EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tied with less than a minute to play and 80 yards from the end zone, Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to wait until overtime.

It was the perfect choice for a team pushing perfection.

Rodgers completed passes of 24, 27 and 18 yards in a lightning-quick five-play drive to set up a 31-yard field goal by Mason Crosby on the final play, and the Green Bay Packers remained undefeated and clinched a playoff berth with a 38-35 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.

“Those are the fun ones when they end up like that,” Rodgers said.

The defending Super Bowl champions (12-0) won their 18th straight game.

“We’ve had a number of games we won by a couple scores,” Rodgers said. “You get the ball on the 20, under a minute, and we get it down there for a chip-shot field goal, it’s very rewarding. It probably (ranks) right at the top.”

Rodgers hit all four of his passes in the 58-second drive that sent the Giants (6-6) to their fourth straight loss, starting with a 24-yard laser to tight end Jermichael Finley just over the hands of rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams.

“I thought it was mine. I thought it was mine,” Williams said after the game. “Like I said, it’s a good throw and catch. He made some good throws.”

The second one covered 24 yards to Jordy Nelson down the left sideline and moved the ball to the New York 29. An 18-yard pass to Greg Jennings two plays later moved the ball to the 12. The third toss was a 1-yard loss.

Green Bay called time out with 3 seconds to go, and then Crosby delivered his winning kick.

“It was a huge drive,” said Jennings, who also caught a 20-yard touchdown. “We haven’t had one like that at the end in a while. It was very quiet in the huddle, actually. You could see everybody was focused. It’s great to see what we could do at the end like that.”

Coach Mike McCarthy said the Packers practice the two-minute drive all the time. Having Rodgers at the helm is just a bonus.

“I’m running out things to say about him,” McCarthy said. “He’s a great quarterback. Playing against the pass rush they had tonight, he hung in there and made the plays.”

In other games on Sunday:

Broncos 35

Vikings 32

MINNEAPOLIS — Tim Tebow led yet another late rally, passing for a season-best 202 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns to help Denver win its fifth straight game.

Saints 31

Lions 17

NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and New Orleans Saints won its fourth straight, beating Detroit. Brees’ performance gave him 4,031 yards on the season, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark in the first 12 games of a season.

Steelers 35

Bengals 7

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger passed for two touchdowns and set a team record for career completions against error-prone Cincinnati. Pittsburgh (9-3) swept the season series from Cincinnati (7-5) for the second straight year.

Cardinals 19

Cowboys 13

GLENDALE, Ariz. — LaRod Stephens-Howling caught a short pass from Kevin Kolb and zipped 52 yards for a touchdown in overtime, snapping the Cowboys’ four-game winning streak.

Texans 17

Falcons 10

HOUSTON — Rookie T.J. Yates threw a touchdown pass in his first NFL start, Arian Foster rushed for 111 yards and Houston overcame another hamstring injury to Andre Johnson.

49ers 26

Rams 0

SAN FRANCISCO — Frank Gore ran San Francisco right into the playoffs, becoming the 49ers’ career rushing leader in a shutout that wrapped up the franchise’s first NFC West crown and postseason berth since 2002.

Patriots 31

Colts 24

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rob Gronkowski caught two touchdown passes then scored on a lateral and New England then withstood a fourth-quarter rally to keep Indianapolis winless.

Dolphins 34

Raiders 14

MIAMI — Reggie Bush rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown and once-woeful Miami won for the fourth time in the past five games. Matt Moore had a hand in two TDs for Miami, and Kevin Burnett returned an interception 34 yards for a score.

Titans 23

Bills 17

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Chris Johnson rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns as Tennessee remained in the playoff chase. Johnson scored on runs of 48 and 4 yards to match his season touchdown total. It was his third 100-yard rushing game in four outings.

Chiefs 10

Bears 3

CHICAGO — Tyler Palko shook off two miserable starts and threw for 157 yards and a touchdown even though he was briefly lifted for Kyle Orton. Orton came on to start the second quarter and immediately left the game with an injured finger on his right hand.

Jets 34

Redskins 19

LANDOVER, Md. — Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 4:49 to play, and Shonn Greene added a pair of insurance scores. It was Sanchez’s 10th career fourth-quarter comeback or overtime victory, including playoffs.

Ravens 24

Browns 10

CLEVELAND — Ray Rice rushed for a career-high 204 yards, breaking loose on a game-changing 67-yarder in the third quarter, and the Ravens kept pace with Pittsburgh atop the AFC North. Rice and Ricky Williams had short touchdown runs and Lardarius Webb returned a punt 68 yards for a TD for the Ravens (9-3).

Panthers 38

Buccaneers 19

TAMPA, Fla. — Cam Newton ran for three touchdowns to set the NFL single-season record for rushing TDs by a quarterback. The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner scored the 11th, 12th and 13th TDs of his career on a trio of 1-yard runs.