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Monday NBA — 76ers at Warriors, 7:30 p.m., CSNBA NCAA — Independence Bowl, Air Force vs. Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ESPN2 NFL — Saints at Falcons, 5:30 p.m., ESPN Sports 1B Monday December 27, 2010 Storm sacks Vikings Eagles game A fierce winter storm hit Sun- day’s Vikings-Eagles game like a blitzing linebacker, forcing a post- ponement in Philadelphia that dis- pleased Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, and disrupted travel plans elsewhere in sports. But the games went on. The New York Jets were forced to spend the night in Chicago, where they could mull their 38-34 loss to the Bears. The New Eng- land Patriots routed the Bills 34-3 in Buffalo, but victory came at a cost. They were unable to travel home immediately afterward. The New York Giants said there was a strong possibility they would have to stay in Wisconsin following their game with the Green Bay Packers. In Cleveland, a jacket worn by Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed caught fire when he ventured too close to a sideline heater. Temper- ature at kickoff was 26 degrees with the wind chill at 13. Reed had two interceptions in Baltimore’s playoff-clinching vic- tory. He had a good laugh after- ward, saying someone yelled that he was on fire. The safety did the sensible thing with his jacket. ‘‘I just took it off,’’ he said. The NFL shifted the Vikings- Eagles game from Sunday night to Tuesday night because of the storm that could dump more than a foot of snow on Philadelphia. The game — the first in the NFL on a Tuesday since 1946 — will be played at 8 p.m. EST, and tele- vised nationally by NBC. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter declared a snow emergency in the afternoon and urged all Philadelphians to ‘‘please be care- ful. Please be safe.’’ Rams beat 49ers 25-17 ST. LOUIS (AP) — While Mike Singletary and Troy Smith squabbled on the sideline, rookie Sam Bradford stayed veteran calm. The No. 1 overall draft pick helped keep the St. Louis Rams’ playoff drive motoring along, also break- ing Peyton Manning’s NFL rookie record for comple- tions in a 25-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Eclipsing Manning’s 12-year-old mark was nice. Helping the Rams (7-8) stay on track to end a five- year playoff drought in a winner-take-all game for the NFC West title next week was a much bigger deal. ‘‘I guess it’s pretty cool,’’ Bradford said of the record. ‘‘I’m all fired up about the win. If you don’t get excited for a game like this, you’re probably in the wrong business.’’ The Seahawks (6-9) have lost seven of nine after falling 38-15 at Tampa Bay. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck left with a hip injury in the first quarter. But they still could become the first team to win a division with a losing record. With a victory, Seattle would take the West based on a better division record. St. Louis snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series with a 20-3 victo- ry in early October. ‘‘Here we are, going into our last regular-season game, and we control our own destiny,’’ Bradford said before the Seahawks game. The Rams’ defense kept both of the Smiths on the run, sacking Troy Smith and Alex Smith two times apiece. Singletary gave Troy Smith one more series after a heated exchange late in the third quarter, then benched him after the 49ers (5-10) went three-and-out on their first possession of the fourth quarter. The 49ers were elimi- nated from playoff consid- eration, and haven’t made it to the postseason since 2002. ‘‘Troy’s a passionate guy and the way he responded, that’s fine,’’ Singletary said. ‘‘He’s frus- trated, I’m frustrated. ‘‘We’re both trying to get something to happen on the field. That’s all it was.’’ MCT photo 49ers quarterback Troy Smith fumbles the ball, as he is sacked by Rams defensive end James Hall, left, and defensive tackle Gary Gibson, right, in second-quarter action. The 49ers’ locker room was closed for about 20 minutes after the game before Singletary emerged, saying he had no regrets about his quarterback choice. ‘‘As the head coach, the most important quality for me is to be able to make a decision and be able to live or die with it,’’ Singletary said. ‘‘And not to turn around and blame it on somebody else.’’ Singletary is 18-22 with two years to go on a four- year contract and wasn’t sure if he’d be back, saying ‘‘I don’t know, that’s not my decision.’’ The Rams finished 5-3 at home, the franchise’s first winning record since 2004. They were 2-22 combined the previous three seasons. The 49ers were 1-7 on the road, where they were outscored 200-117. They appeared to sag after miss- ing a chance to take a 17- 15 lead late in the third quarter when Jeff Reed shanked a 34-yard field goal attempt. Troy Smith passed for 356 yards in the 49ers’ overtime victory over the Rams last month, but did not play the last two games. ‘‘I wouldn’t say there was a lot of differences, but you’ve got to give St. Louis credit,’’ Smith said. ‘‘Defensively, they do a lot of things to put the quarter- 49ers appear ready to part ways with Singletary SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mike Singletary’s days with the San Francisco 49ers appear numbered. Team president Jed York addressed reporters in St. Louis after the Niners’ 25-17 loss Sunday and was noncommittal about whether Singletary will coach the season finale at home next Sunday against Arizona. He said money isn’t an object in this decision considering Singletary has two years remaining on his contract. San Francisco (5-10) was eliminated from play- off contention in a season that began with high hopes of winning the NFC West and reaching the postseason for the first time since 2002. The 49ers began 0-5 and will finish with a los- ing record for the seventh time in eight years. They went 8-8 in Singletary’s first full season, then pro- duced an unbeaten preseason this year only to drop their first five games. NFL By The Associated Press AMERICAN CONFERENCE East WL T Pct PF PA y-New Eng. 13 2 0 .867 480 306 x-N.Y. Jets 10 5 0 .667 329 297 Miami Buffalo 4 11 0 .267 276 387 South WL T Pct PF PA Indianapolis 9 6 0 .600 412 368 Jacksonville 8 7 0 .533 336 385 Tennessee 6 9 0 .400 336 316 Houston 5 10 0 .333 356 410 North WL T Pct PF PA x-Pittsburgh 11 4 0 .733 334 223 x-Baltimore 11 4 0 .733 344 263 Cleveland 5 10 0 .333 262 291 Cincinnati 4 11 0 .267 315 382 West WL T Pct PF PA y-Kan. City 10 5 0 .667 356 295 San Diego 8 7 0 .533 408 294 Raiders 7 8 0 .467 379 361 Denver 4 11 0 .267 316 438 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East 7 8 0 .467 266 295 back and team in a not-so- comfortable situation.’’ James Hall had 1 1/2 sacks for a defense that totaled four, including a safety in the first quarter when Troy Smith fumbled a poor shotgun snap in the end zone. Troy Smith was 2 for 3 for 85 yards on a sec- ond-quarter drive capped by a 60-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree, but was only 7 for 19 for 153 yards when Alex Smith replaced him midway through the fourth quarter. Bradford broke out of a three-game slump of no touchdown passes and five interceptions. He was 16 for 20 for 168 yards the second half, including a 3- yard pass to Laurent Robinson that made it 22- 14 with 9:36 to go, and fin- ished 28 for 37 for 292 yards with no intercep- tions. The 49ers stuffed the run, limiting Steven Jack- son to 48 yards on 24 car- ries. Bradford has 335 com- pletions, topping Man- ning’s record of 326 in 1998. He passed Chris Weinke for second in rook- ie attempts with 554, need- ing 22 next week to eclipse Manning. The Rams scored on their first drive for only the second time, benefiting from an interference call on Nate Clements, with Jack- son scoring from the 1 on the next play. Josh Brown kicked three field goals for St. Louis, giving him 11 the last three games, and has matched his career season best with 31. The 49ers led 14-12 at the half even though they totaled three first downs and 82 yards in penalties. Ginn was untouched on the punt return for the 49ers’ first score in the sec- ond quarter. San Francisco had no return yards on 10 punts by Donnie Jones in the first meeting Nov. 14 in San Francisco. St. Louis went up 9-0 late in the first quarter on the safety, but then went three-and-out on three straight series while the 49ers caught their stride. Notes: On their opening possession, the Rams have scored two touchdowns and three field goals, along with seven punts, two lost fumbles, and a blocked field goal. ... 49ers C David Baas injured his left ribcage in the first quarter but returned late in the sec- ond quarter in time for the 49ers’ lone touchdown drive. ... Ginn returned two kickoffs for touchdown last year with Miami, and scored on a punt return for the Dolphins in 2007. ... 49ers backup CB Phillip Adams broke his left ankle blocking on the kickoff to open the second half. Adams was carted off. Manning’s 3 TDs lead Colts past Raiders 31-26 OAKLAND (AP) — Peyton Manning put Indianapolis in the lead with his arm and sealed the game with his legs. No matter what happened against the Oakland Raiders, Manning knew he’d need one more big game to get the Colts back into the postseason. Manning threw three touchdown passes and iced the game with a 27-yard keeper to help the Colts beat the Oak- land Raiders 31-26 Sunday in a game that turned out to have little playoff meaning. ‘‘All we did was win today,’’ Manning said. ‘‘We have to find a way to win again next week.’’ The Colts (9-6) allowed Jacoby Ford to return the open- ing kick for a touchdown, overcame a pair of interceptions by Manning in the second half and survived four field goals from Sebastian Janikowski, including two from more than 50 yards, to move within a win of clinching the AFC South title for their ninth straight playoff berth. But when Jacksonville lost 20-17 in overtime to Wash- ington in the early game Sunday, the Colts knew that no matter what happened in this game they could clinch the division with a win at home next week against the Titans or a Jaguars loss at Houston. ‘‘I don’t know what the coaches do or what everybody else does, but I didn’t know who won the morning games,’’ Manning said. ‘‘All we knew was the time of our kickoff and the defenses and offensive plays that Oakland was going to run. That’s really was where our focus was.’’ The results in the early games also robbed this game of any real meaning for the Raiders (7-8), who were eliminat- ed from playoff contention when Kansas City wrapped up a 34-14 win against Tennessee early in the first quarter of this game. The Chiefs had long been in control of that game so any Oakland player who had caught wind of the score in pregame warmups knew there was only pride on the line. ‘‘The guys were trying not to pay attention to it,’’ quar- terback Jason Campbell said. ‘‘We were just really trying to focus on our game. That’s the situation you’re in when you have to count on other teams. It’s a tough situation to be in.’’ The Raiders hung close with the Colts for much of this game but were unable to score an offensive touchdown until Campbell’s 6-yard pass to Zach Miller with 1:51 to play. Manning took advantage of a 31-yard pass interference call against Stanford Routt to throw a 4-yard TD pass to Blair White to give the Colts a 24-16 lead late in the third quarter. But little came easy for Manning against Oakland’s defense. He threw a pair of interceptions in the second half, giving him 17 for the season, which is his most since 2002. He responded from the second interception by leading the Colts on a 68-yard drive that was capped by a 7-yard TD pass to Pierre Garcon on third down to give Indianapolis a 31-19 lead. After the Colts recovered a late onside kick, Manning ran out the clock with a 27-yard keeper on third-and-2. He faked the ball to Dominic Rhodes and then ran around the left side before sliding down at the 4, instead of scoring, to allow the Colts to run out the clock. ‘‘That was just a great call by him,’’ Rhodes said. ‘‘They had been biting, they were trying to stop me from running the football. Even I thought I had the football, along with everybody else. The whole defense converged on me. It was just a great play all around, he made it happen and we pulled out a great victory.’’ Manning completed 16 of 30 passes for 179 yards as he struggled at times against Oakland’s aggressive corner- backs. But the Colts managed to gain 191 yards on the ground, including 98 from Rhodes, who returned to Indi- anapolis earlier this month. Notes: Manning tied former Raiders OL Gene Upshaw for the most consecutive starts to begin a career with 207. ... Raiders DT Richard Seymour missed the game with a ham- string injury. SCOREBOARD WL T Pct PF PA y-Philly 10 4 0 .714 412 339 N.Y. Giants 9 6 0 .600 377 333 Washington 6 9 0 .400 288 360 Dallas South 5 10 0 .333 380 423 WL T Pct PF PA x-Atlanta 12 2 0 .857 369 261 New Orleans10 4 0 .714 354 270 Tampa Bay 9 6 0 .600 318 305 Carolina 2 13 0 .133 186 377 North WL T Pct PF PA y-Chicago 11 4 0 .733 331 276 Green Bay 9 6 0 .600 378 237 Minnesota 5 9 0 .357 244 314 Detroit West St. Louis 7 8 0 .467 283 312 Seattle 6 9 0 .400 294 401 49ers 5 10 0 .333 267 339 Arizona 5 10 0 .333 282 396 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division ——— Thursday’s Game Pittsburgh 27, Carolina 3 Saturday’s Game Arizona 27, Dallas 26 Sunday’s Games 5 10 0 .333 342 356 WL T Pct PF PA Kansas City 34, Tennessee 14 St. Louis 25, San Francisco 17 Chicago 38, N.Y. Jets 34 Baltimore 20, Cleveland 10 New England 34, Buffalo 3 Detroit 34, Miami 27 Washington 20, Jacksonville 17, OT Indianapolis 31, Oakland 26 Denver 24, Houston 23 Cincinnati 34, San Diego 20 Green Bay 45, N.Y. Giants 17 Tampa Bay 38, Seattle 15 Minnesota at Philadelphia, ppd., snow Monday’s Game New Orleans at Atlanta, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday’s Game Minnesota at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 2 Oakland at Kansas City, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Houston, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Miami at New England, 10 a.m. Minnesota at Detroit, 10 a.m. Carolina at Atlanta, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Buffalo at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. Dallas at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at Baltimore, 10 a.m. Tennessee at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Arizona at San Francisco, 1:15 p.m. St. Louis at Seattle, 1:15 p.m. San Diego at Denver, 1:15 p.m. Chicago at Green Bay, 1:15 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Washington, 1:15 p.m. MOVES BASKETBALL National Basketball Association CHARLOTTE BOBCATS—Named Ralph Lewis and Charles Oakley assistant coaches. TORONTO RAPTORS—Re-signed F Ronald Dupree. HOCKEY National Hockey League NHL—Fined Boston F Milan Lucic $2,500 for throwing a punch at Atlanta D Freddy Meyer and $1,000 for his obscene gesture at the Thrashers bench in a game on Dec. 23. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS—Activated F Marian Hossa from injured reserve. Recalled G Hannu Toivonen from Rockford (AHL). Placed F Patrick Kane on injured reserve. NASHVILLE PREDATORS—Recalled F Linus Klasen from Milwaukee (AHL). OTTAWA SENATORS—Recalled G Mike Brodeur from Binghamton (AHL) on an emergency basis. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING—Reassigned F Johan Harju to Norfolk (AHL) and G Jaroslav Janus from Florida (ECHL) to Norfolk.