Oakland have clinched their first NFL playoff berth since 2002, beating San Diego 19-16 on the back of Sebastian Janikowski's fourth-quarter 44-yard field goal.
Janikowski nailed his fourth field goal of the night with 2:40 left in the game as Oakland improved to to 11-3 atop the AFC Westas the Chargers lost for the 12th occasion in their past 13 games against their divisional foes.
Quarterback Tom Brady led four scoring drives - two after turnovers - and New England's defence kept Denver out of the end zone in a 16-3 victory that clinched the Patriots' eighth straight AFC East title.
The eight consecutive division titles by New England (12-2) is an NFL record.
It was a rare win in Denver for Brady, who improved to 3-7 lifetime in the Mile High City as the mistake-prone Broncos (8-6) lost their hold on the sixth and final wild-card berth.
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In the other late games, Drew Brees passed for four touchdowns and 389 yards as New Oreleans downed Arizona 48-41, while Atlanta crushed the 49ers 41-13.
Earlier, Mason Crosby kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired to hand Green Bay a 30-27 NFL win over Chicago, moving the Packers to within one win of Detroit atop the NFC North with their fourth straight win.
Crosby's game-winner came after Aaron Rodgers connected on a 60-yard completion on third-and-11 to Jordy Nelson while working with no timeouts to set up Crosby's third field goal of the game.
Ryan Succop made a last-second 53-yard field goal as Tennessee pulled off a 19-17 road upset of Kansas City.
Tom Savage led a fourth-quarter rally after entering in the second quarter, guiding Houston to a 21-20 victory over Jacksonville.
Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck could hardly have been hotter in leading the Colts to a 34-6 blowout of the Vikings.
Luck was 21 of 28 for 250 yards and two touchdowns as the Colts jumped out to a 27-0 halftime lead.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 286 yards including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Eli Rogers with seven minutes remaining as Pittsburgh rallied for a 24-20 victory over Cincinnati.
Baltimore stayed in with a chance to win the AFC North with a 27-26 triumph over Philadelphia, the Eagles almost snatching victory at the death after quarterback Carson Wentz scored on a four-yard run.
Baltimore's CJ Mosley tipped a pass and Jerraud Powers prevented it from getting to Jordan Matthews on the two-point conversion attempt.
In other games, Buffalo Bills kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 33-13 win over Cleveland and the New York Giants beat Detroit 17-6.
In the late match, Ezekiel Elliott celebrated a short touchdown run by jumping into an oversized Salvation Army red kettle as the Dallas Cowboys closed in on home-field advantage in the playoffs with a 26-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
