Nfl Playoffs, Football | featured news

What a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of "The Catch." Joe Montana to Dwight Clark then. Alex Smith to Vernon Davis now. Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday.

"Pull the trigger," John Elway told his Denver Broncos star, Tim Tebow, trying to shake the quarterback from a three-game funk. Tebow went one better - he pulled off an upset. A rejuvenated Tebow connected with Demaryius Thomas on an electrifying 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime and the Broncos defeated the stunned Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in the AFC wild-card game on Sunday.

Record-shattering Drew Brees threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints poured it on in the second half for a 45-28 NFC wild-card victory over the Detroit Lions on Saturday night. Brees hit on 33 of 43 passes while throwing for the most yards in a regulation playoff game. He highlighted his night with three completions of at least 40 yards.

The Houston Texans turned to their kids, then to their stars to win the first playoff appearance in franchise history, a 31-10 rout of the bungling Cincinnati Bengals....

Tim Tebow fell short in his latest comeback bid, yet his Denver Broncos are still going to the playoffs. Former Bronco Kyle Orton got his revenge in leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 7-3 win over Denver on Sunday, but it's the Broncos who clinched the AFC West and is headed to the postseason.

Tony Romo threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score Saturday night, helping the Dallas Cowboys stop a two-game losing streak with a 31-15 victory over the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A most fitting comeback for Ben Roethlisberger. With the kind of playmaking that put two Super Bowl rings on his fingers, the Steelers quarterback connected on a 58-yard pass to rookie Antonio Brown with less than two minutes to go. The go-for-broke toss set up the winning touchdown in a rough-and-tumble 31-24 victory Saturday over the archrival Baltimore Ravens.

Behind a nearly flawless game by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers pounded the Atlanta Falcons to earn a place in the N.F.C. championship game.

PFT's picks: Mike Florio and Gregg Rosenthal agree the Patriots will eliminate the Jets, but they are split on each of the other three divisional playoff games.

The Ravens overwhelmed the Chiefs and quarterback Matt Cassel, who threw three interceptions in his first playoff start.