Andrew Luck threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday night as the Indianapolis Colts claimed the AFC's final playoff spot with a 33-17 win over the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
Luck, who completed 24 of 35 passes, finished the NFL regular season with 39 touchdown passes, the most for a player who missed the previous season.
He also enabled Indianapolis (10-6) to cap a comeback from a 1-5 start and earn a trip to AFC South champion and divisional foe Houston for a wild-card round game on Saturday.
Tennessee (9-7) snapped a nine-year playoff drought last year with a home win over Jacksonville in Week 17, but wasn't able to repeat the feat this time.
The short-handed Titans played without quarterback Marcus Mariota and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (knee), and their absences were clearly felt.
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The New England Patriots secured a bye in the first round of the playoffs as they wrapped up their regular-season campaign with a 38-3 victory over the New York Jets.
Veteran Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns and 250 yards at Gillette Stadium as the AFC East winners for the past 10 seasons ensured they would enter the post-season in good shape with an 11-5 record.
The Jets offered little resistance as Brady sent James White, Rex Burkhead, Phillip Dorsett and James Edelman into the end zone while Kyle Van Noy also scored on a turnover.
The Houston Texans (11-5) finally wrapped up the AFC South title with a 20-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium after losing two of their previous three games.
The Texans struck the decisive blows in the first half with rushing touchdowns for Deshaun Watson and Lemar Miller helping seal a third division title in four seasons.
With their play-off position already secure, the New Orleans Saints (13-3) were beaten 33-14 by the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The Dallas Cowboys (10-6) made certain of the NFC East title by snatching a dramatic 36-35 victory over the New York Giants at the MetLife Stadium.
Cole Beasley claimed the crucial touchdown late in the game after an initial call of incomplete against his catch was overturned.
A two-point conversion secured the win, while Dak Prescott threw for four touchdowns and 387 yards.
Nick Foles tied an NFL single-game record with 25 straight pass completions and visiting Philadelphia found a way into the NFC playoffs with a blowout 24-0 win at Washington.
The Eagles (9-7) clinched the second wild-card spot when the Minnesota Vikings lost to the Chicago Bears 24-10.
Philadelphia will visit Chicago, the NFC's third seed, on Saturday afternoon.
Lamar Jackson rushed for two touchdowns and accounted for 269 all-purpose yards as Baltimore clinched the AFC North title with a narrow 26-24 win over visiting Cleveland.
The Ravens (10-6), who went 6-1 with Jackson at quarterback after veteran Joe Flacco was injured midseason, will host the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round.
