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December 15, 2010

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Giants, Ravens in hunt for playoffs

THE New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens earned critical victories on Monday to keep pace in their respective conference playoff races.

In Detroit, the Giants took advantage of Brett Favre's rare absence to rout the Minnesota Vikings 21-3 and move into a tie with the Philadelphia Eagles atop the NFC East Division.

In Houston, the Ravens held off a comeback from the Texans, who scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to send the game into overtime where Josh Wilson's 12-yard interception return clinched a 34-28 win in overtime for Baltimore.

Stealing the headlines was 41-year-old Favre, who missed his first game since 1992 due to a shoulder injury, breaking his record streak of 297 straight starts.

"(There's) relief in one sense. It's probably been long overdue," Favre told reporters. "I won't play again if I can't feel my hand. It's been a great run. I'm proud of it."

With Favre out of the picture, the Giants (9-4) had little problem against the listless Vikings (5-8).

New York's running back tandem of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 219 yards and two scores to lead the Giants to their third straight victory.

Jacobs' one-yard score gave the Giants a 7-3 lead in the second quarter and Eli Manning added a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kevin Boss just before halftime.

Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson completed just 15 of 30 passes with one interception as Minnesota managed just 164 total yards of offense.

Roof collapse

The contest was moved to Detroit's Ford Field after the roof at the Metrodome in Minneapolis collapsed on Sunday because of a snowstorm.

In Houston, Baltimore (9-4) looked to be cruising to victory with a 28-7 lead in the third when Houston quarterback Matt Schaub led an improbable comeback.

Throwing for 393 yards, Schaub engineered two long scoring drives in the fourth, capping the final march with a five-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson and adding a pass to Jacoby Jones for the two-point conversion that tied the game 28-28 with 21 seconds left in regulation.

But on Houston's first possession of overtime, Wilson picked off Schaub's pass for the game-ending score to all but end the playoff hopes for the Texans (5-8).

"The ball and the end zone - that's all I saw," Wilson said as the Ravens remained just one game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.



 

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