Bengals and Colts grab play-off berths
American football:The Cincinnati Bengals edged the Pittsburgh Steelers to reach the NFL play-offs, and the Indianapolis Colts joined the postseason party by capping their remarkable turnaround in pressure-packed NFL action on Sunday.
The advancement of Cincinnati (9-6), 13-10 winners over their bitter AFC North rivals, and Indianapolis (10-5), who beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-13, completed the play-off list in the American Football Conference, though seeding issues remained.
The Houston Texans (12-3) failed to capitalise on a chance to clinch top seeding in the AFC by losing 23-6 to the Minnesota Vikings (9-6), who stayed alive for an NFC play-off berth.
AFC North title honours went to the Baltimore Ravens (10-5), who ended a three-game losing streak by dominating the New York Giants 33-14.
Play-off hopes for the Super Bowl champion Giants (8-7) hung by a thread after losing their last two games by an aggregate score of 67-14.
Play-off berths remain up for grabs in the NFC, with the East Division title and a wildcard spot still at stake.
The Seattle Seahawks grabbed one of the NFC wildcard berths with a crushing 42-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers as quarterback Russell Wilson threw a career-high four touchdowns.
The Washington Redskins (9-6) maintained the upper hand in their quest for the NFC East title by hanging on for a 27-20 win against the Philadelphia Eagles (4-11), while the Dallas Cowboys (8-7) suffered a 34-31 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Next week the Redskins, riding a six-game winning streak, host the Cowboys with the winner capturing the division title.
In Pittsburgh, it was a doubly satisfying result for the Bengals whose three-point victory on Josh Brown’s 43-yard field goal with four seconds left to play not only put them in the play-offs but also knocked the Steelers (7-8) out of contention.
It was the first victory for the visiting Bengals over their AFC North rivals in six meetings.
For the Colts, victory over the Chiefs gave them their 10th play-off trip in 11 years but first in that span without Peyton Manning as quarterback.
This postseason berth came one season after a woeful 2-14 record that put them in position to take quarterback Andrew Luck from Stanford with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Luck led the Colts to victory over the Chiefs (2-13) by hitting a leaping Reggie Wayne in the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 4:08 left in the game.
That connection capped a 73-yard drive that marked their NFL record-tying seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory.
