Wide receiver Mike Wallace kept both feet in bounds on the final offensive play of the game Sunday for his second touchdown of the day, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a wild 37-36 victory over the Green Bay Packers in NFL action.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found Wallace on the 19-yard touchdown pass, which was eerily similar to the Santonio Holmes touchdown catch that helped the Steelers win a record sixth Super Bowl last February.

Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Mike Wallace, right, catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in front of Josh Bell of the Green Bay Packers with time running out in the fourth quarter on Sunday. (Gene Puskar/Associated Press)

Wallace's catch tied the score, with Jeff Reed adding the extra point with no time on the clock for the win.

"The way the game ended was incredible, especially that last play," centre Justin Hartwig said. "It was obviously pretty reminiscent of the Super Bowl."

Pittsburgh (7-7) will be hard-pressed to repeat as champs in the crowded AFC playoff picture, but they helped stave off elimination in spite of a curious late-game decision by Mike Tomlin. After his team went up 30-28, the Steelers coach tried an onside kick, which Pittsburgh cornerback Ike Taylor touched before it travelled 10 yards.

That gave the ball to the Packers, who took the lead with just over two minutes left on a 24-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to James Jones.

"To be honest, we hadn't stopped them and they hadn't stopped us," Tomlin said.

Tomlin said he thought the element of surprise might make onside kick a success, and that even if the Packers scored, he felt there would still be enough time on the clock for Pittsburgh to mount one last drive.

Roethlisberger threw for a franchise-record 503 yards on 29-of-46 passing, also throwing a touchdown pass to Mewelde Moore. Running back Rashard Mendenhall ran for another score.

Roethlisberger is one of just 10 players to throw for over 500 yards in a game, and the first since Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints in 2006.

"The guys were coming back to the huddle worn out — linemen, receivers, everybody," Roethlisberger said. "We didn't quit. Everybody believed we could do it."

Rodgers ran for a touchdown and also threw TD passes to Jermichael Finley and Greg Jennings. Ryan Grant rushed for a score for Green Bay (9-5), which remained in fifth place in the NFC playoff picture.

"You lose on a last-second play, with a spectacular throw and catch, it's tough," Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews said. "Hindsight's always 20-20 but we knew what we were getting ourselves into. It was a dogfight."

Vikings lay another Sunday night egg

Unfortunately for the Minnesota Vikings (11-3), the Super Bowl is played on Sunday evenings.

The Carolina Panthers scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to hand Minnesota a 26-7 loss in the NFL's nightcap. Matt Moore threw touchdown passes to Brad Hoover, Steve Smith, and Jonathan Stewart, with Stewart also running for a major.

Moore completed 21 of 33 passes for 299 yards, with no interceptions, as Carolina upped its record to 6-8.

With the Vikings losing, it is unlikely they can catch the New Orleans Saints for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Minnesota did wrap up the NFC North with Green Bay's loss.

It was the second poor showing in the nighttime slot in three weeks for Minnesota. They lost 30-17 to Arizona on Dec. 6, a score that flattered them.

After the Panthers missed the extra point on the game's opening touchdown, Adrian Peterson put the Vikings up 7-6 by halftime with a four-yard scoring run.

It stayed that way until the fourth, but Minnesota's offence was neutralized. Quarterback Brett Favre was sacked four times and intercepted once, completing 17 of 27 passes for 227 yards.

Chargers repeat at AFC West champs

San Diego (11-3) won its division for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time in six years. Nate Kaeding made a 52-yard field goal with three seconds left in a 27-24 win over Cincinnati, and Denver lost to the Oakland Raiders to help the Chargers clinch.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is now 17-0 in December in his career. Rivers threw a pair of touchdown passes to Vincent Jackson, and one to Antonio Gates. San Diego has won nine in a row.

The Bengals, playing with heavy hearts after the death of receiver Chris Henry last week, rallied from 10 points down to tie the game late. Carson Palmer threw touchdown passes to Chad Ochocinco and Lavaranues Coles, with Shayne Graham hitting three field goals for Cincinnati (9-5), which is still in control in the AFC Central.

Unlikely hero Russell helps Raiders burn Broncos

Backup quarterback JaMarcus Russell threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Chaz Schilens with 35 seconds left to give Oakland a 20-19 upset road win, putting a crimp in Denver's playoff plans.

Russell, the former No. 1 NFL draft pick, lost his job to Bruce Gradkowski and was passed over as starter after Gradkowski suffered an injury last week. Charlie Frye started on Sunday, but was knocked out of the game after a hard hit with just 11 minutes left.

Kyle Orton connected with Brandon Marshall for Denver's only touchdown. Matt Prater kicked four field goals for the Broncos (8-6), losers of six of their last eight.

Denver still controls its post-season destiny, but have a tough game in Philadelphia next week.

Eagles, Cardinals earn playoff berths

Donovan McNabb threw for one touchdown and ran for another, DeSean Jackson had 140 yards receiving and the Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers 27-13 Sunday to clinch a playoff berth for the eighth time this decade. LeSean McCoy ran one in late to clinch the result for the Eagles.

With San Francisco's loss, the Arizona Cardinals clinched their second straight NFC West title. Alex Smith threw a touchdown to Josh Morgan, but also three interceptions.

Philadelphia (10-4) has won five straight games and has a one-game lead over Dallas in the NFC East. Philadelphia visits the Cowboys in two weeks.

The Eagles lost reserve quarterback and specialty player Michael Vick, who left the game after a thigh injury.

Kurt Warner threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin with 1:54 left, lifting the visiting Arizona to a 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions.

Arizona (9-5) won consecutive division titles for the first time since 1974-75 after the 49ers lost.

The Lions (2-12) had the ball with 1:46 left with a chance to come back, but gained just seven yards and lost their fourth straight game.

Patriots get breathing room with win

The New England Patriots took command of the AFC East with a 17-10 win over the Buffalo Bills.

It was the first true road victory of the NFL season for the Patriots, who were designated as the visitors when they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London in Week 7.

New England (9-5) came in with just a one-game edge over Miami and the New York Jets. But both AFC East rivals lost, putting the Patriots in the driver's seat with just two contests remaining in the regular season. They close with a pair of games again AFC South opponents, hosting Jacksonville next week before finishing in Houston.

Randy Moss was instrumental against the Bills (5-9), catching five Tom Brady passes for 70 yards and a touchdown a week after being accused of quitting by Carolina Panthers defenders.

Tully Banta-Cain had three of New England's six sacks as the Patriots consistently broke through a makeshift Buffalo offensive line and harassed quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards.

New England running back Laurence Maroney, left, celebrates his first-half touchdown with teammate Sammy Morris. (David Duprey/Associated Press)

Edwards, who lost his starting job last month, came on in relief of an ineffective Fitzpatrick but attempted just two passes before being knocked out of the game when his right leg bent awkwardly on a takedown by Banta-Cain.

Lee Evans caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick with three minutes left to cut Buffalo's deficit to seven. The Bills then recovered an onside kick, but the play was voided because Aaron Maybin went offside.

Dolphins rally falls short in OT

Rob Bironas kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime, and the Tennessee Titans beat the Miami Dolphins 27-24 in Nashville after blowing an 18-point lead.

Vince Young threw for a career-high three touchdowns and Chris Johnson ran for 104 yards as the Titans (7-7) reached .500 for the first time this year and kept their slim playoff chances alive.

The Dolphins (7-7) also viewed this as an elimination game for their own playoff hopes. They trailed 24-6 in the third quarter before rallying, tying the game on Ricky Williams's two-point conversion run with 1:34 left.

Miami won the coin toss and got the ball first in overtime. But Michael Griffin picked off Chad Henne's pass, and Bironas kicked the winner four plays later.

Jets sputter late

Tony Gonzalez caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan on a fourth-down play with 1:38 remaining to lift the Atlanta Falcons to a 10-7 road victory over the New York Jets.

A day after the Falcons (7-7) were eliminated from playoff contention by Dallas's victory over previously unbeaten New Orleans, Atlanta likely also ended the post-season hopes of the stunned Jets (7-7), whose three-game winning streak was stopped.

Ryan, starting after missing two games with a toe injury, drove Atlanta downfield for the win at a cold, windy and half-filled Meadowlands. Frustrated Jets fans in the upper deck tossed snow, the remnants of a major storm in the Northeast, and booed loudly after the score.

Ryan finished 16-for-34 for 152 yards and the TD to Gonzalez, while New York passer Mark Sanchez was 18-for-32 for 226 yards, including a 65-yard TD toss to Braylon Edwards.

Flacco, Ravens romp over visiting Bears

The Baltimore Ravens (8-6) hold the sixth and final AFC playoff spot after pounding Chicago 31-7.

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw four touchdowns — a pair to Todd Heap, and to Demetrius Williams and Derrick Mason.

Chicago's Jay Cutler threw three interceptions, pushing his league-worst total to 25. The Bears (5-9) turned the ball over six times, with two fumbles and another interception from reserve Caleb Hanie.

Earl Bennett returned a punt for a 49-yard touchdown to cut the Baltimore lead to 14-7 in the second quarter, but it was all Ravens after that.

Browns' Cribbs, Harrison torch Chiefs

Jerome Harrison scored his third touchdown with 44 seconds left and rushed for a team-record 286 yards, and Joshua Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns to lift the Cleveland Browns to a 41-34 road win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Cribbs started the Browns (3-11) off with kickoff returns of 100 and 103 yards in the first half, breaking the NFL career record for kickoff-return touchdowns — he has eight — and tying the single-game mark.

Harrison took it from there, scoring all of his touchdowns in the second half to break Jim Brown's team record of 237 yards in one game, set in 1957 and 1961. He closed it out with a 28-yard run off right tackle to finish behind only Adrian Peterson and Corey Dillon in the NFL record book.

Matt Cassel threw for 331 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Kansas City (3-11).

Texans get big games from Schaub, Johnson

Matt Schaub had his eighth 300-yard passing game and Andre Johnson set a season best with 196 yards receiving, but the Houston Texans ended up leaning on field goals to hold off the lowly St. Louis Rams 16-13.

The Rams (1-13) lost their 12th in a row at home and for the 23rd time in 24 games overall only three days after cancelling practice after a confirmed case of swine flu. St. Louis got all of its players back, but lost for the second time this season while wearing throwback jerseys honouring the 1999 Super Bowl championship team.

The Rams fell far short of a sellout for the second straight game with paid attendance of 46,256, the franchise's worst since moving to the Midwest in 1995.

Schaub was 28-for-40 for 367 yards and a touchdown and Johnson hurt the Rams' secondary with four of his nine receptions going for at least 30 yards. The Texans consistently bogged down deep in St. Louis territory, though, and got the go-ahead score on a 28-yard field goal by Kris Brown, his third of the game, with 4:36 to go.

The Texans (7-7) won their second straight after dropping four in a row and remained alive for a wild-card berth. Johnson has six 100-yard receiving games this season.

Bucs stun Seahawks

Tampa Bay won for just the second time in 14 games, with rookie quarterback Josh Freeman throwing touchdown passes in the second half to Cadillac Williams and Connor Barth in a 24-7 win for the Bucs.

Matt Hasselbeck threw a touchdown pass to John Carlson to put Seattle (5-9) up early, but the veteran quarterback was also intercepted four times.

With files from The Associated Press