broncos 41-23 to clinch an NFL post-season berth.

New England captured their ninth AFC East title in the past 11 years and snapped the Broncos' superb winning streak at six straight.

Brady completed 23 of 34 passes for 320 yards with two touchdown passes for the Patriots, who bounced back from a 17-6 deficit early in the game. Brady also ran for a touchdown.

"We knew it was going to a 60-minute game," Brady said. "I thought we played well for 60 minutes for the first time this season."

Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow got off to a fast start as Denver outgunned the Patriots 167-4 in the first quarter.

But this time there were no last-minute heroics from Tebow, who fizzled in the second half and at one point in the final quarter was sacked for a whopping 28-yard loss.

Tebow was a disappointing 11 of 22 for 194 yards. Under pressure from the Patriots' pass rush, he ran 12 times for 93 yards. The loss dropped the Broncos to 8-6 on the season.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford tossed a six-yard touchdown strike to Calvin Johnson with 39 seconds remaining to cap a 98-yard scoring drive as the Detroit Lions rallied to beat the Oakland Raiders 28-27.

In another key game, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky said he was not about to go through another 0-16 season. "I think in my career I've learned not to take them [wins] for granted," Orlovsky said.

The Colts beat Tennessee 27-13 to earn their first win of the season after losing the first 13 games with star quarterback Peyton Manning on the injured list.

Orlovsky, a seven-year veteran, was with Detroit in 2008 when the Lions finished 0-16 on the season.

He tossed one touchdown pass against Tennessee.

It was the Colts' first win in 14 years without Peyton Manning.

Green Bay's perfect season came to a shock end as the Kansas City Chiefs rallied behind quarterback Kyle Orton for a 19-14 victory.

The defeat snapped the reigning Super Bowl champion Packers' overall win streak at 19 games as Green Bay dropped to 13-1 on the 2011 season.

Orton completed 23 of 31 passes for 299 yards in his first start for Kansas City, who sacked head coach Todd Haley after the team dropped five of its last six games.

- AAP