Tennessee rides Henry into playoffs

Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans ran their way into the playoffs, beating a Houston Texans team that rested several starters and setting up an intriguing first-round matchup with New England.

Henry rushed for a season-high 211 yards and three touchdowns in the Titans’ 35-14 victory on Sunday. The Texans beat the Titans two weeks ago to take control of the AFC South and locked up the division last week, allowing Houston to sit quarterback Deshaun Watson and other key players.

Tennessee got its first win at Houston since Jan. 1, 2012. The Titans, who will visit the Patriots next weekend, are in the postseason for the second time in three seasons and the first under coach Mike Vrabel, who played for New England for eight seasons.

Ryan Tannehill threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns for Tennessee and will make his playoff debut in his eighth NFL season. Rookie receiver A.J. Brown had 124 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Watson was active on Sunday, but coach Bill O’Brien started AJ McCarron instead. Watson was listed as questionable with a back injury this week but said he was OK. Receiver DeAndre Hopkins was also active, but did not play and several starters, including receiver Kenny Stills, left tackle Laremy Tunsil and nose tackle D.J. Reader, were inactive.

McCarron threw for 225 yards with an interception and ran for a touchdown.

Houston was already locked into the AFC’s fourth seed and will host Buffalo next week.

Tennessee was up by seven at halftime and extended the lead when Henry scored on a 3-yard run with 10:06 left in the third quarter. Henry returned after sitting out last week with a hamstring injury.

Houston then used almost nine minutes on a 16-play drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by McCarron. He evaded the rush and dived into the end zone for the score that cut the lead to 21-14.

Tennessee made it 28-14 when Henry scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter. That touchdown was set up when Brown grabbed a nifty 47-yard reception between two defenders just before falling out of bounds.

The Titans padded the lead when Henry rumbled 53 yards for a touchdown with 2:54 left. He finished the season with a career-high 1,540 yards rushing, which leads the NFL, and 16 touchdowns — tied with Green Bay’s Aaron Jones for the league lead.

Henry became the third player in franchise history to run for 15 or more touchdowns in a season, joining Earl Campbell (19 in 1979) and LenDale White (15 in 2008).

Cowboys 47, Redskins 16: Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes to help Dallas beat Washington, a win rendered meaningless when the Cowboys were eliminated by Philadelphia’s victory over the New York Giants.

Broncos 16, Raiders 15: Shelby Harris knocked down Derek Carr’s 2-point pass to Hunter Renfrow with 7 seconds left and Denver put at end to the Oakland’s dim playoff hopes Sunday.

Rams 31, Cardinals 24: Tyler Higbee and Robert Woods caught TD passes from Jared Goff in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Rams bade farewell to the Coliseum and secured their third straight winning season.

Jaguars 38, Colts 20: Gardner Minshew turned in his best performance in two months, throwing for 295 yards and three touchdowns and leading the Jaguars over Indianapolis on Sunday.

Ravens 28, Steelers 10: Baltimore Ravens relied on a strong defensive performance to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-10 Sunday and finish the regular season riding a 12-game winning streak.

Bengals 33, Browns 23: Andy Dalton threw for a touchdown and ran for another in his farewell as a franchise quarterback and the Bengals ended one of their most miserable seasons with a victory.

Packers 23, Lions 20 (OT): Mason Crosby kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Packers to a first-round bye. The Lions closed with nine straight losses for their longest losing streak since going 0-16 in 2008.

Chiefs 31, Chargers 21: Mecole Hardman returned a kickoff 104 yards for a TD, Damien Williams ran 84 yards for another score, and the Chiefs leapfrogged New England for the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

Bears 21, Vikings 19: Eddy Pineiro’s fourth field goal of the game for Chicago came from 22 yards with 10 seconds left with the Vikings resting their regulars for the playoffs.

Falcons 28, Buccaneers 22 (OT): Atlanta’s Deion Jones intercepted Jameis Winston on the first play of overtime and returned the ball 28 yards for a TD. Atlanta rebounded from a 1-7 start to go 6-2 over the second half.

Saints 42, Panthers 10: Drew Brees threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns, Alvin Kamara ran for two scores and the NFC South champions handed the Panthers their eighth straight loss.

Eric Christian Smith / Associated Press Tennessee running back Derrick Henry rushes for a 53-yard touchdown against Houston during the Titans’ 35-14 win Sunday. Henry’s run put him into first place for the season rushing title.