Titans win South; Rams, Bears, Browns, Ravens all in
HOUSTON ( AP) — The Tennessee Titans won the AFC South on Sunday. All it took was Derrick Henry surpassing 2,000 yards rushing and rookie Sam Sloman's 37-yard field goal that bounced off the upright and through for a 41-38 victory over the Houston Texans.
Henry ran for a career- high 250 yards in the victory that gave Tennessee ( 11- 5) its first AFC South title since 2008 and is the fifth straight loss for the Texans (4-12). The Titans needed the air game to set up Sloman's winner, though: a 52- yard reception by A.J. Brown moments after a 51yard field goal by Houston tied it with 18 seconds left.
Tennessee will host Baltimore (11-5) next weekend.
RAMS 18, CARDINALS 7
INGLEWOOD, Calif. ( AP) — John Wolford passed for 231 yards and rushed for 56 more in his NFL debut, and Los Angeles is headed to the playoffs with a victory over Arizona.
Troy Hill returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown to lead yet another dominant defensive performance by the Rams (10-6), who earned their third postseason berth in four years under coach Sean McVay.
Wolford bounced back from an interception on his first career throw with a steady effort in place of Jared Goff for the Rams, who would have gotten into the playoffs even with a loss because Green Bay beat Chicago while a few minutes were left at SoFi Stadium.
PACKERS 35, BEARS 16
CHICAGO ( AP) — Aaron Rodgers threw for four touchdowns, breaking his franchise record for scoring passes in a season, and Green Bay clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC by beating playoffbound Chicago.
The Packers ( 13- 3) earned a bye while winning their sixth in a row and beat Chicago ( 8- 8) for the 19th time in 22 games, counting the postseason.
The Bears are headed to the playoffs for the second time in coach Matt Nagy's three years despite the loss because Arizona fell to the Los Angeles Rams. Chicago will be at New Orleans (12-4).
Rodgers joined Peyton Manning (2004 and 2013) as the only players to throw for at least 45 touchdowns in multiple seasons. He now has 48, surpassing his previous high of 45 in his first MVP season of 2011.
RAVENS 38, BENGALS 3
CINCINNATI ( AP) — Baltimore used a club-record 404 yards rushing to clinch a playoff spot, beating Cincinnati as Lamar Jackson threw three touchdown passes and became the first NFL quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in two consecutive seasons.
The Ravens rolled up 525 total yards, and the 404 rushing yards were the most surrendered by a Bengals defense. Rookie J. K. Dobbins rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72-yard scoring romp in the third quarter.
Baltimore won its fifth straight game and advanced to the postseason for a third consecutive season.
Jackson rushed for 97 yards and threw for 113 before taking a seat in the third quarter. He has run or passed for at least one touchdown in 36 straight starts, the longest active streak in the NFL.
Another Ravens playoff appearance didn't look likely just a few weeks ago. They started 5-1 but slumped amid a Covid- 19 outbreak and injuries to key players. They rebounded to win four straight and put themselves in a position to secure the postseason spot heading into the season finale against Cincinnati ( 4- 11- 1) which had won two straight.
BROWNS 24, STEELERS 22
CLEVELAND ( AP) — Cleveland is back in the playoffs, qualifying for the first time since 2002 by surviving a late Pittsburgh rally for a win over the Steelers, who rested quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and several other starters.
The Browns ( 11- 5) nearly blew a 15- point lead in the fourth quarter, but stopped Pittsburgh's 2-point conversion attempt and then recovered an onside kick with 1:22 left to hold on.
A week of Covid- 19 disruptions concluded in celebration as the Browns ended what had been the NFL's longest postseason drought. Their reward: Another game against the AFC North champion Steelers, in Pittsburgh next weekend.