SATURDAY
Steelers 17, Ravens 10
Mason Rudolph threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson on the first play of the fourth quarter, and the Pittsburgh Steelers reached the postseason with a 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.
Rudolph led Pittsburgh (10-7) to three straight wins to close the season. They reached the playoffs when Jacksonville lost to Tennessee. Pittsburgh will take on the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills.
There was some bad news for the Steelers. T.J. Watt — who had two sacks to take sole possession of the NFL lead with 19 — left in the third quarter with a knee injury. Brother J.J. Watt posted an update to his brother’s injury on social media Sunday morning, saying T.J. has a Grade 2 MCL sprain and “everything else looks pristine.” J.J. also added his brother needed a “couple weeks of rest/recovery.”
The Ravens (13-4) already had the top seed in the AFC locked up, and they held MVP favorite Lamar Jackson out of this game, along with a handful of other key players. Tyler Huntley started at quarterback, and both teams had a hard time moving the ball on a rainy, windy day.
Texans 23, Colts 19
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans wrapped up a playoff spot, and their division, with a 23-19 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night, with Devin Singletary scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 3-yard run with 6:20 left.
The Texans (10-7) are going to the postseason for the first time since 2019. They won seven of their final 10 games and won the AFC South when Jacksonville lost at Tennessee.
Indianapolis (9-8) was eliminated from the playoff chase with its third loss in five weeks. It hasn’t made the postseason since 2020.
Stroud was 20 of 26 with 264 yards and two touchdowns. Nico Collins had nine catches for 195 yards and a score, and Singletary had 64 yards on 24 carries.
The Colts had a late fourth-and-1 play from the Houston 15. But a wide-open Tyler Goodson dropped Gardner Minshew’s pass, ending the Colts’ hopes.
The loss ruined Jonathan Taylor’s best game of the season. He rushed 30 times for 188 yards and a TD. Minshew was 13 of 24 for 141 yards.
SUNDAY:
Titans 28, Jaguars 20
Trevor Lawrence was stopped on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal with 7:13 left, then threw incomplete on another fourth down with 1:47 remaining, and the Jacksonville Jaguars were eliminated from the playoffs with a 28-20 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in their regular-season finale.
A win would have given Jacksonville (9-8) the AFC South title. Instead, Houston took the division crown and will host Cleveland in the playoffs.
The Jaguars started the season 8-3 but lost five of their final six. Lawrence was intercepted twice. The Jaguars also turned the ball over on downs three times — twice in the final 7:10.
Derrick Henry ran for a season-high 153 yards and a touchdown, helping the Titans (6-11) finish on a winning note after they had been eliminated from playoff contention earlier than at any prior point in coach Mike Vrabel’s six-season tenure. Tennessee’s three-game skid ended.
Lawrence was 29 of 43 for 280 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Tannehill threw two TD passes for Tennessee, which built a 28-13 lead early in the third quarter.
Buccaneers 9, Panthers 0
Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals and Tampa Bay beat Carolina to win its third consecutive NFC South title.
The Buccaneers (9-8) weren’t impressive on offense with Baker Mayfield held to 137 yards passing in his return to Carolina, but the defense did just enough.
The Bucs held the Panthers to 199 yards and 11 first downs, forced two turnovers and sacked rookie Bryce Young three times.
Young finished 11 of 18 for 94 yards and the Panthers had potential touchdowns overturned by a replay review and a penalty. Carolina (2-15) became the first team to be shut out in back-to-back games since the Cleveland Browns in 2008.
Giants 27, Eagles 10
Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and a host of injured, ineffective Eagles can only hope they bottomed out Sunday — finishing 1-5 after a 27-10 loss to the New York Giants.
The Eagles (11-6) earned the No. 5 seed and will open the NFC playoffs next Monday night at Tampa Bay.
Hurts was 7 of 16 for 55 yards and one interception.
New York’s Saquon Barkley ran for two touchdowns. QB Tyrod Taylor threw for 229 yards in the first half, and the Giants led 24-0.
Jets 17, Patriots 3
Breece Hall rushed for 174 yards and a late touchdown, and New York snapped a 15-game losing streak against Bill Belichick and New England.
With snow covering the field, Greg Zuerlein kicked three field goals to help the Jets (7-10) beat the Patriots for the first time since Dec. 27, 2015. It was the Jets’ first win at New England since the 2010 AFC divisional playoff round.
The Patriots’ 4-13 record is the worst in Belichick’s 29-year NFL coaching career. Sunday’s loss was the 178th of Belichick’s career, including the playoffs, tying him with Tom Landry for the most ever. It also ties the record of 165 regular-season losses held by Jeff Fisher and Dan Reeves.
Belichick was set to meet with team owner Robert Kraft today to discuss the coach’s future.
Lions 30, Vikings 20
Sam LaPorta had a 2-yard touchdown catch midway through the first quarter but later limped off the field with a knee injury, as NFC North champion Detroit defeated Minnesota.
Detroit (12-5) matched a franchise record for wins and will host a playoff game for the first time since the 1993 season when it played at the Pontiac Silverdome. It’ll be Detroit vs the L.A. Rams, led by former Lions QB Matthew Stafford.
LaPorta set an NFL record for receptions by a tight end with 86, but his availability for the playoffs is in question.
Minnesota (7-10) was eliminated from playoff contention, losing four straight games and six of seven.
Nick Mullens threw for 396 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Vikings. Justin Jefferson had a career-high-matching 12 catches for a season-high 192 yards and a score.
Saints 48, Falcons 17
Derek Carr passed for four touchdowns to lift New Orleans past Atlanta.
The Saints (9-8) fell short of the NFC South title because Tampa Bay won at Carolina.
Jamaal Williams had a 1-yard TD run in the final two minutes after New Orleans lined up as if planning to take a knee and run out the clock. The play appeared to upset both the Falcons and Saints coach Dennis Allen.
Atlanta finished 7-10 for the third straight season under coach Arthur Smith.
Carr passed for 264 yards and rookie receiver A.T. Perry caught two scoring passes to double his season total for New Orleans.
Desmond Ridder threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted and lost a fumble, with both turnovers leading to Saints touchdowns in the second half.
Bengals 31, Browns 14
Jake Browning threw three touchdown passes, Joe Mixon rushed for a season-high 111 yards and a score, and Cincinnati beat a Cleveland team resting most of its starters for the playoffs.
The Browns (11-6) were locked in as the No. 5 seed in the AFC and will pay at AFC South champion Houston next weekend. Quarterback Joe Flacco, star defensive end Myles Garrett, receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Denzel Ward were among the Browns’ starters who didn’t play.
Cincinnati (9-8) finished above .500 for the third straight season, and the AFC North became the first division since the 1970 merger to have all its teams finish above .500. The Bengals finished 1-5 against divisional foes.
Cowboys 38, Commanders 10
Dak Prescott connected with CeeDee Lamb on a touchdown pass late in the first half Sunday to help the Dallas Cowboys clinch the NFC East title and the No. 2 seed in the conference.
Dallas defeated the Washington Commanders 38-10.
Dallas went 12-5 for the third consecutive year and will host the Green Bay Packers — a team current Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy once led to a Super Bowl championship — on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. EST.
The Commanders clinched the No. 2 pick in the draft with their season-ending loss to the Cowboys.
Chiefs 13, Chargers 12
Blaine Gabbert, filling in for Patrick Mahomes had a pair of first-down scrambles late in the fourth quarter Sunday that led to Harrison Butker’s 41-yard field goal with 49 seconds remaining, and the AFC West champion Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 13-12 while resting most of their starters.
Gabbert completed 15 of 30 passes for 154 yards in his first start since 2018 with Tennessee.
With the Chiefs (11-6) locked into the AFC’s No. 3 seed for the playoffs, Mahomes and Travis Kelce were inactive. Kelce finished with 984 receiving yards, ending the All-Pro tight end’s bid for an eighth straight 1,000-yard season.
Chris Jones played and got a sack in the third quarter to reach 10 1/2 on the season and collect a $1.25 million bonus.
Kansas City will host Miami in a wild-card game on Saturday night.
Seahawks 21, Cardinals 20
Geno Smith threw two touchdown passes and the Seahawks rallied for a 21-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals, but Seattle still missed the playoffs after the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears.
Arizona’s Matt Prater missed a 51-yard field attempt, wide right, at the buzzer. It was his second missed field goal of the fourth quarter.
Raiders 27, Broncos 14
The Las Vegas Raiders continued their dominance over the Denver Broncos with a 27-14 victory behind Aidan O’Connell passing for 244 yards and two touchdowns, Zamir White rushing for 112 yards and a relentless pass rush.
This was the Raiders’ eighth consecutive victory over their AFC West rivals and 10th in 11 games. That includes a 4-0 record in Las Vegas.
Both teams ended their season at 8-9 and out of the playoffs.
Rams 21, 49ers 20
Carson Wentz threw one of his two touchdown passes to Puka Nacua and ran for a score to lead the Los Angeles Rams to a 21-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in a game filled with backups.
Los Angeles (10-7) clinched the sixth seed in the NFC and a trip to Detroit in the wild-card round next Sunday night, a game that will feature Matthew Stafford in the first playoff game hosted by Detroit in 30 years against the Lions team that drafted him first overall in 2009.
Stafford was dealt to Los Angeles before the 2021 season in a deal that sent Rams’ former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff to the Lions. The Rams went on to win the Super Bowl that season, while the Lions have turned into a winning team thanks in part to Goff.
The game had little meaning with the 49ers (12-5) having clinched the top seed in the NFC and a first-round bye and the Rams clinching a playoff spot last week.
That led both teams to sit several starters, including both quarterbacks, with Brock Purdy getting the day off for San Francisco.
Sam Darnold went 16 for 26 for 189 yards with a TD run and a TD pass to Ronnie Bell. He led the Niners to three TD drives in the first half before San Francisco’s offense stalled without any starters.
The biggest drama might have been Puka Nacua’s chase of the rookie records for catches and yards receiving. Nacua caught a 19-yard TD pass from Wentz in the first quarter to tie Bill Groman’s record of 1,473 yards that had stood since 1960.
He then broke the mark with a 7-yard catch on the opening drive of the third quarter. Nacua stayed in the game for one more play and caught a 6-yard pass to give him 105 catches — one more than the record set by Miami’s Jaylen Waddle in 2021.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Bills 21, Dolphins 14
Josh Allen threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Dawson Knox midway through the fourth quarter, and the Buffalo Bills won their fourth straight AFC East title, rallying past the Miami Dolphins 21-14.
Allen made things difficult for the Bills with three turnovers in Miami territory, but he came through at the end to help Buffalo earn the No. 2 seed in the conference. The Bills will host seventh-seeded Pittsburgh in the wild-card round on Sunday.
Buffalo was 5-5 in mid-November and faced long odds just to make the playoffs, but went 6-1 down the stretch, including five straight wins to finish the season.
Miami fell to the sixth seed and will play at AFC West champion Kansas City on Saturday night.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Deonte Harty turns on the afterburners for a 96-yard punt-return touchdown.
Buffalo Bills safety Taylor Rapp’s diving interception against Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa clinches the Bills’ fourth straight AFC East title.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love tosses a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks, their second scoring connection of the game, against the Chicago Bears. This was Love’s 32nd touchdown pass of the season.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s 35th touchdown pass of the season finds wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the back of the end zone.
Fake field goal TD. The Arizona Cardinals pull of the trick play for a touchdown to tight end Trey McBride.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Carson Wentz locates Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell for a go-ahead two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
