Result: San Francisco 13, Philadelphia 27

Playoff berths are so routine for the Philadelphia Eagles they don’t celebrate anymore.

Donovan McNabb threw for one touchdown and ran for another, DeSean Jackson had 140 yards receiving and the Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers 27-13 Sunday to clinch a playoff spot for the eighth time this decade.

None of the first seven trips produce a Super Bowl victory, however.

“It’s always good to clinch a spot early, but we’re still going to put our foot on the pedal,” McNabb said. “It’s an exciting time, but nothing to get overly excited about. One of our goals is to have a bye week and win the NFC East and the only chance for that to happen is to win the last two games.” (more…)

Result: Atlanta 10, NY Jets 7

The Atlanta Falcons already had their playoff hopes dashed and were getting manhandled by the New York Jets’ top-ranked defense.

No contest, right? Not quite.

Tony Gonzalez caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan on a fourth-down play with 1:38 remaining to lift the Falcons to a 10-7 victory that seriously damaged the Jets’ postseason chances Sunday.

“As a man taking pride in what you do for a living and loving what you do,” Gonzalez said, “You owe it to yourself and the fans and the organization to go out there and play your butt off. That’s what we did.”

A day after the Falcons (7-7) were eliminated from playoff contention by Dallas’ win over New Orleans, they were able to play spoiler against the stunned Jets (7-7). (more…)

Result: Houston 16, St. Louis 13

Big games from Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub helped the Houston Texans score just enough points.

Schaub had his eighth 300-yard passing game, one shy of Peyton Manning’s league-leading total, and Johnson consistently eluded a defense geared to stop him with a season best 196 yards receiving. But the Texans ended up leaning on field goals to hold off the lowly St. Louis Rams 16-13 on Sunday.

“Obviously, there weren’t many style points for us,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “Matt and Andre were exceptional and you’ve got to feel good about winning. (more…)

Result: Cleveland 41, Kansas City 34

All week the Browns heard how Mike Holmgren coming to Cleveland might mean the end of coach Eric Mangini’s short, drama-filled stint with the team.

Jerome Harrison and Josh Cribbs may have saved their coach’s job, at least for now, trying to outdo each other with record-setting games.

Harrison scored his third touchdown with 44 seconds left and rushed for a team-record 286 yards, and Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns to lift the Browns to a 41-34 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. (more…)

Result: Miami 24, Tennessee 27

 The Tennessee Titans might fall short of making NFL history by rebounding from an 0-6 start to make the playoffs. It won’t be for lack of trying, and they certainly aren’t boring.

Rob Bironas kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime, and the Titans beat the Miami Dolphins 27-24 Sunday after blowing an 18-point lead.

“I was just glad we won,” Tennessee tight end Alge Crumpler said. “I was a little peeved at the way it had to go down. But, hey look, we’re still breathing baby.”

Tennessee kept alive faint playoff hopes for another week as Vince Young threw for a career-high three touchdowns, and Chris Johnson ran for 104 yards. The Titans (7-7) reached .500 for the first time this year, but made it far too interesting by blowing the big lead. (more…)

The Arizona Cardinals blew a 17-point lead to the lowly Detroit Lions and needed to make a pressure-packed play in the closing minutes to avoid an embarrassing defeat.

Kurt Warner threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin with 1:54 left, lifting Arizona to a 31-24 win over Detroit Lions on Sunday.

“A win’s a win,” Warner said. “We are one step closer to our goal.”

Arizona (9-5) took the final step later in the day, clinching the NFC West when San Francisco lost at Philadelphia. The Cardinals have won consecutive division titles for the first time since 1974-75. (more…)