UNDATED (AP) – Football fans in Houston, Denver, Minnesota and Pittsburgh are celebrating playoff berths, while New York Jets fans lament another wasted season.
The Texans earned their first AFC South crown since 2012 by clobbering Jacksonville 30-6. J.J. Watt was productive in his first game since discarding the cast on his broken left hand, recording three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to help Houston end up 9-7. Jonathan Grimes had a 12-yard touchdown reception and added a 3-yard rushing score to help Houston take a 20-3 halftime lead. Kareem Jackson returned an interception 27 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown that capped the scoring.
Denver clinched the AFC West and the top seed in the conference playoffs with a 27-20 win over San Diego. Peyton Manning replaced Brock Osweiler in the third quarter and engineered a pair of scoring drives while going 5 of 9 for 69 yards. Manning entered after Osweiler passed for 232 yards, one touchdown and a pair of interceptions.
The game was tied at 20 until Ronnie Hillman scored on a 23-yard run with 4:44 remaining, allowing Denver to finish 12-4 and edge New England for the No. 1 seed.
Minnesota earned the right to host a playoff game by winning an NFC North showdown with the Packers, 20-13 in Green Bay. Adrian Peterson ran for 67 yards and provided the game’s first TD on a three-yard scoring run early in the second half. Captain Munnerlyn scored on a 55-yard fumble return later in the third quarter to give the Vikings a 20-3 lead.
Aaron Rodgers was 28 of 44 for 291 yards but couldn’t get the Packers into the end zone until his 16-yard pass to Richard Rodgers with 13:27 remaining. Rodgers and the Packers go into the playoffs as a wild card.
The Steelers capped their 10-6 season with a 28-12 win at Cleveland, putting Pittsburgh in the postseason after a one-year absence. Ben Roethlisberger threw for three touchdowns and was 24 of 36 for 349 yards and two interceptions.
The Steelers’ defense limited the 3-13 Browns to just four field goals and sacked Cleveland quarterback Austin Davis seven times. Davis also fumbled during a sack to set up the Steelers’ final TD.
The Jets could have earned the second AFC wild-card berth and eliminated the Steelers, but New York fell behind 13-0 and never caught up in a 22-17 loss to the Bills. Buffalo sealed the Jets’ doom by intercepting Ryan Fitzpatrick on each of New York’s final three drives.
Tyrod Taylor was 18 of 28 for 182 yards and no interceptions for the 8-8 Bills. He also scored on an 18-yard run to help Buffalo end New York’s five-game winning streak and drop the Jets to 10-5.
In other NFL regular-season finales:
– The Patriots are limping into the playoffs following a 20-10 loss to the Dolphins in Miami. Tom Brady was sacked twice and knocked down at least half a dozen times while throwing a season-low 21 passes. The Pats dropped four of their last six to finish 12-4. The Dolphins finish 6-10.
– Kansas City ends the regular season on a team-record, 10-game winning streak following a 23-17 win against Oakland. The Chiefs’ streak allowed them to win the first AFC wild-card berth and challenge Denver for the AFC West title despite a 1-5 start. Alex Smith threw a pair of scoring passes and the Chiefs sacked Raiders quarterback Derek Carr six times in dropping the Raiders to 7-9.
– Carolina has grabbed the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for the first time in team history, improving to 15-1 with a 38-10 pounding of Tampa Bay. Cam Newton completed 21 of 26 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for two TDs to tie Steve Young’s NFL record for most career rushing touchdowns with 43. Rookie Devin Funchess had seven catches for 120 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers won their 11th straight home game.
– Seattle warmed up for the NFC wild-card round by ripping the Arizona Cardinals 36-6 behind Russell Wilson’s three touchdown passes. Tyler Lockett set up three of the Seahawks’ four first-half touchdowns, doing it with 66- and 42-yard punt returns and a 36-yard reception. It was a meaningless game for the Cardinals, who already had clinched the NFC’s No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. Arizona ended a nine-game winning streak and finished 13-3.
– The Bengals closed out a sterling 12-4 regular season with a 24-16 win over the Ravens. A.J. McCarron overcame a rough start to throw a pair of touchdown passes and help the AFC North champs match a franchise record for victories in one season. The Ravens completed a 5-11 season that went sour early with close losses and more injuries than any other team in the league.
– Washington heads to the playoffs as NFC East champs with a 9-7 record and a four game winning streak. Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns before leaving late in the first half of Washington’s 34-23 win over Dallas. Cousins broke Jay Shroeder’s franchise record for yards passing in a season, finishing with 4,166. Had the game mattered, he might have threatened Sonny Jurgensen’s 48-year-old team record of 31 touchdown passes, instead settling for 29. The Cowboys ended up 4-12.
– By losing to the Colts 30-24, the Titans claimed the first pick in the NFL draft. Tennessee and Cleveland each finished the season 3-13, but the Titans won the tiebreaker between the clubs. The Colts won the game but lost out on a playoff berth as they finished second in the AFC South to Houston. They ended up 8-8 and avoided their first losing season since 2011.
– An interception by Jamarca Sanford at the Atlanta 25 with less than two minutes remaining set up Kai Forbath’s 30-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Saints a 20-17 win over the Falcons. The win gave the Saints a 7-9 record and a season sweep of the Falcons for the sixth time in 10 years under coach Sean Payton. The Falcons finish .500 at 8-8.
– The Lions got the better of the Bears 24-20 as Matthew Stafford threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns in what may have been the last game for Jim Caldwell as head coach in the Motor City. The Lions wrapped things up at 7-9, while the Bears were 6-10.
– In what might have been Tom Coughlin’s final game as head coach of the Giants, New York lost at home to the Eagles 35-30. Former Giant Walter Thurmond scored on an 83-yard interception return in the third quarter as the Eagles completed a 7-9 season. The 6-10 Giants end the campaign on a three-game losing streak that left them out of the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
– San Francisco beat St. Louis 19-16 on Phil Dawson’s fourth field goal of the afternoon, a 23-yard kick 11:33 into overtime. Blaine Gabbert passed for 354 yards and a 33-yard touchdown for the 5-11 49ers, who avoided their worst finish in a decade. Rams coach Jeff Fisher finished 7-9 for his fourth straight losing season running the team.
