Baker Mayfield used his legs and arm to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinch their fourth straight NFC South title while putting Mike Evans over 1,000 yards receiving.
Mayfield fired a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan for the go-ahead score and then scrambled 28 yards for a crucial first down on the next drive, leading the Buccaneers to a 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Evans caught a nine-yard pass on the final play of the game to surpass 1,000 yards for the 11th straight season, tying Jerry Rice for the most in NFL history. After Mayfield’s long scramble on third-and-14 from the Tampa 12, the Buccaneers drove to the Saints 11. Mayfield looked for Evans but flipped the ball backward to Bucky Irving, who ran 11 yards for a TD that made it 27-19.
The Saints turned the ball over on downs and the Buccaneers got one more chance to get Evans the milestone.
Mayfield tossed a short pass to Evans, who ran upfield for a nine-yard gain. He got up, spiked the ball and was mobbed by teammates in a wild celebration.
The Buccaneers will be the NFC’s No 3 seed if the Los Angeles Rams lose to Seattle. If the Rams win, they’ll be the fourth seed.
Mayfield threw for 212 yards and two TDs and had a career-high 68 yards rushing as the Buccaneers (10-7) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and made sure they didn’t need Atlanta to lose to Carolina to win the division.
Houston Texans 23-14 Tennessee Titans
CJ Stroud completed all six of his passes for 50 yards and a touchdown Sunday on the Texans’ opening drive before going to the bench as Houston snapped a two-game skid going into the AFC playoffs with a 23-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
The Texans (10-7) also avoided being swept by the team they replaced in Houston. The Texans won for the first time since clinching their second straight AFC South title 15 December with a win over Miami.
Now Houston waits to see if the Texans are hosting either the Los Angeles Chargers, who played at the Raiders later Sunday, or Pittsburgh in an AFC wild-card game.
With the loss combined with New England’s win over Buffalo, the Titans’ season of misery at least landed them the No 1 pick overall in the NFL draft in April. Their 3-14 finish matches 2014 for the most losses in a season since relocating from Texas to Tennessee in 1997.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said he would decide how long his starters played based on how the game went.
Chicago Bears 24-22 Green Bay Packers
Caleb Williams drove Chicago to Cairo Santos’ 51-yard field goal as time expired and the Bears snapped a 10-game skid with a 24-22 victory over the playoff-bound Green Bay Packers, who lost quarterback Jordan Love and wide receiver Christian Watson to injuries on Sunday.
The Bears (5-12) beat the Packers for the first time since 2018 and ended an 11-game losing streak in this rivalry. It was redemption for Santos, who had a 46-yard field goal blocked by Karl Brooks on the final play of a 20-19 loss to the Packers on 17 November.
Brandon McManus had put Green Bay ahead by making a 55-yard field goal with 54 seconds left. Williams got the Bears into field-goal range by throwing an 18-yard completion to DJ Moore, whose fumble had set up the McManus kick.
Green Bay (11-6) are the No 7 seed in the NFC playoffs and will play at Philadelphia in the wild-card round.
Now the Packers wait on the status of Watson and Love. Watson was carted off the field with a knee injury in the second quarter and Love departed with an elbow issue later in that same series.
New York Giants 13-20 Philadelphia Eagles
Tanner McKee threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns in a game full of backups to help the Philadelphia Eagles tune up for the postseason with a 20-13 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.
The NFC East champion Eagles (14-3) are the No 2 seed in the conference and will host Green Bay next weekend in a wild-card game.
With making a run at the Super Bowl a priority, the Eagles rested their core starters, notably running back Saquon Barkley, quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith and offensive linemen Landon Dickerson and Lane Johnson.
Barkley lost his shot at breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record. Barkley finished the season with 2,005 yards rushing, 101 yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards set with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.
While the prudent was move, there was some disappointment in Philly that Barkley didn’t get a chance at breaking the record, especially against the team that let him go at the end of last season.
Buffalo Bills 16-23 New England Patriots
Joe Milton III passed for a touchdown and ran for another in his NFL debut, and the New England Patriots cost themselves the No 1 overall pick in the NFL draft with a 23-16 win over the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
The Patriots (4-13) snapped a six-game skid when a loss would have guaranteed them the top draft pick. Instead, they fell to No 4 behind Tennessee, Cleveland and the New York Giants.
Milton finished 22 of 29 for 241 yards in relief of rookie Drake Maye, who played only one series. Kayshon Boutte had seven catches for 117 yards and TD, and Joey Slye kicked three field goals.
With coach Jerod Mayo’s future in question, he ended up playing some starters and resting others.
Mayo took a preseason-style approach with franchise quarterback Maye. New England also had four healthy scratches and rested other key players, including running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Tight end Hunter Henry was inactive with a foot issue.
Washington Commanders 23-19 Dallas Cowboys
Marcus Mariota threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin with 3 seconds left, lifting Washington to a 23-19 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and clinching the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs for the Commanders.
Mariota threw for two scores and ran for a TD after replacing Jayden Daniels. The Commanders (12-5) sat their dynamic rookie quarterback at halftime since playoff seeding was the only thing on the line, and the move ended up sparking an offense that produced just 64 yards before the break.
It turned out Washington didn’t need the rally to keep the sixth seed because Green Bay lost to Chicago on a late field goal.
The Commanders will visit either Tampa Bay or the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round next weekend.
Brandon Aubrey kicked four field goals for the Cowboys in the first regular-season start for quarterback Trey Lance since Week 2 of 2022, when he was still with San Francisco a year after the 49ers traded up to get him third overall in the draft.
Jacksonville Jaguars 26-23 Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor ran for 177 yards, including 33 yards on six consecutive carries in overtime to set up Matt Gay’s game-ending 38-yard field goal, and the Indianapolis Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-23 on Sunday.
Taylor closed the season by matching a career-best streak with four straight 100-yard games. He also rushed for a touchdown Sunday to reach six scores during that span.
Joe Flacco was 23 of 40 for 263 yards, including a 40-yard TD pass to Alec Pierce, in his 105th career victory – perhaps the last of the 39-year-old former Super Bowl MVP’s 17-year career.
Indy (8-9) won their final two home games to finish 5-3 at Lucas Oil Stadium, although the Colts missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
The Jags (4-13) lost three of their final four, eight of 10 and finished 1-8 on the road as they head into an offseason that may include changes at general manager and coach.
Carolina Panthers 44-38 Atlanta Falcons (OT)
Bryce Young passed for three touchdowns, ran for two scores and led a 70-yard drive capped by Miles Sanders’ one-yard TD run on the opening possession of overtime to give the Carolina Panthers a 44-38 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The Falcons’ playoff hopes had already ended minutes earlier when Tampa Bay rallied past New Orleans.
Rookie Michael Penix Jr capped his late-season introduction as Atlanta’s starting quarterback with a strong game, passing for 312 yards and two touchdowns – both to Drake London, who had 10 catches for a career-high 187 yards. Bijan Robinson ran for 170 yards and two scores, but the impressive offensive performance wasn’t enough to extend the Falcons’ season.
The Falcons (8-9) and Panthers (5-12) each missed the playoffs for a seventh straight season.
Atlanta needed a win and a loss by NFC South-leading Tampa Bay to give the Falcons the division title. The Falcons entered the day one game behind the Buccaneers but would have won a tiebreaker because they swept their rivals.
Los Angeles Chargers 34-20 Las Vegas Raiders
Justin Herbert passed for 346 yards and two touchdowns, and the Los Angeles Chargers secured the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs with a 34-20 victory Sunday over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chargers (11-6) closed the regular season with a three-game winning streak under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh and will visit the fourth-seeded Houston Texans (10-7) in the next weekend’s wild-card playoff round.
Las Vegas, which had won back-to-back games, finished 4-13 with coach Antonio Pierce facing an uncertain future.
This was the Chargers’ first victory at Las Vegas since 2020 and their first season sweep of their AFC West rival since 2018. That also was the last time the Chargers won at least 11 games.
Herbert showed off his arm and legs, taking off for a 41-yard run in the third quarter to set up a 2-yard touchdown pass to Will Dissly for a 27-13 lead.
San Francisco 49ers 24-47 Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns, two to Greg Dortch, and the Arizona Cardinals beat the injury-depleted San Francisco 49ers 47-24 on Sunday.
Arizona (8-9) won four more games than last year, but still missed the playoffs for a third straight season. San Francisco (6-11) lost seven of their final eight to finish with their worst record since 2018.
The Cardinals led throughout the second half and took a 33-24 lead with 14:16 left in the fourth quarter when Michael Carter sneaked into the end zone just inside the left pylon for a two-yard touchdown. Arizona put the game away with 5:47 remaining on Murray’s 12-yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison Jr that made it 40-24.
Tony Jones Jr ran for a 46-yard touchdown to conclude the scoring and give Arizona their highest point total since 2015.
Harrison finished with eight TD catches, tying the franchise’s rookie record held by Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
Seattle Seahawks 30-25 Los Angeles Rams
Geno Smith passed for 223 yards and threw his career-best fourth touchdown pass to Noah Fant with 3:19 to play, and the Seattle Seahawks finished their 12th winning season in 13 years with a 30-25 victory over the playoff-bound Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 334 yards and two TDs in his debut for the Rams (10-7), who had already clinched the NFC West title through strength of schedule before they hosted the Seahawks (10-7). The Rams rested Matthew Stafford and nearly all of his offensive starters to stay healthy for a home playoff game next weekend.
Coach Sean McVay didn’t care, but the Rams’ first loss since Nov. 24 dropped them to the fourth seed in the NFC playoff bracket behind Tampa Bay (10-7), which beat New Orleans. Los Angeles’ visitor in the wild-card round will be the fifth-seeded loser of Minnesota’s showdown with Detroit on Sunday night.
DK Metcalf, Jake Bobo and AJ Barner also caught TD passes for Seattle. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had four catches to tie Tyler Lockett’s single-season franchise record of 100 receptions.
The Seahawks won six of eight to close a solid – yet ultimately frustrating – first season under coach Mike Macdonald.
Miami Dolphins 20-32 New York Jets
Aaron Rodgers threw a season-high four touchdown passes – Nos 500, 501, 502 and 503 of his storied career – in what could’ve been his final NFL game to lead the New York Jets to a 32-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
The 41-year-old Rodgers is uncertain if he wants to continue playing for a 21st season, and it’s unclear if the Jets (5-12) – who’ll have a new general manager and coach next season – will want to move forward with him.
But if this was it for Rodgers, he left with a win and some history, becoming the fifth player to throw 500 regular-season TD passes.
He also helped shut the door on the Dolphins (8-9), who needed a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. But that became moot when Denver routed Kansas City, which rested Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and several other starters, to clinch the final AFC postseason berth for the Broncos.
Rodgers finished 23 of 36 for 274 yards and TD passes to Tyler Conklin, Davante Adams, Allen Lazard and Breece Hall, and an interception.
Kansas City Chiefs 0-38 Denver Broncos
Rookie Bo Nix set a franchise record by completing his first 18 passes and the Denver Broncos ended an eight-year playoff drought Sunday with a 38-0 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs’ bevy of backups.
The Broncos (10-7) snapped a two-game skid and buried nearly a decade’s worth of futility and frustrations by returing to the postseason party for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.
They’ll visit Buffalo (13-4) in the wild-card round next weekend after handing the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (15-2) their first shutout since Dec. 16, 2012, at Oakland.
Having already secured the AFC’s No 1 seed and sole first-round bye in their quest for an unprecedented three-peat, Chiefs coach Andy Reid sat Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and a host of other starters.
Carson Wentz got the start at quarterback and fizzled in his first extended action since Week 18 with the Rams last season. He was 10 of 17 for 98 yards and was sacked four times by the league’s best pass rush (62 sacks).
