The Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers lost on Sunday to miss out on clinching playoff berths, setting up a pair of showdowns for post-season spots.
Cleveland beat Pittsburgh 13-6 to snap the Steelers’ three-game winning streak. The Baltimore Ravens (8-8) visit Pittsburgh (9-7) in a winner-take-all game to decide the American Football Conference North division title and final playoff spot.
“We’ve handled adversity well and when we’ve had to play our best ball, we did, other than today,” Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said about his confidence.
Photo: AFP
The Browns (4-12) halted a four-game losing skid to beat the Steelers for the fourth consecutive time in Cleveland, Ohio.
Shedeur Sanders’ 28-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin lifted Cleveland ahead 10-6 at halftime and Andre Szmyt added a 33-yard field goal with 1 minute,40 seconds remaining.
Aaron Rodgers drove Pittsburgh to the Cleveland seven-yard line, but could not produce a touchdown.
Photo: AP
“The guys were intent on bending, but not breaking,” NFL sacks leader Myles Garrett of the Browns said. “They can get all the yards they want, but they can’t get in our end zone and we showed that all day.”
After Tampa Bay’s 20-17 loss at Miami, the Carolina Panthers could have captured the National Football Conference South crown with a home victory, but Seattle’s Sam Darnold threw for 147 yards and a touchdown, while Zach Charbonnet ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the Seahawks’ 27-10 rout in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The result set up a crucial matchup with Carolina (8-8) at Tampa Bay (7-9), with the winner likely taking the last playoff spot.
The Seahawks (13-3) were level 3-3 at halftime, but broke open the game in the second half for their sixth consecutive triumph.
“You’d like to come out a little faster, but our defense played well the entire game, kept us in it and we did enough in the second half to win,” Darnold said.
With a victory in San Francisco, the Seahawks would clinch the top seed and a first-round bye.
“We’re really confident. We’ve been confident all year,” Darnold said. “So we’re just going to keep this thing rolling.”
Brock Purdy threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as San Francisco (12-4) defeated Chicago 42-38. The 49ers would take the National Football Conference top seed by beating Seattle.
New England’s Drake Maye threw a career-high five touchdown passes as the visiting Patriots routed the New York Jets 42-10 to match Denver at 13-3 in the fight for the American Football Conference top seed and a first-round playoff bye.
The Patriots clinched the American Football Conference East crown when Buffalo lost a 13-12 thriller to defending champions Philadelphia.
The Eagles led 13-0 after three quarters before Buffalo’s Josh Allen answered on a two-yard touchdown run with 5:11 remaining, but the conversion was blocked.
Allen marched Buffalo 83 yards and scored on a one-yard plunge with five seconds remaining, but a two-point conversion pass went incomplete and the Eagles won, leaving both teams 11-5.
“Our defense never quits, no matter what the scoreboard says, no matter what the situation is,” Eagles defender Zack Baun said.
Trevor Lawrence ran for two touchdowns in Jacksonville’s 23-17 victory at Indianapolis, stretching the Jaguars’ winning streak to seven games, their best one-season run since 1999.
“We were moving the ball pretty consistently, just couldn’t finish the drives,” Lawrence said. “Defense had to pick us up, but find a way to win, that’s what’s important.”
Elsewhere, the Saints downed the Titans 34-26, the Bengals crushed the Cardinals 37-14 and the Giants routed the Raiders 34-10.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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