THE KANSAS CITY Chiefs pipped the New England Patriots to a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs, while Mason Crosby’s last-gasp field goal ensured the Green Bay Packers did not miss out.
With the Patriots suffering a surprise 27-24 loss to the Dolphins, a 31-21 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers saw the Chiefs snatch the number two seed in the AFC.
Unlike New England, the Packers were able to get the win they needed to head straight to the Divisional Round with a 23-20 comeback victory over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
The New Orleans Saints did enough to remain in contention for a first-round bye with a resounding 42-10 triumph over the Carolina Panthers, who saw Christian McCaffrey make history.
The Patriots looked to have staved off a potential upset against the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium when James White ran into the end zone on third and goal to give them their first lead with 3:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.
However, New England were unable to stop Ryan Fitzpatrick leading a 13-play drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown reception for Mike Gesicki with 24 seconds left.
Tom Brady, who went 16 of 29 for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, moved beyond 4,000 yards in a season for the 11th time in his career and surpassed Peyton Manning for the second-most career touchdown passes in NFL history with his 540th, but was unable to conjure a miracle and help force overtime.
Defeat for the Patriots meant the Chiefs were able to deny them the final bye in the AFC.
After rookie Mecole Hardman’s 104-yard kickoff return and an 84-yard rushing touchdown from Damien Williams for the Chiefs in their clash with the Chargers, Hunter Henry made it a three-point game. However, Williams’ second score of the day locked up the win.
Against the league’s worst passing defense, Aaron Rodgers only had one completion for the Packers in a first quarter that saw his Lions opposite number David Blough take in a 19-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Danny Amendola.
The Packers trailed by 14 points at half-time but were level when Allen Lazard reeled in a 28-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers with just over five minutes remaining in the final period.
A tremendous play from Aaron Jones got Green Bay into field-goal range and Crosby did not let them down at the death, making his attempt from 33 yards.
That meant the Saints had to wait to find out their fate, with a loss for the San Francisco 49ers against the Seattle Seahawks required to send them through as the second seed behind the Packers.
Drew Brees (253 yards) was key to New Orleans’ victory over the Panthers as he became just the fourth player with at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions in four consecutive games in a single NFL season.
The Panthers may have been blown out by the Saints, but McCaffrey did enough for a slice of history. The third-year tailback joined Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk as the only players in NFL history with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.
McCaffrey finished the season with 2,392 scrimmage yards, the third-most in history and 117 shy of Chris Johnson’s record.
Jameis Winston’s future is a source of great uncertainty and he did himself few favours against the Atlanta Falcons.
The fifth-year quarterback threw his 30th interception of the season in overtime for Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Deion Jones returned it for a game-winning touchdown.
It was the seventh pick-six Winston has thrown this season – a new NFL record.
- New York Jets 13-6 Buffalo Bills
- Cleveland Browns 23-33 Cincinnati Bengals
- Green Bay Packers 23-20 Detroit Lions
- Los Angeles Chargers 21-31 Kansas City Chiefs
- Chicago Bears 21-19 Minnesota Vikings
- Miami Dolphins 27-24 New England Patriots
- Atlanta Falcons 28-22 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (OT)
- New Orleans Saints 42-10 Carolina Panthers
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