NFL Week 17 results: Vikings beat Packers to division title; Manning returns to lead Broncos
A look back at the final week of regular season action
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Your support makes all the difference.The NFL's regular season came to its climax on Sunday as Minnesota clinched the NFC North title with a win at Green Bay and Denver wrapped up the top seed in the AFC playoffs while the New York Jets ruined their own playoff hopes with a loss against Buffalo.
Minnesota's Adrian Peterson ran for a touchdown and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn returned a fumble 55 yards for a score as the Vikings won 20-13 at Green Bay to secure their first division title since 2009.
The Vikings will host the Seattle Seahawks in a wild-card playoff game next weekend while the Packers will travel to Washington after watching their four-year reign atop the NFC North end.
Minnesota hung on despite a shaky finish. The defense knocked away a desperation pass to the end zone from Aaron Rodgers as time expired.
Denver's veteran quarterback Peyton Manning replaced Brock Osweiler in the third quarter and led the Broncos to a 27-20 victory over San Diego that clinched the top seed in the AFC.
The Broncos were facing the possibility of tumbling into the wild-card round because of Kansas City's win over Oakland, but Manning came to the rescue.
The Chargers wrapped up what might have been their final season in San Diego as ownership tries to move the team to Los Angeles.
New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw interceptions on each of his team's final three drives, triggering a 22-17 loss to Buffalo, destroying the Jets' playoff hopes.
The Jets 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.
Pittsburgh advanced at the Jets' expense after winning 28-12 at Cleveland.
Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes and Pittsburgh's defense dominated to secure a place in the wild-card round at Cincinnati next weekend.
Shortly after the defeat, the Browns fired coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer following a 3-13 season.
New England missed a chance to clinch the top seed in the AFC with a 20-10 loss at Miami.
Tom Brady was sacked twice and knocked down at least half a dozen times, and watched the final drive from the sidelines as the Patriots saved him for the playoffs.
New England ends up as a No. 2 seed behind Denver.
Houston secured the AFC South title with a 30-6 victory over Jacksonville.
J.J. Watt — who had three sacks — and Whitney Mercilus led the defense and Jonathan Grimes scored with a pass reception and a rush as the Texans got on top early.
Houston will host Kansas City next weekend in the a wild-card game.
Cincinnati beat Baltimore 24-16 to notch its 12th win of the season and match a franchise record.
Quarterback A.J. McCarron overcame a rough start and threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Bengals, who will host Pittsburgh next week in the wild-card round.
Carolina captured the NFC's top seed for the first time as Cam Newton ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more to lead the Panthers to a 38-10 win against Tampa Bay.
Newton tied Steve Young's NFL record for most career TDs 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 to set up their 11th straight home win.
Kansas City extended its winning streak to a franchise-best 10 games by defeating Oakland 23-17.
Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes for the Chiefs, who head to Houston for the wild-card game next weekend; a fate that seemed highly unlikely when they started the season 1-5.
Kansas City's defense sacked Raiders quarterback Derek Carr six times, including with 1:34 left to seal the result.
Seattle's Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes in a second-quarter burst, leading the Seahawks to a 36-6 win against Arizona.
Seattle will play at Minnesota in the wild card round next weekend.
It was a sour end to the regular season for the NFC West champion Cardinals (13-3), who had won their previous nine games and already had clinched the NFC's No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff bye.
Washington's Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns before leaving late in the first half as the Redskins tuned up for the playoffs with a 34-23 win against Dallas.
Cousins broke Jay Shroeder's franchise record for yards passing in a season, finishing with 4,166.
The Redskins (9-7) won four straight to finish the season and will host Green Bay in the wild-card round next weekend.
The New York Giants suffered another tough loss, 35-30 against Philadelphia, in what may have been Tom Coughlin's final game as coach.
The Giants finished outside the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
Coughlin, who led the Giants to two Super Bowl titles in his 12 seasons, has a year left on his contract but it is expected the 69-year-old will either retire or be moved on.
Indianapolis' long-shot playoff bid was denied despite a 30-24 win against Tennessee.
The Colts needed a Houston loss and seven other games to go their way if they were to make the postseason.
New Orleans' Jamarca Sanford made an interception with less than two minutes remaining, setting up Kai Forbath's 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints a 20-17 win against Atlanta.
Detroit avoided finishing last in the NFC North by beating Chicago 24-20.
San Francisco's Phil Dawson kicked a 23-yard field goal in overtime to give the 49ers a 19-16 win against St. Louis, but it wasn't enough to save coach Jim Tomsula, who was fired after the game.
AP
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