The Minnesota Vikings won the NFC North by holding on for a 20-13 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
Adrian Peterson ran for a touchdown and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn returned a fumble 55 yards for a score as Minnesota (11-5) claimed their first division title since 2009.
The Vikings are to host the Seattle Seahawks for a wild-card playoff game next weekend. The Packers (10-6) are to travel to Washington after watching their four-year reign atop the NFC North end.
Photo: AFP
The upstart Vikings survived despite a shaky finish in hostile territory. The defense knocked away a desperation pass in the end zone from Aaron Rodgers on fourth down as time expired.
Packers kicker Mason Crosby forced a fumble on Cordarrelle Patterson’s potentially field-flipping 70-yard kickoff return with 5 minutes, 21 seconds left. However, the Packers’ next drive ended with Rodgers’ pass being intercepted in the end zone by Xavier Rhodes.
BILLS 22, JETS 17
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw interceptions on each of New York’s final three drives as the Jets’ playoff hopes were dashed.
The Jets (10-6) would have made the postseason for the first time since 2010 with a win, but the defeat, combined with Pittsburgh’s win at Cleveland, ended those hopes. New York had a five-game winning streak stopped, and the loss came against former Jets coach Rex Ryan — fired by New York and hired by the Bills (8-8) in January last year.
Fitzpatrick, who had thrown just one interception in the Jets’ winning streak, was picked off by Leodis McKelvin in the end zone early in the fourth quarter with New York driving.
The game was decided when Fitzpatrick’s side-arm pass over the middle was intercepted by A.J. Tarpley with 11 seconds remaining.
STEELERS 28, BROWNS 12
Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes and Pittsburgh’s defense dominated as the Steelers slipped into the AFC playoffs with a win over Cleveland, who fired coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer after the game.
The Steelers (10-6) had to win and needed Buffalo to defeat the New York Jets to make the postseason. Pittsburgh did its part, then earned a wild-card berth when the Bills won. Pittsburgh are to play at Cincinnati next weekend.
Roethlisberger threw for 349 yards, 187 yards to Antonio Brown, who had 13 catches and a touchdown.
The Browns finished 3-13.
DOLPHINS 20, PATRIOTS 10
Tom Brady was sacked twice and knocked down at least a half-dozen times as New England missed a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Brady watched New England’s final offensive series from the sideline. With the Patriots eager to protect his health, he threw a season-low 21 passes, but, even so, was lucky to make it through the game in one piece.
New England (12-4) end up as a No. 2 seed after Denver defeated San Diego to earn the top seed.
The Dolphins (6-10) wrapped up a disappointing season and are expected to embark on a search for their ninth coach since 2004.
TEXANS 30, JAGUARS 6
Watt and Whitney Mercilus led the defense and Jonathan Grimes scored twice to help the Texans clinch the AFC South.
Houston are to host Kansas City next weekend in the a wild-card game.
Grimes had a 12-yard touchdown reception and added a three-yard rushing score in the second quarter to help Houston take a 20-3 lead by halftime. Kareem Jackson added a score on an interception return in the fourth quarter to pad the lead.
Watt, playing without a cast for the first time since breaking his left hand on Dec. 9, had had three sacks, forced a fumble and recovered another one to help the Texans (9-7) to their first division title and playoff berth since 2012.
Blake Bortles threw for 239 yards with two interceptions for the Jaguars (5-11).
BENGALS 24, RAVENS 16
A.J. McCarron overcame a rough start and threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Bengals (12-4) matched the best record in franchise history — they also won 12 games during the 1981 and 1988 seasons when they reached the Super Bowl.
Cincinnati are to host Pittsburgh next weekend in a wild-card game.
The AFC North champions wasted a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed when they lost in Denver 20-17 on Monday night.
The Ravens finished 5-11.
PANTHERS 38, BUCCANEERS 10
Cam Newton ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more as Carolina captured the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time.
Newton tied Steve Young’s NFL record for most career touchdowns rushing by a quarterback, with 43. Young took 15 seasons to reach that plateau; Newton did it in five.
Newton completed 21 of 26 passes for 293 yards as Carolina (15-1) overcame a slow start to build a 31-3 lead in the third quarter.
Rookie Devin Funchess had seven catches for 120 yards and a touchdown, while Cameron Artis-Payne ran for 44 yards and a score as Carolina won their 11th straight home game.
Jameis Winston was intercepted twice as the Bucs (6-10) finished last in the NFC South for the fourth time in five years.
CHIEFS 23, RAIDERS 17
Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes and Kansas City sacked Derek Carr six times as the Chiefs collected a franchise-best 10th straight win.
The Chiefs are headed to Houston for a wild-card game this weekend after Denver won the AFC West with their win over San Diego.
Regardless, the Chiefs (11-5) are somehow in the dance after a 1-5 start.
The Raiders (7-9), who accounted for two of those victories, had the ball with 1 minute, 34 seconds left. However, Carr was sacked one last time and the clock expired before they came close to a go-ahead touchdown.
SEAHAWKS 36, CARDINALS 6
Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes in a second-quarter outburst as Seattle snapped Arizona’s nine-game winning streak.
Seattle are to play Minnesota in the wild-card round this weekend.
The Seahawks (10-6) dominated from their opening possession and led 30-6 at the half.
It was a sour end to the regular season for the NFC West champions, the Cardinals (13-3), who had already clinched the NFC’s No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff bye.
Tyler Lockett set up three of Seattle’s four first-half touchdowns — with punt returns of 66 and 42 yards and a 36-yard reception.
REDSKINS 34, COWBOYS 23
Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns before leaving late in the first half of a playoff tuneup.
Cousins broke Jay Shroeder’s franchise record for yards passing in a season, finishing with 4,166. Had the game mattered, he might have threatened Sonny Jurgensen’s 48-year-old team record of 31 touchdown passes, instead he settled for 29.
The Redskins (9-7) won four straight to finish the season, their longest streak since winning the last seven the previous time they made the playoffs in 2012. The NFC East champions are to be the No. 4 seed on wild-card weekend.
Kellen Moore had 435 yards passing and three touchdowns after throwing an interception and losing a fumble on a snap to help dig a quick 21-0 hole for the Cowboys (4-12).
In other games, it was:
‧ 49ers 19, Rams 16 OT
‧ Eagles 35, Giants 30
‧ Colts 30, Titans 24
‧ Saints 20, Falcons 17
‧ Lions 24, Bears 20
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS