Australia's punting golden boy Michael Dickson has played the worst game of his young NFL career, but his Seattle Seahawks survived to defeat the Arizona Cardinals in a thriller and set up a playoff clash with the Dallas Cowboys.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and their Australian punter, Cameron Johnston, on Sunday also booked a playoff place against the Chicago Bears with a 24-0 walloping of the Washington Redskins in their final regular season game.
The Sydney-raised Dickson, named to the Pro Bowl after his stunning rookie season, said he was in shock after he had two punts blocked on Sunday that led to touchdowns and another returned for 45 yards.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the poor field position "messed this game up totally" against the NFL worst Cardinals who lost 13 of their 16 games and had an incentive to lose on Sunday.
"We could have lost the game today just because of that," Carroll, pointing to field position, told reporters.
"Fortunately we hung in there and didn't allow that to happen."
The Seahawks won 27-24 when Sebastian Janikowski kicked a field goal as time ran out.
It was the first time Dickson has been blocked in the NFL or during his record-breaking stint at the University of Texas.
"It's a shock when you have a fast operation and it's still blocked," a dejected Dickson said.
The Seahawks sealed a playoff spot last week but their seeding was up in the air.
The win against Arizona locked in the fifth seed in the NFC Wild Card game against the Cowboys in Dallas on Saturday.
The woeful Cardinals will get the top pick in the next draft because of their NFL worst record.
Johnston's Eagles will play the Bears next weekend in Chicago after surviving an almost impossible path to the post-season and having other game results go their way.
In early December they had a six win, seven loss record.
They won three straight despite quarterback Carson Wentz out with an injury.
They needed the Bears on Sunday to beat the Minnesota Vikings.
It all fell into place, although back-up quarterback and last season's Super Bowl hero Nick Foles suffered a rib injury on Sunday.
The Eagles' Australian giant Jordan Mailata will not be eligible to play in the post season after the team put him on injured reserve on December 14.
Essendon's Jordan Berry and his Pittsburgh Steelers missed the playoffs despite beating the Cincinnati Bengals 16-13.
The Steelers' path became unlikely when the Baltimore Ravens outlasted the Cleveland Browns 26-24.
The Steelers' only hope was the unlikely prospect of Sunday's final game between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans ending in a tie.
The Colts won 33-17.
