The sixteenth and penultimate round of the National Football League (NFL) left the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys with separate division titles to secure the trip to the playoff competition.
The Seahawks of Seattle with a victory and the Texans of Houston in the defeat, but with a combination of results, already have in their possession a ticket for the postseason to get each a wild card, while they still have the opportunity to.
Quarterback Tom Brady sent in touchdown passes and the Patriots got their tenth consecutive division title by winning 24-12 at the Buffalo Bills.
New England puts its mark in 10-5 as champion of the Eastern Division of the American Conference (AFC).
The Patriots improved to 7-0 at home and became the first franchise in NFL history to win tickets to the finals in 10 consecutive seasons.
With the victory of the Philadelphia Eagles 32-30 over the Houston Texans, the Patriots are back in second place in the American Conference (AFC).
A Patriots victory over the New York Jets next week would give them a break in the first round of NFL wild cards.
Brady completed 13 of 24 attempts for 126 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, his lowest performance since going for 123 yards in a loss to the Bills in 2003.
But with his scoring send he joined Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers with at least 10 seasons of more than 4,000 passing yards.
Manning has 14 seasons of this type, Brees entered the day with 12 and Rivers has 10.
Another passer, but of the new generation, Dak Prescott scored two touchdowns and Jaylon Smith returned a 69-yard fumble to score and the Cowboys clinched their division title with a 27-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Cowboys (9-6) won the East Division title of the National Conference (NFC) and secured their second trip to the finals in three years with Prescott and star runner Ezekiel Elliott as leaders in the Texans’ offense.
Quarterback Russell Wilson threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with 7:31 left to play and the Seahawks secured a wild card by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 38-31.
The victory allows the Seahawks to make their mark at 9-6 and take second place in the NFC West Division.
Kicker Jake Elliott scored a 35-yard field goal when regulation time expired and the Eagles beat the Texans 32-30 and still have chances to travel to the finals.
The Texans (10-5) missed the chance to win the AFC South Division, but when the Steelers lost to the Saints, they seized a wild card.
The Texans could secure the division title with a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars next week and get a break in the first round with a win and draw or loss of the Patriots.
With their second straight win, the Eagles (8-7) remain sub-leaders in the NFC East Division to continue their chances of making a trip to the postseason and defending the title of Super Bowl LII champions.
In other results, quarterback Drew Brees capped a 326-yard performance with two-yard scoring to Michael Thomas with 1:25 left to play and the Saints won the NFC finals in the NFC finals by winning by 31-28 to the Steelers.
With their third consecutive victory, the Saints, champions in the South Division of the NFC, put their numbers in 13-2 to be accredited the best record of that conference, when there is still a day of the regular championship.
Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky threw a touchdown pass and the Chicago Bears got their eighth win in nine games by winning a 9-14 home win over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Bears, who are 11-4, secured at least the third-best mark in the NFC finals and can get a break in the first round of wild cards with a win at the end of the season and a loss by the Rams. The Angels.
Another passer Andrew Luck made a one-yard touchdown pass to his catcher Chester Rogers with 55 seconds remaining to finish regulation time and the Indianapolis Colts maintain a chance of traveling to the finals after beating the Giants 28-27. Move York.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins sent a 44-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph as time expired in the first half of the game and put the Minnesota Vikings ahead to make it 9-27 at home to the Detroit Lions.
C.J. Anderson, who played five days after being hired by Los Angeles, ran for 167 yards, one less than his personal record, and the Rams regained form and defeated the Arizona Cardinals 9-31.
The passer Blake Bortles came off the bench at the end of the third quarter with the score was tied and led the Jaguars to defeat at home 7-17 to the Miami Dolphins, who are eliminated from the race for the finals.
Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns and the Atlanta Falcons outscored the Carolina Panthers 10-24, which added their seventh straight loss and were eliminated from contention for a ticket to the finals.
Baker Mayfield threw three touchdown passes and the Cleveland Browns defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26-18.
Another quarterback Aaron Rodgers sent in two touchdowns and led the Green Bay Packers, who won at home in extra time 38-44 to the New York Jets, in a duel of teams that are eliminated from the final phase .
