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Patriots clinch division with wild win over Steelers
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Tom Brady piloted Super Bowl champion New England to the winning touchdown with 56 seconds left on Sunday as the Patriots clinched the AFC East with a gut-wrenching 27-24 win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
On a day when the puzzle pieces of the National Football League playoffs were dropping into place, the Patriots thwarted Pittsburgh’s bid to clinch a first-round bye and potentially homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
Making matters worse, the Steelers’ star receiver Antonio Brown was transported to hospital for examination and treatment of a calf injury suffered in the first half. The US media reported that Brown would miss the rest of the regular season but might be available for the playoffs.
And in a final heartbreaker for the Steelers, a 10-yard TD catch from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to Jesse James, which would have given Pittsburgh the lead, was overturned on review with less than 30 seconds remaining, as officials judged that the leaping James had not completed the catch.
Roethlisberger scrambled to give Pittsburgh two more chances to win, but his final pass was intercepted by New England’s Duron Harmon with five seconds to play.
“The ball bounces in weird ways and I’m glad it bounced our way today,” Brady said.
On the Patriots’ game-winning drive at Heinz Field, Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski connected three straight times for 69 yards, setting up Dion Lewis’s eight-yard TD run.
Brady looked to Gronkowski again for a 2-point conversion.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Nick Foles, standing in for injured Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz, threw four TD passes as the Eagles held off the New York Giants 34-29 to clinch a first-round bye.
The Jacksonville Jaguars booked their first playoff appearance in a decade, thumping the Houston Texans 45-7, and the Minnesota Vikings clinched the NFC North division crown with a 34-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Rams took control of the NFC West with a 42-7 rout of the Seahawks in Seattle. Los Angeles scored on six of its seven possessions in the decisive first half and opened a two-game lead over the Seahawks atop the division with two games left to play.
The Baltimore Ravens kept their playoff hopes alive with a 27-10 victory over the winless Cleveland Browns.
The NFC South remained tight as the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers both won.
Drew Brees threw two TD passes in the Saints’ 31-19 victory over the New York Jets.
The Panthers spoiled Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ return from injury with a 31-24 victory over the Packers.
Also, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Oakland Raiders 20-17 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
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