USA TODAY International Edition
Seahawks claim NFC West; Jaguars cinch No. 1 draft pick
In NFC East, Washington misses shot at clinching, Giants lose and Cowboys still alive.
SEATTLE – The Seahawks claimed the NFC West title, Russell Wilson throwing a 13- yard TD pass to Jacob Hollister with 2: 51 left for the clinching score Sunday.
Seattle ( 11- 4) earned its first division title since 2016 and its fifth since Pete Carroll arrived in 2010 behind a stellar defensive effort and a clutch late drive engineered by Wilson.
Seattle’s quarterback scored on a 4yard run on the opening drive of the second half for a 13- 6 lead. But the final drive was Wilson at his best: Wilson was 5- for- 5 for 59 yards on the drive, hitting four different receivers.
Wilson connecting with Hollister was a bit of redemption for the tight end who was stopped inches short of the same end zone on the final play a year ago in Week 17 against San Francisco. That gave the division title to the 49ers. Wilson finished 20 of 32 for 225 yards.
Seattle flustered Jared Goff, shut down the Rams’ run game and held Los Angeles ( 9- 6) to a season low in points. PANTHERS 20, WASHINGTON 13:
Dwayne Haskins turned the ball over three times before getting benched, Steven Sims muffed a punt return that turned into a Carolina touchdown and Washington ( 6- 9) 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. Carolina ( 5- 10) snapped a three- game skid.
CHIEFS 17, FALCONS 14: Kansas City clinched the top seed in the AFC and the only playoff bye when Patrick Mahomes threw a 25- yard TD pass to Demarcus Robinson with just under two minutes left. Kansas City had to watch as Atlanta Pro Bowl kicker Younghoe Koo missed a tying field goal attempt with 9 seconds left to escape. The Chiefs ( 14- 1) won their NFL- record seventh straight onepossession game and matched a franchise record with their 10th straight win. They took any seeding drama out of games involving Pittsburgh and Buffalo and will have that coveted first- round AFC bye when the postseason begins in two weeks. The Falcons ( 4- 11) took the lead when Matt Ryan hit Laquon Treadwell for a 5- yard touchdown with 4: 33 to go. But Mahomes kept finding Travis Kelce – who had a record- setting game of his own – to set up the TD pass to Robinson. And when the Falcons marched the other way in the closing seconds, Kansas City’s defense forced Koo’s 39- yard kick.
RAVENS 27, GIANTS 13: Lamar Jackson directed four scoring drives during the decisive first half. Baltimore’s fourth straight victory, combined with Pittsburgh’s win over Indianapolis, lifted the Ravens past the Colts in the AFC wildcard hunt. With a victory in Cincinnati next week, the Ravens ( 10- 5) will earn a playoff berth for the third year in a row. The Giants ( 5- 10) lost their third straight and were left with only a minuscule chance of making the postseason. Jackson guided the Ravens to touchdowns on their first two possessions, then took them into field goal position on his next two drives for a 20- 3 halftime lead.
JETS 23, BROWNS 16: After this loss, Cleveland will need to beat the archrival Steelers next Sunday if it’s going to end the NFL’s longest playoff drought. On 4th- and- 1 with 1: 18 remaining and the short- handed Browns ( 10- 5) driving for the potential tying score, quarterback Baker Mayfield tried to push forward for a first down. He lost the ball when Tarell Basham smacked into him. Kareem Hunt recovered, but by rule, Mayfield was the only one who could advance the ball – and the quarterback was short of the first down. The Jets ( 2- 13) sealed their second straight victory after a 0- 13 start, losing all chance for the top overall draft pick. It was a rough week for the Browns, who haven’t been in the postseason since 2002 and entered without seven players including Jarvis Landry and three other wide receivers and rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills. Cleveland had to call up several players from the practice squad and coach Kevin Stefanski ran a walk- through in a parking lot near the team’s hotel to get some of the new players up to speed on the game plan.
BEARS 41, JAGUARS 17: Jacksonville 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 Chicago kept control of its postseason path. The Bears 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) set a franchise record for consecutive losses.
BENGALS 37, TEXANS 31: Samaje Perine ran for two touchdowns, including a 3- yard score late, to give Cincinnati its first road win in more than two years. Houston ( 4- 11) was driving after Perine’s second score when Deshaun Watson 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. The Bengals have won two games in a row for the first time this season after upsetting the Steelers 27- 17 last Monday night.
CHARGERS 19, BRONCOS 16: Justin Herbert set the rookie record for touchdown passes in a season for San Diego ( 6- 9) in the win against Denver ( 5- 10). Michael Badgley tied a career high with four field goals, including the winning kick with 41 seconds remaining. And Herbert’s 9- yard screen pass to Austin Ekeler in the second quarter was his 28th touchdown throw of the season, surpassing the 27 that Baker Mayfield had for Cleveland in 2018. Herbert, the sixth overall pick in the April draft and third quarterback 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 Jameis Winston.