Raiders 35 Chargers 32
Derek Carr threw a pair of touchdown passes to Hunter Renfrow and Daniel Carlson kicked the last of his five field goals as time expired in overtime as the Las Vegas Raiders clinched a spot in the NFL play-off field by holding on for a 35-32 victory on Sunday night over the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.
Carr went 20-of-36 passing for 186 yards as Las Vegas (10-7) won its last four games to earn a trip to Cincinnati for a wildcard game Saturday. Adding to the drama was that a tie game would have put both teams in the playoffs. Instead, the Raiders’ victory eliminated the Chargers and allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to make the play-off field.
Carlson kicked a 40-yard field goal on the first possession of OT to give the Raiders a 32-29 lead, with the Chargers tying the game 32-all on a 41-yard kick from Dustin Hopkins with 4.30 remaining in the extra period. Carlson won it on a 47-yarder on the final play of OT as the Raiders (10-7) advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert completed 34 of 64 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Austin Ekeler had a rushing and receiving TD for the Chargers (9-8), while Mike Williams had nine catches for 119 yards.
49ers 27 Rams 24 (OT)
Robbie Gould kicked a 24-yard field goal with 2.48 remaining in overtime, allowing San Francisco to earn a wildcard spot in the NFC play-offs with a comeback victory over host Los Angeles.
Rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas intercepted a Matthew Stafford pass six plays later, assuring the 49ers (10-7) the No 6 seed in the West and a meeting with the third-seeded Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the play-offs. San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, playing 17 days after tearing a ligament in his right thumb, completed 23 of 32 passes for 316 yards and one touchdown.
After blowing a 17-0 lead and seeing a five-game winning streak come to an end, the Rams (12-5) fell to the No 4 seed in the NFC and will host the fifth-seeded Arizona Cardinals next week.
Steelers 16 Ravens 13 (OT)
Chris Boswell booted a 36-yard field goal with 1.56 remaining in overtime to give Pittsburgh a victory over host Baltimore. The victory, combined with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ upset of the Indianapolis Colts and the Raiders’ win over the Chargers later Sunday night, earned Pittsburgh the No 7 spot in the postseason. The Steelers (9-7-1) will visit the No 2 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the wildcard round.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger completed 30 of 44 passes for 244 yards, one touchdown and one interception in what could have been his final regular-season appearance. Steelers star TJ Watt had one sack to match the NFL record of 22.5 set by Michael Strahan of the New York Giants in 2001.
Baltimore (8-9) was eliminated with the loss, which was its sixth straight setback. Latavius Murray rushed for a season-high 150 yards on 16 carries and scored Baltimore’s lone touchdown.
Titans 28 Texans 25
Ryan Tannehill tossed four touchdown passes and Tennessee held off hosts Houston to lock up the No 1 playoff seed in the AFC.
The Titans (12-5), who squandered most of a 21-0 half-time lead, finished the regular season tied with the Kansas City Chiefs atop the conference. Tennessee earned the top seed - which means a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs - by virtue of a head-to-head win over the Chiefs.
The Texans (4-13) wrapped up David Culley’s first year as head coach with a loss despite Davis Mills’ 301 passing yards and three touchdowns. Danny Amendola caught two scoring passes in the fourth quarter and finished with 113 yards on seven receptions.
Jaguars 26 Colts 11
Trevor Lawrence capped a rocky rookie season with 223 yards passing and two touchdowns as host Jacksonville upset Indianapolis, which needed a win or a tie to make the postseason but was instead eliminated later when Pittsburgh knocked off Baltimore in overtime.
Lawrence completed 23 of 32 passes, including a three-yard strike to a leaping Marvin Jones in the back right corner of the end zone with 3.08 left in the third quarter. Jones caught seven passes for 88 yards as Jacksonville (3-14) snapped an eight-game losing streak and gave interim coach Darrell Bevell his first win after replacing Urban Meyer last month.
Carson Wentz hit 17 of 29 passes for 185 yards for the Colts (9-8), including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Michael Pittman Jr with 4.26 left in the game.
Browns 21 Bengals 16
Case Keenum completed 17 of 24 passes for 176 yards with two touchdowns and D’Ernest Johnson powered the offense with 123 rushing yards and a touchdown as host Cleveland won their fourth straight game over Cincinnati.
Cleveland (8-9) snapped a three-game skid in beating Cincinnati (10-7), who had already clinched the AFC North title androtateds. The fourth-seeded Bengals will host the fifth-seeded Raiders on Saturday.
Reserve quarterback Brandon Allen was 15 of 29 for 136 yards and a touchdown and was sacked four times as the Bengals finished with just 182 total yards. However, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase played just long enough to make two catches for 26 yards, giving him the franchise’s single-season receiving yardage record of 1,455.
Bills 27 Jets 10
Devin Singletary scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, as host Buffalo won its second straight AFC East title by pounding New York in Orchard Park, NY.
The Bills (11-6) rode a sterling defensive performance en route to securing the No 3 seed in the AFC and a home playoff game next Saturday against the sixth-seeded New England Patriots. Buffalo recorded a season-high nine sacks and limited the Jets (4-13) to just 53 total yards of offence on 46 plays.
Josh Allen completed 24 of 45 passes for 239 yards with two touchdowns, with Stefon Diggs (nine catches, 81 yards, one TD) serving as his primary target. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson went 7 of 20 passing for 87 yards and one touchdown.
Dolphins 33 Patriots 24
Jaylen Waddle broke the NFL rookie single-season record for receptions, finishing with 104, and Xavien Howard scored on a pick-six as host Miami upset New England.
This was the first time since 2000 that Miami (9-8) swept its season series with New England. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 15 of 22 passes for 109 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
New England (10-7), which entered the week already having clinched a play-off berth, lost a shot at winning the AFC East division title. The Patriots were led by Brandon Bolden, who scored two touchdowns. Quarterback Mac Jones completed 20 of 30 passes for 261 yards, one TD and one interception. The Patriots, the No 6 seed, will face the third-seeded Bills in a wildcard game on Saturday.
Seahawks 38 Cardinals 30
Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to overcome two costly miscues as Seattle defeated Arizona in the regular-season finale in Glendale, Ariz.
Rashaad Penny rushed for a career-high 190 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown with 4.34 remaining, and Tyler Lockett scored on 43- and five-yard receptions. The Seahawks (7-10) finished their season on a two-game winning streak, despite Wilson losing a fumble returned for a touchdown and throwing one interception.
James Conner scored two touchdowns for the Cardinals (11-6), who lost four of their last five games to finish second in the NFC West and claim the conference’s No 5 seed for the play-offs, where they will face the fourth-seeded Rams on Monday night. Kyler Murray was 28-of-39 passing for 240 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown pass to Conner.
Saints 30 Falcons 20
Trevor Siemian came off the bench to throw two touchdown passes as visiting New Orleans defeated Atlanta.
The Saints (9-8) got a win they needed to stay alive for a wildcard play-off berth, but they were eliminated from the play-off picture when the 49ers defeated the Rams in overtime a short time later. Siemian replaced injured Taysom Hill in the second quarter and completed nine of 15 passes for 71 yards.
Matt Ryan completed 20 of 33 passes for 216 yards, one touchdown and one interception for the Falcons (7-10).
Buccaneers 41 Panthers 17
Tom Brady threw three touchdowns and Tampa Bay finished strong in the regular season by defeating visiting Carolina.
Tampa Bay (13-4) scored 24 fourth-quarter points to put away the Panthers. The reigning Super Bowl champions will enter the play-offs as the No 2 seed in the NFC. They will face the seventh-seeded Philadelphia Eagles next weekend.
The Panthers (5-12) lost seven consecutive games to end their second season under coach Matt Rhule. Two of the last three defeats came to the Buccaneers, who won 32-6 in Charlotte, NC. It’s the worst record in NFL history for a team that began the season with a 3-0 record.
Lions 37 Packers 30
D’Andre Swift scored the key touchdown with 1:54 remaining on a 14-yard run and host Detroit defeated Green Bay.
Jared Goff passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns, while Amon-Ra St Brown caught eight passes for 109 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (3-13-1).
Aaron Rodgers passed for 138 yards and two touchdowns while playing only the first half for the Packers (13-4), who had already wrapped up the top seed in the NFC play-offs. Allen Lazard caught five passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Vikings 31 Bears 17
Kirk Cousins completed 14 of 22 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns, and Minnesota rallied past Chicago in Minneapolis.
Justin Jefferson, KJ Osborn and Patrick Peterson each scored fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Vikings finished the game with 21 unanswered points. Ihmir Smith-Marsette also had a touchdown reception for Minnesota (8-9).
Andy Dalton completed 33 of 48 passes for 325 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Chicago (6-11). Darnell Mooney had 12 catches for 126 yards, and Damien Williams caught a touchdown pass.
Washington Football Team 22 Giants 7
Antonio Gibson rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown as Washington closed the season with a win over New York in East Rutherford, NJ.
In a defensive struggle, Washington’s Bobby McCain scored the game’s first touchdown late in the third quarter, returning an interception 30 yards as his team (7-10) snapped a four-game losing streak. McCain added another interception on the game’s final play.
It was the sixth straight loss for New York (4-13), each by double-digit margins. Washington limited Jake Fromm to 15 completions on 31 attempts for 103 yards and held Saquon Barkley to 30 yards on 11 rushes. New York’s most effective weapon was Fromm’s legs as he scrambled five times for 53 yards.
