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Sudden stumbles

Dallas Cowboys place kicker David Buehler (18) kicks a 38-yard field goal out of the hold of punter Mat McBriar (1) in overtime to defeat the Indianapolis Colts, 38-35, in an NFL football game in Indianapolis.

The San Diego Chargers don't lose in December, when they prove they own the AFC West. The Indianapolis Colts usually clinch the AFC South before Christmas.

On Sunday, both teams saw their division title hopes take huge hits, and with wild-card aspirations farfetched, their chances of making the playoffs diminished, too.

Oakland, which snapped a 13-game slide against San Diego on Oct. 10, swept the season series for the first time since 2001 with a 28-13 victory. The Chargers' streak of 18 straight December victories, which tied an NFL record for most victories in any month, came to a thudding end.

San Diego (6-6) had won four in a row, but now is tied with Oakland in a division Kansas City leads by two games.

“Everyone was talking all week long about the hottest team in football and on and on,” Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour said. “We give them a lot of credit. They are a good football team, but we just understand what we need to in order to beat these guys. And we give a lot of credit to the offensive line. We just wanted to run it at them.”

Oakland did, piling up 251 yards. Darren McFadden ran for 97 yards and a TD, and Michael Bush rushed for 95 yards and a score.

Dallas was nearly as effective with the run in stunning Indianapolis 38-35 in overtime. Dallas (4-8) rushed for a season-high 217 yards and led most of the way thanks to Peyton Manning's four interceptions, two returned for TDs — by Sean Lee and Orlando Scandrick. The Colts (6-6), undefeated at this point a year ago, fell one game behind first-place Jacksonville in the AFC South.

“We certainly have put ourselves in a hole,” Manning said after Lee's second interception set up David Buehler's winning 38-yard field goal. “Unfortunately, we have to scoreboard-watch a little bit and that's not a situation you want to be in. I'm disappointed that I've put our team in a hole, but we do have some division games left.”

The defending conference champs might need to win every remaining game to get into the postseason.

Elsewhere, Brett Favre lasted only one series in Minnesota before damaging his right shoulder. Tarvaris Jackson threw three picks, but also hit Sidney Rice for two scores in a 38-14 win against Buffalo. Favre sprained his throwing shoulder after getting crunched by linebacker Arthur Moats, an injury that leaves the Vikings quarterback unsure whether he will be able to start his 298th straight regular-season game next week.

Raiders 28, Chargers 13At San Diego, Jason Campbell ran for a touchdown and threw for another as the Raiders overcame 13 penalties for 105 yards. The Chargers had a season-low 286 yards in total offense and Philip Rivers was sacked four times.

Cowboys 38, Colts 35At Indianapolis, four-time MVP Manning finished 36 of 48 for 365 yards with two touchdowns and his second straight four-interception game as the Colts dropped their third in a row. He's thrown a career-high 11 picks in the past three weeks, four going back for TDs.

Vikings 38, Bills 14At Minneapolis, Adrian Peterson rushed for 107 yards and three touchdowns on a gimpy right ankle for the Vikings (5-7), who are 2-0 under interim head coach Leslie Frazier.

Chiefs 10, Broncos 6At Kansas City, Jamaal Charles rushed for 116 yards and Matt Cassel threw a 3-yard pass to Leonard Pope for the only touchdown for the Chiefs (8-4).Knowshon Moreno ran for 161 yards for the Broncos (3-9).

Falcons 28, Bucs 24At Tampa, Eric Weems scored on a 102-yard kickoff return and Matt Ryan threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins as Atlanta rallied from a 10-point deficit for its sixth straight victory.Ryan led his sixth fourth-quarter comeback of the season for the NFC South leaders, and the Falcons (10-2) benefited from costly penalties on the Bucs.

Saints 34, Bengals 30At Cincinnati, Drew Brees threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston with 31 seconds left, rallying New Orleans to its fifth straight victory.The Saints (9-3) trailed for the first time after newcomer Clint Stitser made a 47-yard field goal with 4:25 to go, putting the Bengals (2-10) up 30-27.

Jaguars 17, Titans 6Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for a career-best 186 yards and Rashad Jennings and David Garrard each ran for a touchdown. The win allowed the host Jaguars to take over first-place in the AFC South.

Bears 24, Lions 20At Detroit, Jay Cutler threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Brandon Manumaleuna one play after a questionable call midway through the fourth quarter.

Packers 34, 49ers 16Donald Driver's catch-and-run for a 61-yard touchdown broke open a tight game in the third quarter.

Seahawks 31, Panthers 14At Seattle, Marshawn Lynch rushed for a career-high three touchdowns, Lofa Tatupu returned an interception 26 yards and Seattle used a 21-point third quarter.

Rams 19, Cardinals 6Steven Jackson ran for 102 yards, including 27 on the game's lone touchdown, and Josh Brown kicked four field goals as St. Louis (6-6) won consecutive road games for the first time in more than three years.

Giants 31, Redskins 7Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw ran for two touchdowns apiece. Jacobs ran eight times for 103 yards and scored on jaunts of 8 and 28 yards, while Bradshaw had 97 yards and TD runs of 4 and 10 yards as the Giants (8-4) moved back into first-place tie.

Browns 13, Dolphins 10At Miami, Mike Adams' interception set up a short field goal on the final play, and Cleveland overcame a comedy of errors.When Browns lineman David Bowens deflected Chad Henne's third-down pass, Adams snatched the ball and ran 25 yards to the 2. Phil Dawson kicked a 23-yard field goal.Cleveland (5-7) won for the fourth time in six games, and for the first time in Miami since 1970. The Dolphins (6-6) lost for the seventh time in their past eight home games.

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