Aaron Rodgers fired a 48-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb in the final minute as the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 33-28 to capture the NFC North championship.
Back after missing seven games with a broken left collarbone, Rodgers found a wide open Cobb on fourth-and-eight at the 48 to wipe out a one-point deficit with 38 seconds left.
Green Bay will host San Francisco in the playoffs next weekend.
Photo: AFP
The Bears had one final drive, but Jay Cutler’s deep pass to Alshon Jeffery was intercepted by Sam Shields on the final play.
That gave the Packers (8-7-1) their third straight division title and fifth post-season appearance in a row. It also kept the Bears (8-8) out of the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years.
BRONCOS 34, RAIDERS 14
In Oakland, California, Peyton Manning set the NFL single-season record for yards passing and threw four first-half touchdown passes to help the Denver Broncos clinch the top seed in the AFC playoffs with a win over the Oakland Raiders.
Manning needed just one half to add the yards record to the touchdown mark he set last week and assure that the Broncos (13-3) will not have to leave home again until the Super Bowl if they make it that far.
He threw touchdown passes to Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno in the first quarter and added two to Demaryius Thomas in the second quarter. He broke Drew Brees’ record of 5,476 yards set in 2011 with a 5 yard pass to Thomas with 13 seconds left in the half to make it 31-0.
That ended Manning’s day having completed 25 of 28 passes for 266 yards. He finished the season with 5,477 yards and 55 touchdown passes.
The Raiders (4-12) ended their 11th straight non-winning season with six straight losses and big questions about the future of second-year coach Dennis Allen.
EAGLES 24, COWBOYS 22
In Arlington, Texas, Nick Foles threw two touchdown passes, while NFL rushing champion LeSean McCoy had 131 yards and a receiving score as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys in a win-or-go-home game for the NFC East title.
The Cowboys (8-8), with Kyle Orton filling in two days after Tony Romo had back surgery, lost to a division rival with a playoff berth on the line for the third straight year.
The Eagles (10-6) will host New Orleans in a wild-card game on Saturday night.
Dallas trailed 24-16 when Orton threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant. Orton went back to Bryant for the 2-point conversion, but Cary Williams dove to punch the ball away.
The Cowboys got another chance with a stop from their beleaguered defense, but Orton’s pass was intercepted by Brandon Boykin on the first play to seal the win.
McCoy finished the season with 1,607 yards rushing.
BENGALS 34, RAVENS 17
In Cincinnati, Andy Dalton threw for two touchdowns, ran for another and set a pair of Bengals passing records, leading Cincinnati to a victory that eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.
It was an erratic performance by the third-year quarterback, who also threw four interceptions for AFC North winner Cincinnati (11-5).
The Ravens (8-8) lost their past two games, denying them a chance to make the playoffs for a sixth straight season. They could not avoid the Super Bowl slump that is so common. The Ravens became the 15th Super Bowl champs who failed to reach the playoffs the following season, and the sixth in the past 12 years.
In Cincinnati, there is only one thing in mind: finally win a playoff game. The Bengals have not done that since the 1990 season.
They lost opening-round games in Houston each of the past two seasons as wild cards.
In other NFL action, it was:
‧ Saints 42, Buccaneers 17
‧ Chargers 27, Chiefs 24, OT
‧ Seahawks 27, Rams 9
‧ Jets 20, Dolphins 7
‧ Steelers 20, Browns 7
‧ Panthers 21, Falcons 20
‧ Patriots 34, Bills 20
‧ 49ers 23, Cardinals 20
‧ Colts 30, Jaguars 10
‧ Titans 16, Texans 10
‧ Giants 20, Redskins 6
‧ Vikings 14, Lions 13
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set