NFL scores: Denver Broncos clinch No 1 seed in AFC, Carolina Panthers seal playoff return and Jacksonville Jaguars win division

05.01.2026, 04:33 skysports.com

The Denver Broncos clinched the No 1 seed in the AFC playoff standings, while victory for the Atlanta Falcons saw the Carolina Panthers win the NFC South division title on the final day of the NFL regular season.

The Broncos secured the AFC's top seed with a 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, who were led by backup quarterback Trey Lance as Jim Harbaugh rested multiple starters.

Denver's victory was spearheaded by Ja'Quan McMillian's 45-yard pick-six touchdown in the first half, while Wil Lutz was four for four on field goals as the Broncos (14-3) secured the No 1 seed for the first time since 2015, which saw them go on to win the Super Bowl.

They now have a bye week before hosting either the Chargers or the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw for just 38 yards in the first half and 141 overall, but tied Russell Wilson's record of 24 wins in his first two NFL seasons.

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Jared Goff led five scoring drives, Jake Bates kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired and the Detroit Lions regrouped to beat the NFC North champion Chicago Bears 19-16 after blowing a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Bears (11-6) stumbled into the playoffs with back-to-back losses, though they secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC with Washington beating Philadelphia. Chicago will host Green Bay in a wild-card game next week and would have home-field advantage in the divisional round if it beats the Packers.

Caleb Williams set the franchise's single-season passing record and threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes as the Bears wiped out a 16-0 deficit.

The Lions (9-8) ended a disappointing season on a winning note when Bates nailed a 42-yarder. A 26-yard pass from Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown helped set up the field goal, and Detroit came out on top after losing three in a row.

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Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, breaking the club's single-season mark for total scores, as the Jaguars earned a home playoff game with a 41-7 drubbing of Tennessee to win the AFC South.

Lawrence completed 22 of 30 passes for 255 yards against the Titans, with touchdowns to Brenton Strange, Parker Washington and Quintin Morris as he finished the regular season with 4,006 yards.

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Tennessee rookie quarterback Cam Ward spent most of the game on the sideline after injuring his shoulder while scrambling for a seven-yard touchdown on the Titans' opening drive.

Jacksonville's Cam Little kicked a 67-yard field goal to end the first half, giving him the two longest kicks in NFL history in the same season. Little set the record with a 68-yarder at the Las Vegas Raiders in early November. Little also drilled a 70-yarder in the preseason.

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C.J. Stroud accounted for two touchdowns before sitting down at halftime and Ka'imi Fairbairn made a go-ahead field goal with 12 seconds left to lift the Texans to a 38-30 win over the Indianapolis Colts that extended their winning streak to nine games.

The victory gives the Texans (12-5) the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Defensive tackle Tommy Togiai scooped up a fumble on the final play and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown to pad the lead.

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Rhamondre Stevenson ran for two touchdowns and caught another from MVP contender Drake Maye as the New England Patriots completed their remarkable turnaround season with a 38-10 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Stevenson rushed seven times for 131 yards as New England posted its first sweep of the Dolphins since the 2016 season. TreVeyon Henderson added touchdown runs of two and five yards.

The Patriots finished 14-3, their most victories since they won the Super Bowl to cap the 2016 season. The AFC East champions will be No. 2 seed in the playoffs and host the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round next weekend.

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Myles Garrett set the NFL's single-season record with his 23rd sack and Shedeur Sanders led a late scoring drive that was capped by Andre Szmyt's 49-yard field goal as time expired to help the Cleveland Browns rally for a 20-18 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the season finale.

Garrett sacked Joe Burrow with 5:09 remaining in the fourth quarter for the record-setting sack, surpassing the 22.5 by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.

After Ja'Marr Chase's four-yard touchdown catch gave the Bengals (6-11) an 18-17 advantage with 1:29 remaining, Sanders directed a 10-play, 40-yard drive to give the Browns (5-12) two straight victories for the first time in two years.

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Dee Alford's red-zone interception stopped a potential go-ahead drive by New Orleans as the Falcons beat the Saints 19-17 to give the NFC South title to Carolina.

By closing the season with four consecutive wins, the Falcons (8-9) finished in a three-way tie with Carolina and Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South. The Panthers won the tiebreaker with the best record within the division.

Trailing 16-10, the Saints drove from their 25 to the Atlanta 20 before Alford returned his interception of Tyler Shough's pass intended for Dante Pettis 59 yards to the Saints 27 with 3:14 remaining. The play set up Zane Gonzalez's fourth field goal, a 38-yarder, to extend Atlanta's lead to nine points.

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J.J. McCarthy had a productive first half before he was injured again, fullback C.J. Ham rushed for a short touchdown, and the Minnesota Vikings finished a frustrating season by beating the resting Green Bay Packers 16-3.

Green Bay (9-7-1) was locked into the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs and had nothing to play for.

McCarthy, who went 14 for 23 for 182 yards passing, pulled himself out after his first throw of the third quarter so the athletic training staff could examine his right hand and did not return. Backup Max Brosmer took it from there, helping Justin Jefferson reach the 100-yard mark for the first time in 12 games as the Vikings (9-8) coasted to their fifth consecutive victory.

Jefferson had already secured his sixth straight 1,000-yard season, only the third receiver in NFL history to accomplish that feat.

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Matthew Stafford passed for 259 yards and threw two of his four touchdown passes to Colby Parkinson as the Los Angeles Rams secured the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs with a 37-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Tyler Higbee returned from injury with five receptions for 91 yards and a key fourth-quarter touchdown for the Rams (12-5), who will visit the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers (8-9) in the wild-card round.

Puka Nacua made a one-handed touchdown grab among his 10 catches for 76 yards for the Rams, who snapped their first two-game skid of the season. Stafford passed Dan Marino for seventh place on the NFL's career TD passes list while finishing his MVP-calibre season leading the NFL with 4,707 yards passing and 46 touchdowns - the second most in league history by a quarterback at least 37 years old.

With Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and most key Eagles starters sitting out even with playoff seeding at stake, the Washington Commanders got fourth-quarter passing and rushing touchdowns from Josh Johnson to beat Philadelphia 24-17.

The NFC East champion Eagles (11-6) will open the playoffs at home next weekend against San Francisco.

With Jayden Daniels shut down and Marcus Mariota dealing with a leg injury, the Commanders (5-12) started Johnson, their 39-year-old third-stringer. Johnson rallied the Commanders from a 17-10 hole with a two-yard touchdown pass to John Bates and then scored on a one-yard run with 2:32 left.

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Gabe Davis caught two touchdown passes and Ty Johnson had a touchdown run and a scoring catch as the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets 35-8 in a farewell game for Highmark Stadium.

The win, coupled with the Los Angeles Chargers' loss at Denver, led to Buffalo moving up one spot in clinching the No. 6 seed. The Bills will travel to play the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild-card round next weekend.

Mitchell Trubisky, in at quarterback for the rested Josh Allen, finished 22 of 29 for 259 yards and four touchdowns.

Daniel Carlson made a career-long 60-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give Las Vegas a 14-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and end the Raiders' 10-game losing streak.

Carlson and Kansas City's Harrison Butker each made four field goals, with Butker hitting a 41-yarder with 1:01 left to give the Chiefs a short-lived 12-11 lead.

This could have marked the final game for Kansas City's Travis Kelce. The 36-year-old, who became the third tight end to reach 13,000 yards in his career, is yet to confirm whether he will retire after 13 seasons in the league.

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Jaxson Dart threw the 14th and 15th touchdown passes of his rookie year as the New York Giants ended their lost season on a two-game winning streak by beating the Dallas Cowboys 34-17.

That and other results around the NFL took the Giants (4-13) out of the running for a top-two pick and clinched No. 1 for Las Vegas. New York routed the Raiders last week to end a nine-game skid.

Dart has said he cares more about winning than draft position and played like it in his 12th professional start. He was 22 of 32 for 231 yards with touchdown passes to Daniel Bellinger - on a shovel pass-and-run - and Tyrone Tracy.

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