The Albany Gazette - Panthers advance to NFL playoffs after Falcons beat Saints

The unusual situation was part of a hectic closing day of the NFL regular season that also included a winner-take-all showdown for a playoff spot with the AFC playoff top seed also up for grabs.

After Tampa Bay defeated Carolina 16-14 on Saturday to leave both clubs 8-9 for the campaign, the fight for the NFC South division title and final NFC playoff berth came down to Sunday's New Orleans at Atlanta result.

With the triumph, the host Falcons matched Carolina and Tampa Bay at 8-9. In a three-way head-to-head results tie-breaker, Carolina took the division crown and playoff spot, the Saints unable to take the victory that would have sent Tampa Bay to the playoffs.

As both idle teams watched from afar with their seasons at stake, the Falcons grabbed a 16-10 lead as Kirk Cousins threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Drake London and Zane Gonzalez kicked field goals of 40, 51 and 38 yards.

Atlanta's Dee Alford intercepted a pass by the Saints' Tyler Shough to end a late New Orleans drive and set up another 38-yard Gonzalez field goal for a 19-10 lead with 2:52 remaining.

New Orleans answered on Shough's 16-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Bell with 1:11 to play, but the Saints could not recover an onside kick attempt and Atlanta ran out the clock for the victory.

The NFL's final playoff berth and the top seed in the AFC playoffs will be decided in later games.

The Baltimore Ravens will visit Pittsburgh for a winner-take-all showdown to decide the AFC North title with the loser out of the playoffs and the winner claiming the AFC fourth seed.

The AFC playoffs top seed also will be decided with the Denver Broncos having the easiest path to a first-round bye and home-field post-season edge.

If the Broncos (13-3) beat the visiting Los Angeles Chargers (11-5), they claim the AFC top seed.

A Denver loss opens the door for New England (13-3), which could then take the top seed by defeating Miami (7-9).

Should Denver and New England both lose, the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4) would capture the AFC top seed after routing the Tennessee Titans 41-7 to close the season on an eight-game win streak.

Trevor Lawrence threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns in the Jaguars' triumph.

Seattle (14-3) claimed the NFC top seed on Saturday with a 13-3 victory at San Francisco (12-5), which settled for a wildcard playoff berth.

Other NFC clubs in the playoffs include defending champion Philadelphia, Chicago, the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams.

Other AFC teams with secured post-season spots include the Chargers, Houston and Buffalo.

- Garrett sets record -

Several playoff-qualified teams rested their starters ahead of next week's post-season openers.

The Houston Texans (12-5) stretched their win streak to nine games and took the AFC fifth seed by defeating Indianapolis 38-30, the Colts closing the season with seven losses in a row.

Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn kicked a career-high six field goals, including a game clincher from 43 yards with 12 seconds remaining.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett set an NFL record for quarterback sacks in a single season by taking down Cincinnati's Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter of Cleveland's 20-18 road victory.

Garrett raised his season total to 23 sacks, eclipsing the old record of 23.5 sacks shared by T.J. Watt from 2021 and Michael Strahan from 2001.

(K.Lee--TAG)