Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (15) runs under pressure from San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Travis LaBoy during the first half of Sunday's game in San Diego.

SAN DIEGO — Tim Tebow wasn’t watching as San Diego’s Nick Novak lined up to attempt a 53-yard field goal that would have given the Chargers an overtime victory over the Denver Broncos.

He was praying, of course.

Did Tebow ask for a miss?

“I might have said that. Or maybe a block. Maybe all of it,” the Denver quarterback said with a laugh.

Whatever, it worked.

Novak missed wide right. Tebow moved the Broncos down the field and Matt Prater kicked a 37-yard field goal with 29 seconds left in overtime to lift the Broncos to a 16-13 victory Sunday over the Chargers, who have lost six straight games for the first time in 10 years.

The Broncos narrowly avoided the first NFL tie since Cincinnati and Philadelphia ended deadlocked at 13 on Nov. 16, 2008.

Some people have a problem with Tebow wearing his religion on his sleeve. But he has been a savior for the Broncos, going 5-1 since coach John Fox elevated him to starter in the wake of his performance in a close loss to the Chargers on Oct. 9 in Denver.

Still, Hall of Famer John Elway, the Broncos’ executive vice president of football operations, won’t commit to the unconventional Tebow for his passing numbers and poor third-down conversions.

The Broncos (6-5) have won four straight to trail Oakland by one game in the AFC West.

“This is a special team, a special team when you have a bunch of guys that when things aren’t going good we get closer instead of pulling apart,” Tebow said. “The No. 1 reason we are like that is because we believe in each other, we believe in the coaching staff.”

Coach John Fox believes in his quarterback.

“Tim has outstanding ability,” Fox said. “He proved it at a high level of college football in the SEC at Florida. It’s (the option) something that he is comfortable with. I think our team has adapted to it. Right now it’s working in the run portion of our offense. We still have some growth to do in the pass portion.”

Tebow led Denver from its 43 after Novak was wide right on a 53-yard field goal attempt with 2:31 left in overtime. Novak made a 53-yarder in the first quarter, a career-best, and was wide right on a 48-yard try early in the fourth quarter.

Novak didn’t have an explanation for his OT miss.

“I had a good warmup and hit that ball pretty decent,” he said of the 53-yarder he kicked in the first quarter. “When you make the first kick of the game from 53, it gives you a lot of confidence for the next kicks to come.”

Tebow had a 12-yard gain and Willis McGahee ran 24 yards up the middle to set up Prater’s winning kick, which was right down the middle.

Tebow, the talk of the NFL because he runs the read option and often struggles while passing, carried 22 times for 67 yards — the most carries by a quarterback in a game since 1950, according to STATS LLC.

He also threw for one touchdown and finished with a better rating than Philip Rivers, 95.4 to 77.1.

Also on Sunday:

Texans 20

Jaguars 13

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Matt Leinart injured his throwing shoulder, overshadowing Houston’s victory against the offensively inept Jaguars. Arian Foster ran for 65 yards and a score, Leinart delivered a perfect touchdown pass to Joel Dreessen before leaving the game and the Texans (8-3) sacked Blaine Gabbert six times. The Texans already lost starter Matt Schaub for the season with a right foot injury. Now, they are down to T.J. Yates and newly signed Kellen Clemens. Yates completed eight of 15 passes for 70 yards in relief of Leinart.

Raiders 25

Bears 20

OAKLAND, Calif. — Sebastian Janikowski kicked a team-record six field goals and Oakland took advantage of three interceptions from Chicago’s fill-in starter, Caleb Hanie. Carson Palmer threw for 301 yards and Michael Bush iced the game with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter to lead the Raiders (7-4) to their third straight win.

Patriots 38

Eagles 20

PHILADELPHIA — Tom Brady threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns in a game that all but ended the Eagles’ playoff hopes. Filling in for the injured Michael Vick for the second straight game, Vince Young couldn’t keep the Eagles (4-7) in contention despite a career-best 400 yards passing. Down 10-0 early, the AFC East-leading Patriots (8-3) scored on five of their next six possessions, excluding a kneel-down at the end of the first half.

Redskins 23

Seahawks 17

SEATTLE — Rex Grossman found Anthony Armstrong for a 50-yard touchdown and Washington rallied for 16 fourth-quarter points to end a six-game losing streak. One play after committing a grounding penalty, Grossman stepped up in the pocket on third-and-19 and found Armstrong in the corner of the end zone. Marshawn Lynch rushed for 111 yards and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass for the Seahawks (4-7).

Falcons 24

Vikings 14

ATLANTA — Matt Ryan tossed three touchdown passes and Atlanta held on again. The Falcons (7-4) were up 17-0 at halftime after allowing just 97 yards. But, mimicking the previous week’s closer-than-necessary victory over Tennessee, they let Minnesota (2-9) back in the game.

Jets 28

Bills 24

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mark Sanchez threw four touchdown passes, including the winning score to Santonio Holmes with just over a minute remaining. With the Jets trailing 24-21 and facing a third-and-11 from the Bills 36, Sanchez connected with Plaxico Burress, who made an impressive one-handed grab for the first down. Sanchez quickly ran a quarterback sneak and then, on the next play, rolled out to his right to buy some time and found Holmes alone in the right corner of the end zone to give the Jets the lead with 1:01 left.

Cardinals 23

Rams 20

ST. LOUIS — Patrick Peterson tied the NFL record with his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season, Beanie Wells set a franchise mark with 228 yards rushing, and Arizona won its seventh in a row in St. Louis.

Titans 23

Buccaneers 17

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Chris Johnson ran for a season-high 190 yards, and Matt Hasselbeck threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Damian Williams on fourth-and-2 with 3:01 left. The Titans (6-5) forced five turnovers and overcame four turnovers of their own. The Bucs outscored them 14-3 off mistakes, even though Tennessee got the ball three times on Tampa Bay’s side of the field.

Bengals 23

Browns 20

CINCINNATI — A.J. Green made a leaping catch for a 51-yard gain in the final minute, setting up a field goal that rallied Cincinnati. The surprising Bengals (7-4) stayed right behind Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the AFC North with another second-half comeback.

Panthers 27

Colts 19

INDIANAPOLIS — Cam Newton threw for 208 yards and ran for one score, and DeAngelo Williams scored twice to help Carolina hold off winless Indianapolis. The Panthers (3-8) ended a 12-game road losing streak.

Steelers 13

Chiefs 9

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ben Roethlisberger threw a short touchdown pass to Weslye Saunders and the Steelers took advantage of four turnovers by Tyler Palko. Playing with a broken thumb on his throwing hand, Roethlisberger was 21 of 31 for 193 yards and an interception for the Steelers (8-3), whose defense lost All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu to an injury in the first quarter yet still kept the bumbling Chiefs (4-7) from scoring a touchdown.