Colts enjoy playoff run
All set in the AFC, except for the matchups.
As for the NFC playoff race, there’s still plenty of intrigue.
Indianapolis finished off its remarkable one-year turnaround by beating Kansas City 20-13 Sunday to grab an AFC wild card. The Colts went 2-14 in 2011, drafted Andrew Luck first overall and now are 10-5.
“We were a confident locker room from Day 1,” Luck said. “I remember going in trying to gauge the feel of what it would be like, and guys were confident. There are guys on this team who have never missed a playoff, those guys know how to win, and I think they imparted that on the younger guys in the locker room, and I think it worked out.”
Baltimore clinched the AFC North by routing the New York Giants 33-14. Houston owns the South even though it lost to Minnesota 23-6. Denver has the West and won its 10th in a row by romping over Cleveland 34-12. New England is the East champion and beat Jacksonville 23-16.
As for the NFC, Seattle’s 42-13 victory over San Francisco muddled the West, but earned the Seahawks at least a wild card. The 49ers lead the division by a half-game and have clinched a postseason berth.
North winner Green Bay’s 55-7 rout of Tennessee moved it up to the second seed behind South champion Atlanta. The Falcons have home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs after defeating Detroit 31-18 on Saturday night.
The East lead belongs to Washington thanks to a 27-20 win at Philadelphia, while the Giants fell to the Ravens and Dallas was beaten 34-31 in overtime by New Orleans. The Redskins and Cowboys meet next Sunday, with the winner taking the division.
Washington also can get a wild card, as can New York, but the defending Super Bowl champion Giants need lots of help.
Chicago’s 28-13 victory at Arizona kept it in the wild-card chase.
Colts 20, Chiefs 13
At Kansas City, Mo., Luck threw for 205 yards to break the single-season rookie record, and his touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne late in the fourth quarter put Indianapolis in the playoffs.
Luck surpassed Cam Newton’s year-old record of 4,051 yards passing by a rookie.
Seahawks 42, 49ers 13
At Seattle, Russell Wilson threw four touchdown passes to move into second place for TD passes by a rookie. Marshawn Lynch scored twice in front of Seattle’s rocking crowd.
Wilson threw TDs to Lynch, Anthony McCoy and two in the second half to Doug Baldwin to give him 25 for the season, one shy of Peyton Manning’s record of 26. Lynch added 111 yards rushing and a 24-yard TD run on Seattle’s opening drive that set the tone.
Redskins 27, Eagles 20
At Philadelphia, the Redskins are on the brink of their first division title in 13 years.
Rookie Robert Griffin III threw two touchdown passes in his first game back from a knee injury and Kai Forbath set the NFL record for consecutive field goals to begin a career.
Saints 34, Cowboys 31
At Arlington, Texas, Garrett Hartley kicked a 20-yard field goal in overtime. Drew Brees threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns and led a drive to the winning kick. The Saints lucked out before the winning kick when a fumble by Marques Colston rolled forward about 20 yards to the Dallas 2. Jimmy Graham recovered.
The Cowboys (8-7) lost despite rallying for two touchdowns in the final 3:35 of regulation. Tony Romo, who threw for 416 yards and four scores, hit Miles Austin for the tying touchdown with 15 seconds left in regulation.
Ravens 33, Giants 14
At Baltimore, Joe Flacco threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns as Baltimore won the AFC North.
The Ravens (10-5) led 24-7 at halftime and cruised to the finish behind a short-handed defense that harassed quarterback Eli Manning and limited New York (8-7) to 186 yards.
Vikings 23, Texans 6
At Houston, Adrian Peterson rushed for 86 yards, falling far short of the 2,000-yard mark.
Christian Ponder threw a touchdown pass, Toby Gerhart added a score and Blair Walsh kicked three field goals for Minnesota (9-6).
The loss kept the Texans (12-3) from clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs..
Broncos 34, Browns 12
At Denver, Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes for the 72nd time of his career. Manning finished with 339 yards on 30-for-43 passing.
Von Miller was in on two sacks for the Broncos (12-3), the second of which knocked Browns quarterback Brandon Weeden out of the game with a right shoulder injury.
Packers 55, Titans 7
At Green Bay, Wis., Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, Ryan Grant scored twice and Randall Cobb set a single-season franchise record for net yardage.
The victory ensured the Packers (11-4) will at least be the NFC’s No. 3 seed, but currently are No. 2. It was the first time the Packers have scored more than 50 points since 2005.
Bears 28, Cardinals 13
At Glendale, Ariz., Chicago’s defense scored two touchdowns.
Charles Tillman returned an interception 10 yards for a score, the third pick he’s brought back for a touchdown this season and the eighth overall by Chicago, one shy of the NFL record. Zack Bowman returned a fumble 1 yard for another Bears score.
Brandon Marshall caught six passes for 68 yards and a TD, breaking the franchise record for yards receiving in a season.
Patriots 23, Jaguars 16
At Jacksonville, Fla., Tom Brady overcame a rough start by throwing two touchdown passes. Brady threw two interceptions in the first quarter, the second helping the Jaguars (2-13) build a 10-0 lead.
Falcons 31, Lions 18
At Detroit on Saturday night, Matt Ryan matched a career high with four touchdown passes, two to Roddy White.
The Falcons (13-2) pulled away with Ryan’s fourth TD pass to Michael Palmer in the fourth quarter.
Rams 28, Bucs 13
At Tampa, Sam Bradford tossed a pair of touchdown passes and rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins scored his fourth TD of the season.
Bradford connected with Lance Kendricks on an 80-yard scoring play and the Rams (7-7-1) intercepted Josh Freeman four times, turning three of the turnovers into TDs.
Dolphins 24, Bills 10
At Miami, Reggie Bush caught two touchdown passes and scored on a short run.
Six minutes after they won, the Dolphins (7-8) were eliminated from playoff contention when Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh.
Chargers 27, Jets 17
At East Rutherford, N.J., San Diego sacked Greg McElroy 11 times, ruining the quarterback’s first NFL start, and Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes.
McElroy, the third-stringer starting for the benched Mark Sanchez, moved the offense for the Jets (6-9) early but faced pressure all game.
Panthers 17, Raiders 6
At Charlotte, N.C., Cam Newton threw for 171 yards and a touchdown and ran for 60 yards and another score as Carolina won for the fourth time in its last five games.
