SEATTLE - After failing on two previous occasions, the Seattle Seahawks finally ensured the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through the Pacific Northwest.
Malcolm Smith returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown, Marshawn Lynch added a 2-yard scoring run and the Seahawks clinched the NFC West title and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs with a 27-9 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
Seattle (13-3) matched the franchise record for victories in a season and finally wrapped up the No. 1 seed after losses to San Francisco and last week to Arizona, which snapped a 14-game home winning streak.
Russell Wilson completed 15 of 23 passes for 172 yards. Seattle capped the victory with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Golden Tate early in the fourth quarter that lacked the unsportsmanlike wave that got Tate flagged on a similar touchdown reception in St. Louis earlier this season.
Tate finished with eight catches for 129 yards, both career highs in his final regular-season game before he becomes a free agent.
Smith got Seattle started with his interception return for a touchdown early in the first quarter a week after he was tackled at the Arizona 3 trying to score on an interception return.
Lynch finished with 97 yards on 23 carries, his best game since running for a season-best 145 yards against Atlanta in Week 10. Seattle continued to struggle on third down, going 4 of 13, but a lack of discipline from the Rams helped out the Seahawks.
The Rams (7-9) were penalized 12 times for 87 yards and lost their composure on defense late in the third quarter. St. Louis was flagged for four personal foul penalties in the span of two plays - two on Alec Ogletree and two on Kendall Langford. The penalty against Langford was for making contact with an official, which on replay appeared inadvertent. Langford was ejected and became incensed, slamming his helmet to the turf as he left the field.
Two plays later, Lynch walked in from the 2 and Seattle led 20-3.
PANTHERS 21, FALCONS 20 Cam Newton threw two touchdown passes, Greg Hardy had a team-record four sacks and visiting Carolina clinched the NFC South. The Panthers (12-4) earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage for at least one game as the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Carolina, which won 11 of its final 12 games,set a team record by sacking Matt Ryan nine times. The defense also produced a touchdown on Melvin White’s 7-yard interception return in the second quarter. PATRIOTS 34, BILLS 20 LeGarrette Blount rushed for a career-high 189 yards and two touchdowns and had two long kickoff returns as host New England beat Buffalo and clinched a first-round AFC bye. Tom Brady was content to hand the ball off during a steady downpour against a team leading the NFL in sacks and second in interceptions. And Blount responded, leading the charge into the playoffs. Stephen Gostkowski helped make sure the Patriots (12-4) wouldn’t have a game next weekend with four field goals. While the Patriots earned their eighth bye in Bill Belichick’s 14 seasons as coach, the Bills (6-10) missed the playoffs for the 14th consecutive year.
BENGALS 34, RAVENS 17 Andy Dalton threw for two touchdowns, ran for another and set two Bengals passing records, leading host Cincinnati to a victory that eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. It was an erratic performance by the third-year quarterback, who also threw four interceptions for AFC North winner Cincinnati (11-5). The Ravens (8-8) lost their last two games, denying them a chance to make the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. They couldn’t avoid the Super Bowl slump that’s so common. The Ravens became the 15th Super Bowl champ that failed to reach the playoffs the following season, and the sixth in the last 12 years. COLTS 30, JAGUARS 10 Andrew Luck threw for 282 yards and one touchdown and Adam Vinatieri joined the 2, 000-point club in host Indianapolis’ rout of Jacksonville. The AFC South champs have won three consecutive, matching their longest streak of the season. Indianapolis (11-5) finished with a 6-0 mark against division foes and has outscored its last three opponents 78-20. Jacksonville (4-12) lost its third consecutive. Luck completed 26 of 37 passes and became the first player in league history to top 8,000 yards in his first two NFL seasons. Vinatieri moved into fifth on the career scoring list with 2,006 points, passing George Blanda and Matt Stover.
49ERS 23, CARDINALS 20 Phil Dawson made a 40-yard field goal as time expired to lift visiting San Francisco to a victory over Arizona that clinched the NFC’s No. 5 playoff seed. San Francisco will visit Green Bay in the wild-card round next weekend.Dawson had matched his career best with a 56-yarder to put the 49ers (12-4) up 20-17 with 1:45 to go. Jay Feely’s 43-yard field goal then tied it for Arizona with 34 seconds left. LaMichael James’ 45-yard kickoff return and two quick completions by Collin Kaepernick set up Dawson’s game winner. Arizona (10-6) rallied from a 17-0 first-quarter deficit to tie it on Carson Palmer’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Andre Roberts with 3:20 remaining.
In other games Sunday, Geno Smith ran for a touchdown and threw for 190 yards, while two interceptions by rookie Dee Milner and one by Ed Reed helped the New York Jets eliminate the Miami Dolphins from the AFC wild-card race with a 20-7 victory in Miami. The Dolphins (8-8) squandered a shot at their first playoff berth since 2008 by losing their final two games. … Le’Veon Bell ran for 90 yards and a touchdown as the Pittsburgh Steelers drubbed the Cleveland Browns 20-7. Pittsburgh’s bid to become the second team in NFL history to go winless in September and make the playoffs ended when San Diego edged Kansas City later Sunday. … Chris Johnson ran for 127 yards and a touchdown in the Tennessee Titans’ 16-10 victory over the Houston Texans in Nashville, Tenn. The Texans (2-14) finished the season with 14 consecutive losses and clinched the No. 1 selection in next May’s draft. … Jerrel Jernigan caught a 24-yard touchdown pass and ran 49 yards for another score as the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins 20-6 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants started 0-6, but went 7-3 over the final 10 games to finish 7-9. Meanwhile, the Redskins (3-13) lost eight consecutive to close the season a year after winning the NFC East. … Rookie Cordarrelle Patterson scored two touchdowns, including the go ahead catch in the end zone in the fourth quarter, and the Minnesota Vikings won their final game at the Metrodome after 32 seasons with a 14-13 victory over the Detroit Lions in Minneapolis.
Sports, Pages 19 on 12/30/2013