TITANS GET HOME FIELD EDGE
The AFC playoffs will be running through Music City, and the Tennessee Titans should have Derrick Henry back for their first game this postseason.
The Tennessee Titans, who used an NFL-high 91 players for the most ever in a non-strike season, clinched their first No. 1 seed since 2008 and third overall. They needed only a win Sunday, though they made it interesting before holding off the team that replaced them in Houston 28-25 to clinch the AFC’s top spot.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel noted nobody hands out Tshirts and hats for clinching the top seed.
“We understand we’re in the Elite Eight,” Vrabel said. “We’ve moved onto the second round of the playoffs without having to play a playoff game.”
This postseason will feature seven teams who missed the playoffs last season: Arizona, Cincinnati, Dallas, New England, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
The Chiefs (12-5) beat Denver on Saturday and needed the Titans to lose to clinch the AFC’s top seed. The Titans’ win locked Kansas City in the No. 2 seed thanks to Tennessee (12-5) holding the tiebreaker after beating the Chiefs 27-3 on Oct. 24 in Nashville.
Kansas City will host Pittsburgh on Sunday night in the wild-card round.
Only the Green Bay Packers had their playoff seeding set as the NFC’s No. 1 seed going into the NFL’s final week of the regular season. The AFC had teams fighting for the final two wild-card spots and San Francisco trying to hold onto the final wild-card berth in the NFC.
The Indianapolis Colts came in on a roll with seven Pro Bowl players needing only to beat Jacksonville to reach the playoffs. Instead, the Colts blew a wild-card berth by losing their seventh straight road game to the Jaguars 26-11.
Ben Roethlisberger will play at least one more game. The Steelers had been on the outside looking in until the Colts’ loss, and they beat Baltimore 16-13 in overtime.
The Buffalo Bills clinched their second straight AFC East title and the No. 3 seed by beating the Jets 27-10 to finish 11-6. The Bills will host the New England Patriots on Saturday night.
The Patriots (10-7) will be playing their first wild-card game on the road under coach Bill Belichick with their 17 previous playoff berths all as AFC East champs. The Patriots lost three of four, including 33-24 to Miami on Sunday.
In the NFC, the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4) clinched the No. 2 seed by downing Carolina 41-17. The Bucs will host sevenseeded Philadelphia (9-8) in the first wild-card game Sunday.
Third-seeded Dallas, which routed the Eagles on Saturday night, will host No. 6 seed San Francisco (10-7) in the second wild-card game Sunday afternoon.
Notable
Seahawks Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs was carted off the field with a broken right leg and dislocated ankle in an emotional scene in Arizona.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Diggs broke his right fibula.
Atlanta owner Arthur Blank tested positive for COVID-19 and wasn’t able to attend the season finale against New Orleans.
It was the first regularseason Falcons game, home or away, Blank had not attended since purchasing the team in 2002.
Saints quarterback Taysom Hill left the game against Atlanta midway through the second quarter with a left foot injury and never returned. New Orleans won 30-20, but missed the playoffs.
49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky was sidelined in the first half at the Rams by a concussion, forcing placekicker Robbie Gould to punt.