For the first time since 1999, the Redskins are the NFC East champions, riding into the playoffs on a seven-game win streak. They are the first team since the 1996 Jaguars to make the playoffs after starting the season 3-6. Rookie Alfred Morris, who hasn't made quite the impression on the national stage as Robert Griffin III, set the franchise mark for yards gained in a season. Once again, a late-game decision by Tony Romo leads to big consequences — this time at the hand of Redskins linebacker Rob Jackson, who intercepted Romo with three minutes left. RG3, who had only four yards rushing in Week 16, had 63 yards rushing in a game where he threw only nine completions for 100 yards. Next Sunday, two of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league — rookies RG3 and Russell Wilson — meet in the playoffs.

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It's not out of the realm of possibility that the San Francisco Giants will have company at the top, with the 49ers clinching the NFC West with a 27-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Michael Crabtree and Colin Kaepernick — the potential offensive cornerstones for years to come — had career days, with Crabtree finishing with 172 yards and 2 TDs, and Kaepernick throwing for 276 yards. Frank Gore's 2-yard touchdown was his 51st, a franchise record. The 49ers will have time to rest before their divisional playoff game.

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After a loss to the 49ers and a squeaker of a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, all seems to be back to normal for Tom Brady and company, whose 28-0 win over the Dolphins secured a playoff bye as the AFC's No. 2 seed (thanks to the Colts' inspiring win over the Houston Texans). Brady threw a TD pass in his 48th straight game (second place all-time) and became the first QB ever to throw at least one touchdown in all 16 games for three consecutive seasons. Rob Gronkowski caught a TD pass in his return from a broken forearm. Rookies starred on defense — Justin Francis had three sacks and Dont'a Hightower recovered a fumble at the Pats' 1-yard line.

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The Broncos' 38-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs was a foregone conclusion. But the Texans' loss to the Colts, which handed Denver the No. 1 seed in the AFC, was not. As a result, we may get another chapter in the Manning-Brady saga in the AFC championship game, with both the Broncos and the Pats needing to win one game at home to set up the showdown. Manning, in search of his fifth MVP award and, yes, a second Super Bowl title, finished 23 for 29 for 304 yards, three scores and a 144.8 passer rating Sunday. He finished the season with 4,659 yards, 37 touchdowns and a 105.8 passer rating, all second best in his 15-year career. Better start loosening your arm, Tom.

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Charger fans have been calling for the firing of both Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith for several seasons now, and after a 7-9 record and missing the playoffs for the third straight season, this Black Monday might finally give the situation closure. In six seasons, Turner had a respectable 56-40 record, but the team has only gone 24-24 the past three seasons. The 4-12 Raiders gave Terrelle Pryor his first NFL start, and though he made some mistakes, he went 13-for-28 for 150 yards — almost giving the Chargers another loss from a blown lead.

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It's very possible the lesson from Sunday's game between the Rams and Seahawks hasn't been learned yet. Seattle has been on a tear of late, outscoring their opponents 193-60 during their five-game win streak, including scoring more than 50 points in blowouts of the Cardinals and Buffalo Bills and a 42-point performance against the 49ers. But here's the rub. The Seahawks were 8-0 at home this season — and 3-5 on the road. With San Francisco clinching the NFC West with a win over the Cardinals on Sunday, the Seahawks end up with the fifth seed, and a tougher road ahead for the playoffs — no pun intended.

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Adrian Peterson deserved the spotlight on Sunday. Running toward Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record, AP rushed for 36 yards on the last drive but came up nine yards short, finishing with 199 yards on the day and becoming the seventh player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. However, the lesson we learned in this matchup is Christian Ponder has the capacity to step up in the biggest must-win game of his short career. He went 16 of 28 for 234 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Vikings to an exciting 37-34 finish and the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs. The win forced a rematch with the Packers next weekend in a wild-card game.

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They've had plenty to celebrate in Indianapolis this season as a 2-14 football team reversed course with an 11-5 season and a visit to the playoffs. But nothing compared to the celebration of Sunday, as head coach Chuck Pagano (pictured) returned to the sideline after a three-month battle for his life as he was treated for leukemia. The Colts welcomed him back with a 28-16 victory over Houston, knocking the Texans out of the No. 1 seed for the AFC playoffs. Deji Karim had a game-breaking 101-yard kickoff return, but the Colts' game ball went to their coach. As well it should.

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The 'Who Dey' Bengals were locked into the No. 6 playoff seed. The Ravens were locked in at No. 4. So their matchup Sunday was a matter of who had more "want to." The Ravens called off the dogs before the Bengals did, and Cincinnati wound up the 23-17 victor. Cincy was outgained 352-189, but the defense had four sacks (pictured, Wallace Gilberry celebrating one of them) to keep the Ravens' backups at bay. It might not have been a game for the NFL Films archives, but it gave Cincy back-to-back victories over Pittsburgh and Baltimore, two hard-nosed division rivals. And that can only boost the Bengals' confidence heading into the playoffs.

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At least four or five times this season, the Giants looked like the best team in the NFL. Yet they won't be in the playoffs. They end 2012 with the same regular-season record as their 2011 Super Bowl championship season, 9-7, but they now are officially former champions. The Giants' 42-7 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday served only to remind us how dangerous they could have been in the playoffs. Eli Manning (pictured getting congratulations from defensive end Justin Tuck) threw a career-high five touchdown passes. If only he had one more "wow" performance like that this season, he'd still be playing.

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See Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams in the open field? There was plenty of that Sunday as the Saints escorted him to 210 rushing yards in a 44-38 loss to Carolina. Williams had only 527 yards rushing this season and hadn't cracked 100 yards in any game. But the Saints' defense is historically bad, allowing an NFL-record 7,042 total yards. That explains why quarterback Drew Brees could throw for 5,000 yards for the second straight season, but the Saints could tumble below .500.

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Bears quarterback Jay Cutler had a nice third-down scramble late in the fourth quarter (pictured) to extend a drive and help run down the clock in Chicago's 26-24 victory at Detroit on Sunday. But the Bears converted only 4 of 15 third-down conversion attempts. They punched it in on only one of four trips inside the Lions' 20-yard line. These are not winning trends. The Bears prevailed thanks to four Detroit turnovers, more a case of the Lions' ongoing meltdown than a flashback to the Bears' ball-hawking ways of early this season. Nothing Sunday suggested the Bears could win in the postseason. Minnesota's victory later Sunday made official what was already obvious — Chicago won't win a playoff game this season.

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The Atlanta Falcons, with the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs locked up, faced a question: Do they play their starters and risk injury, or do they limit their regulars and risk getting rusty with essentially two bye weeks before their first playoff game? Falcons coach Mike Smith chose to play the regulars, and he was rewarded with both a 22-17 loss to Tampa Bay and the loss of two defensive starters to injury. Defensive end John Abraham (pictured) suffered a leg injury, and cornerback Dunta Robinson left the game with a head injury. No second-guessing Smith here, though. He was in a tough spot with no real right decision. The guess is coaches will be in favor of the proposed expanded playoffs with no bye weeks. Coaches like routine, and this situation was anything but for the Falcons.

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With running back Chris Johnson stuck in neutral and quarterback Jake Locker going in reverse, the Titans found another way to beat the Jaguars on Sunday. They made NFL history en route to a 38-20 victory over the Jaguars, becoming the first team to have two players score twice on return plays. Darius Reynaud (pictured) had the honors on two punt returns, and linebacker Zach Brown returned two interceptions for TDs. Not much else to say about this one, other than even the least-appealing NFL matchup might give us something we've never seen before.

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This wasn't the Steelers' year, as their 8-8 record and absence from the playoffs tells us. But the defense gets no fingers pointed its way. Pittsburgh allowed 320 yards and forced four turnovers Sunday in a season-closing, 24-10 victory over Cleveland and will end the year No. 1 in total defense in the league. Injuries on the offensive line and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's iffy play following his return from his own injuries were the greatest culprits in the Steelers' downfall.

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He had nothing to do with anything Sunday, but it might be out last chance to put "Tebow" in a Jets headline, other than when he leaves New York. The quarterback in the spotlight Sunday was Mark Sanchez, who had one last chance to make good after he was thrust back into the lineup because of Greg McElroy's concussion. Sanchez (pictured, No. 6) completed less than half of his passes, threw a pick-six and lost a fumble as the Jets fell 28-9. At least coach Rex Ryan knows his decision to bench Sanchez two weeks ago was the right one.

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