Jan 1, 2017; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan (right) greets Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (left) after they scored a touchdown against Miami Dolphins during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tom Brady passed for 276 yards and three touchdowns as the New England Patriots clinched home field throughout the AFC playoffs, beating the Miami Dolphins 35-14 on Sunday.
Brady completed 25 of 33 passes and was not intercepted or sacked. Wide receiver Julian Edelman caught eight of Brady’s passes for 151 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown.
The Patriots (14-2), who have won the AFC East Division in 14 of the past 16 years and have also taken four Super Bowls during that span, will get a first-round playoff bye.
Miami (10-6), which had already clinched its first playoff berth since 2008, will be underdogs in its first-round playoff game next week at the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000.
Eagles 27, Cowboys 13
PHILADELPHIA — There was nothing at stake except pride when Philadelphia beat playoff-bound Dallas, which already clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The Cowboys finish the regular season at 13-3. That ties the franchise record for most victories in a season — Dallas also won 13 games in 1992 and 2007.
The Eagles (7-9) scored the winning touchdown when quarterback Carson Wentz threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz with 4:56 left in the third quarter.
The most significant thing about this meaningless game came with 13 minutes left in the second quarter when Tony Romo took over at quarterback for the Cowboys in relief of starter Dak Prescott. It was Romo’s first regular-season action since Thanksgiving 2015 and he threw his first touchdown pass in nearly 14 months. He finished 3 for 4 for 29 yards in his only series of the game.
Steelers 27, Browns 24 (OT)
PITTSBURGH — Landry Jones threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Cobi Hamilton in overtime and Pittsburgh, playing a meaningless game, won its seventh in a row by rallying past Cleveland.
The loss secured the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft for the Browns (1-15). Cleveland was in a position to win it in regulation when Robert Griffin III completed a 48-yard pass to Terrelle Pryor Sr. to the Steelers 5 in the final minute of the fourth quarter. But instead of running down the clock with 1:12 remaining and kicking a chip-shot field goal to win it, the Browns ran the ball and Isaiah Crowell fumbled at the 3-yard line, and the Steelers (11-5) recovered.
Cleveland then had a first-and-goal at the Steelers 2 in overtime following a 65-yard drive to start the extra period, only to run a screen pass to Andrew Hawkins that lost 14 yards. The Browns were forced them to settle for Cody Parkey’s 34-yard field goal.
Titans 24, Texans 17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Its AFC South title hopes dashed last week, Tennessee earned a consolation prize to end the season as Matt Cassel threw for 150 yards and a touchdown against division champion Houston.
Playing in place of Marcus Mariota, who broke his leg in last week’s loss at Jacksonville that ended the Titans’ surprise bid for their first playoff berth in eight years, Cassel completed 16 of 26 passes. He hit Rishard Matthews with a 2-yard scoring strike with 23 seconds left in the half, giving Tennessee (9-7) a 14-0 halftime lead.
Brock Osweiler completed 21 of 40 passes for 253 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to C.J. Federowicz with 10:31 left in the third quarter that cut the Texans’ deficit to 14-7. Osweiler also scrambled a yard with 3:11 remaining in the game for a score that drew Houston (9-7) within seven points.
Buccaneers 17, Panthers 16
TAMPA, Fla. — Jameis Winston threw the winning touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 3:13 to play, leading Tampa Bay over Carolina.
The Panthers drove for a tying touchdown but opted to go for two with 0:17 left, and Greg Olsen slipped in the end zone as Cam Newton’s pass fell incomplete to give the Bucs the win.
Winston went 5 of 6 for 73 yards on the winning drive, hitting Evans for a 10-yard touchdown after the Bucs offense had mustered only three points in the first 57 minutes. The throw gave Winston the team record for touchdown passes in a season (28) and Evans tied his own record for TD catches in a season (12). Tampa Bay (9-7) ended a two-game losing streak and completed a season sweep of Carolina (6-10).
Bengals 27, Ravens 10
CINCINNATI — Rex Burkhead rushed for a career-high 119 yards and two touchdowns, and Andy Dalton passed for 226 yards and a score, lifting Cincinnati over Baltimore.
With nothing to play after last week’s loss to the Steelers, the Ravens (8-8) limped to the finish with a lackluster performance to end the season. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was 32 of 49 for 267 yards and an interception to finish with a single-season team record 4,317 yards. Ravens receiver Steve Smith Sr. played what could be his final game, making three catches for 34 yards. He would finish with 89 career touchdowns.
The Bengals (6-9-1) avoided their first 10-loss season since 2010, but snapped a streak of five straight playoff appearances.
Colts 24, Jaguars 20
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Jack Doyle with 9 seconds remaining lifted Indianapolis to a victory over Jacksonville and an 8-8 finish to a disappointing season.
The Jaguars (3-13) thought they had pulled it out on Jason Myers’ 41-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining. But that gave Luck too much time.
Although out of timeouts, the no-huddle Colts drove 75 yards in eight plays that took 1:24 off the clock. Luck completed all six of his passes for 70 yards.
Vikings 38, Bears 10
MINNEAPOLIS — Sam Bradford was 25 of 33 passing for 250 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and Kyle Rudolph had 11 catches for 117 yards and a score as Minnesota beat Chicago.
Bradford was particularly sharp early, leading Minnesota to three touchdown drives in the first half, and the Vikings’ defense accounted for five takeaways, including a fumble returned for a touchdown by Everson Griffen.
Jerick McKinnon added 110 total yards and scored touchdowns by rushing and receiving for Minnesota, which ended the season 8-8 after a 5-0 start. Jordan Howard had 135 yards rushing for the Bears (3-13), who finished with the fewest wins in a 16-game season in franchise history.
Jets 30, Bills 10
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a pair of short touchdown passes as New York routed Buffalo.
Fitzpatrick, who threw a franchise-record 31 touchdown passes last season but was benched twice this year, finished 20 of 30 for 210 yards with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Bilal Powell in the second quarter and a 6-yard TD pass to Jalin Marshall in the third quarter. Fitzpatrick, an impending free agent, had just 12 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions as the Jets finished 5-11.
The Bills (7-9) face some uncertainty this offseason after firing Rex Ryan last week and elevating offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn to interim head coach.
