Washington, United States (AFP)
Buffalo clinched a third consecutive division title and the Baltimore Ravens secured an NFL playoff berth on a Saturday where most games were played in severely cold conditions.
The New York Giants, however, were denied a place in the post-season for now thanks to a last-play loss at Minnesota.
Buffalo’s Josh Allen threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns while Devin Singletary ran for 106 yards and a touchdown and James cook rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown to power the Bills over host Chicago 35-13.
At 12-3, the Bills remained ahead of Kansas City in the fight for the AFC top seed and a first-round playoff bye in claiming the AFC East title.
Kansas City improved to 12-3 to stay hot on Buffalo’s heels for the AFC top spot with a 24-10 home triumph over Seattle.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another touchdown to spark the Chiefs.
At Baltimore, Tyler Huntley capped a 13-play, 70-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass and ran for a two-point conversion to make the difference in Baltimore’s 17-9 home victory over Atlanta.
The Ravens, without star quarterback Lamar Jackson for a third straight game with a knee injury, improved to 10-5 and clinched a playoff berth when the New England Patriots lost to visiting Cincinnati 22-18.
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow completed 40-of-52 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns with two intercepted as the Bengals (11-4) stayed ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North division.
The Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals already had clinched playoff berths before the holiday weekend contests.
The Eagles can clinch the NFC East title and the top NFC playoff seed with a victory later Saturday at Dallas.
The Los Angeles Chargers can clinch a wildcard playoff spot with a victory Monday at Indianapolis and a loss by Las Vegas later Saturday at Pittsburgh.
The Giants missed a chance to seal a playoff spot in a heart-breaker.
Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns and Greg Joseph kicked a 61-yard field goal on the final play to give the Vikings a 27-24 victory over the Giants.
“That one was as good as they get,” Cousins said of the winning kick. “We needed every play we made.”
Joseph’s longest career field goal set a club record and was his fifth late-game winner of the season.
– ‘Battle-tested’ Vikings –
The Vikings (12-3) lost an NFL one-season record eight games by eight points or less last season, but have won an NFL record 11 “one-score” games in this campaign.
“We’re finding a way,” Cousins said. “We are battle-tested. That’s the glass-half-full approach. Certainly the playoffs will feel a lot more like this and so that should help.”
The Giants moved to the brink of clinching a playoff berth with Seattle’s loss at Kansas City and Detroit’s 37-23 defeat at Carolina.
Tennessee’s playoff hopes suffered a blow with a 19-14 home loss to Houston. Davis Mills flipped a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks for the go-ahead score and the Texans improved to 2-12 with a draw.
The Titans fell to 7-8 with a fifth consecutive loss, level with late-charging Jacksonville for the AFC South lead. The Jaguars have won three in a row to charge back into contention for the division crown.
Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill ran for third-quarter touchdowns to give New Orleans a 17-10 victory at Cleveland.
© Agence France-Presse