Steelers’ loss gives Titans opening in AFC

The Steelers’ path to the postseason just got a lot more difficult.

They entered their game Sunday against former teammate Le’Veon Bell and the Jets with their playoff destiny in their hands. They fumbled that away with an ugly 16-10 loss.

“Not a lot to say, and appropriately so,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “This time of year is put up or shut up time and we didn’t get the job done today. We accept responsibility for that and the ramifications of it.”

The Steelers (8-7) need to win next Sunday at Baltimore, the AFC’s top seed, just to stay alive. They also need Tennessee, which is also 8-7 and currently holds the final wild-card spot, to lose at Houston.

The Steelers also have more injury concerns as running back James Conner (thigh), center Maurkice Pouncey (left knee) and quarterback Mason Rudolph (left shoulder) all left with injuries. All three will be evaluated and their availability for the game against the Ravens is uncertain.

Pittsburgh also has a bigtime quarterback quandary. Devlin Hodges was benched in this one after throwing two interceptions but came back early in the fourth quarter after Rudolph was hurt. Hodges was 11 of 17 for 84 yards and the two interceptions, while Rudolph was 14 of 20 for 129 yards and a TD to Diontae Johnson that helped the Steelers erase a 10-0 deficit to tie it at halftime.

Hodges had a chance to lead the Steelers to a comeback win. His pass for James Washington on 3rd-and-7 from the Jets 44 was knocked away by Marcus Maye in the end zone. On fourth down, a pass to JuJu SmithSchuster fell incomplete.

Meanwhile, Bell helped deal his former team’s playoff hopes a big blow, running for 72 yards, including 7 on a big third-down play in the fourth quarter, on 25 carries. Bell spent his first six NFL seasons in Pittsburgh, but after sitting out all last season in a contract dispute, signed with the Jets (6-9) in the offseason. Bell also had four catches for 21 yards.

“You know, every win feels great,” Bell said. “But this one had a little extra topping on it.”

Saints 38, Titans 28: Drew Brees threw for 279 yards and three TDs and Alvin Kamara ran for two TDs as New Orleans kept its chase of the NFC’s No. 1 seed alive by rallying from a 14point deficit. The Saints (12-3) had to win after San Francisco beat the Rams 34-31 Saturday. They scored 24 straight points to keep alive their chance at one of the NFC’s top two seeds and a first-round playoff bye going into their regular-season finale at Carolina. The Titans (8-7) still have a shot at the AFC’s final playoff berth after Houston won the AFC South title by beating Tampa Bay on Saturday. The Jets beating Pittsburgh means the Titans must beat the Texans in Houston to earn their second playoff berth in three seasons.

Raiders 24, Chargers 17: Derek Carr threw for 291 yards and a TD and ran for a TD as Oakland kept its playoff hopes alive. The Raiders (7-8) need to beat Denver next Sunday, needs losses by the Titans at Houston and the Steelers at Baltimore along with Indianapolis beating Jacksonville. The Chargers fell to 5-10.

Cardinals 27, Seahawks 13: Kenyan Drake rushed for 166 yards and two TDs, Larry Fitzgerald added a 21-yard TD reception and Arizona stymied Russell Wilson and injury-depleted Seattle. The Seahawks (11-4) saw their hopes for the No. 1 seed in the NFC potentially vanish with another lateseason loss. Seattle can still claim the NFC West with a win next week over San Francisco but will need major help to earn total home-field advantage after entering the week as the top seed in the NFC. Drake had an 80-yard TD run in the first quarter and provided the capper with a 3-yard TD with 4:18 remaining to take a 27-13 lead. Drake’s 166 yards were a season high against Seattle.

The question now is Seattle’s health: It was without four key starters: left tackle Duane Brown, safety Quandre Diggs, cornerback Shaquill Griffin and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. The Seahawks’ depth was thinned further when starting running back Chris Carson went down with a hip injury early in the second quarter and backup C.J. Prosise suffered an arm injury a few minutes later.

Arizona (5-9-1) lost No. 1 overall draft pick Kyler Murray to a hamstring injury midway through the third quarter.

Falcons 24, Jaguars 12: Devonta Freeman scored two TDs for Atlanta (6-9) before Jacksonville (5-10) took a snap. Matt Ryan threw for 384 yards and Julio Jones had his biggest game of the year, hauling in 10 catches for 166 yards, as the Falcons piled up 518 yards.

Jacksonville came out flat in its first game since the firing of top executive Tom Coughlin, who was let go Wednesday after several questionable roster moves and a scathing critique from the players’ union over his draconian disciplinary methods.

Colts 38, Panthers 6: Nyheim Hines pulled off a rare feat for Indianapolis. He scored on two punt returns, set up another TD with a 40yard return four plays into the game and provided the jolt of energy the Colts (7-8) needed to pull away from Carolina (510). Hines’ 195 yards on three returns made for the highest single-game mark in franchise history.

Giants 41, Redskins 35 (OT): Daniel Jones put together the best performance of his rookie season, throwing for 352 yards and five TD passes. Jones was 28 of 42 in his first action since missing the past two games with a sprained right ankle. He tossed two TDs to Kaden Smith, including the winner, and connected with Sterling Shepard, Saquon Barkley and Cody Latimer. His career-best fifth TD pass, 3 yards to Smith, came with 4:15 left in overtime after the Redskins (3-12) tied the score in the final minute of regulation on a 99-yard drive. Barkley was responsible for 279 total yards: 189 rushing and 90 receiving and a score each way for the Giants (4-11).

Dolphins 38, Bengals 35 (OT): A laugher became a thriller for Miami, and it needed overtime to beat Cincinnati. The Dolphins (4-11) gave up 16 points in the final 29 seconds of regulation but regrouped, and Jason Sanders kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired. Andy Dalton threw for 396 yards and four TD passes, including three in the final 5:01 of regulation as Cincinnati rallied from a 35-12 deficit. The Bengals (1-14) clinched the No. 1 draft pick.

Broncos 27, Lions 17: Drew Lock and Phillip Lindsay stood out even more than those hard-to-miss, all-orange uniforms worn by Denver. Lock threw a shovel pass to DaeSean Hamilton to put Denver ahead, Lindsay sealed the game with a late TD scamper and the Broncos extended Detroit’s skid to eight straight. The Broncos (6-9) improved to 9-2 all time in December home games when the temperature is 60 or above. The Lions fell to 3-11-1.