Chiefs clinch top seed; Steelers win division
All season, the prolific Kansas City offense had been putting the Chiefs in position to capture the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
It took their defense — and some good fortune — to finally clinch it.
Patrick Mahomes threw a 25-yard TD pass to Demarcus Robinson with just under two minutes to go Sunday, then watched his defense force Younghoe Koo’s 39-yard field-goal try to tie the game. And when the Pro Bowl kicker faded it right with 9 seconds remaining, the Chiefs had escaped, 17-14.
Not to mention the Chiefs got their club-record 10th straight win and and the AFC’s lone first-round playoff bye.
“The defense played their tail off to give us a chance,” Mahomes said later, “and the offense found a way to score when we needed to. That’s just the championship swagger to know how to win a game even when you don’t play well.”
Travis Kelce had seven catches for 98 yards and a score, giving him 1,426 yards for the season, breaking George Kittle’s record for an NFL tight end.
“The real record I’m proud of,” Kelce said, “is this is the first time the Chiefs have ever been 14-1.”
The Falcons took the lead when Matt Ryan hit Laquon Treadwell for a 5-yard touchdown with 4:33 to go, then answered Mahomes’ TD pass to Robinson. But after forcing Ryan into throwing three incompletions, they watched Koo miss for only the time this season.
Pittsburgh 28, Indianapolis 24: Ben Roethlisberger overcame a month-long malaise to throw for 342 yards and three second-half touchdowns as the Steelers locked up the division title.
Listless and lifeless for weeks thanks to a three-game losing streak that followed an 11-0 start, Pittsburgh (12-3) somehow got it together over the final 25 minutes against the Colts (10-5). Indianapolis missed a chance to inch closer to a playoff berth when it let a 17-point third-quarter lead slip away.
The 38-year-old QB kick-started the comeback with a 39-yard strike to Diontae Johnson and brought the Steelers within a touchdown on a 5-yard pass to Eric Ebron. He gave Pittsburgh its first second-half lead since Dec. 7 when he audibled into a play that ended with Roethlisberger threading the ball between two Colts to JuJu Smith-Schuster from 25 yards with 7:38 to play.
Chicago 41, Jacksonville 17: The Jaguars took care of business, losing their 14th consecutive game and then getting some help to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Mitchell Trubisky accounted for three scores, including two touchdown passes to Jimmy Graham, and the Bears kept control of their postseason path. Chicago can make the NFC playoffs for the second time in three years by beating Green Bay next week at home — despite having gone through a six-game losing streak in 2020.
The Jaguars (1-14), who set a franchise record for consecutive losses, locked up the top pick for the first time in franchise history when the Jets beat Cleveland 23-16 a few minutes later.
Cincinnati 37, Houston 31: Samaje Perine ran for two touchdowns, including a 3-yard score late, to give the Bengals their first road win in more than two years.
The Texans (4-11) were driving after Perine’s second score when DeshaunWatson was sacked by Sam Hubbard, who forced a fumble that Margus Hunt recovered. The Bengals added a field goal to seal the victory.
It’s the first road win for second-year coach Zac Taylor and the first time the Bengals (4-10-1) won away from Cincinnati since a 37-36 victory at Atlanta on Sept. 30, 2018.
Carolina 20, Washington 13: Dwayne Haskins turned the ball over three times before getting benched, Steven Sims muffed a punt return that turned into a Panthers touchdown andWashington blew its first chance to clinch the NFC East.
Haskins was 14 of 28 with a fumble and two interceptions after starting in place of injured veteran Alex Smith, despite violating COVID-19 protocols last week. After being stripped of his captaincy and fined $40,000 for partying without a mask, he was stripped of the ball by Marquis Haynes in the first quarter and picked off by Tahir Whitehead and Tre Boston in the second.
Dallas 37, Philadelphia 17: Andy Dalton threw for 377 yards and three TDs, two to Michael Gallup, and Dallas stayed alive in the playoff race.
The Cowboys (6-9) won their third consecutive game and still have a chance to win the NFC East thanks toWashington’s 20-13 loss to Carolina, which guaranteed that the NFL’s worst division won’t have a team with a winning record.
Dallas can overtakeWashington (6-9) with a win at the New York Giants and aWashington loss to the Eagles on the final weekend of the regular season. The Giants (5-10) can get in by beating the Cowboys if Washington loses.
L.A. Chargers 19, Denver 16: Justin Herbert set the rookie record for most touchdown passes in a season and the Los Angeles Chargers won their third straight.
Michael Badgley tied a career high with four field goals, including the winning kick with 41 seconds remaining.
Herbert, the sixth overall pick in the April draft and third QB taken, completed 21 of 33 passes for 253 yards. He also became the fourth player to throw for over 4,000 yards as a rookie, joining Andrew Luck, Cam Newton and JameisWinston.
Seattle 20, L.A. Rams 9: Seattle claimed the NFCWest title as RussellWilson threw a 13-yard TD pass to Jacob Hollister with 2:51 left for the clinching score.
Seattle earned its first division title since 2016 and its fifth since Pete Carroll arrived in 2010.
Seattle’s quarterback scored on a 4-yard run on the opening drive of the second half for a 13-6 lead. But the final drive wasWilson at his best: Wilson was 5 for 5 for 59 yards on the drive, hitting four different receivers.