American football: The Gods smile on Packers
Ahman Green set a Green Bay record with 218 rushing yards, including a 98-yard touchdown, to lead the Packers to a 31-3 rout of shorthanded Denver. But the Packers needed league laughing stocks Arizona to upset Minnesota in order to qualify for the postseason as the NFC North division champions.
That didn't seem likely when the Vikings held a 17-6 lead with under two minutes left. But Arizona staged a dramatic rally as Nathan Poole made a leaping 28-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the game for an 18-17 victory.
"We lost the division because of one play," Vikings coach Mike Tice said.
We made enough plays to take the lead, we didn't make enough plays to close it out.
The Cardinals' victory sent a sellout crowd at Lambeau Field listening to the action from Arizona on radios into a frenzy.
Favre, the three-time Most Valuable Player quarterback of the Packers, waved to fans and hugged teammates. It was the culmination of an emotional week for Favre, whose father died of a heart attack the Sunday before last.
The cheers turned to angst when it was determined that Poole's touchdown catch was being reviewed, but replay upheld the play and the crowd erupted again as the Packers raced off the field in celebration.
Green Bay will host former coach Mike Holmgren and the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round next Sunday. The Seahawks had beaten San Francisco on Saturday to keep their play-off hopes alive, and they sealed an NFC wildcard berth when Dallas fell 13-7 at New Orleans.
The Cowboys are still headed to the play-offs, but quarterback Quincy Carter gave coach Bill Parcells cause for concern.
Carter was intercepted three times, including a pair by safety Jay Bellamy. While the Cowboys doubled their victory total from last season in Parcells' first year as coach, winning on the road in the play-offs will be a major challenge.
The St Louis Rams will also have to prove themselves on the road in the NFC play-offs after throwing away home-field advantage with a 30-20 loss to lowly Detroit. The defeat allowed Philadelphia to gain homefield. St Louis still have a first-round bye.
Cincinnati, needing a win to stay alive in the race for the AFC North title, fell 22-14 to Cleveland and out of the play-off picture. Cincinnati's defeat clinched the AFC North title for Baltimore, who went on to beat Pittsburgh 13-10 in overtime on Sunday night. The Ravens will open the postseason against Tennessee.
The Titans, with quarterback Steve McNair resting his injuries, still trounced Tampa Bay 33-13. For a while on Sunday, it looked as if the Titans might claim the AFC South title.
As they were building a big lead over Tampa Bay, Indianapolis was losing at Houston. But the Colts rallied, as Mike Vanderjagt kicked himself into the NFL record book and sent Indianapolis into the play-offs on a high.
Vanderjagt made his NFL-record 41st straight field goal as time expired, giving the Colts the AFC South title with a dramatic 20-17 triumph over the Texans. Vanderjagt's kick sent the Colts into a home meeting against Denver next week in the first round of the play-offs.
Kansas City, division title and first-round bye in hand, closed the regular season with a 31-3 victory over Chicago. Play-off bound Carolina posted a 37-24 victory over the New York Giants, Miami downed the New York Jets 23-21, and Atlanta beat Jacksonville 21-14.
In San Diego, LaDainian Tomlinson reached new heights for the Chargers and helped complete Oakland's fall from grace.
Tomlinson rushed for a career-high 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns and became the first player in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards and catch 100 passes in the same season, as the Chargers beat the Raiders 21-14.
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