Saints clinch playoff berth
Rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore corralled an unusual, momentum-turning interception off his back, New Orleans made two defensive stands from inside its 2-yard line, and the host Saints clinched their first playoff berth since 2013 with a 23-13 victory over Atlanta on Sunday.
Ted Ginn caught a 54-yard pass for a touchdown, which came a few plays after Lattimore’s interception and shortly before halftime. Mark Ingram used a sharp cutback to break loose for a 26-yard touchdown for New Orleans ( 11-4), which kept its tenuous hold on first place in the NFC South heading into the final week of the season.
Though the loss eliminated the Falcons (9-6) from the NFC South race, Atlanta can clinch a wild-card berth by beating Carolina in the teams’ regular-season finale Sunday.
The Falcons squandered chances spectacularly, much to the delight of a deafening Superdome crowd. Atlanta trailed 6-0 when Lattimore’s interception of a Matt Ryan pass set up the Saints to double their lead.
But early in the third quarter, Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones intercepted a pass that deflected off Ginn’s hands and returned it 41 yards to the New Orleans 2. Devonta Freeman fumbled on a hit by Tyeler Davison two plays later and linebacker Manti Te’o recovered.
Drew Brees completed 21 of 28 passes for 239 yards. Brees became the third quarterback in NFL history to eclipse 70,000 career yards passing, joining Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. Ryan was 22-for-36 for 288 yards. He was sacked five times, twice by Cameron Jordan.
Panthers 22, Buccaneers 19: Cam Newton scored on a 2-yard run with 35 seconds remaining to lift host Carolina (11-4) over Tampa Bay (4-11) and into the NFC playoffs. The Panthers trailed most of the second half, but Newton drove them 59 yards, completing 4 of 7 passes for 52 yards in the final three minutes before scoring on a what could have been a game-ending play. Newton fumbled the snap from the shotgun, alertly grabbed the ball and then dived across the goal line for the goahead score. Carolina can win the NFC South title with a win over Atlanta and a New Orleans loss to Tampa Bay. The Panthers sealed the game when Kawann Short sacked Jameis Winston on Tampa Bay’s final drive, and forced a fumble that Julius Peppers recovered. Winston threw for 367 yards and a touchdown but was sacked six times and fumbled three times.
Chargers 14, Jets 7: Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass to Antonio Gates and Melvin Gordon ran for a score, and visiting Los Angeles (8-7) stayed alive in the AFC playoff race. The Chargers entered the weekend needing to win both of their remaining games — including next Sunday at home against the Raiders — and get lots of help to remain in the mix. Los Angeles, which started the season 0-4, had a tough time getting much going against a spirited effort by the defense of New York (5-10). Rivers finished 22-for-40 for 290 yards. Gordon had 81 yards on 19 carries, but left late in the game with an ankle injury. Bilal Powell was the bright spot for the Jets, rushing for 145 yards, including a 57-yard TD, on 19 carries.
Bengals 26, Lions 17: Giovani Bernard ran for 116 yards and a clinching touchdown in the closing minutes that eliminated visiting Detroit (8-7) from playoff contention and gave Marvin Lewis a good moment in what was possibly his final home game as Cincinnati’s head coach. Matthew Stafford and the Lions couldn’t take advantage of the injury-depleted Bengals (6-9). Tion Green’s 5-yard touchdown run put the Lions ahead 17-16 early in the fourth quarter, but defensive penalties extended Cincinnati’s drive that led to Randy Bullock’s go-ahead kick with 4:42 left.
Bears 20, Browns 3: Cleveland (0-15) got pushed to the brink of a winless season, hurt by two more interceptions by DeShone Kizer and two turnovers in the red zone at Chicago (5-10). One more loss and the Browns will join the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only 0-16 teams.
Washington 27, Broncos 11: Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns in what could be his final home game for Washington (7-8). Cousins was 19-for-37 with TD passes to Jamison Crowder, Josh Doctson and Vernon Davis and an interception. He became the first Washington quarterback with three seasons of 25 or more TD passes, and needs 65 yards for his third in a row with 4,000-plus yards. Brock Osweiler started at QB for Denver (5-10) and was 22-for-38 for 193 yards with a fumble and an interception.
Cardinals 23, Giants 0: Larry Fitzgerald had a big day in what might have been the final home game of his prolific career and Arizona (7-8) shut out an opponent for the first time in 25 seasons. Fitzgerald, an 11-time Pro Bowl selection in his 14 NFL seasons, caught nine passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. He even completed a pass for the first time (in three career tries), a 21-yarder to Jaron Brown. Eli Manning threw two interceptions for New York (2-13). Arizona had not shut out an opponent since a 17-0 win over the Giants on Dec. 12, 1992. Bruce Arians moved into a tie with Ken Whisenhunt for most victories (49) by a Cardinals head coach. Arians benched quarterback Blaine Gabbert after five starts and returned to Drew Stanton, who completed 20 of 34 passes for 209 yards, including TD throws of 13 yards to Fitzgerald and 15 yards to John Brown. Fitzgerald, 34, became the oldest player with 100 catches and 1,000 yards in the same season.