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GREEN BAY, Wis. - Aaron Rodgers started peeking ahead to the playoffs. Tom Brady stewed about missed opportunities.Had it not been for a late Green Bay sack, the star quarterbacks could have reversed roles.But the Packers prevailed in a 26-21 thriller Sunday night over the New England Patriots that had all the makings of a potential Super Bowl preview.We would love home-field advantage, yes, Rodgers said when asked about the post-season. A lot.With a 6-0 home record this year, no team will want to come to Lambeau Field for the playoffs.Rodgers threw for 368 yards and two long touchdowns, to tight end Richard Rodgers and receiver Jordy Nelson. Eddie Lacy had 21 carries for 98 yards, including 26 during a fourth-quarter drive that led to Mason Crosbys 28-yard field goal for a five-point lead with 8:41 left.Mike Daniels and Mike Neal provided the defensive exclamation point after combining to sack Brady on third down for a 9-yard loss. Stephen Gostkowkski pushed a 47-yard field-goal attempt wide right with 2:40 left.The Packers sealed it after Rodgers converted to Cobb on third-and-4 with the Patriots out of timeouts.The point total was enough to win the game, coach Mike McCarthy said. I thought (the) defence did a lot of good things, and really I think the end of the game is what youre looking for as a coach.Not quite the ending Brady had in mind.I just wish we would have won this one. We put a lot into this one, and this was a great test for us, Brady said. I think the guys knew how important this was for our season.Green Bay (9-3) has won four straight and eight of nine. New England (9-3) had its seven-game winning streak snapped.Dont be surprised if these teams meet again in February.The Packers are far from a finished product. For one, they would like to improve their production in the red zone after having settled for four field goals from Crosby of 35 yards or less.Some other takeaways from Sundays showdown between two of the top teams in the NFL:CHIPPING AWAY: The Packers came close several times to getting to Brady, but couldnt record a sack until their last defensive play of the game. Daniels rushed from the inside, while Neal overpowered left tackle Nate Solder from the outside before they met at the quarterback.McCarthy has said he was hoping his defence could come up with a good performance without relying on having to create turnovers. Thats exactly what happened against New England. The Packers, who led the league in turnover margin, didnt record a takeaway. They ended up holding New England to its lowest point total since falling 41-14 on Sept. 29 at Kansas City.So when youve got a guy like that, you have to just keep on chopping wood and you never know when youll get to him, Daniels said. And as you saw, the last defensive play of the game is when we got to him.FILED AWAY: The big-game atmosphere made Sundays game feel like a playoff contest. A lot can happen between now and early February, though the NFL will gladly take a repeat of the thriller in the Super Bowl.If we see them again ... that would be cool, tight end Rob Gronkowski said. Not really thinking about that. Theyre a good team and they just beat us heads up right now.Gronkowski finished with seven catches for 98 yards.ROOKIE NIGHT: The draft-and-develop Packers always rely on young players. On Sunday, two rookies played starring roles on the offence.Tight end Richard Rodgers caught a 32-yard touchdown pass. Davante Adams dropped a potential touchdown pass in the fourth quarter on third-and-5 from the 10, but otherwise had six catches for a career-high 121 yards.REVIS ISLAND ESCAPE: Adams came up big with top New England cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner handling Packers wideouts Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb for much of the evening. Rodgers was able to peck away at the secondary anyway. All three receivers had their moments, including a 45-yard score for Nelson after beating Revis for a 45-yard touchdown and outracing safety Devin McCourty to the front pylon before falling out of bounds.Its heartbreaking for us, Revis said about the loss.INJURY REPORT: Packers cornerback Sam Shields left after sustaining a concussion in the second quarter. Backup linebacker Jamari Lattimore left with an ankle injury in the second while on the kick return unit.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Charlotte Hornets Gear . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Kemba Walker Jersey . -- Even as Chris Paul remained evasive about his future, he did what team leaders are expected to do. https://www.cheaphornets.com/775l-michael-kidd-gilchrist-jersey-hornets.html . In his first game with Boston University, the 17-year-old Eichel picked up five assists as his Boston University Terriers thumped St. Muggsy Bogues Jersey . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. Adam Morrison Jersey .5 million contract with the right-handed reliever. Ziegler revealed the agreement via Twitter, saying hes "really excited to stay in Arizona for a couple more years, at least.HAMPTON, Ga. -- Kyle Busch can rest easy going to Richmond. His spot in the Chase for Sprint Cup championship is secure. Now, hes eager to win a title. One year after missing out on the playoff -- a bitter blow for a driver of his talent -- Busch locked up his berth with a victory Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. More important, the 28-year-old has some much-needed momentum after his fourth Cup win of the season. "A heck of a lot different than 365 days ago, Ill tell you that much," he said. This was the volatile Busch at his best. Early on, he spit out some salty complaints over his radio, the No. 18 Toyota not performing like he wanted. At one point, he called his car "a joke." But the crew kept making adjustments until the driver liked the way it handled. "I appreciate them hanging in there with me, although I was pretty graphic sometimes," Busch said. "Im passionate about winning, man." Then, after a rapid-fire series of caution flags near the end, Busch emerged from the pits with the lead. He held off hard-charging Joey Logano by a comfortable 0.740 seconds. Busch has 16 victories this year over NASCARs top three series, also winning nine times in Nationwide and three times in trucks. But hes still chasing the prize he really wants -- that first Cup title. "The championship is number one on anybodys list," he said. "Ive yet to collect the big prize. One of these days it will happen. Maybe itll be 2013." Martin Truex Jr., racing with a broken right wrist, finished third on the 1.54-mile trioval, followed by Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. The rest of the top 10 was Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers. Kyle Busch was among four more drivers locking up their spot in the Chase heading to Richmond next weekend, where the 12-car field will be set for the playoff. He was joined by Harvick, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne, the latter assured of at least a wild card. Points leader Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth had already claimed playoff berths before Atlanta. That means the final five will be determined at Richmond. Logano is one of the top contenders for those remaining spots, going into Richmond eighth in the points and also holding a victory as a wild-card backstop. He had the fastest car on the track at the end of the race, but ran out of time to run down Busch. "Its just frustrating," Logano said. "BBut in the grand scheme of things, its a big points day for us to get into the Chase going to Richmond.dddddddddddd This helps us a lot. A win wouldve helped a lot more." The rest of the top 10 includes Earnhardt (seventh), Greg Biffle (ninth) and Kurt Busch (10th). Gordon is 11th, but hes yet to win a race. For now, the wild cards belong to 12th-place Kahne (two wins) and No. 13 Truex (one win). "The last couple of weeks, weve been battling and passing and having a great time out there," said Gordon, a four-time Cup champion. "We didnt do that earlier in the year, which is why were in the position were in." Bowyer was dominant through the middle of the race, leading 48 laps, but he radioed his crew that that something seemed amiss in his No. 15 car. On Lap 193, those fears became reality when smoke started pouring from the back of his Toyota going into Turn 1. He managed to creep back around to pit road, but he headed straight for the garage, any hope of winning the race snuffed out. "I dont think they wanted to believe me," Bowyer said about his crew. "But I was pretty sure what I was hearing." At least Bowyer wont have to worry about the poor finish -- he wound up 39th -- costing him a spot in the Chase. That wasnt the case for defending Cup champion Brad Keselowski. Winless for the year and on the Chase bubble, he took over the lead and looked as if he had a shot at a much-needed victory. But a couple of cylinders failed and he began dropping back, finally sputtering to a stop 18 laps from the finish. He finished 35th and will go to Richmond knowing he likely needs a victory to even have a shot at taking a second straight title. He slipped to 15th in the standings, 28 points behind Kurt Busch. "Theres just some things you cant control," Keselowski said. "I guess well look at the positive. We were leading the race when it broke. We were doing all the right things. We just didnt put all the pieces together." Busch knows how that feels. He was in that same position a year ago. "This is a humbling sport," Busch said. "Look at what last years champion, what hes going through. Youve got to take the highs with the lows. Certainly Im not very good at taking the lows. Ill be the first to admit it. But when you get the highs, youve got to treasure em, because you dont know how many more youll get. "This," he added, "was a fun night." ' ' '