NFL Week 18 roundup: Titans clinch AFC's top seed with win over Texans

HOUSTON — The Tennessee Titans clinched the top seed in the AFC for the first time in 14 years, beating the Houston Texans 28-25 on Sunday behind Ryan Tannehill’s career-high-tying four touchdown passes.

The 12-5 Titans, who secured their second straight AFC South title last week, have the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the third time since leaving Houston in 1997 and first since 2008. They also have a first-round bye.

Tannehill threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to put the Titans up 21-0 at halftime.

FINAL: @Titans secure the AFC’s #1 seed! #TENvsHOU pic.twitter.com/87TlJdp7XB

— NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2022

But the Texans (4-13) came alive in the second half, scoring 18 unanswered points to get within 3 before Julio Jones caught his first touchdown pass of the season on a 3-yard grab that made it 28-18 with about seven minutes remaining.

Julio Jones snags his first TD as a Titan ????

(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/PjBlt1gThP

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 9, 2022

Houston cut the lead to 3 again when Danny Amendola’s second touchdown reception of the game made it 28-25 with 4½ minutes to go. Tennessee got a first down on third-and-2 with about three minutes left and ran out the clock to secure the victory.

Tannehill’s big day came after he threw a career-high four interceptions in a 22-13 loss the first time Tennessee played Houston this season on Nov. 21. On Sunday, he was 23 of 32 for 287 yards.

Houston’s Davis Mills threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns to give him 2,604 yards passing this season to move past David Carr (2,592) for most yards passing by a rookie in franchise history.

Amendola had seven receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns in his first game since Nov. 28.

In the fourth quarter, the Texans capped an eight-play, 82-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown catch by Amendola early in the fourth quarter. Mills connected with Amendola again on the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 21-18.

The Titans took a 7-0 lead when Tannehill threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Firkser with about 7½ minutes left in the second quarter. A.J. Brown made it 14-0 when he grabbed a 14-yard pass from Tannehill with about 90 seconds before halftime.

YEAH BABY! @CoachVrabel50 pic.twitter.com/20tebLRC0C

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) January 9, 2022

The Titans forced a punt and Lonnie Johnson intercepted Tannehill in the end zone on a long pass on the next drive. But Eric Murray was called for pass interference to negate the interception and move the Titans 45 yards to the Houston 4.

Tannehill’s third touchdown pass came on the next play when he connected with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 4-yard score to extend the lead to 21-0 at the break. It was the first time a Titan has thrown three touchdown passes in a quarter since Steve McNair did it in 2005 against the 49ers.

Houston cut the lead to 21-7 when Mills found Chris Moore on a 28-yard pass on a flea-flicker with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Texans got a 31-yard field goal from Kaʻimi Fairbairn late in the third quarter to get within 21-10.

Lions 37, Packers 30

DETROIT — Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes in the first half and sat out the second half with nothing at stake as the Detroit Lions beat the top-seeded Green Bay Packers 37-30 Sunday.

Backup Jordan Love threw two interceptions late in the game, sealing a defeat that didn’t affect Green Bay’s playoff positioning.

The NFC North champion Packers (13-4) rolled into the Motor City after already clinching the conference’s No. 1 seed and its only first-round bye.

Rodgers, the reigning NFL MVP who may win the award for a fourth time, was 14 of 18 for 138 yards.

He threw a 1-yard pass to Allen Lazard to cap a 13-play, 74-yard drive that took 7:18 off the clock to open the game and a 29-yard pass to the fourth-year receiver late in the second quarter for another score.

Rodgers replaced his helmet with a baseball cap at halftime and watched the rest of the game from the sideline out of harm’s way.

The Lions (3-13-1) closed coach Dan Campbell’s first season with plenty of pride and some nothing-to-lose plays.

With the win, though, they lost a shot at having the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft that was possible because Jacksonville toppled Indianapolis.

The tricky Lions tied it 7-all late in the first quarter when seldom-used Tom Kennedy ended up with the ball on a reverse and threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Kalif Raymond.

Detroit took a 24-13 lead early in the third on a reverse flea-flicker with Jared Goff throwing a 36-yard touchdown pass to Brock Wright.

Love threw a go-ahead, 62-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Deguara with 4:49 left in the fourth, but the Packers could not hold on for the win.

D’Andre Swift scored on a 14-yard run with 1:54 left to put Detroit back ahead.

C.J. Moore intercepted Love’s pass at the Green Bay 36 on the ensuing possessions after it was deflected by linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, setting up Riley Patterson’s field goal to put the Lions up by a touchdown.

Love threw a second interception with 21 seconds left.

Vikings 31, Bears 17

MINNEAPOLIS — Kirk Cousins passed for 172 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to lead a Minnesota Vikings comeback to beat the Chicago Bears 31-17 on Sunday in a matchup of two eliminated teams with a head coach in danger of being fired.

Justin Jefferson had the tying score and K.J. Osborn caught the go-ahead touchdown for the Vikings (8-9), who gave coach Mike Zimmer plenty to cheer in this pad-the-stats game while outscoring the Bears 28-3 after halftime.

Bears coach Matt Nagy elected to go for it on fourth down six times, failing on all but one of them. Andy Dalton took three sacks and threw an interception, and Patrick Peterson picked him off late in the fourth quarter and turned it into a 66-yard touchdown return.

Darnell Mooney had 12 catches for 126 yards to pass the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the Bears (6-11), who are 30-35 in four seasons under Nagy without a win in the playoffs.

D.J. Wonnum and Anthony Barr each had two of Minnesota’s seven sacks of Dalton, who went 33 for 48 for 325 yards and a touchdown pass to Damien Williams that gave the Bears a 14-0 lead just before halftime. The victory gave Zimmer a 72-56-1 record in eight years, including 2-3 in the playoffs. The Vikings have missed the postseason in three of the past four years.

Rookie Ihmir Smith-Marsette had 103 yards and a touchdown, Dalvin Cook rushed 14 times for 79 yards and Jefferson finished with 107 yards — leaving him 17 yards short of the single-season franchise record. Randy Moss set the 16-game mark with 1,632 yards in 2003. The crowd chanted “Let’s go, Justin!” when the Vikings took the ball for the last time, booing when they decided to kneel down to end the game rather than giving Jefferson another chance at the record.

The Bears had seven possessions over the first three quarters and reached at least the Minnesota 35 on each one. They had one touchdown and three field goals by Cairo Santos to show for it.

That’s because Dalton, the 11-year veteran making his sixth start of the season after rookie Justin Fields landed on the covid-19 reserve list this week, took three fourth-down sacks for a whopping 35 lost yards. Two of those came on fourth-and-1.

The most costly one came early in the third quarter when Dalton scrambled on third-and-8 for what was initially ruled a touchdown, before a replay review reversed the call with his knee down just short of the goal line. Then Barr chased Dalton down for a 15-yard loss after he looped around behind the line of scrimmage looking for an open receiver.

Washington 22, Giants 7

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Antonio Gibson ran for a career-high 146 yards, scored a touchdown and capped his first 1,000-yard rushing season by leading Washington to a 22-7 victory over New York on Sunday in what might have been Dave Gettleman’s final game as the Giants’ general manager.

Bobby McCain returned the first of his two interceptions 30 yards for a touchdown, and Joey Slye kicked three field goals as Washington (7-10) finished a season in which it went from division winners a year ago to an also-ran.

Third-stringer Jake Fromm threw a 22-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to Darius Slayton as the Giants (4-13) finished a miserable second season under Joe Judge with a six-game losing streak.

Gettleman’s four-year tenure as GM is likely over after a fourth-straight double-digit losing season. This one was marked by injuries, including one that sidelined quarterback Daniel Jones the last six weeks.

Judge’s status depends on what co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch want. He has a group that plays hard, but just doesn’t have enough talent — particularly on the offensive line.

Washington never trailed as Slye kicked field goals of 23 and 43 yards in the first half for a 6-0 lead. McCain’s interception of Fromm’s pass and jaunt into the end zone in the third quarter made it 12-0. Washington failed on a 2-point try.

Fromm’s first NFL TD pass got New York within 12-7 early in the fourth quarter, but Washington came right back behind its running game (226 yards). Gibson highlighted his day with an 18-yard romp up the middle for his touchdown.

Slye added his final field goal after Fromm fumbled attempting to pass.

A year after winning the NFC East with a 7-9 record, Washington’s biggest issues in the offseason will be deciding to draft a quarterback or stick with Taylor Heinicke (9 of 18 for 120 yards) and to hope defensive lineman Chase Young recovers from his ACL injury.

The Giants, who last made the playoffs in 2016, have a lot of changes coming.

49ers 27, Rams 24

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers clinched a playoff spot with a 27-24 overtime victory over the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams thanks to Robbie Gould’s 24-yard field goal with 2:45 left in overtime and a game-ending interception by Ambry Thomas.

Jauan Jennings caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo with 26 seconds left in regulation for the 49ers (10-7), who are postseason-bound for only the second time in eight years.

San Francisco rallied from a early 17-point deficit for their sixth consecutive win over the playoff-bound Rams (12-5), who won the division title anyway thanks to Seattle’s victory over Arizona.

Deebo Samuel rushed for a touchdown and threw a scoring pass to Jennings for the Niners, who made a deliberate 69-yard drive to open overtime. The Rams got the ball back, but Thomas picked off Matthew Stafford’s long throw down the Rams’ sideline.

San Francisco now has its longest winning streak in this rivalry since the 1990s.

Buccaneers 41, Panthers 17

TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady topped 5,000 yards passing for the second time in his career and Tampa Bay set a franchise record for regular-season victories with a win over Carolina.

Brady completed 29 of 37 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns before taking the last half of the fourth quarter off, finishing with a career-best 5,316 yards passing and a Bucs single-season record 43 TD passes for the defending Super Bowl champions.

Mike Evans caught two of Brady’s TD passes, giving him a club-record 14 scoring receptions this year. He also became the first player in NFL history to begin a career with eight consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards receiving.

Tampa Bay (13-4) broke the club record for victories in a regular season set in 2002 and also earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC with the Rams losing to the 49ers in overtime. The Bucs will host the Philadelphia Eagles next week.

Carolina (5-12) finished on a seven-game losing streak that leaves coach Matt Rhule’s future in question.

Seahawks 38, Cardinals 30

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, Rashaad Penny ran for 190 yards and a touchdown, and Seattle spoiled Arizona’s shot at the NFC West title with a win.

It was a back-and-forth game supplemented by a healthy dose of scoreboard watching. The Cardinals (11-6) were still in the running for the NFC West title with a win, especially when the 49ers beat the Rams.

In the end, the scoreboard’s results were moot. The Cardinals couldn’t take care of business against the Seahawks and will settle for the No. 5 seed after starting the season with a 7-0 record. Arizona is 4-6 since that hot start, including losing four of its last five. The Cardinals will play at the Rams in the wild-card round.

Seattle finishes 7-10 and won’t be in the postseason for just the second time in the past 10 years. Wilson, playing potentially his final game with the Seahawks, finished with 238 yards passing.

Saints 30, Falcons 20

ATLANTA — New Orleans just missed making the playoffs, despite beating Atlanta.

The Saints (9-8) needed the Los Angeles Rams to beat the San Francisco 49ers in order to get a wild-card spot and a fifth consecutive playoff berth, but the 49ers won 27-24 in overtime.

Trevor Siemian led back-to-back scoring drives following two Atlanta turnovers late in the first half, and the Saints overcame the loss of quarterback Taysom Hill to an injury.

The Falcons (7-10) were hurt by three turnovers, including two fumbles by running back Mike Davis.

Bills 27, Jets 10

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo clinched its second consecutive AFC East title after Devin Singletary scored twice in the final 8:21 for a win over New York.

The Bills (11-6) enter the playoffs as the conference’s third seed, but had to await the outcome of the late game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders to determine who they’ll host in the wild-card playoff round next weekend.

The Bills actually moved up a spot in the conference standings, jumping ahead of Cincinnati after the Bengals (10-7) lost to Cleveland earlier in the day.

The Bills limited the the Jets to a franchise-low 53 yards of total offense and four first downs — the fewest allowed by Buffalo in franchise history. Buffalo also sacked Jets rookie Zach Wilson nine times, the most by Buffalo since getting 10 in a 23-0 win over Washington on Oct. 20, 2011.

Dolphins 33, Patriots 24

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jaylen Waddle had a touchdown grab and set the NFL record for receptions in a rookie year, Duke Johnson rushed for 117 yards and Miami finished its season by defeating playoff-bound New England.

Xavien Howard returned an interception for a touchdown and Johnson had a touchdown run for Miami (9-8), which finished with a winning record for the second consecutive season and once again didn’t have a playoff berth to show for it.

Brandon Bolden two touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving — for the Patriots (10-7), who are headed to the playoffs as a wild card.

But they were swept by the Dolphins for the first time since 2000 and the outcome handed the AFC East title to the Buffalo Bills, whose game against the New York Jets had not gone final when the Patriots-Dolphins game ended.

Raiders 35, Chargers 32

LAS VEGAS — Daniel Carlson’s 47-yard field goal as time expired in overtime lifted the Las Vegas Raiders past the Los Angeles Chargers 35-32 on Sunday night for their first playoff berth since 2016.

And they eliminated their AFC West rivals in the process.

Las Vegas survived Los Angeles’ late-game comeback built on a series of fourth-down conversions to force overtime. The Raiders won a fourth straight game and completed an incredible late-season run after losing five of their previous six .

Carlson, three times the AFC special teams player of the week this season, kicked five field goals in the game, including two in overtime.

Derek Carr completed 20 of 36 pass attempts for 186 yards, including two touchdowns. Hunter Renfrow hauled in two touchdown passes, while Josh Jacobs ran for 132 yards on 26 carries, including one score.

The Raiders, who had arguably more offseason and in-season distractions than any team, overcame multiple adversities and return to the playoffs for only the second time since losing to Tampa Bay in the 2003 Super Bowl.

Trailing by 15 in the fourth quarter, the Chargers scored two late touchdowns, with a a 19-play, 83-yard drive capped by Justin Herbert’s 12-yard touchdown strike to Mike Williams as regulation expired. Dustin Hopkins’ extra point sent the game into the extra period. Los Angeles converted on three fourth-down plays in the lengthy drive.

Herbert, who was under duress much of the night, completed 34 of his 64 attempts for 383 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Las Vegas dominated early while taking a 10-0 lead.

Carlson booted a 24-yard field goal on the Raiders’ first possession, and after being forced to punt on its second drive, Las Vegas’ Divine Deablo recovered a fumble on special teams at the Los Angeles’ 23-yard line. Six plays later, Carr found Renfrow for a 12-yard touchdown.

Los Angeles responded behind a heavy dose of Austin Ekeler, who ran for 53 yards on nine carries and had two touchdowns in the first half. Ekeler ran 14 yards for one score and hauled in a 14-yard screen pass to give the Chargers a 14-10 lead.

Though the Chargers outgained the Raiders 180-142 in the first half, 85 yards in penalties against Los Angeles tied for the most in the first half by a Raiders opponent in the past 11 seasons. The biggest was a 41-yard defensive pass interference call against Chris Harris Jr. with 49 seconds left in the half.

Jacobs punched it in from the 1 on the next play to put Las Vegas back in front, and the Raiders’ defense stymied the Chargers’ final drive of the half.