Jaguars miss out on division and playoffs
Trevor Lawrence called his own number on fourthand-goal at the one, stretching the ball out with the right arm that had him questionable for a game the Jacksonville Jaguars had to win to reach the playoffs for a second straight season.
Tennessee stopped him short with 7:13 left. With one final chance, Lawrence couldn’t pick up a first down before turning the ball over on downs again with 1:47 left as the Tennessee Titans eliminated the Jaguars 2820 Sunday in their regularseason finale in Nashville.
Lawrence defended his decision to change to a play he’s scored on previously near the goal line.
“They trust me with those things, and it didn’t work,” Lawrence said. “I’ve got to take accountability for that and, at the end of the day, that’s on me if I decide to do it and don’t get in. It’s one of those plays where, if you do it, you better score and I didn’t. It’s unfortunate.”
The Jaguars (9-8) missed a chance at their first consecutive AFC South titles since 1998 and 1999. Their loss makes Houston the division champ, costing the Jaguars their only way into the postseason after Pittsburgh also won Saturday.
Jacksonville, once 8-3, lost five of its last six games.
Lawrence, who returned after missing last week with a sprained shoulder, had two passes intercepted.
Derrick Henry ran for a season-high 153 yards and a touchdown for the Titans (611).
at Bengals 31, Browns 14:
Jake Browning threw three touchdown passes, Joe Mixon rushed for a seasonhigh 111 yards and a score, and Cincinnati (9-8) got an easy win over a Cleveland team resting most of its starters for the playoffs.
Locked in as the No. 5 seed in the AFC, the Browns (11-6) played without quarterback Joe Flacco, star defensive end Myles Garrett, receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Denzel Ward.
Jets 17, at Patriots 3:
Breece Hall rushed for 178 yards and a late touchdown and New York ended a losing streak at 15 games against New England in what could have been Bill Belichick’s final game as coach of the Patriots.
With snow covering the field and flurries swirling throughout Gillette Stadium, Greg Zuerlein kicked three field goals to help the Jets (7-10) earn their first victory over the Patriots since an overtime win on Dec. 27, 2015. It marks the Jets’ first win in New England since the 2010 AFC divisional playoff round.
The Patriots’ 4-13 record is the worst finish in Belichick’s 29-year NFL coaching career, which includes six Super Bowl championships with the Patriots.
“A disappointing year for all of us — players, coaches, staffers, the entire organization,” Belichick said through a scratchy voice after fighting a cold for a week. “As far as the future goes, I’ll sit down with [Patriots owner] Robert [Kraft] as I do every year at some point . ... That’s all I have to say about that right now, because that’s all there is to talk about.”
at Raiders 27, Broncos 14:
Aidan O’Connell passed for 244 yards and two touchdowns, Zamir White rushed for 112 yards and a relentless pass rush helped Las Vegas (8-9) continue its dominance over Denver (8-9).
The Raiders have won eight in a row and 10 of 11 against the Broncos. Las Vegas’ Davante Adams reached 100 receptions for the fourth straight season.
Texans 23, at Colts 19:
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and Houston wrapped up a playoff spot with a victory over Indianapolis on Saturday night, with Devin Singletary scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a three-yard run with 6:20 left.
The Texans (10-7) are in the postseason for the first time since 2019. Stroud completed 20 of 26 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts (9-8) have not made the playoffs since 2020.