Texans clinch AFC South title, Patriots earn first-round bye

Los Angeles (AFP) – The Houston Texans finally clinched the AFC South division title that had long seemed theirs for the taking with a 20-3 win over Jacksonville on the final Sunday of the NFL regular season.

Deshaun Watson threw for 234 yards and ran for a touchdown and DeAndre Hopkins had 147 receiving yards for the Texans, who roared back from an 0-3 start to the season with a nine-game winning streak but had lost two of their last three.

As teams jockeyed for playoff position on an action-packed day the New England Patriots — playoff bound for a record 10th straight season — secured a ninth straight first-round bye with a 38-3 rout of the New York Jets.

New England’s superstar quarterback Tom Brady threw three of his four touchdown passes in the first half as the Patriots finished the season unbeaten at home.

They are assured of at least one post-season game at home in Foxboro, and they could capture the top seed in the AFC and home field throughout the playoffs should Kansas City and the Los Angeles Chargers both falter later Sunday.

“We had a great opportunity for it,” Brady said of grabbing the bye. “I’m just glad we could close it out. You hate to have that opportunity and not handle what we needed to handle.”

Brady said it was satisfying to close out the regular season with back-to-back victories after two straight defeats.

“We showed some resiliency,” he said. “We’re going to need that going forward.”

The playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys will take some momentum into the post-season after capturing a 36-35 victory over the New York Giants thanks to a two-point conversion in the final minute.

Although the Cowboys went into the contest locked into the fourth seed in the NFC, quarterback Dak Prescott played throughout, connecting with Cole Beasley for a touchdown with 1:12 remaining before finding Michael Gallup with the game-winning conversion.

The Green Bay Packers’ season ended on a low note. Already eliminated from playoff contention, the Packers saw quarterback Aaron Rodgers depart with a concussion in the second quarter of a 31-0 loss to the Detroit Lions.