National Football League playoff picture: Broncos, Panthers seal No. 1 seeds

The upstart Vikings survived despite a shaky finish in hostile territory. An opponent would play more of a zone defense against him.

Packers kicker Mason Crosby forced a fumble on Cordarrelle Patterson’s potentially field-flipping 70-yard kickoff return with 5:21 left.

The Broncos’ next three drives all ended with a turnover.

With the Broncos knowing the difference between victory and defeat was the first and the fifth seed in the AFC play-off field, Manning was summoned from the bench during the third quarter of yesterday’s crucial game against the San Diego Chargers with his side trailing 13-7.

The Chargers (4-12) wrapped up what might have been their final season representing San Diego as ownership tries to move the team to L.A.

In other results, the New Orleans Saints got up 20-17 against the Atlanta Falcons, the Indianapolis Colts sealed a 30-24 win against the Tennessee Titans, and the Detroit Lions defeated the Chicago Bears 24-20.

The Jets controlled their own destiny, needing only a win to advance, but ex-coach Rex Ryan and the Bills played spoiler. And it could be argued that his two interceptions, one of which hit receiver Jordan Norwood in the hands before being picked, weren’t either. The victory clinched the AFC West title and the conference’s No. 1 playoff seed. He watched the Patriots’ final offensive series from the sideline along with teammate Rob Gronkowski.

“We’ll sit down. We’ll make a decision that’s best for the football team”, Kubiak said.

New England Patriots cornerback Darryl Roberts (28) checks on quarterback Tom Brady (12) after Brady appeared to be injured during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Grimes had a 12-yard touchdown reception and added a 3-yard rushing score in the second quarter to help Houston take a 20-3 lead by halftime. The fourth-year quarterback had a lost fumble in addition to the pair of interceptions.

Sunday’s win secured the AFC’s top spot for the Broncos, giving them home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Then again, the Pats might not get past the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati victor, especially if it’s the Steelers, who have often looked like the Steelers of old over the past month.

The NFC playoff picture was settled late Sunday night when Minnesota beat Green Bay 20-13 to win the NFC North. The Vikings are the No. 3 seed and will host Seattle at 10 a.m. Sunday, while Green Bay, the No. 5 seed, will travel to NFC East champion Washington, the No. 4 seed, for the late Sunday game. As the season started and progressed, Manning limped his way to arguably the worst year of his career, culminating in his benching against the Kansas City Chiefs, for performance and injury reasons. Young took 15 seasons to reach that plateau; Newton did it in five. But Carr was sacked one last time, and the clock expired before they came close to a go-ahead touchdown. Osweiler, before getting pulled, completed 14 of 22 passes, throwing for 232 yards and a touchdown.

One coach who is apparently safe is Jason Garrett, who has received assurances from owner Jerry Jones despite a 4-12 season.

It was the third straight loss for the Giants (6-10) and finished a third straight losing season and a fourth straight year out of the playoffs.