Washington tops Philly, wins NFC East

After a turbulent year, Ron Riviera, Alex Smith and the Washington Football Team are heading to the playoffs.

Washington shut down Philadelphia in the second half of a sloppy Sunday Night Football game, winning 2014 to clinch the NFC East and set up a matchup against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

Washington raced out to a 10-0 lead before Jalen Hurts rallied to Eagles to take a 1410 lead. Hurts was later benched by coach Doug Pederson in favor of Nate Sudfeld, a move that prompted criticism from the announcing crew and fans on social media.

Alex Smith threw for two touchdowns for Washington.

Colts 28, Jaguars 14 — Jonathan Taylor rushed for a franchise-record 253 yards and two scores, capping Indianapolis’ playoff-clinching victory over Jacksonville with a 45-yard touchdown run with 3:35 to go.

Philip Rivers threw for another score and the Colts’ defense shut out the Jaguars over the final quarter to help preserve the victory.

Rams 18, Cardinals 7 — John Wolford passed for 231 yards and rushed for 56 more in his

NFL debut, and Los Angeles is headed to the playoffs with a victory over Arizona.

Troy Hill returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown to lead yet another dominant defensive performance by the Rams.

Packers 35, Bears 16 — Aaron Rodgers threw for four touchdowns, breaking his franchise record for scoring passes in a season, and Green Bay clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC by beating playoffbound Chicago.

The Packers earned a bye while winning their sixth in a row and beat Chicago (8-8) for the 19th time in 22 games, counting the postseason.

The Bears are headed to the playoffs despite the loss because Arizona fell to the Los Angeles Rams.

Rodgers joined Peyton Manning (2004 and 2013) as the only players to throw for at least 45 touchdowns in multiple seasons. He now has 48, surpassing his previous high of 45 in his first MVP season of 2011.

Ravens 38, Bengals 3 — Baltimore used a club-record 404 yards rushing to clinch a playoff spot, beating Cincinnati as Lamar Jackson threw three touchdown passes and became the first NFL quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in two consecutive seasons.

Ravens rookie J.K. Dobbins rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72yard scoring romp in the third quarter.

Jackson rushed for 97 yards and threw for 113.

Bills 56, Dolphins 26 — Josh Allen and Buffalo placed an emphatic stamp on a breakout season with a rout of Miami in a game that helped knock the Dolphins out of the playoffs.

Allen threw three touchdown passes and Isaiah McKenzie scored three times, including returning a punt return 84 yards.

Giants 23, Cowboys 19 —

Rookie Xavier McKinney intercepted Dallas’ Andy Dalton in the end zone with 1:15 remaining, giving the Giants a victory over the Cowboys and a chance at an unprecedented, six-win playoff berth.

New York’s postseason chances were dashed Sunday night when Washington held on to beat Philadelphia.

Seahawks 26, 49ers 23 — Russell Wilson connected on two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett and Seattle rallied for a win over San Francisco to end the season on a four-game winning streak.

The 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention a few weeks ago and have been based in Arizona for more than a month.

Saints 33, Panthers 7 — Drew Brees threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns, the Saints had five interceptions and New Orleans defeated Carolina to wrap up the No. 2 seed.

Raiders 32, Broncos 31 — Darren Waller caught Derek Carr’s 2-point conversion pass with 24 seconds left, and Las Vegas rallied to beat Denver despite committing four turnovers.

Chargers 38, Chiefs 21 — Justin Herbert threw for 302 yards and accounted for four touchdowns against a team of mostly Kansas City backups, and the Chargers rolled to a victory as the Chiefs turned their attention to the postseason.

The Chiefs (14-2) already had wrapped up the No. 1 seed and the AFC’s lone firstround bye, so coach Andy Reid chose rest over reps by sitting quarterback Patrick Mahomes, safety Tyrann Mathieu and several of his best players.

Vikings 37, Lions 35 — Kirk Cousins threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns, lifting Minnesota to a win over Detroit in a matchup of teams finishing disappointing seasons.

Detroit’s defense broke franchise records by allowing 519 points and 6,716 yards, breaking marks set by its winless team in 2008.