Dolphins deny Pats a playoff bye
Dolphins 27, Patriots 24: Miami (5-11) dropped defending Super Bowl champion New England into the wild-card playoff round when Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki with 24 seconds remaining for a stunning victory Sunday in Foxborough, Mass. New England (12-4) will have to play in the opening weekend of the postseason for the first time since 2009. The Patriots never have made the Super Bowl while playing in the wild-card round.
Packers 23, Lions: Mason Crosby kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Green Bay Packers (13-3) to a win over the host Detroit Lions (312-1) to earn a first-round bye.
The Packers fell behind by two touchdowns in the second quarter. They didn’t lead until Crosby made his second gamewinning kick against Detroit this season.
Bears 21, Vikings 19: Eddy Piñeiro’s fourth field goal of the game for Chicago came from 22 yards with 10 seconds left, giving the Bears a victory over host Minnesota (8-8) with the Vikings (10-6) resting their regulars for the playoffs.
Piñeiro, the latest attempt by the Bears to solve their persistent kicking trouble, finished the season with 11 straight made field goals. Mitch Trubisky highlighted another unremarkable performance by hitting Riley Ridley for 34 yards on fourth-and-9 with 2:36 left from midfield to set up the winning kick.
Chiefs 31, Chargers 21: Mecole Hardman returned a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown, Damien Williams took a handoff 84 yards for another score, and the host Kansas City Chiefs (12-4) beat the Los Angeles Chargers (5-11) to leapfrog New England for the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a first-round playoff bye.
The Chiefs long ago clinched their fourth straight AFC West title, but they needed a win and an unlikely Dolphins victory over the Patriots to get a week off. And just as Williams punched into the end zone in the closing minutes for his second touchdown of the game, the Dolphins were scoring the go-ahead TD with 24 seconds left for their 27-24 upset in Foxborough.
Jets 13, Bills 6: Sam Darnold hit Jamison Crowder for a 1-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, and the New York Jets (7-9) avoided finishing their fourth consecutive season with double-digit losses in a win over the host Buffalo Bills (10-6), who rested most of their starters.
The playoff-bound Bills had very little to play for while resting most of their starters, including quarterback Josh Allen after the first quarter.
Bengals 33, Browns 23: Andy Dalton threw for a touchdown and ran for another in his farewell as a franchise quarterback – a Joe Burrow banner in the upper deck reminded him what comes next – and the host Cincinnati Bengals (2-14) ended one of their most miserable seasons with a victory over the Cleveland Browns (6-10).
Ohio’s two professional football teams wrapped up another fruitless year together and set course for an offseason of potentially big changes.
Falcons 28, Buccaneers 22: Deion Jones intercepted Jameis Winston on the first play of overtime and returned
the ball 28 yards for a touchdown to give the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) a victory over the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9).
Winston became the first Tampa Bay quarterback to pass for 5,000 yards in a season.
Saints 42, Panthers 10: The New Orleans Saints took care of business on the road against the reeling Carolina Panthers (5-11) and finished off a 13-3 regular season.
Drew Brees threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns, Alvin Kamara ran for two scores and the Saints handed the Panthers their eighth straight loss.
Ravens 28, Steelers 10: Slogging through the rain without several notable stars and with very little at stake, the host Baltimore Ravens (14-2) relied on a strong defensive performance to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8) and finish the regular season riding a 12-game winning streak.
Cowboys 47, Redskins 16: Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes to help host Dallas beat Washington (3-13), a win rendered meaningless when the
Cowboys (8-8) were eliminated from the playoffs by Philadelphia’s victory over the New York Giants.
Eagles 34, Giants 17: Boston Scott ran for three touchdowns in the second half and the injury-ravaged Eagles (9-7) beat the host Giants (4-12) to win the NFC East title.
Jaguars 38, Colts 20: Gardner Minshew turned in his best performance in two months, throwing for 295 yards and three touchdowns and leading the host Jaguars (6-10) to a victory over Indianapolis (7-9). The rookie closed out Jacksonville’s disappointing season by strengthening his case to be the team’s starting quarterback next season. Coach Doug Marrone might be around, too.
Broncos 16, Raiders 15: Shelby Harris knocked down Derek Carr’s 2-point pass to Hunter Renfrow with 7 seconds left and the host Denver Broncos (7-9) beat the Raiders (7-9) to end Oakland’s dim playoff hopes.
49ers 26, Seahawks 21: The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC will go through San Francisco for the first time since 1997. By inches.
The 49ers won the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a 2621 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night when Jacob Hollister was stopped by rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw on fourth-and-goal just inches short of the goal line.
But it took a replay review for San Francisco to finally celebrate its title.
Seattle took possession at its own 27 with 2:27 left down by five. Russell Wilson drove the Seahawks to the San Francisco 1 and on fourth-and-10, Wilson hit John Ursua for 11 yards to the 1. Wilson spiked the ball, but Seattle was called for delay of game on second down with confusion about whether Lynch should enter the game.
Backed up to the 6, Wilson was incomplete on two straight passes.
On fourth-and-goal Hollister caught the underneath pass but was knocked down by Greenlaw.
Replays confirmed Hollister hit the ground before the ball reached the goal line and San Francisco’s celebration was on.