The Indianapolis Colts (10-6) punched the last playoff ticket by beating the host Tennessee Titans, 33-17 on Sunday night.
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck had three touchdown passes and running back Marlon Mack rushed for 119 yards and scored a TD as well while the Colts defense intercepted two passes and also had a fumble recovery. The loss knocked the Titans (9-7) out of the playoff race.
The Colts will face AFC South division foe Houston (11-5) in the AFC Wild Card round next weekend.
The Houston Texans wrapped up the AFC South with a resounding 20-3 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Texans defense dominated the game, holding the Jags to only six first downs and 119 yards in total offense.
The Baltimore Ravens (10-6) clinched the AFC North title and their first playoff appearance in four years with a thrilling 26-24 home win against the Cleveland Browns. Ravens rookie QB Lamar Jackson scored two rushing touchdowns and kicker Justin Tucker made four field goals. Browns QB Baker Mayfield had three TD passes, but also threw three interceptions, including a pick on fourth-and-ten at the Baltimore 39-yard line with 1:02 remaining in the game.
The Philadelphia Eagles (9-7) clinched a wild card playoff spot in the NFC race with a 24-0 shutout win at Washington. The Eagles defense crushed the Redskins, limiting them to a ridiculous 89 yards in total offense (21 rushing, 68 passing) and only eight first downs. Meanwhile, QB Nick Foles had two scoring passes and completed 25 consecutive passes, tying an NFL record, before leaving the game with a rib injury. Backup Eagles QB Nate Sudfeld threw a TD pass in relief.
The Eagles will face the Chicago Bears (12-4) in the Wild Card round next weekend.
The Bears helped Philadelphia get into the playoffs by defeating the host Minnesota Vikings, 24-10 behind two rushing touchdowns by Jordan Howard and another rushing TD from Tarik Cohen. The Bears defense dominated the Vikings offense, limiting them to just 164 total yards. The Vikings (8-7-1) were eliminated from playoff contention.
The Kansas City Chiefs (12-4) clinched home field advantage in the AFC as they won at home, 35-3 over the Oakland Raiders. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had two TD passes in the rout, which gave him 50 TD passes for the season along with over 5,000 yards passing as well, becoming just the second quarterback in NFL history to accomplish that. Peyton Manning was the other QB to do so back in 2013 with the Denver Broncos.
The Los Angeles Chargers (12-4) will be the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs as they beat the Denver Broncos, 23-9. The game was a sloppy one as each team had four turnovers and there was 150 penalty yards as well.
The Los Angeles Rams (13-3) clinched a first round bye in the NFC with a 48-32 thumping of the visiting San Francisco 49ers. Rams QB Jared Goff had four scoring passes and running back C.J. Anderson scored once and ran for 132 yards in place of Todd Gurley, who sat it out with a playoff spot already clinched.
Tom Brady (pictured right), the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week, and the New England Patriots
The Seattle Seahawks (10-6) held off the stubborn Arizona Cardinals, 27-24 thanks to a 33-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski as time ran out. The Seahawks locked up the fifth spot in the NFC playoffs and will face the Dallas Cowboys next weekend in the Wild Card round.
Elsewhere Around the NFL . . . . . . .
The Carolina Panthers finally snapped their seven game losing streak, beating the host New Orleans Saints, 33-14 as QB Kyle Allen ran for a score and passed for two more as the Saints (13-3) rested many starters, including QB Drew Brees, having already clinched home field advantage in the NFC playoffs . . . The Dallas Cowboys (10-6) won an exciting game, 36-35 on the road against the New York Giants as QB Dak Prescott connected with wide receiver Cole Beasley on a 32-yard scoring pass on fourth down with just over a minute to play. The Cowboys got the two-point conversion for the win. Giants RB Saquon Barkley became only the third rookie (running back) to go over 2,000 scrimmage yards in a season . . . Atlanta concluded a dismal season with a 34-32 road win at Tampa Bay as QB Matt Ryan threw two TD passes and also caught a touchdown pass. Bucs QB Jameis Winston had four TD passes in the loss to the Falcons . . . The Detroit Lions routed the host Green Bay Packers, 31-0 as they knocked Packers QB Aaron Rodgers out of the game (concussion) and cruised to the shutout win as QB Matthew Stafford had a pair of TD passes . . . The Buffalo Bills crushed the Miami Dolphins, 42-17 for a home win as QB Josh Allen passed for three touchdowns and also ran for two more scores . . . The Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6-1) won their home finale, 16-13 against the Cincinnati Bengals behind three field goals from Matt McCrane, but then watched helplessly as they were eliminated from the AFC playoffs when Baltimore beat the Cleveland Browns.
Notable - Four more head coaches were let go today (Adam Gase in Miami, Vance Joseph in Denver, Steve Wilks in Arizona, Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati) joining Todd Bowles (NY Jets) and Dirk Koetter (Tampa Bay), who were fired yesterday. Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy and Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson were canned during the regular season.
WEEK SEVENTEEN RESULTS
Chicago 24, Minnesota 10
Detroit 31, Green Bay 0
Philadelphia 24, Washington 0
Dallas 36, NY Giants 35
Seattle 27, Arizona 24
LA Rams 48, San Francisco 32
Atlanta 34, Tampa Bay 32
Carolina 33, New Orleans 14
Indianapolis 33, Tennessee 17
Houston 20, Jacksonville 3
New England 38, NY Jets 3
Buffalo 42, Miami 17
Baltimore 26, Cleveland 24
Pittsburgh 16, Cincinnati 13
Kansas City 35, Oakland 3
LA Chargers 23, Denver 9
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