BALTIMORE — Joe Flacco threw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead the Baltimore Ravens to a 20-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns, clinching a spot in the AFC playoffs on Sunday.
The Ravens (10-6) were able to sneak into the postseason because Kansas City beat San Diego, knocking the Chargers out of the sixth and final spot.
Pittsburgh hosted Cincinnati on Sunday night to determine the AFC North championship and third seed in the conference. The winner of that game hosts North division rival Baltimore in the wild-card round next week and the loser heads to Indianapolis.
New England is locked in as the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the South division champion Colts are the fourth seed, assured a home game Jan. 3 or Jan. 4. The Broncos secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye with a victory over Oakland.
Flacco completed 22 of 36 passes for 312 yards and set a career high with 27 touchdown passes. Baltimore running back Justin Forsett had 119 yards on 17 carries.
Running back Terrance West, a Baltimore native, got the start and ran for 94 yards on 18 carries for the Browns (7-9).
Eagles 34, Giants 26
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Reserve tight end Trey Burton had a 27-yard touchdown following a blocked punt early in the third quarter and Philadelphia went on to a victory over the New York Giants.
Not even the heroics of Giants receivers Odell Beckham Jr., who finished with a career-high 185 yards on 12 catches and a touchdown or Rueben Randle, who finished with 158 yards on six catches, could help the Giants (6-10) pull this one out.
Panthers 34, Falcons 3
ATLANTA — Quarterback Cam Newton accounted for two touchdowns and the defense dominated in Carolina’s convincing win over Atlanta to claim the NFC South.
The Panthers (7-8-1) won the NFC South for the second straight season and head into the playoffs having won four straight. Carolina, the second team to reach the playoffs with a losing record, earned the No. 4 seed in the NFC and will host the Arizona Cardinals the wild-card round next week.
Panthers safeties Roman Harper and Tre Boston each returned interceptions for touchdowns, and linebacker Thomas Davis returned a fumble deep inside Falcons’ territory to fuel the rout.
49ers 20, Cardinals 17
SANTA CLARA, California — Frank Gore rushed for 144 yards on 25 carries, leading San Francisco over Arizona in what was coach Jim Harbaugh’s final game with the 49ers.
The 49ers announced after the game that the team and Harbaugh have mutually agreed to part ways. The organization said it has begun a search for the team’s next head coach, while Harbaugh is now free to consider his next coaching opportunity without any constraints.
Harbaugh, after four seasons with the 49ers, is expected to accept a six-year, $48 million offer to become the next head coach at the University of Michigan, sources close to the negotiations with the university confirmed to The Sports Xchange.
Gore cracked the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the eighth time in his career. He became just the 20th player in NFL history to rush for at least 11,000 yards.
Arizona clinched an NFC wild-card playoff berth earlier this month.
Seahawks 20, Rams 6
SEATTLE — Two second-half interceptions helped Seattle pull away from St. Louis and into the NFC’s top seed.
The defending champion Seahawks (12-4) scored two touchdowns in a span of less than 2 1/2 minutes early in the fourth quarter to take a 20-6 lead in a game that helped secure a second consecutive NFC West title.
With the win, Seattle earned a first-round bye, at least one postseason home game and the right to host the NFC Championship Game if the Seahawks get that far.
Running back Marshawn Lynch rushed for 60 yards and the go-ahead touchdown on a 9-yard run that came after defensive tackle Jordan Hill’s interception.
Packers 30, Lions 20
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — Green Bay earned a first-round bye and it will need it as quarterback Aaron Rodgers aggravated a calf injury and missed two series but returned to help the Packers beat Detroit to claim a fourth straight NFC North title.
With their record 24th consecutive home victory over the Lions, the Packers (12-4) will enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
The Lions (11-5) play at the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys in a wild-card game next weekend.
Broncos 47, Raiders 14
DENVER — Running back C.J. Anderson ran for three touchdowns, helping to make up for quarterback Peyton Manning’s second game in a month without a touchdown pass, and Denver beat Oakland to secure the No. 2 AFC playoff seed and a first-round bye.
Anderson rushed for 87 yards, including scoring runs of 11, 1, and 25 yards to carry the Broncos (12-4) past the Raiders (3-13) for the seventh straight time. With Manning struggling to connect in the red zone, Connor Barth added four field goals.
Manning completed 21 of 37 for 273 yards passing but couldn’t find the end zone for the second time since his streak of 51 games with at least one touchdown pass came to an end against Buffalo on Dec. 7.
Cowboys 44, Redskins 17
LANDOVER, Md. — With the NFC East title already clinched and not much chance of earning a first-round bye, Dallas had little riding against Washington.
The win finalized the Cowboys’ regular-season record at 12-4 and put the last-place Redskins at 4-12.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was 22 of 34 for 299 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III was 27 of 41 for 336 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Dallas running back DeMarco Murray had 100 yards on 20 carries and broke the franchise record for rushing yards in a season, passing Emmitt Smith for the team single-season mark. Murray’s 1,845 yards bettered Smith’s 1,773 from 1995.
Jets 37, Dolphins 24
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — The New York Jets, likely playing their final game under coach Rex Ryan, rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit to beat Miami.
Ryan, in his sixth season as Jets coach, is expected to be fired by Monday after a disappointing 4-12 season. The Jets, who missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season, are also expected to fire general manager John Idzik.
The Dolphins (8-8), who have not made the postseason since 2008, finished with the same record as last season.
Jets quarterback Geno Smith passed for 358 yards and three touchdowns.
Chiefs 19, Chargers 7
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — There was no more fourth-quarter magic for San Diego, as its chance to make the AFC playoffs ended with a loss to Kansas City.
Led by quarterback Philip Rivers, the Chargers were able to overcome a 21-point deficit last weekend and beat San Francisco in overtime. On this day, they fell 10 points behind the Chiefs in the second quarter and were unable to generate enough points for a winning comeback.
Both teams finished the season with 9-7 records.
Saints 23, Buccaneers 20
TAMPA, Florida — Tampa Bay will get the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft by losing to New Orleans.
Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, a quarterback at Oregon, is considered the top draft prospect by a number of draft experts.
The Bucs watched their 13-point lead evaporate and the Saints rallied for 16 points in the fourth quarter as Drew Brees shrugged off three interceptions to throw for 281 yards. His 36-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston gave the Saints (7-9) their first lead with 1:57 remaining.
Colts 27, Titans 10
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — For Indianapolis Colts, it was a successful playoff tune-up. For Tennessee, it was one final Sunday of agony.
Quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 160 yards and two touchdowns in the first half for the AFC South champion Colts. Luck connected on 7- and 1-yard scoring passes to tight ends Cody Fleener and Jack Doyle, respectively, as he went 10-for-16 with a quarterback rating of 135.4. Backup Matt Hasselbeck worked the second half, completing 13 of 19 attempts for 155 yards and an 8-yard touchdown pass to Fleener with 3:16 left in the game.
While the Colts improved to 11-5, Tennessee (2-14) dropped its 10th straight game.