Sport

Final day of regular season marked by frantic scramble

Edge-of-the-seat dramatics reserved for do-or-die games

Running back Eddie Lacy of the Green Bay Packers carries the ball in the first quarter of the crunch game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois on Sunday. Photograph: David Banks/Getty Images
Running back Eddie Lacy of the Green Bay Packers carries the ball in the first quarter of the crunch game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois on Sunday. Photograph: David Banks/Getty Images
Tue Dec 31 2013 - 01:00

The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks wrapped up top seedings while Green Bay and San Diego won thrilling nail-bitters to join the play-offs party in a mad scramble on the hectic final day of the NFL regular season on Sunday.

AFC West champions Denver blasted the Oakland Raiders 34-14 in a record-setting show and NFC West winning Seattle strolled to a 27-9 win over the St Louis Rams as both finished at 13-3 to ensure homefield advantage in their respective conferences.

Edge-of-the-seat dramatics were reserved for do-or-die games on a season-ending Sunday that had 10 teams vying for the last four play-off berths with all four NFC division crowns still up for grabs.

Green Bay Packers took the NFC North title by the narrowest of margins, 33-28, over quarterback Jay Cutler and the hard-fighting Bears.

READ MORE

The Chargers found themselves in a play-offs play-in game after last year’s Super Bowl winning Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins were defeated in earlier games.

Needing to beat the already play-off-bound Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego rallied to tie the score 24-24 late in the fourth quarter. A loss by the Chargers would have ushered the Pittsburgh Steelers into the post-season, after their 20-7 win over the Cleveland Browns.

In Dallas, the Philadelphia Eagles delivered a knockout blow to the Cowboys with a 24-22 win in a showdown for the NFC East title.

Back-up Kyle Orton, playing for the injured Tony Romo, was intercepted on the last Dallas drive to deny the home team. Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy ran for 120 yards to capture the NFL rushing crown with a season total of 1,596 yards.

The New Orleans Saints (11-5) secured the last NFC wildcard with a 42-17 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Also earning first-round byes were AFC East champions the New England Patriots (12-4), 34-20 winners over the Buffalo Bills, and the Carolina Panthers (12-4), who claimed the NFC South crown by edging the Atlanta Falcons 21-20.

Next weekend’s wild card round will have the Chargers at Cincinnati and the Chiefs at Indianapolis in the AFC, and the 49ers at Green Bay, and the Saints at Philadelphia in the NFC.

The Panthers were first to clinch an NFC division, overtaking the Falcons when Cam Newton hit Greg Olsen with a seven-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter for a 21-17 lead.

Carolina were made to sweat as Atlanta (4-12) mounted a last-ditch drive with less than a minute to go in hopes of a game-winning field goal but after reaching their own 43-yard line, a bad snap led to a 16-yard loss and Carolina got the win.