Rams’ loss to 49ers gives Vikings playoff berth

Home team in CAPS

■ 49ERS 34, Rams 31: Jimmy Garoppolo converted a pair of conversions on thirdand-16 to set up Robbie Gould’s gamewinning 33-yard field goal with no time left and San Francisco eliminated defending NFC champion Los Angeles from playoff contention Saturday night. Garoppolo made up for a mostly pedestrian game for the 49ers (12-3) by delivering two big throws on the final drive after taking his fifth and sixth sacks. He found Kendrick Bourne on an 18-yard pass over the middle to convert the first long third down and then hit Emmanuel Sanders behind a blown coverage for 46 yards to set up the winning kick. The Niners then ran out on the field to celebrate while the Rams (8-7) were eliminated with the loss. Minnesota became the fifth team to clinch a berth in the NFC with Dallas and Philadelphia battling for the final spot on Sunday.

■ PATRIOTS 24, Bills 17: Tom Brady passed for 271 yards and a touchdown, sneaked for a third-down conversion to set up another score and threw a downfield block on another scoring drive to help New England clinch its 11th AFC East title in a row. With the Bills visiting for a rare lateseason matchup while the division was still at stake, the Patriots’ Sony Michel ran for 96 yards and Rex Burkhead rebounded for an opening-drive fumble to catch four passes for 77 yards and run for 20 more. Both teams had already clinched playoff berths; the Patriots (12-3) remain in contention for a first-round bye or even the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Josh Allen completed 13 of 26 passes for 208 yards and ran for 43 more for the Bills, who have qualified for the playoffs for the second time since 1999.

■ Texans 23, BUCCANEERS 20: Bradley Roby returned one of Jameis Winston’s four interceptions for a touchdown and Ka’imi Fairburn snapped a fourth-quarter tie with his third field goal, lifting Houston over Tampa Bay and to its fourth AFC South title in five years. Roby raced 27 yards up the right sideline after picking off Winston’s first pass of the game, the sixth pick six the Bucs quarterback has thrown this season. Jahleel Addae’s interception with 1:27 remaining, ended any realistic chance the Bucs had of fully overcoming Winston’s mistakes. The Texans (10-5) won despite not getting an especially sharp performance from Deshaun Watson, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 184 yards and one interception. The Bucs (78) sacked him five times and held Houston to one offensive TD on Carlos Hyde’s 1-yard run in the second quarter.