NFL roundup after first games: Jets done
The New York Jets’ slim chances of making a third successive appearance in the National Football League playoffs were snuffed out by a 19-17 loss against the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins scored 13 straight fourth-quarter points to erase a 10-6 deficit at Sun Life Stadium in Miami and drop the Jets to 8-8. Quarterback Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions for the Jets, including the final one with 2 minutes, 55 seconds left after New York had reached Miami’s 10-yard line.
The Jets, who reached the American Football Conference championship game the previous two seasons, entered the final week of the regular season needing a win and losses by three other teams to qualify for the playoffs. Their chances ended with the defeat in Miami, where they allowed nine points off turnovers to push their NFL-leading total to 126 this season.
“We played well in spurts this season, just not well enough consistently,” Sanchez, who had 26 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, said at a news conference. “I’ve got to play better to win. I can’t throw it to them three times.”
The Dolphins (6-10) recovered an onsides kick with 1:13 left to seal the victory after the Jets scored a late touchdown to pull within two points.
The Tennessee Titans, one of the teams the Jets needed to lose, kept their postseason chances alive with a 23-22 win over the Houston Texans.
Titans Hold On
The Titans held on for the victory in Houston as the Texans failed to convert a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown with 19 seconds left. The Texans (10-6), who already had the AFC’s No. 3 playoff seed locked up, had a false start penalty and then a bad snap on the two-point attempt.
The Titans (9-7) now need a loss by the Cincinnati Bengals and wins by Denver and Oakland later today to claim the AFC’s final wild-card playoff berth. Denver can clinch the AFC West title with a win over Kansas City today, while the Raiders are hosting the San Diego Chargers. The Bengals can clinch the AFC’s second wild card berth with a home win against Baltimore.
The New England Patriots clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 49-21 win over the Buffalo Bills. Tom Brady passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots scored 49 straight points to rally from a 21-0 deficit.
The San Francisco 49ers earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs by beating the St. Louis Rams 34-27 to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the National Football Conference. Michael Crabtree caught two touchdown passes for the 49ers, who finish the regular season with a 13-3 record.
Saints Get No. 3 Seed
The New Orleans Saints also finished 13-3 after beating the Carolina Panthers 45-17, but will be the NFC’s No. 3 seed because San Francisco held the tiebreaker advantage.
Drew Brees passed for 389 yards and five touchdowns as the Saints set a record for total offensive yards in a season, breaking the mark that was held by the 2000 St. Louis Rams. Brees also eclipsed Peyton Manning’s record for completions in a season, a week after breaking Dan Marino’s 27-year-old mark for single-season passing yards.
Brees finishes the season with 5,476 passing yards, while the Patriots’ Brady amassed 5,235, becoming the third quarterback in NFL history to surpass the 5,000-yard milestone.
The Indianapolis Colts locked up the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft with a 19-13 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts and Rams finish the season with 2-14 records, though Indianapolis holds the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker advantage for the top pick.
Possible No. 1 Pick
Stanford University quarterback Andrew Luck is projected by draft analysts to be the No. 1 pick. Manning, a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player, sat out this season after having neck surgery as the Colts finished with their worst record since going 1-15 in 1991.
The Green Bay Packers outscored the Detroit Lions 45-41 as backup quarterback Matt Flynn threw his sixth touchdown pass of the game with 1:10 remaining.
Flynn finished with 480 passing yards while starting in place of Aaron Rodgers for the Packers (15-1), who beat the Lions for the 21st straight time at Lambeau Field and prevented Detroit from clinching the NFC’s No. 5 playoff seed. The Packers are the NFC’s top seed and will play at home throughout the playoffs.
Matt Stafford passed for 520 yards and five touchdowns for the Lions (10-6), who had previously locked up their first playoff berth since 1999. A Detroit win would likely have meant a road playoff game against the NFC East champion, while the NFC’s sixth seed will face the Saints in the opening round.
Dolphins Comeback
In Miami, the Jets opened a 10-3 first-half lead before the Dolphins mounted their comeback.
Trailing 10-6, the Dolphins took the lead for good with 10:27 remaining on a one-yard touchdown run by Charles Clay. The go-ahead score capped a 21-play, 94-yard drive that took 12:29 off the clock.
Dan Carpenter then added a pair of field goals for Miami, the second one coming with 2:32 left after Sanchez threw his third interception of the game. Sanchez threw a scoring pass to Patrick Turner with 1:24 left to pull the Jets within 19-17 and the Dolphins were able to run out the remaining time on the clock after recovering New York’s onsides kick.
The Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings 17-13 and the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Washington Redskins 34-10 in games between teams out of playoff contention.
The New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys tonight at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the NFC East champion. The losing team’s season is over.