Browns, Ravens clinch wild-card spots in AFC
The Baltimore Ravens used a club-record 404 yards rushing Sunday to clinch a playoff spot.
CINCINNATI >> The Baltimore Ravens used a club-record 404 yards rushing Sunday to clinch a playoff spot, beating Cincinnati 38-3 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.
The Ravens rolled up 525 total yards, and the 404 rushing yards were the most surrendered by a Bengals defense. Rookie J.K. Dobbins rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72-yard scoring romp in the third quarter.
Baltimore won its fifth straight game and advanced to the postseason for a third consecutive season.
Jackson rushed for 97 yards and threw for 113 before taking a seat in the third quarter. He has run or passed for at least one touchdown in 36 straight starts, the longest active streak in the NFL.
Another Ravens playoff appearance didn’t look likely just a few weeks ago. They started 5-1 but slumped amid a COVID-19 outbreak and injuries to key players. They rebounded to win four straight and put themselves in a position to secure the postseason spot heading into the season finale against Cincinnati (4-11-1) which had won two straight. BROWNS 24, STEELERS 22 >> Cleveland is back in the playoffs, qualifying for the first time since 2002 by surviving a late Pittsburgh rally for a win over the Steelers, who rested quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and several other starters.
The Browns (11-5) nearly blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, but stopped Pittsburgh’s 2-point conversion attempt and then recovered an onside kick with 1:22 left to hold on.
BILLS 56, DOLPHINS 26 >> Josh Allen and Buffalo placed an emphatic stamp on a breakout season with a rout of Miami in a game the Dolphins could have clinched a playoff berth with a win.
Allen threw three touchdown passes and Isaiah McKenzie scored three times, including returning a punt return 84 yards. Buffalo blew the game open by scoring on four consecutive second-quarter possessions.
With the win, the Bills (13-3) clinched the AFC’s No. 2 playoff seed in completing a season in which they matched a single-season record for wins, set in both 1990 and ‘91, and won their first East Division title in 25 years
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 hang on the Philadelphia Eagles, who play Washington. Washington would claim the NFC East with a win or tie. Otherwise, the Giants will take it for the first time since 2011.
BUCCANEERS 44, FALCONS 27 >> Tom Brady threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns, helping playoff-bound Tampa Bay clinch the fifth seed in the NFC with a regular season-ending win over Atlanta.
The victory, which means the Bucs (11- 5) will face the NFC East champion, Washington or the Giants, on the road in the club’s first postseason game in 13 years, may have come with a steep cost.
Star receiver Mike Evans was carted to the locker room with a left knee injury late in the first quarter and did not return. PATRIOTS 28, JETS 14 >> Cam Newton had three touchdown passes and caught another, and New England rallied to beat New York.
The win snapped a threegame losing streak for New England (7-9), which earned its 10th straight win over the Jets (2-14), but won’t be playing in the postseason for the first time since the 2008 season.
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.
The Vikings (7-9) failed for the fourth time in a decade to make two straight trips to the playoffs.