The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 27-19 and win the NFC South for a fourth straight season.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns as he rallied his team from a 16-6 half-time deficit, with rookie running back Bucky Irving extending the lead to eight points just after the two-minute warning.
Four straight incompletions from Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler on the ensuing drive effectively ended the contest, but Mayfield still had time for a nine-yard completion to wide receiver Mike Evans to secure his 11th straight season with 1,000 receiving yards, equalling Jerry Rice’s NFL record.
I’M NOT CRYING. WE’RE CRYING.
?: @BudLight #EasyToCelebrate pic.twitter.com/mUNiXVWcSH
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 5, 2025
The Atlanta Falcons had needed a Tampa Bay defeat to have any chance of snatching the NFC South title, but in any event suffered a 44-38 overtime defeat at home to the Carolina Panthers.
Quarterback Bryce Young threw for three touchdowns and ran in two others himself as the Panthers ended the season with a 5-12 record.
The Green Bay Packers will visit the Philadelphia Eagles to start the play-offs after losing 24-22 to the Chicago Bears.
Brandon McManus kicked a late 55-yard field goal to give the Packers a 22-21 lead, only for Cairo Santos to split the uprights from 51 yards as time expired.
Joe Milton III threw for one touchdown and rushed for another on his NFL debut to steer the New England Patriots to a 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills, who were already certain of being the number two seeds in the AFC.
New England would have secured the number one overall pick in the 2025 draft with a loss, but that dubious honour goes to the Tennessee Titans after they lost 23-14 to the Houston Texans.
Matt Gay kicked four field goals, including the game winner from 38 yards in overtime, as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-23, while the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants 20-13, despite resting many of their starters.
The Denver Broncos are back in the play-offs for the first time since winning the 2015 Super Bowl thanks to a 38-0 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rookie quarterback Bo Nix set a franchise record by completing his first 18 passes en route to ending the Broncos’ eight-year play-off drought.
The Los Angeles Chargers locked up the fifth seed in the AFC with a 34-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert passed for 346 yards and two touchdowns, ending the regular season on a three-game win streak.
The Seattle Seahawks beat the play-off-bound Los Angeles Rams with a 30-25 victory.
Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 334 yards and two touchdowns in his debut game for Los Angeles, with the side already having clinched the NFC West title.
The Arizona Cardinals beat an injury-plagued San Francisco 49ers with a score of 47-24.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 242 yards and made four touchdowns.
Arizona won four more games compared to last season, finishing 8-9, but missed play-offs again for the third year in a row.
Jets win! pic.twitter.com/eK1Oj6xCiz
— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 6, 2025
The New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes – a season record for the quarterback — to lead his squad to a 32-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
The passes marked numbers 500, 501, 502 and 503 of a long career for Rodgers, and could be his last, as the 41-year-old is unsure if he wants to play next season.
The Dolphins needed a victory to keep their already-dim dreams of joining play-offs alive.
Lastly, the Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-9 to claim their second straight NFC North title.
The Lions have also earned themselves a home-field advantage until the Super Bowl.
Detroit will enjoy a bye in the first week of the play-offs, while Minnesota will take on NFC West champion side, the Los Angeles Rams, next week.
If the Vikings win next Monday, they will again face off with the Lions in two weeks in what will be Detroit’s first game of the play-offs.
