4 teams grab playoff spots
The Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers are used to making the playoffs. For the Arizona Cardinals, going to the postseason in consecutive seasons is unfamiliar turf.
The Eagles clinched a postseason berth for the eighth time this decade when they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 27-13 Sunday. The loss by the 49ers also clinched the NFC West title for the Cardinals after Arizona's 31-24 win in Detroit (2-12). Kurt Warner threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin with 1:54 left for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals (9-5) have won consecutive division titles for the first time since 1974-75. Arizona got the news of its division title at 30,000 feet while flying over the greater Chicago area on the way home.
The defending NFC champs also are closing in on another milestone: They haven't won 10 games since 1976.
Donovan McNabb threw for one touchdown and ran for another, DeSean Jackson had 140 yards receiving to spark the Eagles (10-4), who lead the NFC East by a game over the Cowboys. Philadelphia visits the Cowboys for the regular season finale in two weeks.
Frank Gore ran for 107 yards, becoming the first player to surpass 100 yards against the Eagles in 24 games, but the 49ers (6-8) couldn't overcome three interceptions thrown by Alex Smith.
The Chargers won their fourth consecutive AFC West title with their 27-24 win over the Bengals combined with Denver's 20-19 loss to the Raiders. Nate Kaeding kicked a 52-yard field goal with 3 seconds left for San Diego after Philip Rivers moved the Chargers 46 yards in 51 seconds with no timeouts to set up the winning kick.
The Minnesota Vikings also clinched the NFC North when the Green Bay Packers lost 37-36 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on the final play of the game. The Vikings lost to the Carolina Panthers 26-7 later Sunday night.
Panthers 26, Vikings 7At Charlotte, N.C., given a chance to get back into the race for the best record in the NFC, Brett Favre and the Vikings fell flat with another Sunday night dud.Steve Smith caught the go-ahead touchdown pass and his long catch and run set up the clinching score and Carolina (6-8) used a ferocious defense to stifle Favre, Adrian Peterson and the Vikings. Smith caught nine passes for 157 yards and keyed Carolina's 20-point fourth quarter.Hours after clinching the NFC North when Green Bay lost, the Vikings (11-3) failed to move within a game of NFC-leading New Orleans.
Titans 27, Dolphins 24At Nashville, Tenn., Rob Bironas kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime, and the Titans won after blowing an 18-point lead, preserving their faint playoff hopes.Vince Young threw for a career-high three touchdowns and Chris Johnson ran for 104 yards as the Titans (7-7) reached .500 for the first time this year.The Dolphins (7-7) trailed 24-6 in the third quarter before rallying, tying on Ricky Williams' 2-point conversion run with 1:34 left.
Browns 41, Chiefs 34At Kansas City, Mo., Jerome Harrison scored his third touchdown with 44 seconds left and rushed for a team-record 286 yards, and Joshua Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.Cribbs started the Browns (3-11) off with kickoff returns of 100 and 103 yards in the first half, breaking the NFL career record and tying the single-game mark.
Raiders 20, Broncos 19At Denver, JaMarcus Russell threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chaz Schilens with 35 seconds left.Russell was benched a month ago and passed by Charlie Frye on the depth chart this week.The former No. 1 overall draft pick entered when Frye was knocked out of the game early in the fourth quarter by a blow to the head from linebacker Andra Davis. He went 5-of-11 for 47 yards.The Broncos (8-6) are still in the AFC wild-card hunt but they were expecting a win over Oakland (5-9).
Patriots 17, Bills 10At Orchard Park, N.Y., Randy Moss bounced back a week after being accused of quitting by Carolina defenders with five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Tully Banta-Cain had three of New England's six sacks to anchor a banged-up defense.
Ravens 31, Bears 7At Baltimore, Joe Flacco threw a career-high four touchdown passes, and the Ravens capitalized on six Chicago turnovers.
Falcons 10, Jets 7At East Rutherford, N.J., Tony Gonzalez caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan on a fourth-down play with 1:38 remaining.
Texans 16, Rams 13At St. Louis, Matt Schaub had his eighth 300-yard passing game and Andre Johnson set a season best with 196 yards receiving, but the Texans (7-7) ended up leaning on field goals to hold off the lowly Rams.
Buccaneers 24, Seahawks 7At Seattle, rookie Josh Freeman shook off his ninth interception in just over two games to throw two touchdown passes in the second half to top Seattle (5-9).
