Bengals clinch 5th straight playoff berth
Head coach Marvin Lewis, a Fort Cherry graduate, knows the Bengals will play past the regular season again this year.
Former San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana, a Ringgold graduate, carries a Super Bowl trophy as he and other former players are introduced for a halftime ceremony Sunday during the 49ers’ loss to Cincinnati.
AJ McCarron kept handing off to Jeremy Hill and stayed steady in his first career start to lead the Bengals back into the playoffs.
Cincinnati’s opportunistic defense did much of the rest.
Hill ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns to back McCarron’s first start, and the patchwork Bengals clinched a fifth straight postseason berth by beating the San Francisco 49ers, 24-14, Sunday.
As Andy Dalton watched from the sideline with a large cast over his broken right thumb, McCarron threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft just before halftime as the Bengals (11-3) forced three second-quarter turnovers by San Francisco (4-10) to take command.
Dalton offered high-fives to McCarron with his good hand.
Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones each made interceptions on balls that deflected off the hands of tight end Vance McDonald. Cincinnati capitalized with touchdowns on two of the turnovers, including Kroft’s TD catch one play and five seconds after the second interception.
If all goes as planned, the Bengals will return to the Bay Area for the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium.
McCarron, who led Alabama to two national championships and was a fifth-round pick in 2014, went 15 of 21 for 192 yards and a 115.6 passer rating. He became the first former Alabama player to win an NFL game as the starting quarterback since Jeff Rutledge for the Giants on Nov. 15, 1987, according to STATS.
Hill carried 19 times for 31 yards. But his fumble late in the third put San Francisco in position for Bruce Miller’s 1-yard touchdown, then Anquan Boldin caught a 15-yard TD from Blaine Gabbert in the closing minutes.
The Bengals, who last month lost their only back-to-back games of the season, patiently waited for the mistakes to come then pounced.
Retro end zones were painted at Levi’s Stadium, which appeared about half-full on a day San Francisco held a halftime reunion of the 1981 and ’88 Super Bowl champion teams that beat the Bengals – Cincinnati’s only two Super Bowl appearances.
The 49ers went 2-for -14 on third down and secured last place in the NFC West for the first time since 2005.
Seattle 30, Cleveland 13: Russell Wilson continued his record pace throwing three touchdown passes, two to Doug Baldwin, and the Seattle Seahawks clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season with a 30-13 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Seattle (9-5) won its fifth straight and, thanks to losses this week by Tampa Bay and the New York Giants, wrapped up a postseason berth.
Kansas City 34, Baltimore 14: The Kansas City Chiefs capitalized on a variety of miscues by the Baltimore Ravens and extended their winning streak to eight games with a 34-14 victory.
Kansas City (9-5) also scored touchdowns following a drive-extending penalty by Baltimore and a failed fake punt.
Houston 16, Indianapolis 10: Brandon Weeden replaced injured quarterback T.J. Yates late in the first half and threw a go-ahead 8-yard TD pass to Jaelen Strong with 10:36 to play, giving Houston a 16-10 victory its first win in 14 tries at Indianapolis.
The Texans (7-7) took sole possession of the AFC South lead by snapping a two-game losing streak.
New England 33, Tennessee 16: Tom Brady threw for two touchdowns to help the New England Patriots hold onto the top spot in the AFC, beating Tennessee 33-16 on Sunday and knocking Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota out with a knee injury in the first half.
The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, Mariota left the game and did not return after being sacked to end consecutive second-quarter drives.
Washington 35, Buffalo 25: Kirk Cousins equaled his career high with four touchdown passes and ran 13 yards for another score, helping the Washington Redskins win consecutive games for the first time in more than a year and stay atop the NFC East by beating the Buffalo Bills 35-25.
While the Redskins (7-7) moved closer to a playoff berth, the Bills (6-8) are now assured of missing the postseason for the 16th year in a row, the NFL’s longest active drought.
Minnesota 38, Chicago 17: Teddy Bridgewater threw a career-high four touchdowns and ran for another one, and the Minnesota Vikings took a significant step toward clinching a spot in the playoffs with a 38-17 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Bridgewater completed 17 of 20 passes for 231 yards without a turnover, connecting twice with Stefon Diggs for scores. Jerick McKinnon and Zach Line had the other touchdown catches on a remarkably productive afternoon for all of Minnesota’s running backs.
Adrian Peterson missed some time because of an injury to his left ankle, but he still finished with 63 yards on 18 attempts to maintain his NFL rushing lead.
Green Bay 30, Oakland 20: Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass and Damarious Randall returned an interception for another score to help the Green Bay Packers beat the Oakland Raiders 30-20 after clinching their franchise-record seventh straight playoff berth.
Green Bay (10-4) clinched a spot in the postseason in the first quarter when the New York Giants lost to Carolina. But the Packers still have their eyes set on a division title and remain one game ahead of Minnesota in the NFC North.
Atlanta 23, Jacksonville 17: Julio Jones scored for the first time in seven weeks, and the Atlanta Falcons ended a six-game losing streak with a 23-17 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
San Diego 30, Miami 14: Danny Woodhead had his first career four-touchdown game and Philip Rivers recovered a fumble on a play that began with him throwing an interception as the Chargers beat the Miami Dolphins 30-14 In what might have been the final NFL game in San Diego.
Late Saturday game
N.Y. Jets 19, Dallas 16: Randy Bullock kicked a 40-yard field goal with 36 seconds left and the New York Jets kept the pressure on Pittsburgh and Kansas City in the AFC wild-card race with a 19-16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 43-yard pass to Kenbrell Thompkins put the Jets (9-5) in position for a win that kept them tied with the Steelers and Chiefs in the race for two playoff spots.