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Patriots, Seahawks clinch NFL playoff berths while Steelers ousted
2006-12-25
New England and Seattle advanced to the National Football League playoffs while reigning champion Pittsburgh was eliminated and a rare blunder hurt Cincinnati's chances. New England won a fourth consecutive AFC East division title with a 24-21 victory over Jacksonville, giving the Patriots a chance to win the Super Bowl for the fourth time in six years. "We're playing for one reason and that's to win the Super Bowl," New England quarterback Tom Brady said. "It's going to be quite a challenge but I like our chances." Seattle clinched the NFC West crown despite losing 20-17 to San Diego on Philip Rivers' 37-yard touchdown pass to Vince Jackson with 29 seconds to play. The Seahawks, 8-7, were assured the title because Neil Rackers kicked four field goals to give Arizona a 26-20 triumph over San Francisco, ensuring the only division rival with a tie-breaker edge could not match Seattle. San Diego, Indianapolis and Baltimore had already clinched AFC playoff spots while Chicago, New Orleans and Dallas had secured NFC berths, so four bids remain unclaimed in the knockout-round fight to reach February's Super Bowl 41. Reigning Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh was ensured of being dethroned, the Steelers losing 31-7 to Baltimore to ensure they will miss the playoffs. Cincinnati squandered a chance to seal a playoff trip by losing 24-23 at Denver. A bungled snap prevented a game-tying conversion kick after Carson Palmer's 10-yard touchdown pass to TJ Houshmandzadeh with 41 seconds to play. The triumphant Broncos can clinch a playoff berth with a victory over San Francisco next week while the idle New York Jets, who play Monday at Miami, can advance by winning their final two games. Losses by either team next week would open the door for three 8-7 teams - Tennessee, Jacksonville and Kansas City. Philadelphia, 8-6, can clinch an playoff berth Monday by beating Dallas and the New York Giants, 7-8, will advance with a victory next week at Washington with Green Bay, St. Louis, Atlanta and Carolina lurking should New York lose. New England improved to 11-4 and clinched the AFC East crown while the loss hurt the Jaguars' chances to advance. Jacksonville will visit Kansas City next week in a battle of 8-7 teams that could decide the final AFC playoff berth. The Jaguars trailed 24-21 after a 33-yard touchdown pass from David Garrard to Matt Jones with 3:03 to play but New England's Jarvis Green forced a Garrard fumble in the final seconds and Rodney Harrison recovered to seal the victory. Indianapolis had a chance to clinch a first-round playoff bye but lost 27-24 at Houston, dropping the Colts to 11-4 and behind San Diego and Baltimore in the hunt for an automatic berth in the NFL quarter-final round. Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes for the Colts but Ron Dayne ran for two Texans touchdowns and Kris Brown kicked the winning 48-yard field goal on the final play, ensuring San Diego a first-round playoff bye. Baltimore's Steve McNair threw three touchdown passes to win at Pittsburgh, boosting the Ravens to 12-3 and ahead of the Colts in quest of a bye. Vince Young threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Tennessee's win streak reached six games with a 30-29 victory at Buffalo. The Titans, 8-7, won their fourth comeback victory in five weeks to end the Bills' playoff bid. Rookie Reggie Bush ran for a season-high 126 yards and a touchdown and Deuce McAllister ran for 108 yards and scored to spark New Orleans past the New York Giants 30-7. The Saints, 10-5, will have a first-round bye if they beat Carolina next week or Dallas loses Monday to Philadelphia. The Giants, 7-8, lost for the sixth time in seven games but remained in the playoff quest. Philadelphia, 8-6, need only draw Dallas, 9-5, on Monday to seal a playoff berth while the Cowboys, already assured a playoff spot, will win the NFC East division title by downing the Eagles. Mark Bugler threw four touchdown passes and Steven Jackson ran 21 yards for the winning touchdown in overtime to give St. Louis a 37-31 victory over Washington, improving the Rams to 7-8 to keep them in the NFC playoff hunt. The Carolina Panthers sustained their playoff hopes with a 10-3 triumph at Atlanta, inflicting the Falcons fourth consecutive home loss to leave both clubs 7-8. Chicago, which had already clinched home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs, beat previously eliminated Detroit 26-21 while Tampa Bay downed Cleveland 22-7 in a matchup of teams with no playoff hope. js06
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