There was a lot of potential for playoff chaos coming into this week, but for the most part, the teams that have been contenders all season took care of business. The Chiefs and Rams secured division titles on Sunday, the Saints moved closer to clinching one of their own, and Cleveland moved closer to finishing the season winless and joining the 2008 Detroit Lions at 0-16. Here’s what we learned:
■ The turnaround for Los Angeles is complete. The Rams had a nail-biter over the Titans, but they came away with a 27-23 victory on the road, which clinched the N.F.C. West regardless of what Seattle did later in the day. The Rams will be in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, and they have their first division title since 2003. And they have a legitimate M.V.P. candidate in Todd Gurley II. The loss by the Titans handed a division title to Jacksonville before the Jaguars had kicked off a 44-33 loss at San Francisco.
■ New England does not want Buffalo to be happy. The Bills had been a fringy playoff contender all season, but their schedule called for two games against the Patriots in the final five weeks of the season. New England beat the Bills, 23-3, in Week 13 and beat them this week by 37-16, dropping them from the second wild-card spot all the way to the No. 8 spot in the A.F.C. The Titans and Chargers own tiebreakers over them. It is looking likely that the Bills’ playoff drought will reach 18 seasons.
■ Zeke’s return was not enough for Dallas. The Cowboys saw their playoff hopes evaporate, despite the return of running back Ezekiel Elliott to the fold. Elliott did not find the end zone, and quarterback Dak Prescott was intercepted twice in a 21-12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
■ Kansas City rebounded from its midseason malaise. Thanks largely to the continued late-season resurgence of Kareem Hunt, the Chiefs won for the third consecutive week, helping erase memories of a stretch in which they had gone 1-6. More important, they clinched a second consecutive A.F.C. West title for the first time in franchise history.
■ The N.F.C. South will come down to Week 17. It looked as if the Saints had wrapped up their first division title since 2011 as they were rolling to a win over the Falcons while the Panthers were losing in the final minute against the Buccaneers. Cam Newton had other plans, and with just 38 seconds remaining, he bowled through Tampa Bay’s defensive line for a touchdown. New Orleans still owns a tiebreaker over Carolina based on head-to-head record, so for the Panthers to win the South, they will need to beat Atlanta next week and have New Orleans lose to Tampa Bay. But both teams clinched playoff spots.
Continue reading the main story■ Cleveland is probably going to go 0-16. The Browns had their last best shot at a win when they took on the Chicago Bears, but after a 20-3 loss, they dropped to 0-15. A win next week against the Steelers seems unlikely, especially since home-field advantage could be on the line for Pittsburgh. Barring a huge upset on the road, the Browns will have the worst two-season stretch in N.F.L. history with a record of 1-31.
Cardinals 23, Giants 0
Larry Fitzgerald had a big day in what might have been the final home game of his prolific career, and the Arizona Cardinals shut out an opponent for the first time in 25 seasons in a 23-0 home victory over Eli Manning and the Giants.
Fitzgerald, an 11-time Pro Bowl selection in his 14 N.F.L. seasons, caught nine passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. He even completed a pass for the first time (in three career tries), a 21-yarder to Jaron Brown.
Manning, on the other hand, could not get the offense moving for the Giants (2-13) and got no help on the ground.
Manning, 36, completed 27 of 45 passes for 263 yards and was intercepted twice, both times by Antoine Bethea. Manning also had the ball stripped by Deone Bucannon and returned 21 yards for a touchdown by Robert Nkemdiche.
Arizona had not shut out an opponent since a 17-0 win over the Giants on Dec. 12, 1992. The Giants were last shut out on Oct. 12, 2014, 27-0 by the Eagles.
The only real threat by the Giants came when Aldrick Rojas missed a 33-yard field goal.
With the victory for Arizona (7-8), Bruce Arians moved into a tie with Ken Whisenhunt for most victories by a Cardinals coach (49). The Giants fell to 0-3 under Steve Spagnuolo, the interim coach who replaced Ben McAdoo.
Rams 27, Titans 23
The Los Angeles Rams and their first-year coach, Sean McVay, saved the real celebration for the locker room.
That’s where McVay, the youngest coach in modern N.F.L. history, channeled the wrestler Ric Flair after the Rams clinched the franchise’s first N.F.C. West title since 2003 by beating the Titans, 27-23, in Tennessee.
“When you find a way to come on the road and finish up your road record 7-1 and win a division title, there’s only one thing you can say. Woooo! One more: Woooo!” McVay said before giving the Rams time off until Wednesday.
Los Angeles trailed, 23-20, before Jared Goff threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp with 11 minutes 41 seconds left. The Rams (11-4), who came in needing a win or a loss by Seattle to secure the division, took care of business themselves, with Todd Gurley II and Goff leading the way again.
Gurley bolstered his argument for the M.V.P. award, with 118 yards rushing, 158 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a screen he took 80 yards for the longest reception of his career.
The Titans (8-7) lost their third straight game, damaging their chances to end their playoff drought, which stretches to 2008. The loss handed the A.F.C. South title to the Jaguars, and Tennessee hosts Jacksonville in the regular-season finale needing a win to reach the postseason.
Chiefs 29, Dolphins 13
Alex Smith threw for 304 yards and a touchdown, Kareem Hunt ran for 91 yards and a score, and the Chiefs clinched back-to-back A.F.C. West titles for the first time in franchise history as they beat visiting Miami. Tyreek Hill had six catches for 109 yards, and Harrison Butker made five field goals, as the Chiefs (9-6) dashed what faint postseason hope the Dolphins (6-9) still harbored.
Panthers 22, Buccaneers 19
Cam Newton scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds remaining to lift host Carolina to a 22-19 win over the upset-minded Tampa Bay Buccaneers and clinch a spot in the N.F.C. playoffs.
The Panthers (11-4) trailed during most of the second half, but Newton drove the Panthers 59 yards, completing 4 of 7 passes for 52 yards, in the final three minutes before scoring on a what could have been a disastrous play. Newton fumbled the snap from the shotgun, alertly picked it up and then raced across the goal line for the go-ahead score.
Saints 23, Falcons 13
The rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore corralled an unusual momentum-turning interception off his back, New Orleans made two defensive stands inside its own 2-yard line, and the Saints clinched their first playoff berth since 2013 with a 23-13 victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons.
Ted Ginn caught a 54-yard pass for a touchdown, which came just 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 (11-4), which kept its tenuous hold on first place in the N.F.C. South heading into the final week of the season. While the loss eliminated the Falcons (9-6) from the N.F.C. South race, Atlanta can clinch a wild-card berth by beating Carolina in the final regular season game.
Bengals 26, Lions 17
Giovani Bernard ran for 116 yards and a clinching touchdown in the closing minutes that eliminated the Lions from playoff contention and gave Marvin Lewis a good moment in what might have been his final home game as Bengals coach. Matthew Stafford and the Lions (8-7) couldn’t take advantage of an injury-depleted team that delivered indifferent performances the last two games.
Redskins 27, Broncos 11
Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns in what could be his final home game for the Redskins.
Cousins was 19 of 37 with touchdown passes to Jamison Crowder, Josh Doctson and Vernon Davis, and an interception. He became the first quarterback in Washington history with three seasons of 25 or more touchdown passes, and he needs 65 yards for his third season in a row with more than 4,000 yards.
Bears 20, Browns 3
The Browns were pushed to the brink of a winless season, hurt by two more interceptions by DeShone Kizer and two turnovers in the red zone in Chicago. Kizer threw for 182 yards and ran his league-leading interception total to 21. Cleveland is 1-30 in two seasons under Coach Hue Jackson.
49ers 44, Jaguars 33
Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score against one of the N.F.L.’s stingiest defenses, and the San Francisco 49ers won their fourth straight behind their new quarterback, beating the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars. The day wasn’t a total loss for the Jaguars (10-5), who clinched their first division title since 1999 earlier in the day when Tennessee lost to the Rams.
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 host 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. Dallas (8-7) was eliminated from the postseason, and the Seahawks (9-6) still have a chance to keep their five-year playoff streak alive. Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns, despite a career-low 93 yards passing.
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