New Orleans Saints Take First Place in NFC South + More NFL News

UNDATED (AP) — The New Orleans Saints have regained sole possession of first place in the NFC South following a strong offensive showing against the second-place Panthers.

Rookie Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram and Drew Brees (breez) led the Saints to a 31-21 home win against Carolina, leaving New Orleans 9-3 and one game ahead of the Panthers. Kamara carried nine times for 60 yards, including a pair of tackle-shedding touchdowns. Ingram rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown, while Brees threw for 269 yards and a score in the Saints' ninth win in 10 games.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton passed for 183 yards and touchdowns of 21 yards to Christian McCaffrey and 24 yards to Devin Funchess.

Week 13 of the NFL season also produced these finals:

— The Seahawks put an end to the Eagles' nine-game winning streak by getting three touchdown passes from Russell Wilson in a 24-10 win against Philadelphia at Seattle. Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz threw for 348 yards and a touchdown, but he also had an interception and a costly fumble at the Seattle 1 on the opening drive of the second half. The Eagles dropped to 10-2 after entering the game as the league's highest-scoring team at 31.9 points a game.

— The Vikings picked up their eighth straight win as Case Keenum threw for two touchdowns and Minnesota kept Atlanta out of the end zone in a 14-9 victory against the Falcons. Keenum was 25 of 30 for 227 yards, hitting Jerick McKinnon and Kyle Rudolph for short TDs. The Vikings trailed 9-7 early in the third quarter before improving to 10-2 and dropping the Falcons to 7-5.

— The Rams clinched their first winning season in 14 years behind Jared Goff's 220 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 32-16 victory at Arizona. Los Angeles took control by scoring 16 early points and intercepting Blaine Gabbert twice, including Alec Ogletree's 41-yard return for a TD. Todd Gurley ran for 74 yards and had 84 receiving yards for the 9-3 Rams.

— Rex Burkhead ran for 78 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns as the Patriots earned their eighth straight win, 23-3 at Buffalo. Stephen Gostkowski hit three field goals in the first half, and Tom Brady was 21 of 30 for 258 yards and one interception while New England's defense held the Bills to 268 total yards. The 10-2 Pats earned their 14th consecutive road win and dropped Buffalo to 6-6.

— Blake Bortles threw two touchdown passes and Leonard Fournette scored for the first time in six weeks as the Jaguars whipped the Colts 30-10 to improve to 8-4. Bortles completed 26 of 35 passes for 309 yards, with TD passes to Marqise Lee and Keelan Cole. The Jags have their first eight-win season since 2010 and remain tied with Tennessee atop the AFC South.

— The Titans won for the sixth time in seven games as Marcus Mariota (mar-ee-OH'-tah) ran for a touchdown and threw for another in a 24-13 decision over the Texans. LeShaun Sims intercepted a pass in the end zone with 1:02 left to keep Tennessee ahead. Derrick Henry ran for 109 yards and clinched the victory with a 75-yard scoring run in the final minute.

— The Raiders are now part of a three-way tie for first with Kansas City and Los Angeles in the AFC West. Marshawn Lynch rumbled 51 yards for a TD and finished with a season-high 101 yards as Oakland beat the Giants 24-17. Derek Carr finished 22 for 36 for 287 yards and a score to help the 6-6 Raiders get their second straight victory.

— Philip Rivers passed for 344 yards and hit Keenan Allen for a touchdown in the Chargers' 19-10 verdict over the winless Browns. Allen had 10 catches for 105 yards in the Chargers' sixth win in eight games since an 0-4 start. New kicker Travis Coons hit four field goals for Los Angeles, which handed Cleveland its 12th loss of the year.

— The Jets pulled out a 38-31 win over the slumping Chiefs on Josh McCown's one-yard sneak with 2:15 left. McCown ran for two scores and threw for 331 yards, including a TD to Matt Forte as New York improved to 5-7. Travis Kelce grabbed a pair of scoring passes from Alex Smith to put Kansas City ahead 14-0 4 ½ minutes into the game, but the Chiefs dropped to 6-6 with their sixth loss in seven games.

— The Ravens hammered the Lions 44-20 as Joe Flacco completed 23 of his 36 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Baltimore put it out of reach with a 24-point fourth quarter and improved to 7-5 to take control of the second AFC wild-card spot. The Lions dipped to 6-6 and finished the game without Matthew Stafford, who completed a team-record 20 straight passes in the second half before leaving the game with a right hand injury.

— Aaron Jones had a 20-yard run with 5:59 left in overtime to send the Packers past the Buccaneers 26-20. Mason Crosby's 22-yard field goal tied the game at 20 with 2:01 left in the fourth quarter before Green Bay evened its record at 6-6. Jameis (JAY'-mihs) Winston threw two touchdown passes to Cameron Brate for the 3-9 Bucs, but he also had a fumble that Dean Lowry returned 62 yards for a score.

— The Dolphins halted a five-game skid as their defense scored on an interception and two safeties in a 35-9 thumping of the stumbling Broncos. Xavien Howard provided a 30-yard pick-six and Kenyan Drake rushed for 120 yards as Miami improved to 5-7. The Broncos' eight-game losing streak is their longest in 50 years.

— Former Bear Robbie Gould kicked a 24-yard field goal in the closing seconds to give the 49ers a 15-14 win at Chicago. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 293 yards in his first San Francisco start, but the 2-10 Niners had to settle for five field goals in sending the 3-9 Bears to their fifth straight loss. Mitchell Trubisky was 12 of 15 for 102 yards and a touchdown for the Bears, who also got an electrifying 61-yard punt return for a TD from Tarik Cohen.