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Vince Young hit a leaping Kenny Britt for a 10-yard touchdown as time expired, and the Tennessee Titans rallied to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-17 Sunday for their fifth straight victory.

SAN DIEGO — After the Chargers’ 43-14 win over Kansas City, linebacker Shaun Phillips clarified his role, to ESPN.com, in the verbal spat with Josh McDaniels. He apologized to the Denver coach for his words, which he said were misinterpreted.



Phillips said he wasn’t trying to threaten McDaniels.



“I said ‘We’re going to beat that (rear end),’ ” Phillips said. “I meant it by our team, not me. I meant we’re going to win. In no way was I threatening or challenging him personally. I’m sorry if he felt that way. I respect him. It’s up to him to accept my apology.”



Phillips said he has moved on from the situation.



“It’s so last week,” Phillips said.

The unbeaten Indianapolis Colts are the AFC South champions, the first team to clinch a playoff berth. Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns and the Colts rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit Sunday for a 35-27 win over the Texans.

The San Diego Chargers turned four turnovers into touchdowns, including a 40-yard fumble return for a score by safety Paul Oliver, to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 43-14 on Sunday and run their winning streak to six games.

I’m not sure if the New York Jets fashioned the playbook out of construction paper and crayons, but their decision to implement a color-coded alert system for Mark Sanchez might have worked.



I say break out other kindergarten props if it helps.



Jets coach Rex Ryan incorporated himself into Brian Schottenheimer’s offense this week, and one of the modifications was a traffic-signal setup to let Sanchez know how careful he needs to be with the ball.



Sanchez threw one meaningless interception in a 17-6 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The Jets won for only the second time in their last eight tries and the first time at the Meadowlands since Week 3.



Sanchez was at a loss to explain to reporters how Ryan and Schottenheimer communicate with him now, but said “Just know the code works. It’s almost like telepathy between the three of us. It worked really well for one game, so we will try it out again next week.”



He later quipped: “It’s like ‘The Da Vinci Code.’ I’ll send you a crypt text. It has nothing to do with the play calling. Nothing. I mean, absolutely nothing. It’s just a mindset. There’s a lot that goes into it.”



Sanchez suggested the color-coding is more like a gentle reminder than any sort of cue.



“There are things you remember,” Sanchez said. “You are making these plays with split-second decisions. You need to make these decisions quickly.



“When you say it before [the play] you kind of remind yourself almost subconsciously. You think to yourself ‘Is that throw there?’ And that ball is getting released. And then you say ‘No, I am not. I am going to check it down this time.’



“Those decisions are crucial for this team to be successful. You see what happens when I play smart and we do well as a team.”



Sanchez completed 13 of 17 attempts for 154 yards and no touchdowns. Not sensational by any means, but manageable.



He’d thrown 14 interceptions and lost a pair of fumbles during New York’s 1-6 slump. He tossed four interceptions last week against the New England Patriots, prompting many observers to wonder why Ryan hadn’t benched him.



“It went great until we threw that pick, but I thought he did a great job,” Ryan said. “We had him in a situation where [we said] ‘Take your shots down the field.’ He’s this far away from having an unbelievable game. He really managed the game well.



“He made great reads and, when in doubt, checked the ball down. Really tremendous game.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Chicago is cooked and Minnesota is on fire. That’s what we can safely conclude after the Vikings overpowered the Bears in what once seemed destined to be a key NFC North matchup.



The loss dropped the Bears to 4-7 and to the nether, nether regions of the NFC wild-card race. It’s hard to imagine they were once 3-1. Three first-half turnovers destroyed any chance the Bears had Sunday, and it now seems certain they will miss the playoffs for the third year in a row.



The Vikings, meanwhile, won by double digits for the fourth consecutive game. I found it interesting that they opened the game passing and really never stopped, marking the full evolution of quarterback Brett Favre from being a caretaker to carrying the Vikings offense. I’ll delve into that development in more detail after the game.



For now, the Vikings will eagerly await the result of Monday night’s showdown between New Orleans and New England. A Saints loss would bring them back to a tie with the Vikings for the NFC’s best record. More in a bit.

The 49ers had the right plan against the Jaguars and Alex Smith executed it well.



Consider it progress for Smith as he tries to answer questions about his long-term viability as a starting quarterback.



Smith played well from the start of the game, a departure from previous weeks. His passing helped stake the 49ers to a 17-3 halftime lead in a game they won 20-3. The 49ers needed to see Smith start strongly and help put away an opponent.



The pass-oriented game plan made sense against Jacksonville because the Jaguars have struggled against the pass this season. Previous Jacksonville opponents had posted a combined 98.3 passer rating. The Jaguars lack dominant pass-rushers, preventing them from exploiting weaknesses on the 49ers’ offensive line.



The 49ers will probably need more balance against most opponents. They aren’t going to beat every team by handing the ball to Smith and asking him to throw 40-plus passes. That is why the approach Sunday should not necessarily be mistaken for a dramatic philosophical shift by the 49ers as they seek to tailor the offense to Smith.



Smith has vast college experience working within a spread offense. He has functioned most effectively from a spread attack this season, largely because the 49ers were playing from far behind. The 49ers need to keep those things in mind when Smith is their quarterback.



The approach made sense based as much on the opponent as it did based on Smith’s presence in the lineup.



The 49ers now head to Seattle with a more confident Smith under center.

Matt Leinart took a significant step forward as Kurt Warner‘s successor with a strong showing against the Titans.



The fact that Arizona lost the game anyway prevents the Cardinals from enjoying Leinart’s performance.



The manner in which the Cardinals lost — allowing a long touchdown drive in the final minutes– recalled the problems Arizona faced in trying to close out Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII.



The Cardinals’ late collapse on defense in that game played a role in coach Ken Whisenhunt’s decision to replace defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast. The coaching change couldn’t prevent the same thing from happening against the Titans.



Allowing a 99-yard touchdown drive to lose the game against Tennessee has to be discouraging for Arizona. The Cardinals might not be as confideny the next time they face such a situation.



And yet there was plenty for the Cardinals to like about this game before the very end.



The go-ahead 80-yard touchdown drive Leinart led in the third quarter stands as a signature drive for him this season. Whisenhunt stuck up for Leinart after the quarterback failed to generate points during the second half against the Rams last week. Leinart validated Whisenhunt’s defense of him by meeting the challenge Sunday.



It was important for Leinart to earn the confidence Whisenhunt had shown in him. The Cardinals now know they can compete in a tough road game against a hot team with Leinart under center. That makes Leinart credible. It removes pressure, perhaps giving him a better chance to succeed.



Leinart played well enough to win, but he also needed a few assists from rookie LaRod Stephens-Howling. Stephens-Howling’s 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown kept the Cardinals close enough for Whisenhunt to stick with the running game, a huge help for Leinart during the go-ahead drive. Stephens-Howling also downed two punts deep in Titans territory late in the game.



The critical question heading into Week 13 is whether Warner can overcome the concussion he suffered in Week 11, and whether the Cardinals can protect him well enough against the Vikings if Warner does return.



Beating the Titans on the road might have bought options for the Cardinals. They would have been in better position to give Leinart another start, just to be safe.

Darrelle Revis returned one of the Jets’ four interceptions 67 yards for a touchdown and New York overcame an injury scare to quarterback Mark Sanchez before holding on to beat the Carolina Panthers 17-6 on Sunday.