The Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured their playoff ticket on the final day of the main round of the National Football League (NFL).
Thanks to the 9-0 win against the Carolina Panthers, quarterback legend Tom Brady’s former team also won the NFC South. Bucs kicker Conor McLaughlin was largely responsible for the win, converting all three attempts.
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had already secured the playoff spot with the Detroit Lions before the game, scored his tenth touchdown of the season in a 30:20 win against the Minnesota Vikings – and how: after a pass from the quarterback He caught Jared Goff for 70 yards, the longest reception of his career. In total, St. Brown caught seven passes for 144 yards.
Vikings miss postseason
His teammate Sam LaPorta set a new NFL record for a rookie tight end with his 82nd pass catch in the first quarter, which was also a touchdown. The Vikings missed the postseason due to the loss.
This was also the case for the Jacksonville Jaguars with their 20:28 defeat at the Tennessee Titans. The team around quarterback Trevor Lawrence also missed out on the division title in the AFC South. The Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers can look forward to this, as they got the wild card ticket thanks to the Jaguars’ defeat.
Patriots lose to Jets
In the meaningless and probably last game under successful coach Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots lost 3:17 to the New York Jets. After 23 years and six Super Bowl triumphs, the 71-year-old will probably leave the Patriots after a disappointing season with just four wins and 13 losses.
Before Sunday’s games, ten teams had already qualified for the playoffs starting on January 13th: in the NFC the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams and in the AFC the Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers were added in the early Sunday games; the last participant will be determined in the late games.