Steelers score late touchdown to beat Ravens, keep playoff hopes alive

Kenny Pickett threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Najee Harris with 56 seconds remaining, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a 16-13 victory over the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday night and improbably keeping their playoff hopes alive for another week.

Pittsburgh can now make the playoffs by beating Cleveland next weekend — if Miami and New England both lose. A lot still has to go right, but a lot went right Sunday.

Down 13-9, Pickett drove the Steelers 80 yards in 3:20 against their rivals with the season on the line. On third-and-8 from the 10, the rookie scrambled away from pressure and threw a perfect pass to Harris, who had slipped behind linebacker Roquan Smith along the left sideline.

The playoff-bound Ravens (10-6) now need Buffalo to beat Cincinnati on Monday to keep their hopes of winning the AFC North alive.

Tyler Huntley threw a touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely late in the first half for the game's only other touchdown.

The Steelers need help to make the playoffs, but they have full control of another streak. They haven't had a losing record since 2003 — and they never have under coach Mike Tomlin, now in his 16th season.

On the next play, Huntley threw to his left to Likely at the goal line to put Baltimore up by seven.

The Ravens are 2-2 without quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was sidelined again with a knee injury. The passing game looked sharper Sunday than in some of Huntley's previous action, but he was intercepted at the end of the game after the Steelers took the lead.

Harris ran for 111 yards for Pittsburgh. J.K. Dobbins ran for 93 yards for Baltimore.

Packers dominate Vikings

Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and the Green Bay Packers continued their improbable playoff push by shutting down Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings in a 41-17 blowout on Sunday.

Green Bay (8-8) will reach the playoffs if it beats division rival Detroit at home in its regular-season finale. A fourth straight postseason berth seemed out of the question after a 1-7 stretch dropped the Packers to 4-8, but they haven't lost since and have benefited from favourable results around the league.

Green Bay's latest bit of good fortune came earlier Sunday when Washington fell 24-10 at home to the Cleveland, putting the Packers in control of their postseason fate.

The Packers then took care of business by making life miserable for Cousins and Jefferson, the NFL's leading receiver who was held to one catch for 15 yards. Jefferson had nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns in a season-opening 23-7 victory over the Packers.

Savage, Adrian Amos and Rudy Ford each intercepted passes by Cousins, while Kenny Clark recovered a fumble on a strip sack. The Packers converted each of Cousins' turnovers into touchdowns.

Cousins went 18 of 31 for 205 yards for the NFC North champion Vikings (12-4). His only touchdown pass came in garbage time, a 47-yarder to Jalen Nailor that cut Green Bay's lead to 41-10.

The Vikings' Dalvin Cook was held to 27 yards on nine carries.

Rodgers went 15 of 24 for 159 yards with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Robert Tonyan. Rodgers also scored Green Bay's final touchdown on a 2-yard scramble.

After a blocked punt by Josh Metellus gave Minnesota first-and-goal at the 1 to help the Vikings take an early 3-0 lead, the Packers scored the next 41 points.

That outburst started with the big plays from Nixon and Savage. This marked the first time the Packers scored on an interception return and a kickoff return in the same game since a 31-23 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 30, 1967.

Nixon's touchdown was the Packers' first off a kickoff return since Randall Cobb's franchise-record 108-yarder against New Orleans in 2011. Nixon had a 94-yard kickoff return in a 26-20 Christmas Day victory at Miami, but he left that game with a groin injury that kept him from practicing most of this week.

Green Bay also got a solid game from veteran kicker Mason Crosby, who went 2 of 2 on field-goal attempts, including a 56-yarder that the crossbar before bouncing through to close the first half.

Bucs take NFC South title

Tom Brady threw for 432 yards and three long touchdowns to Mike Evans, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinch their second straight NFC South championship with a 30-24 come-from-behind win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

The Panthers (6-10) led 14-0 early and 21-10 after Sam Darnold's third TD pass of the day, 10 seconds into the fourth quarter.

It was all Bucs from there, with Evans beating cornerback C.J. Henderson for touchdowns twice and Darnold losing a fumble on a sack inside his own 10. That turnover set up Brady's 1-yard TD sneak, which put the game out of reach with 1:58 left.

The Bucs (8-8) can finish the regular season with a winning record by beating Atlanta on the road next weekend. As division champs, they are assured of beginning the playoffs with a home game in two weeks.

Giants punch ticket to playoffs with win over Colts

Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more, and New York routed Indianapolis to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The Colts (4-11-1) lost their sixth straight and ninth in 10 games.

New York's point total was a season high and its first time scoring 30 or more since a 37-34 loss to Dallas on Oct. 11, 2020.

Jones threw touchdown passes of 6 yards to Richie James and 6 yards to Isaiah Hodgins in the first half and scored on runs of 18 and 10 yards in the second half. He finished 19 of 24 for 177 yards and had 11 rushes for 91 yards.

Colts quarterback Nick Foles was injured late in the second quarter when he was sacked by Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux. He was taken to the locker room on a cart. Sam Ehlinger played the second half and threw his first NFL TD pass, a 6-yarder to Michael Pittman.

Seahawks stay in thick of NFC playoff race with win over Jets

Geno Smith threw two first-half touchdown passes, Kenneth Walker III rushed for 133 yards and Seattle remained in playoff contention while ending New York's postseason chances.

New York's playoff hopes ended with a thud after its fifth straight loss and extended the longest active playoff drought in the NFL to a franchise-record 12 seasons. The Jets (7-9) last reached the postseason in 2011 and will finish with a losing record for the seventh straight year.

Smith finished 18 of 29 for 183 yards and added the Jets to the list of victories against former employers that already included wins over the Chargers and Giants.

Smith was especially good in the first half, throwing touchdowns of 12 yards to Colby Parkinson on the first possession of the game and 7 yards to Tyler Mabry early in the second quarter. Mabry's touchdown was the first catch of his career.

Mike White returned at quarterback for the Jets after missing two games with fractured ribs, but offensive success was fleeting for the Jets. White was 23 of 46 for 240 yards and threw two interceptions.

Patriots deal Dolphins 5th straight loss

Kyle Dugger intercepted Teddy Bridgewater and returned it 39 yards for a go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter, and New England rallied to beat skidding Miami and stay in playoff contention.

The Dolphins (8-8) entered with a chance to clinch a postseason berth. Instead, Miami lost its fifth straight game and will need to win next week against the Jets and have Buffalo beat New England to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016.

Miami played without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who's in the concussion protocol for the second time this season. Bridgewater completed 12 of 19 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown before leaving late in the third quarter with an injured right ring finger after being picked off by Dugger.

Bridgewater was replaced by Skylar Thompson. The third-stringer had an interception and a late TD pass to Mike Gesicki.

Lions rout Bears to keep playoff chances alive

Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes, including two in the first half to Brock Wright, and Detroit beat Chicago to remain in the playoff chase.

The Justin Fields-led Bears (3-13) took two leads in the opening quarter before collapsing and losing a franchise-record ninth straight game.

Goff completed passes to 10 receivers, went 21 of 29 for 255 yards and did not throw an interception for an eighth consecutive game. Jamaal Williams had a career-high 144 yards rushing on 22 carries — including his 15th rushing TD this seaon — and D'Andre Swift added 117 yards from scrimmage and two scores.

Fields rushed for 105 yards in the first quarter and finished with 132 yards on the ground, giving him 1,143 this season. The NFL record for rushing yards by a QB is 1,206 by Lamar Jackson in 2019.

But Fields was only 7 of 21 passing for 75 yards, and Detroit's Aidan Hutchinson forced two turnovers by the Bears QB.