Saturday:
Chiefs 28, Broncos 24
The Kansas City Chiefs rallied for a 28-24 win Saturday over the Denver Broncos, powered by Nick Bolton’s 86-yard fumble return midway through the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs (12-5) host a wild-card game, against the Pittsburgh Steelers in its quest to reach a third consecutive Super Bowl.
The Broncos were ahead 21-20 and driving for another score when Melvin Ingram III blitzed, speeding past tight end Noah Fant untouched and blowing up the play just as Drew Lock handed the ball to Melvin Gordon on second-and-2 from the 9.
Bolton, a rookie linebacker who checks in at 237 pounds, scooped up the loose ball and rumbled down the Chiefs sideline, nearly falling down at midfield before regaining his balance and outracing Lock to the end zone.
The Broncos (7-10) led for much of the afternoon despite having nothing to play for but pride.
Cowboys 51, Eagles 26
Dak Prescott threw a career-high five touchdown passes against Philadelphia Eagles backups, Cedrick Wilson and Dalton Schultz each had two scoring catches and the Dallas Cowboys kept their slim hopes for a No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs alive with a 51-26 victory Saturday night.
The Cowboys still had seeding to play for against an Eagles team that rested Jalen Hurts and other key starters ahead of an NFC wild-card game next week.
The NFC East champion Cowboys (12-5) needed losses Sunday by reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay against last-place Carolina and also for the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals to lose to earn the No. 2 seed. No such luck.
The Cowboys will host the red-hot San Francisco 49ers while the Eagles (9-8) will head to Tampa to face Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
Prescott was 21 of 27 for 295 yards and no interceptions.
He came with the Cowboys’ record for touchdown passes in a season with 37. Tony Romo threw 36 in 2007.
SUNDAY:
Titans 28, Texans 25
The Tennessee Titans clinched the top seed in the AFC for the first time in 14 years, beating the Houston Texans 28-25 on Sunday behind Ryan Tannehill’s career-high-tying four touchdown passes.
The 12-5 Titans, who secured their second straight AFC South title last week, have the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the third time since leaving Houston in 1997 and first since 2008. They also have a first-round bye.
Tannehill threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to put the Titans up 21-0 at halftime.
But the Texans (4-13) came alive in the second half, scoring 18 unanswered points to get within 3 before Julio Jones caught his first touchdown pass of the season on a 3-yard grab that made it 28-18 with about seven minutes remaining.
Houston cut the lead to 3 again when Danny Amendola’s second touchdown reception of the game made it 28-25 with 4½ minutes to go. Tennessee got a first down on third-and-2 with about three minutes left and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
Tannehill was 23 of 32 for 287 yards.
Houston’s Davis Mills threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns to give him 2,604 yards passing this season to move past David Carr (2,592) for most yards passing by a rookie in franchise history.
Amendola had seven receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns in his first game since Nov. 28.
Lions 37, Packers 30
Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes in the first half and sat out the second half with nothing at stake as the Detroit Lions beat the top-seeded Green Bay Packers 37-30.
Backup Jordan Love threw two interceptions late in the game, sealing a defeat that didn’t affect Green Bay’s playoff positioning.
The NFC North champion Packers (13-4) rolled into the Motor City after already clinching the conference’s No. 1 seed and its only first-round bye.
Rodgers, the reigning NFL MVP who may win the award for a fourth time, was 14 of 18 for 138 yards.
With the win, the Lions (3-13-1) lost a shot at having the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft after Jacksonville defeated Indianapolis.
Vikings 31, Bears 17
Kirk Cousins passed for 172 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to lead a Minnesota Vikings comeback to beat the Chicago Bears 31-17 in a matchup of two eliminated teams with a head coach in danger of being fired.
Justin Jefferson had the tying score and K.J. Osborn caught the go-ahead touchdown for the Vikings (8-9), who gave coach Mike Zimmer plenty to cheer in this pad-the-stats game while outscoring the Bears 28-3 after halftime.
Bears coach Matt Nagy elected to go for it on fourth down six times, failing on all but one of them. Andy Dalton took three sacks and threw an interception, and Patrick Peterson picked him off late in the fourth quarter and turned it into a 66-yard touchdown return.
Darnell Mooney had 12 catches for 126 yards to pass the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the Bears (6-11), who are 30-35 in four seasons under Nagy without a win in the playoffs.
Browns 21, Bengals 16
Case Keenum got his second win while filling in for Baker Mayfield on Sunday as the Cleveland Browns ended their dismal season with a 21-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, who left Joe Burrow at home and played their backups ahead of next weekend’s first-round game.
Keenum threw touchdown passes to Jarvis Landry and Demetric Felton as the Browns (8-9) completed a sweep of the surprising AFC North champions.
D’Ernest Johnson rushed for 123 yards and a score, and star running back Nick Chubb only had nine carries and finished the season with with 1,259 yards.
Meanwhile, the Bengals (10-7) played their “B” team. Burrow stayed in Cincinnati for treatment while several other starters also did not play.
WILD-CARD GAME: Cincinnati will host the Las Vegas Raiders this weekend.
Steelers 16, Ravens 13 OT
Ben Roethlisberger delayed his retirement, guiding Pittsburgh to a 16-13 win over the Baltimore Ravens that left the Steelers on the verge of an improbable playoff berth. Chris Boswell made a 36-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining to win the game for Pittsburgh which made the playoffs after the Raiders defeated the Chargers (and the game didn’t end in a tie).
Both Baltimore and Pittsburgh had slim playoff hopes coming in. The Steelers needed to win and have Indianapolis lose to Jacksonville to have any chance of extending Roethlisberger’s career with a postseason appearance. The Ravens needed a win, a loss by the Colts — and losses by the Dolphins and Chargers later in the day.
The most unlikely part of those scenarios — Indianapolis losing to lowly Jacksonville — actually happened. The Jaguars prevailed 26-11 and were in control for much of the second half.
The Steelers (9-7-1) and Ravens (8-9) would have both been eliminated if their game had ended in a tie.
T.J. Watt of the Steelers tied Michael Strahan’s single-season record of 22 1/2 sacks, reaching that milestone late in the second quarter.
Washington 22, Giants 7
Antonio Gibson ran for a career-high 146 yards, scored a touchdown and capped his first 1,000-yard rushing season by leading Washington to a 22-7 victory over New York.
Bobby McCain returned the first of his two interceptions 30 yards for a touchdown, and Joey Slye kicked three field goals as Washington (7-10) finished a season in which it went from division winners a year ago to an also-ran.
Third-stringer Jake Fromm threw a 22-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to Darius Slayton as the Giants (4-13) finished a miserable second season under Joe Judge with a six-game losing streak.
Jags 26, Colts 11
The Indianapolis Colts got clowned in Jacksonville.
Indy badly botched a chance to secure an AFC wild-card spot with a 26-11 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday in the “clown game,” the team’s seventh consecutive road loss to the Jaguars.
A debacle few saw coming left the Colts (9-8) with an outside shot at making the playoffs for the third time in four years, but those slim hopes ended when Pittsburgh beat Baltimore in overtime. Now, Indy returns home with a two-game skid and facing a long offseason that doesn’t even include a first-round draft pick.
The Jaguars (3-14), meanwhile, got a much-needed celebration that ended an eight-game losing streak. And they still managed to lock up the No. 1 pick for a second straight season.
NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor was held to 77 yards, Carson Wentz was sacked six times and turned the ball over twice — leading to 10 points — and Indy did little to stop the Jaguars.
The 15-point outcome could have been a bigger blowout had the Jags scored touchdowns instead of settling for two chip-shot field goals from inside the 5-yard line.
Jaguars rookie Trevor Lawrence capped his best game with an incredible play late in the third quarter. He kept a high snap from going over his head, gathered it, rolled right to evade an unblocked defender and then delivered a perfect pass to Marvin Jones in the back of the end zone for a 2-yard score.
Lawrence completed 23 of 32 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns, his first game with multiple TD passes since the season opener.
Wentz completed 17 of 29 passes for 185 yards, with a garbage-time touchdown and an interception. He also fumbled.
Dolphins 33, Patriots 24
Jaylen Waddle had a touchdown grab and set the NFL record for receptions in a rookie year, Duke Johnson rushed for 117 yards and the Miami Dolphins finished their season by defeating the playoff-bound New England Patriots 33-24.
Xavien Howard returned an interception for a touchdown and Johnson had a touchdown run for Miami (9-8), which finished with a winning record for the second consecutive season and once again didn’t have a playoff berth to show for it.
Brandon Bolden had two touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving — for the Patriots (10-7), who are headed to the playoffs as a wild card. But they were swept by the Dolphins for the first time since 2000.
The Patriots have played in wild-card games before under coach Bill Belichick — but have never been to the playoffs in the Belichick era as a wild card. They drop to the AFC’s sixth seed and travel to Buffalo to face the No. 3 Bills.
Saints 30, Falcons 20
The New Orleans Saints just missed making the playoffs on Sunday, despite beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-20.
The Saints (9-8) needed the Los Angeles Rams to beat the San Francisco 49ers in order to get a wild-card spot and a fifth consecutive playoff berth, but the Niners won 27-24 in overtime.
Trevor Siemian led back-to-back scoring drives following two Atlanta turnovers late in the first half, and the Saints overcame the loss of quarterback Taysom Hill to an injury.
The Falcons (7-10) were hurt by three turnovers, including two fumbles by running back Mike Davis.
Siemian completed 9 of 15 passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
Alvin Kamara ran for 146 yards on a career-high 30 carries for the Saints.
Bucs 41, Panthers 17
Tom Brady topped 5,000 yards passing for the second time in his career and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers set a franchise record for regular-season victories with a 41-17 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Brady completed 29 of 37 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns before taking the last half of the fourth quarter off, finishing with a career-best 5,316 yards passing and a Bucs single-season record 43 TD passes for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Mike Evans caught two of Brady’s TD passes, giving him a club-record 14 scoring receptions this year. He also became the first player in NFL history to begin a career with eight consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards receiving.
Tampa Bay (13-4) broke the club record for victories in a regular season set in 2002 and also earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC with the Rams losing to the 49ers in overtime. The Bucs will host the Philadelphia Eagles next weekend.
Carolina (5-12) finished on a seven-game losing streak that leaves coach Matt Rhule’s future in question. The Panthers are 10-23 in two seasons under the former Temple and Baylor coach, who signed a seven-year contract to move to the NFL in 2020.
Seahawks 38, Cardinals 30
Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, Rashaad Penny ran for 190 yards and a touchdown, and the Seattle Seahawks spoiled a shot at the NFC West title for the Arizona Cardinals by beating them 38-30.
The Cardinals (11-6) were still in the running for the NFC West title with a win, especially when the 49ers beat the Rams.
However, they couldn’t take care of business against the Seahawks and will settle for the No. 5 seed after starting the season with a 7-0 record.
Arizona is 4-6 since that hot start, including losing four of its last five. The Cardinals will play at the Rams in the wild-card round.
Seattle finishes 7-10 and won’t be in the postseason for just the second time in the past 10 years. Wilson, playing potentially his final game with the Seahawks, finished with 238 yards passing.
49ers 27, Rams 24 OT
The San Francisco 49ers clinched a playoff spot with a 27-24 overtime victory over the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams thanks to Robbie Gould’s 24-yard field goal with 2:45 left in overtime and a game-ending interception by Ambry Thomas.
Jauan Jennings caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo with 26 seconds left in regulation for the 49ers (10-7), who are postseason-bound for only the second time in eight years.
San Francisco rallied from a early 17-point deficit for their sixth consecutive win over the playoff-bound Rams (12-5), who won the division title anyway thanks to Seattle’s victory over Arizona.
Sixth-seeded San Francisco will play at Dallas next weekend, while the fourth-seeded Rams will host the Cardinals in the first playoff game in SoFi Stadium history.
San Francisco now has its longest winning streak in this rivalry since the 1990s.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Raiders 35, Chargers 32 OT
The Las Vegas Raiders are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, just their second postseason appearance since playing in Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season.
A 35-32 overtime victory against the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers clinched a wild-card spot for the Raiders and the No. 5 seed in the AFC.
A 47-yard Daniel Carlson field goal with no time on the clock in OT — after the teams traded field goals to start the extra period — ended the game. It was the Raiders’ record sixth walk-off win of the season, the most since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
The Raiders (10-7) will now travel to face the AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) next Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Bengals beat the Raiders 32-13 in Las Vegas on Nov. 21.
