As the NFL season nears a close, fewer and fewer playoff spots are up for grabs.
So far on Sunday we’ve had the New York Giants clinching their first playoff appearance since 2016 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinching the NFC South — a 19th division title setting up a 14th consecutive post-season for Tom Brady.
Here’s a roundup of Sunday’s Week 17 action:
BUCCANEERS 30, PANTHERS 24
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady threw for 432 yards and three long touchdowns to Mike Evans, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinch their second straight NFC South championship with a 30-24 come-from-behind win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Evans finished with 10 catches for 207 yards, scoring on receptions of 63, 57, and 30 yards and becoming the first player in NFL history to begin a career with nine consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus yards receiving.
The Panthers (6-10) led 14-0 early and 21-10 after Sam Darnold’s third TD pass of the day, 10 seconds into the fourth quarter.
It was all Bucs from there, with Evans beating cornerback C.J. Henderson for touchdowns twice and Darnold losing a fumble on a sack inside his own 10. That turnover set up Brady’s 1-yard TD sneak, which put the game out of reach with 1:58 left.
PATRIOTS 23, DOLPHINS 21
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Mac Jones had touchdown passes to Tyquan Thornton and Jakobi Meyers to help the Patriots (8-8) snap a four-game losing streak to their AFC East rivals. Jones finished 20 of 33 for 203 yards.
The Dolphins (8-8) entered with a chance to clinch a postseason berth with a victory and loss by the New York Jets at Seattle. Instead, Miami lost its fifth straight game and will need to win next week against the Jets and need Buffalo to beat New England to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Miami played without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who’s in the concussion protocol for the second time this season. Bridgewater started in his place and was solid, completing 12 of 19 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown before leaving late in the third quarter with an injured right ring finger after being picked off by Dugger.
Bridgewater, who didn’t return, was replaced by Skylar Thompson. The third-stringer had an interception and a late TD pass to Mike Gesicki to trim the deficit to 23-21. He finished 12 of 21 for 104 yards.
GIANTS 38, COLTS 10
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more and the New York Giants routed the Indianapolis Colts 38-10 Sunday to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Landon Collins, one of two players from the ’16 team, broke the game open late in the second quarter with a 52-yard pick-6 as the Giants (9-6-1) put a final stamp on a surprising playoff run. The Giants are the third team from the NFC East to make the playoffs, joining the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
New York had five straight losing seasons, including a four-win season in 2021 that led to the firing of coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman.
Buffalo assistant Joe Schoen was hired as general manager and he chose Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to be the coach, his first head coaching job.
SAINTS 20, EAGLES 10
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Marshon Lattimore returned an interception 11 yards for a late New Orleans touchdown, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ bid for the top seed in the NFC took a serious dent with a 20-10 loss to the Saints on Sunday.
Philly quarterback Jalen Hurts missed a second straight game with a sprained right shoulder, and the loss puts the Eagles (13-3) in precarious position: Still needing just one win to clinch the NFC East and the conference’s top seed, do they hurry back Hurts for the finale against the Giants?
The easy decision this week, of course, was to rest Hurts and have the franchise QB close to full strength for the playoffs. But everything Hurts helped build seems on the brink of unravelling with one game left in the season.
The Cowboys suddenly have a shot at the division crown.
CHIEFS 27, BRONCOS 24
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Jerick McKinnon, and the Kansas City Chiefs overcame another sloppy start to hold off the Denver Broncos 27-24 on Sunday.
Isiah Pacheco and Blake Bell also scored for the Chiefs (13-3), who overcame a 17-13 third-quarter deficit to beat the Broncos for the 15th consecutive time while keeping alive their hopes for the AFC’s No. 1 seed and lone postseason bye.
The Chiefs began the day tied with the Bills, who play Cincinnati on Monday night, for the conference’s best record.
For a while the Broncos (4-12) looked as if they would cap a chaotic week that began with the firing of first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett in a stunning victory. But a late letdown by one of the league’s best defences, and another interception by embattled quarterback Russell Wilson, resulted in the first loss for interim coach Jerry Rosburg.
LIONS 41, BEARS 10
DETROIT (AP) — Jared Goff threw two of his three touchdown passes to Brock Wright in the first half, and the Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears 41-10 on Sunday to remain in the playoff chase.
The Lions (8-8) have won seven of nine to give themselves a shot at earning a postseason spot for the first time since 2016 going into their regular-season finale at Green Bay.
The Justin Fields-led Bears (3-13) took two leads in the opening quarter before collapsing and losing a franchise-record ninth straight game.
Goff completed passes to 10 teammates and an 11th, rookie receiver Jameson Williams, ran 40 yards on a reverse early in the third quarter to set up Jamaal Williams’ 15th rushing score that gave Detroit a three-touchdown lead.
BROWNS 24, COMMANDERS 10
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Carson Wentz threw three interceptions after getting the starting quarterback job back, defensive miscues added up and the Washington Commanders ‘ playoff hopes took a major hit with a 24-10 loss Sunday to the Cleveland Browns.
Wentz was 16 of 28 for 143 yards, and the offence gained just 261 — 96 on Washington’s only touchdown drive — not exactly the spark coach Ron Rivera was hoping for when he made the QB change. Fans making up the sparse crowd booed and chanted early on for Taylor Heinicke multiple times after Wentz missed open receivers or lobbed the ball into the hands of a Cleveland defender.
They did not get their wish: Wentz remained in the game and struggled to move the ball beyond handing it to rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr., who rushed for 87 yards on 24 carries. The Commanders’ fourth-ranked defence allowed a handful of big plays, including a 46-yard pass from Deshaun Watson to Amari Cooper that became a touchdown when top cornerback Kendall Fuller missed an open-field tackle.
Watson also connected with Cooper on a 33-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter that sent fans to the exits. Washington (7-8-1) would be eliminated from playoff contention later Sunday if Green Bay beats Minnesota.
FALCONS 20, CARDINALS 19
ATLANTA (AP) — Younghoe Koo made a 21-yard field goal on the final play, lifting the Atlanta Falcons over the Arizona Cardinals 20-19 on Sunday to end a four-game skid.
In a matchup of teams eliminated from playoff contention, Atlanta rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder got his first career victory. He was 19 of 26 for 169 yards and no interceptions in his third start as he auditions for a starting job next season.
The Falcons (6-10) improved to 5-8 in one-possession games. They were 7-2 in such games last season.
The Cardinals (4-12), playing with their fourth starting quarterback in four weeks, have lost six straight and eight of nine. David Blough completed 22 of 40 passes for 222 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions filling in for Colt McCoy, who is sidelined with a concussion.
JAGUARS 31, TEXANS 3
HOUSTON (AP) — Travis Etienne ran for 108 yards and a touchdown before halftime, Tyson Campbell returned a fumble for a score and the Jacksonville Jaguars snapped a nine-game skid against Houston by routing the Texans 31-3 on Sunday for their fourth straight victory overall.
Jacksonville (8-8) is in first place in the AFC South and would win the division for the first time since 2017 with a victory at home over slumping Tennessee next week in the regular-season finale. The Titans (7-9) have dropped six straight.
Trevor Lawrence threw for 152 yards, but played just one possession in the second half, and Etienne didn’t carry the ball after halftime with the Jaguars up 28-3 in what would be the team’s first win over Houston since 2017.
The Jaguars were up by 21 at halftime and a 3-yard run by Snoop Conner made it 28-0 early in the third quarter.
