NFL round-up: Johnny Manziel has debut start to forget; New England clinch AFC East; Peyton Manning battles illness to give Denver AFC West
Elsewhere their were impressive wins for Indianapolis - who clinched the AFC South title - Seattle and Detroit
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Your support makes all the difference.Johnny Manziel spent his first NFL start being chased and taunted by Cincinnati defenders as the Bengals rudely welcomed the rookie quarterback to the league with a 30-0 demolition of the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Manziel failed to live up to the overwhelming build-up surrounding his debut as the AFC North-leading Bengals (9-4-1) built a 20-point halftime lead and rolled to their fourth straight road win.
Bengals rookie Jeremy Hill rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, backing up his post-game trash talk of the Browns following a loss to them last month.
Manziel, promoted over the slumping Brian Hoyer to spark the Browns (7-7), finished 10 of 18 for 80 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked three times, under pressure all afternoon and had Bengals players imitating his signature "money-rubbing" gesture more than once.
New England clinched the AFC East title for the sixth straight season as Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes in a big third quarter to lead the Patriots past the Miami Dolphins 41-13.
Leading 14-13 at halftime, the Patriots scored on four consecutive series while piling up 24 points, the most in any third period in team history.
New England (11-3) can secure home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by beating the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. Miami (7-7) saw its slim post-season hopes dwindle further.
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning played through a thigh injury and flu-like symptoms, and Connor Barth kicked five field goals to lead the Broncos over the San Diego Chargers 22-10 and to a fourth straight AFC West title.
Manning came out of the game late in the second quarter. He apparently hurt his thigh while blocking linebacker Donald Butler on a run by C.J. Anderson.
He returned for the start of the third quarter and on Denver's second possession threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas to give the Broncos a 16-3 lead.
At Indianapolis, Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes as the Colts claimed their second straight AFC South title with a 17-10 victory over the Houston Texans, while Seattle's Marshawn Lynch rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown, and Russell Wilson threw a touchdown pass to rookie Paul Richardson, as the Seahawks knocked archrival San Francisco from playoff contention with a 17-7 win.
The Detroit Lions edged the Minnesota Vikings 16-14 to share the NFC North lead after Matt Prater's 33-yard field goal with 3:38 remaining, and Bacarri Rambo intercepted two Aaron Rodgers passes as the Buffalo Bills downed the Green Bay Packers 31-13.
In the late game, Dez Bryant caught a career-best three touchdown catches from Tony Romo as the Dallas Cowboys rallied to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-27 after wasting a 21-0 lead.
DeMarco Murray had a pair of TD runs to help the Cowboys (10-4) move ahead of the Eagles (9-5) into first place in the NFC East.
In other games, The Pittsburgh Steelers remained a half-game behind Cincinnati in the AFC North with a 27-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons, the Baltimore Ravens downed the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-12 and the Carolina Panthers edged the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-17.
The Kansas City Chiefs trounced the Oakland Raiders 31-13, the New York Giants downed the Washington Redskins 24-13 and the New York Jets defeated the Tennessee Titans 16-11.
Results:
Atlanta Falcons 20 Pittsburgh Steelers 27,
Baltimore Ravens 20 Jacksonville Jaguars 12,
Buffalo Bills 21 Green Bay Packers 13,
Carolina Panthers 19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17,
Cleveland Browns 0 Cincinnati Bengals 30,
Detroit Lions 16 Minnesota Vikings 14,
Indianapolis Colts 17 Houston Texans 10,
Kansas City Chiefs 31 Oakland Raiders 13,
New England Patriots 41 Miami Dolphins 13,
New York Giants 24 Washington Redskins 13,
Philadelphia Eagles 27 Dallas Cowboys 38,
San Diego Chargers 10 Denver Broncos 22,
Seattle Seahawks 17 San Francisco 49ers 7,
Tennessee Titans 11 New York Jets 16
AP
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