DETROIT — Aaron Rodgers threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half, lifting the Green Bay Packers to an NFC North-winning 31-24 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night.
Detroit’s Matthew Stafford connected with Anquan Boldin for a 35-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left, but the Packers recovered the onside kick and Rodgers had only to kneel once to seal the victory.
The Packers (10-6) closed the regular season with six consecutive victories, running the table as Rodgers said they could after losing four consecutive games midway through the season, to win the division for the fifth time in six years. He will lead fourth-seeded Green Bay at home Sunday against the fifth-seeded New York Giants in an NFC wildcard game.
Detroit (9-7) dropped its last three games after it had a two-game lead in the NFC North, spoiling its shot at winning a division title for the first time since 1993.
The Lions, though, will be in the playoffs for the second time in three years with coach Jim Caldwell because the Giants beat the Washington Redskins earlier in the day. The sixth-seeded Lions will play at third-seeded Seattle on Saturday night in a wild-card game.
EAGLES 27, COWBOYS 13 Tony Romo threw his first touchdown pass in nearly 14 months and the playoff-bound Cowboys played it safe. visiting The Cowboys (13-3) locked up the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs when the Eagles (7-9) beat the Giants on Dec. 22. So Dak Prescott played only two series and Ezekiel Elliott watched from the sideline. Carson Wentz tossed two touchdown passes to Zach Ertz to help Philadelphia finish with a two-game winning streak. Prescott was 4 for 8 for 37 yards before giving way to Romo, who hadn’t played in a regular-season game since Thanksgiving 2015 when he broke his left collarbone for the second time in less than three months.
BRONCOS 24, RAIDERS 6 In a game that couldn’t have gone much worse, visiting Oakland lost its latest starting quarterback, Matt McGloin, to a shoulder injury, then fell to a team with nothing to play for. Combined with Kansas City’s victory over San Diego, the Raiders (12-4) squandered the AFC West title and the first-round bye that went with it — and instead fell to the No. 5 seed. Now, they are a wild card with a rookie third-stringer, Connor Cook, as their only fully healthy quarterback. McGloin, who got the start when Derek Carr broke his leg last week, left late in the second quarter. He completed six passes for 21 yards, missing virtually every throw downfield.
FALCONS 38, SAINTS 32 Matt Ryan bolstered his MVP credentials with a brilliant first half, throwing four touchdown passes to secure a first-round playoff bye. Ryan was 17 of 19 for 235 yards by halftime, directing the host Falcons (11-5) to touchdowns on all five possessions and a commanding 35-13 lead. He finished 27 of 36 for 331 yards, leaving him with a franchise-record 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions this season. Atlanta is seeded second in the NFC to Dallas. SEAHAWKS 25, 49ERS 23 Russell Wilson threw for 258 yards and a touchdown and the visiting Seahawks rallied from an early 11-point deficit. The NFC West champion Seahawks (10-5-1) head to the playoffs as the third seed in the NFC. The Seahawks will host the loser of Sunday night’s game between Detroit and Green Bay next week. The loss capped an awful season for the 49ers (2-14), who matched the franchise record for losses in a season previously reached in 1978, 1979 and 2004.
PATRIOTS 35, DOLPHINS 14 Tom Brady threw for 276 yards and three scores, and the visiting Patriots clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. New England took a 20-0 lead in the first half, and turned away Miami’s comeback bid with the help of a 77-yard touchdown catch-and-run by Julian Edelman and a 69-yard fumble return by linebacker Shea McClellin. The Patriots (14-2), already assured of a first-round bye, became the ninth team since 1972 to go undefeated on the road during the regular season.
STEELERS 27, BROWNS 24 Pittsburgh backups assured the Browns of the top pick in the 2017 draft. Landry Jones hit Cobi Hamilton (Arkansas Razorbacks) with a 26-yard touchdown with 2:57 left in overtime. The visiting Browns took a lead on Cody Parkey’s 34-yard field goal with 7:17 remaining in the extra session. Jones, who started while the playoff-bound Steelers rested Ben Roethlisberger, took the Steelers 75 yards in nine plays. The last was a pretty lob to the end zone that Hamilton hauled in to give Pittsburgh (11-5) its seventh consecutive victory. Jones finished with 277 yards passing and three touchdowns and one interception. Isaiah Crowell ran for a career-high 152 yards for the Browns (1-15), who finished with the worst record in franchise history.
JETS 30, BILLS 10 Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes in what was likely his final game for the New York Jets who were playing at home. Despite a 5-11 record, the Jets are making no changes in leadership, meaning both Coach Todd Bowles and General Manager Mike Maccagnan will remain with the team next season. The team announced the moves after the game. Bowles is 15-17 in his two-year tenure with New York, which hired him in January 2015 after firing Rex Ryan. Maccagnan is also in his second season with the Jets, and had also been criticized for the team’s roster, which likely faces an overhaul this offseason.
TITANS 24, TEXANS 17 A concussion that sidelined quarterback Tom Savage could have the biggest impact coming out of the visiting Texans’ loss. Savage started for the AFC South champions, left in the second quarter to be evaluated for a concussion and was cleared. He took a snap to kneel down on the final play of the first half and was diagnosed with a concussion after being re-evaluated at halftime. That left Brock Osweiler, benched for Savage last month, running the offense. He threw for 253 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a 1-yard touchdown on fourthand-goal in the fourth quarter. Houston (9-7) will host an AFC wild-card game next weekend, possibly with uncertainty at quarterback.
BUCCANEERS 17, PANTHERS 16 Jameis Winston threw for 202 yards and one touchdown and the host Buccaneers broke up Cam Newton’s 2-point conversion throw in the closing seconds for their first winning season in six years. Winston threw a 10-yard pass to Mike Evans to snap a fourth-quarter tie and became the first player in NFL history to start his career with consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. But the Bucs (9-7) were eliminated from playoff contention, not getting the help they needed in other games for their first berth since 2007. Winston’s franchise record-setting 28th touchdown pass put the Bucs ahead 17-10 with 3:10 remaining.
VIKINGS 38, BEARS 10 Sam Bradford concluded his first season with host Minnesota with three first-half touchdown passes. Bradford went 25 for 33 for 250 yards and one interception, finishing with a 71.6 percent completion rate to set an NFL single-season record. Drew Brees (71.2 for New Orleans) set the league mark in 2011. Kyle Rudolph caught 11 passes for 117 yards and a score for the Vikings (8-8), who started 5-0 before stumbling out of their bye week and never recovering. The Bears (3-13) wound up with their fewest victories in a non-strike year since 1973 after turning the ball over five times.
COLTS 24, JAGUARS 20 Andrew Luck threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jack Doyle with 9 seconds left. Host Indianapolis (8-8) went 75 yards in 84 seconds with no timeouts to avoid its first losing season since 2011, sending retiring linebacker Robert Mathis out with a victory in his final NFL game. Jacksonville (3-13) matched the second-worst record in franchise history after blocking a punt with 1:54 to go and breaking a 17-17 tie with 1:33 left. Instead, Luck took the Colts right downfield for the score. BENGALS 27, RAVENS 10 Andy Dalton completed his first 10 passes, one for a touchdown, and Rex Burkhead ran for a pair of scores in the Bengals’ fifth consecutive victory at home over the Ravens. The Bengals (6-9-1) missed the playoffs for the first time in six years, and haven’t won a playoff game in 26 years, the sixth-longest streak in NFL history. Coach Marvin Lewis, 0-7 in the postseason, said he’ll return in 2017.
CARDINALS 44, RAMS 6 Carson Palmer threw touchdown passes to Jeremy Ross, Darren Fells and Larry Fitzgerald, and the visiting Cardinals wrapped up a frustrating season. Fitzgerald caught five passes and took the overall NFL lead with 107 catches in perhaps his final game for the Cardinals (7-8-1). Arizona missed the playoffs one year after reaching the NFC Championship game despite an offense and a defense ranked in the top quarter of the league. Arizona still finished the year strong with victories over NFC West champion Seattle and Los Angeles (4-12), which has lost seven consecutive.
Sports on 01/02/2017