PANTHERS 38, FALCONS 0 (at Charlotte, N.C.) – Cam Newton added to his MVP résumé, completing 15 of 21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns, and unbeaten Carolina blanked Atlanta (6-7) to clinch a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs.
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The Carolina Panthers stayed flawless with a dominating 38-0 win against the Atlanta Falcons and maintained a two-game lead on the Arizona Cardinals for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Patriots 27, Texans 6: Tom Brady threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and New England snapped a two-game skid and clinched a playoff spot with a win over host Houston.
The resulting first down extended a drive that led to the Panthers’ first touchdown, a 1-yard run by Jonathan Stewart.
After tight end Greg Olsen left the game with a knee injury, tight end Ed Dickson reached out full extension to haul in a 4-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds remaining in the half.
Derek Carr threw for two touchdowns in the second half and the Raiders defense, led by Khalil Mack’s five sacks, did not allow an offensive touchdown as Oakland shook off a sluggish start to beat Denver 15-12.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes, leading the Seahawks in a romp over Baltimore (4-9), who started third-string quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Freeman has scored just once in his last six games after busting through with 10 touchdowns in his first six contests.
Johnny Manziel overcame an early interception to throw one touchdown pass and have a solid afternoon, while Isaiah Crowell ran for two touchdowns, holding the 49ers to just 221 yards of offense.
The injury brought an abrupt end to a stellar rookie campaign in which Rawls had 830 yards and four touchdowns filling in for injured starter Marshawn Lynch, who is recovering for surgery for a sports hernia.
It’s a stark contrast to where the Falcons were through their first five games, sitting 5-0 and tied with Carolina atop the NFC South. At the time, the Panthers seemed like the far more likely team to collapse. They can ground and pound the ball or throw it on offense depending on the game situation. The Patriots didn’t move the ball as well in the second half, but the defense harassed Brian Hoyer into multiple mistakes.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 282 yards and DeAngelo Williams rushed for two touchdowns to lift Pittsburgh past Cincinnati, who lost quarterback Andy Dalton to a fractured thumb on his throwing hand in the costly home defeat.
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Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan completed 22 of 34 passes for 224 yards and an interception. He tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Gary Barnidge late in the third quarter as the Browns won for the first time since October 11 and took some pressure off coach Mike Pettine. Jabaal Sheard had strip sacks on Hoyer twice after halftime. DeAngelo Williams ran for two. The Rams held Detroit’s Calvin Johnson to a late 16-yard catch, and Aaron Donald had three sacks of Matthew Stafford. Wilson has 16 TD passes and no interceptions over his past four games. He made three catches for 52 yards, then warmed up prior to the second half before becoming a spectator in the rout.
