Titans claim AFC South
HOUSTON — 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).
INDIANAPOLIS — Jonathan Taylor rushed for a franchise-record 253 yards and two scores, capping Indianapolis' playoff-clinching victory over Jacksonville with a 45-yard touchdown run with 3:35 to go.Philip Rivers threw for another score and the Colts' defense shut out the Jaguars over the final quarter to help preserve the victory.Indianapolis (11-5) will make its first postseason appearance since 2018 and its second since 2015. The Colts will be the No. 7 seed and face Buffalo on the road.Jacksonville (1-15) lost its final 15 games and will have the No. 1 overall draft pick in April.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — 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.
CHICAGO — 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 playoff-bound 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.
CINCINNATI — 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.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen and Buffalo placed an emphatic stamp on a breakout season with a rout of Miami in a game that helped knock the Dolphins out of the playoffs.Miami's postseason hopes ended when the Indianapolis Colts beat Jacksonville later in the day. The Bills will host the Colts next week.Allen threw three touchdown passes and Isaiah McKenzie scored three times, including returning a punt return 84 yards, in a game Buffalo blew the game open by scoring on four consecutive second-quarter possessions.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants won. Now they wait.Rookie Xavier McKinney intercepted Dallas' Andy Dalton in the end zone with 1:15 remaining, giving the Giants a victory over the Cowboys and a chance at an unprecedented, six-win playoff berth.The Giants (6-10) would have been the first team to qualify for the playoffs with six victories in a 16-game regular season had Washington not won Sunday.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Russell Wilson connected on two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett and Seattle rallied for a win over San Francisco to end the season on a four-game winning streak.Seattle (12-4) had a chance to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs but stayed at No. 3 after the New Orleans Saints and top-seeded Green Bay Packers both won. The Seahawks will host the division rival Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round next weekend.
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns, helping playoff-bound Tampa Bay clinch the fifth seed in the NFC with a regular season-ending win over Atlanta.Star receiver Mike Evans was carted to the locker room with a left knee injury late in the first quarter.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Drew Brees threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns, the Saints had five interceptions and New Orleans defeated Carolina to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs.The Saints will host the seventh-seeded Chicago Bears in the wild-card round next weekend.Ty Montgomery ran for 105 yards on 18 carries for the Saints (12-4), who became the first team to sweep the NFC South by going 6-0 since the division was formed in 2002.
DENVER — Darren Waller caught Derek Carr's 2-point conversion pass with 24 seconds left, and Las Vegas rallied to beat Denver despite committing four turnovers.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Justin Herbert threw for 302 yards and accounted for four touchdowns against a team of mostly Kansas City backups, and the Chargers rolled to a victory as the Chiefs turned their attention to the postseason and Los Angeles to the precarious future of coach Anthony Lynn.The Chiefs (14-2) already had wrapped up the No. 1 seed and the AFC's lone first-round bye, so coach Andy Reid chose rest over reps by sitting quarterback Patrick Mahomes, safety Tyrann Mathieu and several of his best players.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Cam Newton had three touchdown passes and caught another, and New England rallied to beat New York.
DETROIT — Kirk Cousins threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns, lifting Minnesota to a win.
