INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Mike Edwards returned a fumble 97 yards for a touchdown, Harrison Butker made a 41-yard field goal with 49 seconds remaining, and the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 13-12 while resting most of their starters. With the Chiefs locked into the AFC’s No. 3 seed for the playoffs, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were inactive. Kansas City will host Miami on Saturday night in the wild-card round. The Chargers closed the season with five straight losses, the last three after coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco were fired on Dec. 15
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sean Payton senses a feeling of disappointment but not discouragement from his Denver Broncos. A 27-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday dropped the Broncos to 8-9 to finish Payton’s first season as coach in Denver. And now there’s plenty to be done before they play a game again. The Broncos struggled to find consistency with their offense under the guidance of a coach long known for his offensive X’s and O’s. Denver started the season 1-5 and finished by losing three of their last four while being outscored 104-70.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Josh Allen threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Dawson Knox midway through the fourth quarter, and the Buffalo Bills won their fourth straight AFC East title, rallying past the Miami Dolphins 21-14. Allen made things difficult for the Bills with three turnovers in Miami territory, but he came through at the end to help Buffalo earn the No. 2 seed in the conference. The Bills will host seventh-seeded Pittsburgh in the wild-card round on Sunday. Buffalo went 6-1 down the stretch. Miami fell to the sixth seed and will play at AFC West champion Kansas City on Saturday night.
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Dak Prescott threw two of his four touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys won the NFC East and secured the No. 2 seed in the conference by closing the regular season with a 38-10 victory over the Washington Commanders. Prescott finished 31 for 36 for 279 yards as Dallas finished 12-5 for the third year in a row. The Cowboys assured themselves of playing at home to open the postseason. That’s a big deal for a club that went 8-0 in Dallas this season and has won 16 straight games there. Ron Rivera is expected to be fired as coach of Washington after going 4-13 to tie a franchise record for losses in a season.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence had every chance to play the Jacksonville Jaguars into the playoffs for a second straight year as the AFC South champs. He wound up stopped short of the goal line with 7:13 left. He also threw incomplete as the Jaguars turned the ball over on downs with 1:47 left as the Tennessee Titans eliminated the Jaguars 28-20 Sunday in their regular-season finale. The Jaguars came in needing a win to clinch a second straight AFC South title for the first back-to-back crowns since 1998 and 1999. Their loss makes Houston the division champs and cost the Jaguars their only way into the postseason after Pittsburgh also won Saturday. Lawrence threw for two touchdowns but also had two interceptions.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Breece Hall rushed for a career-high 178 yards and a late touchdown and the New York Jets snapped a 15-game losing streak against the Patriots with a 17-3 win in what could have been Bill Belichick’s final game as New England’s coach. Greg Zuerlein kicked three field goals to help the Jets earn their first victory over the Patriots since an overtime win on Dec. 27, 2015. The Patriots’ 4-13 record is the worst finish in Belichick’s 29-year NFL coaching career. Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft are expected to meet Monday to discuss the coach’s future with the franchise after 24 seasons.
HOUSTON (AP) — No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington playing for the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday night is just about the perfect way to close the 2023 season. The matchup of unbeatens hits all the major themes of the past five months from conference realignment to the transfer portal — with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh as the main character. Michael Penix Jr., the sixth-year quarterback who revived his career by transferring to Washington, and the Huskies will try to deliver the Pac-12 its first championship since 2004 in their last football game before joining Michigan in the Big Ten.
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — A person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press the Washington Commanders have fired coach Ron Rivera. The Commanders lost eight in a row to finish 4-13 after opening with back-to-back victories. Washington made one playoff appearance by winning the NFC East at 7-9 in 2020 during Rivera’s four seasons in charge of the team’s football operations. General manager Martin Mayhew and a majority of the front office and coaching staff are also expected to depart as new ownership begins sweeping changes to put its stamp on the organization.
ATLANTA (AP) — Arthur Smith has been fired by the Atlanta Falcons after completing his third straight losing season. Smith inherited a rebuilding project in his first NFL head coaching job and failed to lift the Falcons from their playoff drought. The 41-year-old son of FedEx founder Fred Smith went 7-10 in each of his three seasons. Atlanta closed the season with an ugly 48-17 loss at New Orleans, its second consecutive lopsided defeat. That sealed Smith’s fate. He was hired by the Falcons in 2021 after a decade-long stint as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans in which he moved up to offensive coordinator.
SUNDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 31 Cleveland 14
Final Detroit 30 Minnesota 20
Final N-Y Jets 17 New England 3
Final New Orleans 48 Atlanta 17
Final Tampa Bay 9 Carolina 0
Final Tennessee 28 Jacksonville 20
Final Dallas 38 Washington 10
Final Green Bay 17 Chicago 9
Final Kansas City 13 L.A. Chargers 12
Final L.A. Rams 21 San Francisco 20
Final Las Vegas 27 Denver 14
Final N-Y Giants 27 Philadelphia 10
Final Seattle 21 Arizona 20
Final Buffalo 21 Miami 14
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (15)Memphis 62 SMU 59
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Cleveland 117 San Antonio 115
Final OT Portland 134 Brooklyn 127
Final New Orleans 133 Sacramento 100
Final OT Orlando 117 Atlanta 110
Final Dallas 115 Minnesota 108
Final Denver 131 Detroit 114
Final Memphis 121 Phoenix 115
Final Toronto 133 Golden State 118
Final L.A. Lakers 106 L.A. Clippers 103
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Washington 4 Los Angeles 3
Final Chicago 4 Calgary 3
Final Winnipeg 6 Arizona 2
Final Detroit 3 Anaheim 2