Rams nip Jets in overtime
The St. Louis Rams won a finale that, in the end, they needed much more than the New York Jets.
Marc Bulger threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns and Jeff Wilkins hit a 31-yard field goal with 3:03 left in overtime Sunday to give the Rams a 32-29 win over the visiting New York Jets, clinching their fourth playoff berth in five seasons under coach Mike Martz.
The Rams won their last two games to qualify as the NFC wild card.
Jets kicker Doug Brien’s miss on a 53-yard field goal attempt opened the door for the Rams’ final drive.
St. Louis got great field position at its 43, and Bulger needed only five plays to get the Rams in position for Wilkins’ game-winner.
The Rams won with a revived offense, scoring more than 20 points for the first time in seven weeks. They had scoring drives of three and one play in the first half, including a 44-yard catch by Torry Holt near the end of the half right after a Jets punt.
St. Louis appeared to have taken control early in the third quarter when Jackson broke a pair of tackles on a 20-yard run that made it 21-10. But the Jets quickly recaptured the momentum.
Jerricho Cotchery returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to cut the gap to four. Less than a minute later, Jason Ferguson stripped Isaac Bruce after a reception and Donnie Abraham recovered to set up a 33-yard field goal by Brien.
The Jets took a 26-21 lead when Jonathan Vilma intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 38 yards for a score. The ensuing 2-point conversion failed when Pennington threw incomplete.
St. Louis retook the lead with 5:06 remaining in regulation, when two Jets defenders collided, allowing Torry Holt to break free on a 19-yard TD reception. Jackson’s conversion run made it a 3-point lead, but the Jets tied it when Brien kicked a 27-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in regulation.
Cardinals 12, Buccaneers 7
Neil Rackers’ leg and Arizona’s defense made the Cardinals a winner in their season finale.
Rackers kicked four field goals and the Cardinals stifled rookie Chris Simms and the rest of the Tampa Bay offense for a victory in Tempe, Ariz.
Coach Jon Gruden’s team lost its fourth in a row to finish 5-11, the Buccaneers’ worst record since going 5-11 under Sam Wyche in 1993.
Rookie tackle Darnell Dockett led the Arizona defense with an interception, fumble recovery and sack. The Cardinals (6-10) finished 5-3 at home in Dennis Green’s first season as coach.
Patriots 21, 49ers 7
New England was anything but impressive in a victory over San Francisco.
They overcame a sloppy first half in Foxboro, Mass., to knock off the 49ers, who matched their franchise-worst 2-14 record and clinched the top pick in this year’s draft.
It was an up-and-down game for the Patriots. Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes after losing an interception and a fumble. Corey Dillon ran for 116 yards and one touchdown but also lost a fumble and a penalty nullified Bethel Johnson’s punt return for a touchdown at the end of the 49ers’ first drive.