Kaepernick leads Niners win at New England…Texans, Packers clinch divisions

UNDATED (AP) — An opposing team had not won at New England in December since 2002. But Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers have done it, holding on for a 41-34 victory.

Making just his fifth NFL start, Kaepernick passed for 216 yards and four touchdowns to help the Niners clinch a playoff berth. San Francisco is 10-3-1.

The Patriots had won 20 straight home games in December. They fall to 10-4 but had already clinched the AFC East.

Kaepernick’s fourth touchdown pass of the night came with 6:25 left — a 38-yard strike to Michael Crabtree. The winning play was set up by LaMichael James’ 62-yard kickoff return.

New England had tied the game seconds earlier, rallying from a 28-point deficit on Danny Woodhead’s one-yard run.

Tom Brady passed for 443 yards and a touchdown, but threw two interceptions and was sacked three times.

Seattle is keeping the heat on the 49ers in the NFC West race.

Quarterback Russell Wilson ran for 92 yards and three touchdowns and also passed for a score as the Seahawks trounced the Buffalo Bills in Toronto 50-17. Seattle became the third NFL team to score 50 points on consecutive weekends.

The Seahawks are 9-5 and host the division-leading 49ers next Sunday night.

The Houston Texans are AFC South champions for the second straight year after beating Indianapolis 29-17.

Andre Johnson had 151 receiving yards and a touchdown and Bryan Braman scored on a blocked punt as the Texans improved to 12-2. Houston will have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs if they win out.

There’s a three-way tie for the NFC East race between Washington, the Giants and Dallas.

Atlanta moved closer to clinching home-field advantage in the NFC by blanking the Giants 34-0. Matt Ryan threw for three scores and the defense handed New York its first regular-season shutout since 1996. The 12-2 Falcons have already clinched the NFC South.

Washington grabbed a share of first place in the NFC East by beating the Browns in Cleveland 38-21. Backup quarterback Kirk Cousins started in place of the injured Robert Griffin III and passed for 329 yards and two TDs.

The Dallas Cowboys made it a three-team division race by beating Pittsburgh in overtime 27-24. The Steelers won the overtime coin toss, but on their first possession, Ben Roethlisberger was picked off by Brandon Carr, who returned it 36 yards to the 1. After Tony Romo took a 2-yard loss for better field goal position, Dan Bailey kicked the winning 21-yarder.

The Steelers have dropped four of five to fall to 7-7. They trail Cincinnati by a game for the second AFC wild card spot.

Green Bay clinched its second straight NFC North title with Aaron Rodgers passing for three scores in a 21-13 win at Chicago.

The Bears were limited to 190 yards in losing for the sixth straight time to the Packers. Green Bay is 10-4 while the Bears are 8-6 and in danger of missing the playoffs.

In other NFL games:

— Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes are fading after Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints routed the Buccaneers 41-0. Brees passed for 307 yards and four touchdowns as the Saints recorded their first shutout in 17 years. Both teams are 6-8.

— Minnesota improved to 8-6 with Adrian Peterson rushing for a season-best 212 yards in a 36-22 win over St. Louis. Peterson has a career-best 1,812 yards rushing, which leaves him 294 shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s mark of 2,105 set in 1984.

— Ryan Tannehill completed 22 of 28 passes for 220 yards and two TDs as Miami dumped Jacksonville 24-3. The Jags had a go-ahead touchdown taken off the board because of an illegal substitution penalty in the second quarter. The Jaguars are 2-12 and tied their franchise record for losses in a season.

— Greg Toler ran back an interception 102 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown, the longest return in franchise history, to seal Arizona’s 38-10 victory over Detroit. The win snapped the Cardinals’ nine-game losing streak.

— Mike Tolbert scored a pair of touchdowns against his former team as the Carolina Panthers drubbed San Diego 31-7. The loss eliminates the Chargers from playoff contention for the third straight season.

— Sebastian Janikowski kicked five field goals and Darren McFadden rushed for 110 yards in a 15-0 win over Kansas City. Oakland shuts out Kansas City for just the second time ever.

Moments of silence around NFL for shooting victims

UNDATED (AP) — The New England Patriots silenced their “End Zone Militia” Sunday night, taking the muskets away from the Revolutionary War re-enactors who fire in the air to celebrate every score.

The memory of the Connecticut school shootings was still too fresh for the sight of weapons and the smell of gunpowder.

Two days after 20 children and six adults were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School, NFL stadiums fell silent before the day’s games to honor the victims’ memory.

Some teams darkened their scoreboards and lowered their flags to half-staff, while others wore helmet decals or black ribbons.

New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz took the field with the name of one victim inscribed on his shoes. Cruz called the family of Jack Pinto after hearing the 6-year-old boy was a Giants fan and was told the family planned to bury the boy in one of Cruz’s No. 80 jerseys. Cruz said he didn’t even know how to put it into words.

Blue Jays trying to close deal for Mets ace

NEW YORK (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays are trying to close a trade for New York Mets ace R.A. Dickey, with the deal hinging on whether the NL Cy Young winner could work out a new contract.

The Mets would get prized catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud. There was speculation Toronto also would receive catcher Josh Thole while sending catcher John Buck and minor league pitcher Noah Syndergaard to the Mets.

Dickey, a 38-year-old knuckleballer, was 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA last season. He is signed for $5.25 million next year, and the Mets started exploring trades after they couldn’t agree to a contract adding two years.

A rare Lakers winning streak

UNDATED (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers can celebrate consecutive wins for the first time in nearly a month. Sunday night in Philadelphia Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and Metta World Peace added 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in a 111-98 win over the 76ers.

Elsewhere, Jose Calderon had a triple-double and the Toronto Raptors beat Houston 103-96. Calderon finished with 18 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds as the Raptors won their second straight.

Damian Lillard hit the go-ahead three-pointer 0.3 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers held off New Orleans 95-94. J.J. Hickson scored 24 to lead the Blazers who handed the Hornets their sixth consecutive loss. New Orleans trailed by as many as 16 points but tied the game at 92 on a three-pointer by Austin Rivers with just under a 51 seconds remaining.

Przybilla suspended for throwing ball that hit ref

NEW YORK (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks center Joel Przybilla has been suspended one game without pay for throwing a basketball that hit a referee during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The incident occurred with 1:36 remaining in the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s 111-85 loss to the Clippers on Saturday night.

The 7-foot-1 center will serve his suspension Tuesday when the Bucks host the Indiana Pacers.