New Orleans tops Atlanta, clinches spot

New Orleans

Whether it was the weirdest interception of Marshon Lattimore's football life or a ball-dislodging hit by Tyeler Davison near the goal line, the Saints' defense poetically tipped the scales in a long-awaited playoff-clinching victory.

Shoddy defense was widely seen as the reason the Saints missed the playoffs the last three seasons. Those days are over.

Lattimore corralled a momentum turning interception off his backside, New Orleans made two defensive stands from inside its 2-yard line, and the Saints clinched their first postseason berth since 2013 with a 23-13 victory over the rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

"We want the team to win because of the defense, not in spite of the defense, and I feel like we've all kind of hung our hat on that," Davison said. "We saw it in our mind and we turned it into real life, man, and it feels amazing. It feels just as you thought it would when you pictured it 100 times."

Ted Ginn caught a 54-yard pass for a touchdown, which came a few plays after Lattimore's interception and shortly before halftime. Mark Ingram used a sharp cutback to break loose for a 26-yard touchdown for New Orleans, which kept its tenuous hold on first place in the NFC South heading into the final week of the season.

While the loss eliminated the Falcons from the NFC South race, Atlanta can clinch a wild-card berth by beating Carolina in the final regular-season game.

Atlanta trailed 6-0 when Lattimore's interception of Matt Ryan set the Saints up to double their lead.

Early in the third quarter, Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones intercepted a pass that deflected off Ginn's hands and returned it 41 yards to the New Orleans 2. But Devonta Freeman fumbled on a hit by Davison two plays later and linebacker Manti Teo recovered.

"That was my fault," Freeman said. "No matter what play is called, you've got to get in the end zone and score, and I've got to protect the ball. I've got to do better at that. I'm going to do whatever it takes to fix it."

Seahawks 21, Cowboys 12: Justin Coleman put Seattle in front for good with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown and the Seahawks won a playoff elimination game against Dallas, beating the Cowboys in Ezekiel Elliott's return from a six-game suspension. Dak Prescott threw two interceptions and the Dallas offense didn't score a touchdown despite Elliott's return.

Rams 27, Titans 23: Jared Goff threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp in the fourth quarter and Los Angeles held off Tennessee to clinch its first NFC West title since 2003. Todd Gurley bolstered his argument for NFL MVP with 118 yards rushing and 158 yards receiving with two TDs. Goff finished with four touchdowns and 301 yards passing.

Redskins 27, Broncos 11: Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns in what could be his final home game for Washington. Cousins was 19 of 37 with TD passes to Jamison Crowder, Josh Doctson and Vernon Davis and an interception. He became the first Washington QB with three seasons of 25 or more TD passes, and needs 65 yards for his third in a row with 4,000-plus yards.

Panthers 22, Buccaneers 19: Cam Newton scored on a 2-yard run with 35 seconds remaining to lift Carolina into the playoffs. The Panthers trailed most of the second half, but Newton drove them 59 yards in the final three minutes before scoring on a what could have been a game-ending play. Newton fumbled the snap from the shotgun, alertly picked it up and then dived across the goal line.

Chiefs 29, Dolphins 13: Alex Smith threw for 304 yards and a touchdown, Kareem Hunt ran for 91 yards and a score and Kansas City clinched back-to-back AFC West titles for the first time in franchise history. Tyreek Hill had six catches for 109 yards, and Harrison Butker converted five field goals, as the Chiefs dashed what faint postseason hope the Dolphins still harbored.

49ers 44, Jaguars 33: Jimmy Garoppolo threw two TD passes and ran for a third score against one of the NFL's stingiest defenses and San Francisco won its fourth straight behind their new quarterback, beating the Jacksonville. The day wasn't a total loss for the Jaguars, who clinched their first division title since 1999 earlier in the afternoon when Tennessee lost at home to the Rams.

Bengals 26, Lions 17: Giovani Bernard ran for 116 yards and a clinching TD in the closing minutes that eliminated Detroit from playoff contention and gave Marvin Lewis a good moment in what was possibly his final home game as Cincinnati's coach. Tion Green's 5-yard TD drive put the Lions ahead 17-16 early in the fourth quarter, but defensive penalties extended Cincinnati's drive that led to Randy Bullock's go-ahead kick with 4:42 left.

Bears 20, Browns 3: Cleveland got pushed to the brink of a winless season, hurt by two more interceptions by DeShone Kizer and two turnovers in the red zone against Chicago. One more loss and the Browns will join the 2008 Lions as the only teams to go 0-16. Last year, Cleveland was 0-14 before getting its only victory on Dec. 24. The Browns will wrap up the season at Pittsburgh next week.