The Carolina Panthers secured the NFC South title and a spot in the playoffs with a 34-3 rout of Atlanta, including two returned touchdown interceptions.  Finishing the season with a 7-8-1 record, they are the first team to make the postseason despite finishing under .500 since Seattle in 2010.  Roman Harper scored on a 31-yard return in the second quarter and Tre Boston helped clinch the win with his 84-yard interception return late in the third quarter. A 33-yard fumble return by Thomas Davis set up another touchdown.  Baltimore, meanwhile, earned their postseason spot with a late rally to defeat the Cleveland Browns 20-10 – but had to rely on Kansas City beating the San Diego Chargers to get through.  Down 10-3 in the fourth quarter, the Ravens kicked a field goal and then took the lead on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith with 7:33 left.  Flacco’s 2-yard TD throw to Kamar Aiken then clinched a sixth playoff appearance in seven years. They will play fierce rivals the Steelers in Pittsburgh.  Kansas City still had plenty to play for – they had to beat San Diego and hope that Baltimore and Houston both lost. The Chiefs held up their end, beating the Chargers 19-7, but Baltimore’s victory put an end to their hopes.  Justin Houston’s four sacks for the Chiefs were enough to break Derrick Thomas’s franchise record, reaching 22 for the season. Cairo Santos kicked four field goals, and Chase Daniel filled in for injured quarterback Alex Smith, throwing for 157 yards without an interception.  The Chiefs’ only touchdown came when wide receiver Dwayne Bowe fumbled inches shy of the goal line early in the second quarter. Tight end Travis Kelce recovered in the end zone, not only giving Kansas City a 10-0 lead but keeping a dubious streak intact: no Chiefs wide receiver caught a TD pass all season, the first time in at least 50 years that has happened.  Philip Rivers had 291 yards passing for the Chargers, which put him over 4,000 yards in a season for the sixth time in his career.  Houston also won with a second-half rally, beating the Jaguars 23-17. JJ Watt continued his MVP campaign with three sacks and a safety and Andre Johnson had 134 yards receiving and a touchdown.  Johnson gave Houston a 21-17 lead with an 8-yard reception early in the fourth. Watt made it 23-17 when he sacked Blake Bortles in the end zone for a safety a few minutes later. The sack gave him 20 1/2 this season, making him the first player in NFL history to have two seasons with 20 or more sacks.  The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals had already both qualified for the playoffs, but were playing for the AFC North title. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 317 yards with two touchdowns as the Steelers won 27-17 to set up a home game against Baltimore.  The reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks wrapped up the NFC West crown with a 20-6 victory over the St. Louis Rams that gave them the number one playoff seed in the NFC.  Green Bay, despite an injury scare to quarterback Aaron Rodgers, won the NFC North for the fourth consecutive season with a 30-20 triumph over the Detroit Lions.  The San Francisco 49ers and departing coach Jim Harbaugh ended on a happy note, beating the Arizona Cardinals – already in the playoffs – 20-17.  Elsewhere, DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant broke franchise records as the Dallas Cowboys prepared for the playoffs with a thumping 44-17 victory over Washington.  Murray rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries, passing Emmitt Smith for the team single-season mark. Murray’s 1,845 yards bettered Smith’s 1,773 from 1995.  Bryant caught scoring passes of 65 and 23 yards to give him 16 touchdown receptions on the season, breaking Terrell Owens’s team record of 15 set in 2007.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still on course for the top draft pick after giving up a late touchdown in their 23-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints.  Drew Brees threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston with 1:57 remaining to make amends for his three interceptions thrown earlier in the game. It gave the Saints their first lead, and Junior Galette sacked Josh McCown for a safety that provided the final margin.  Indianapolis used their cushion in the AFC South to rest quarterback Andrew Luck for the second half as they beat the Tennessee Titans 27-10. The victory meant they swept their division for the second straight season, and will play the Bengals next weekend. Tennessee will likely get the second overall pick in next year’s draft.  The Bills got a morale-boosting victory against a weakened Patriots team going through the motions with home field advantage through the playoffs already confirmed.  The 17-9 victory gave Buffalo their first winning season in 10 years and also snapped two streaks: the Bills’ 0-12 record at Gillette Stadium and New England’s 35 straight home wins against AFC teams.  The Jets’ Geno Smith had a perfect 158.3 passer rating against teh Dolphins, throwing a career-high 358 yards and three touchdowns in what might be Rex Ryan’s final game as Jets coach.  Despite the 37-24 victory against Miami, the Jets finished 4-12 – their worst record since 2007.  Philadeplhia, already eliminated from postseason contention, beat the New York Giants 34-26 to finish 10-6 – the same record as last year when they won the NFC East. The Giants’ three-game winning streak was snapped, meaning they finish the season at 6-10.  The Denver Broncos prepared for their postseason challenge with a 47-14 victory over the hapless Oakland Raiders. Peyton Manninf failed to throw a touchdown pass for the second time in four weeks after his 51-game streak. Their 12-4 record is joint best in the NFL and gives them the second see and a first-round bye.  Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Teddy Bridgewater threw a go-ahead 44-yard touchdown pass to Adam Thielen in the third quarter, putting one more blemish on a forgettable year for the Bears.  Jay Cutler returned from a one-game benching with 172 yards without a fumble or an interception, but the 5-11 Bears finished with their worst record in 10 years, and many are expecting this to be the end of the road for coach Marc Trestman.
A late rally from Baltimore and the Chiefs’ victory over the Chargers secured their spot, while the Panthers got in as the NFC South’s least awful team