REcaps of Sunday’s other NFL games

AFC

Bengals 24, Ravens 16

CINCINNATI

AJ McCarron didn’t make any huge mistakes in his first start at home. Then began the wait to see if he’ll get a chance to do it again in the playoffs. McCarron overcame a rough start and threw a pair of touchdown passes, rallying Cincinnati to a sloppy victory. At the moment, the Bengals backup is lined up to lead them into the postseason. “It’s going to be a fun week,” said McCarron, who won two national championships at Alabama. 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 will 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 on Dec. 28. The Ravens finished 5-11.

Broncos 27, Chargers 20

DENVER

Peyton Manning replaced Brock Osweiler in the third quarter and led Denver over San Diego to clinch the top seed in the AFC playoffs. “My gut told me to turn it over to him,” coach Gary Kubiak said of the switch. Combined with New England’s loss at Miami, the Broncos (12-4) secured the No. 1 seed even as they head into the playoffs with a quarterback quandary on their hands. The Chargers (4-12) wrapped up what might have been their final season representing San Diego as ownership tries to move the team to L.A. The Broncos were facing the possibility of tumbling into the wild-card round because of Kansas City’s 10th consecutive win, 23-17 over Oakland, when Manning came to the rescue.

Bills 22, Jets 17

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw interceptions on each of New York’s final three drives and 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) last January. “I’ve got a lot of friends over there, and I want them to be successful, but not at my expense,” Ryan said. 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. “It’s the hardest and most difficult end to a season I have ever had,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s not a whole lot of talking in there right now. It’s hard to come up with words.”

Dolphins 20, Patriots 10

MIAMI GARDENS, FLA.

Tom Brady was sacked twice and knocked down at least half a dozen times, and 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. “I’m pretty sore,” Brady said, “but I’ll be all right. Nothing over the last six weeks is going to matter. We have to play well going forward if we want to make anything of our season.” New England (12-4) ends 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

HOUSTON

J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus led the defense and Jonathan Grimes scored twice to help the Texans clinch the AFC South. Houston will host Kansas City next weekend in the a wild-card game. Grimes had a 12-yard touchdown reception and added a 3-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 Dec. 9, 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. “It was beautiful,” Watt said. “I think for a little while there people started to forget, so today was a little bit of a reminder what it’s like when I have both hands.” Blake Bortles threw for 239 yards with two interceptions for the Jaguars (5-11). “It’s tough to end the year on a note like that,” Bortles said. “I guess the good thing is that we have a lot of time to look at it and figure out how to fix it.”

Chiefs 23, Raiders 17

KANSAS CITY, MO.

Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes, Kansas City sacked Derek Carr six times, and the Chiefs collected a franchise-best 10th straight win. The Chiefs are headed to Houston for a wild-card game next weekend after Denver won the AFC West with its 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 1:34 left. But Carr was sacked one last time, and the clock expired before they came close to a go-ahead touchdown.

Colts 30, Titans 24

INDIANAPOLIS

Recently signed Josh Freeman and Ryan Lindley each threw a touchdown pass in the first half and Jerrell Freeman scored on a 23-yard interception in the second for the Colts. The Colts (8-8) won their last two games to avoid the first losing season since 2011, but didn’t get the help they needed — a Houston loss and seven other games to go the right way — to make the postseason. Josh Freeman was 15 of 28 for 149 yards and one interception while running Indy’s regular offense. Lindley ran the 2-minute offense and gave Indy a 20-14 halftime lead with an 18-yard TD pass. Tennessee (3-13) clinched the No. 1 draft pick by losing its fourth straight. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger fell to 0-10 as a starter.

NFC

Panthers 38, Buccaneers 10

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Cam Newton ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more, and Carolina captured the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time. 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. Rookie Devin Funchess had seven catches for 120 yards and a touchdown and Cameron Artis-Payne ran for 44 yards and a score as Carolina won its 11th straight home game. Jameis Winston was intercepted twice, and the Bucs (6-10) finished last in the NFC South for the fourth time in five years.

Seahawks 36, Cardinals 6

GLENDALE, ARIZ.

Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes in a second-quarter outburst and Seattle snapped Arizona’s nine-game winning streak. Seattle will play at either Washington or Minnesota in the wild card round next weekend. “These guys are confident that we can go wherever we got to go,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. The Seahawks (10-6) dominated from their opening possession and led 30-6 at the half. “It was just us playing our style of football,” Seattle’s Richard Sherman. “I think sometimes people forget who we are.” It was a sour end to the regular season for the NFC West champion Cardinals (13-3), who already had clinched the NFC’s No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff bye. “This was a valuable lesson today,” Arizona head coach Bruce Arians said. “We could see it coming all week. Coaches, players, everybody fell into that reading the press clippings that were anointing us Super Bowl champs. It’s a nice wakeup call. We got beaten in every phase of the game.” 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.

Eagles 35, Giants 30

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

The New York Giants suffered another tough loss in what may have been Tom Coughlin’s final game. Former Giant Walter Thurmond scored on an 83-yard fumble return in the third quarter and Philadelphia added to Coughlin’s season-long frustrations. It was the third straight loss for the Giants (6-10) and finished a third straight losing season and a fourth straight year out of the playoffs. “The frustration continues,” said Coughlin, who led the Giants to Super Bowls in the 2007 and 2011 seasons. “You’ve got your questions prepared for what direction I’m going in, I’m not going to answer anything about that. The season just ended, there will be time for that.” After meeting with Eagles interim coach Pat Shurmur at midfield, Coughlin walked off the field, waving to the crowd just before walking into the tunnel. Coughlin, who led the Giants to two Super Bowl titles in his 12 seasons, has a year left on his contract. His future is expected to be decided soon by co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. The 69-year-old might retire and end his 20-year NFL head coaching career.

Redskins 34, Cowboys 23

ARLINGTON, TEXAS

Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns before leaving late in the first half of a playoff tuneup. Cousins broke Jay Schroeder’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 settling for 29. The Redskins (9-7) won four straight to finish the season, their longest streak since winning the last seven the last time they made the playoffs in 2012. The NFC East champions will 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).

Saints 20, Falcons 17

ATLANTA

Jamarca Sanford’s interception at the Atlanta 25 with less than two minutes remaining set up Kai Forbath’s 30-yard field goal as time expired. Sanford cut in front of Devonta Freeman for the interception with 1:47 remaining. It was the Saints’ sixth sweep of the season series with the Falcons in 10 years under coach Sean Payton. Payton is 15-5 against Atlanta. The loss denied the Falcons (8-8) their chance to give first-year coach Dan Quinn a winning record. The Saints (7-9) avoided giving coach Sean Payton his first 10-loss season. Drew Brees threw for 323 yards, including a touchdown pass to Ben Watson. Julio Jones had nine catches for 149 yards for Atlanta.

Lions 24, Bears 20

CHICAGO

Matthew Stafford threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, Calvin Johnson had 137 yards receiving for the Lions. Detroit (7-9) avoided a last-place finish in the NFC North with its sixth win in eight games. Whether the Lions bring back coach Jim Caldwell for a third season remains to be seen. He led them to a rare playoff appearance last year, but a 1-7 start put his future in doubt.

Associated Press