Oakland and Tennessee capture titles

OAKLAND and Tennessee captured division NFL titles on Sunday, but the playoff puzzle was still missing plenty of pieces after the penultimate weekend of the gridiron season.

The Raiders completed a season sweep of AFC West rivals Denver with a 28-16 victory to wrap up their third straight division crown.

The Titans clinched the AFC South with a 28-10 victory over Jacksonville coupled with the New York Giants’ 44-27 victory over Indianapolis.

But three teams were still vying for the AFC East crown after the New York Jets defeated the defending Super Bowl champions New England to tie the Patriots for second place in the division, one game behind Miami.

Chad Pennington passed for 285 yards and three touchdowns, clearly outplaying Tom Brady. Coming off a disappointing loss to Chicago and needing a win to remain alive in the playoff race, the Jets played a complete game with Pennington leading the way. Pennington was on target from the start, completing his first 11 passes and finishing the night 23-of-33. He threw touchdown passes of 33 yards to Laveranues Coles and 11 yards to Santana Moss in the first quarter before finding last week’s goat, Wayne Chrebet from 15 yards in the fourth quarter to give the Jets a 27-17 lead.

The Patriots lost control of their playoff destiny with their second straight defeat. The Patriots could have won the division with wins over the Jets and at home next week against the Dolphins. If the Patriots win next week and the Jets upset the Packers, New York would win the division.

But the Raiders finally ended the suspense in the hotly contested AFC West. Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon broke Warren Moon’s NFL record for completions in a season and passed for 201 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score.

Needing 12 completions to eclipse Moon’s mark of 404 in 1991 for the Houston Oilers, Gannon completed 18-of-27. He has set an NFL record with ten 300-yard games this season and has passed for a league-high 4,610 yards. “I played with some of the best quarterbacks to play the game, and Rich is right up there with them,” Raiders receiver Jerry Rice said of Gannon.

The last time the Raiders won three consecutive division titles was from 1972-76 when they captured four in a row. They can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win over Kansas City next Saturday. The Broncos, who won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998, are still alive in the wild card race. The Titans actually became the first AFC team book their post season ticket, posting their ninth victory in 10 games.

While the Giants’ win over Indianapolis was a boon to Tennessee, they themselves benefitted from lowly Cincinnati’s stunning victory over New Orleans.

The Bengals, who had won just one of their first 14 games, upset the Saints 20-13, giving the Giants control of their playoff destiny. If the Giants win next Saturday against NFC East champion Philadelphia, they will earn a wild card berth.

The Colts can still earn a wild card spot with a win next Sunday against Jacksonville. Cincinnati’s victory also let Tampa Bay clinch the NFC South title, even though the Bucs won’t wrap up Week 16 until last night’s contest against Pittsburgh.

Atlanta closed in on a playoff spot with a 36-15 victory over Detroit. Falcons quarterback Michael Vick posted his first career 300-yard passing day, completing 20-of-38 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns.

NFC North champions Green Bay blanked Buffalo 10-0 to stay alive in the race for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.