Giants claim NFC East, Patriots nab top seed in AFC

The New York Giants earned their spot in the NFL playoffs after ending the Dallas Cowboys’ season with a 31-14 win on Sunday.

On a thrilling final day of the regular season, the Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers all clinched their spots in the post-season in the AFC, while the Giants won their division at the expense of Dallas, and the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons nabbed the wildcards in the NFC.

It was a do-or-die clash for both the Giants and Cowboys, as neither had sufficient records to earn a wildcard, but they were level at 8-7 in the win-loss column, meaning the winner would clinch NFC East and a playoff spot.

But it was New York that prevailed, with Eli Manning throwing for three touchdowns in the crucial victory.

The first week of the playoffs will see Detroit travel to the New Orleans Saints, while the Falcons are on the road to the Giants in the NFC.

In the AFC, the Bengals tackle the Houston Texans in Texas, and Pittsburgh are on the road to Denver in their two wildcard playoffs.

The San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers all earned home advantage for their opening playoff fixtures the following week.

In other Sunday results, the 49ers held off a fast-finishing St Louis Rams to win 34-27 and clinch the second seeding in the NFC.

Rookie 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh steered his team to 13 wins, their best since the 1997 season.

The Patriots sailed to a 49-21 win over the Buffalo Bills to finish the regular season with a 13-3 record, and head into the playoffs on an eight-match winning streak and the top seed in AFC.

Similarly, the New Orleans Saints made it eight straight wins with a 45-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers, with quarterback Drew Brees passing for 389 yards and five touchdowns.

Brees surpassed Peyton Manning’s record of 450 completions in a season, set in 2010, while the Saints set the all-time record for most yards of offense in a season.

The Ravens defeated the Bengals 24-16, but the latter still secured a wildcard spot.

The Packers rested Aaron Rodgers for their clash with Detroit, but still managed to clinch a thriller 45-41 over the Lions to enter the playoffs with a 15-1 record.

The Steelers were already assured of at least a wildcard heading into their final clash, and a wildcard is what they got as they came from behind to beat Cleveland 13-9.

Denver limped into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak, going down to Kansas City 7-3, but they also clinched AFC West.

The Broncos finished with an 8-8 win-loss record, level with San Diego and Oakland, but they pinched the playoff spot on head-to-head records.

Chargers quarterback Phil Rivers threw three touchdowns to steer his team to a 38-26 victory over the Raiders, with the result ending Oakland’s season.

Richard Goodman returned a kickoff 105 yards for another score as the Chargers kept their rivals out of the playoffs.

The Miami Dolphins ended the New York Jets’ playoff hopes with a 19-17 win, while the Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings 17-13 and Tennessee edged the Texans 23-22.

The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Redskins 34-10, the Atlanta Falcons were too strong for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 45-24 while Jacksonville beat Indianapolis 19-13.

The Colts’ loss ensured they will have top pick in April’s draft.