Steelers late show completes play-off field as road to Super Bowl is set

It was fitting that one of the most unpredictable NFL seasons in years went down to the final play of the final game to complete the play-off line-up in thrilling fashion.

Tyler Loop's missed field goal with the last kick of a wild game in Pittsburgh saw the Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens to claim the final NFL play-off spot.

It was an epic finish to a final Sunday of the regular season that saw the Denver Broncos claim the top seed in the AFC and the Carolina Panthers clinch the final NFC play-off spot without even playing.

The Jacksonville Jaguars won the AFC South while the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears both lost as the full play-off line-up revealed some mouth-watering games for next weekend.

The 272nd and final regular season game turned into a classic, but not quite the street fight we usually expect between the Ravens and Steelers as an offensive shootout broke out in Pittsburgh.

Instead of trading big hits and crunching tackles, Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers exchanged touchdown drives with four scored in a frantic fourth quarter of the 40th meeting between veteran coaches John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin.

Jackson connected on passes of 50 and 64 yards to Zay Flowers but Rodgers, who threw the ball 47 times, landed what looked the knockout punch with a touchdown pass to Calvin Austin with just 55 seconds left.

With the season on the line though, Jackson still had time to lead a lightning quick response to set-up a 44-yard field goal with the last kick of the game for the win.

Rookie Tyler Loop's effort was off target though - handing the AFC North title and final play-off spot to a jubilant, and relieved, Steelers side and an emotional Rodgers in what could be his final season in the NFL.

"It's pretty emotional," said the 42-year-old four-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) after the game. "It's been a great year. I'm excited to be going to the play-offs for the first time in a long while."

It was a 37th game-winning drive for Rodgers, who will play in his 23rd play-off game but first in four years when Pittsburgh host the Houston Texans next weekend.

The road to the Super Bowl will go through Denver and Seattle after the Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday to finish as top seed in the AFC, while the Seahawks won the NFC on Saturday.

Both of those sides now get next week off to rest and recover while the remaining 12 teams fight it out in the wildcard round.

AFC Seedings

The New England Patriots won on Sunday but had to settle for second spot with Denver owning the tiebreaker and they will host the Chargers, who rested their starters, next week in Foxborough.

The Jacksonville Jaguars won to ensure they beat the Houston Texans to the AFC South title - but both sides are red-hot as they enter the play-offs having won nine and eight games in a row respectively.

Reigning MVP Josh Allen only played one snap on Sunday but will lead the Buffalo Bills as narrow favourites in Jacksonville next week, with the Texans and their league-leading defence favourites to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

NFC Seedings

Seattle have made the Super Bowl all three previous times they've finished as top seed so will fancy their chances, but it's a strong NFC challenge ahead of them.

Caleb Williams almost led another Chicago Bears comeback on Sunday but they lost 19-16 at home to the Detroit Lions.

The Bears will face fierce rivals the Green Bay Packers next week. It's the oldest and most-played rivalry in the NFL but this will be just the third play-off meeting between the two, following on from 2010 and 1941.

Defending champions Philadelphia decided to rest most of their starters in their loss to the Washington Commanders, but the Eagles will be at full strength against the San Francisco 49ers.

Matthew Stafford pressed his MVP claims with three second-half touchdowns and four in total as the Los Angeles Rams pinched fifth spot from the 49ers, resulting in what looks a much better tie at the Carolina Panthers rather than Philadelphia.

All times GMT

Saturday, 10 January

Los Angeles Rams @ Carolina Panthers (21:30)

Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears (01:00 Sun)

Sunday, 11 January

Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars (18:00)

San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles (21:30)

Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots (01:00 Mon)

Monday, 12 January

Houston Texans @ Pittsburgh Steelers (01:00 Tue)

The Cleveland Brown's Myles Garrett broke the NFL single-season sack record when he claimed his 23rd of the campaign on Sunday - breaking the previous best of 22.5 first set by Michael Strahan in 2001.

The NFL play-off line-up is stacked with teams making big turnarounds. Five teams lost at least 11 games last season, four division winners lost 12 or more games with three of those (Patriots, Bears and Panthers) going from 'worst to first' after finishing bottom last season.

Both the Patriots and Jaguars finished 4-13 last season but responded by winning their divisions with 14-3 and 13-4 records respectively under new head coaches Mike Vrabel and Liam Coen.

Rookie head coach Coen has certainly unlocked something in quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who has 24 total touchdowns in the Jaguars' eight-game winning run - with an average victory of 19.1 points per game.

The Los Angles Rams finished as the league's top scorers and the only team in the league to average over 30 points per game (30.5). Matthew Stafford also led the league with 42 passing touchdowns in a campaign that has him as one of the front-runners to win the MVP.

Carolina became just the fifth team to make the play-offs with a losing record, and the first to do it twice having previously done so in 2014. The Panthers' -69 points difference is the fourth worst to ever make the play-offs - although the previous three teams all won in the wildcard round.

In what could be his final game in the NFL, Travis Kelce became just the third tight end to reach 13,000 receiving yards as he joined Jason Witten and Tony Gonzalez during the Chiefs' defeat by the Las Vegas Raiders.