NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — The following are the results and box scores from the NFL in Week 16 on Sunday.
At the AT&T Stadium in Texas, quarterback Tony Romo went 18-of-20 on passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Cowboys (11-4) to a commanding 42-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts and clinched the NFC East title.
Indianapolis (10-5) had already clinched the AFC South title.
With his total yards on Sunday, Romo improved to 32,971 career yards, which means he became the clubs’ all-time leader for yards passing — breaking Troy Aikman’s old record.
The Cowboys dominated the contest from the get-go after piling 42 points before the Colts finally got off the mark with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter.
“In so many ways, this is such a long journey and to get to a point to achieve your first goal of winning the division title, a lot goes into that,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was quoted as saying.
“I think the way you play in securing that matters, and I thought we played really, really well.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5), behind a three game winning streak, including a 20-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, booked a playoff berth with a win on Sunday.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 220 yards and a touchdown and Le’Veon Bell rushed 20 times for 63 yards and a touchdown in the win for the Steelers, who are returning to postseason fixtures after missing out for three years.
Alex Smith went 31-of-45 passes and threw for a season-high 311 yards, but had no touchdowns as the Chiefs’ chances of making the playoffs continue to slip away.
Kansas City was losing for the fourth time in the last five outings and must win against the San Diego Chargers in their next fixture to stand any chance of making the postseason.
At the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Aaron Rodgers went 31-of-40 passing attempts and threw for 318 yards and a touchdown to lead the Green Bay Packers (11-4) to a 20-3 victory over the Buccaneers, who have now lost five in a row.
The win means that the Packers have a clinched playoff berth and share the same record with NFC North leaders Detroit Lions.
Elsewhere on Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons ended the New Orleans Saints quest for a playoff spot with a 30-14 victory in Week 16 action and kept their own hopes of making it from the NFC South alive.
Also in the NFC South, Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers held on for a close 17-13 win against the Cleveland Browns to move into first place in the division with their third consecutive win.
Newton threw for 201 yards and a score and ran for another 63 yards, while Jonathan Stewart rushed for 122 yards and caught what turned out to be the winning touchdown pass from Newton with 7:07 remaining in the game to lead the Panthers (6-8-1) to the positive result.
On Sunday defending champions Seattle Seahawks clinched a playoff slot for the 3rd successive season after the Philadelphia Eagles failed to win on Saturday in Week 16 and the Cowboys won on Sunday.
Seattle dominated the Arizona Cardinals 35-6 in their contest to move to the top spot in the NFC West, with both teams sharing an 11-4 record.
NFL WEEK 16 RESULTS, RECORDS
New England Patriots 17 (12-3), New York Jets 16 (3-12) – Box Score
Green Bay Packers 20 (11-4), Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 (2-13) – Box Score
Detroit Lions 20 (11-4), Chicago Bears 14 (5-10) – Box Score
Dallas Cowboys (11-4) 42, Indianapolis Colts 7 (10-5) – Box Score
Pittsburgh Steelers 20 (10-5), Kansas City Chiefs 12 (8-7) – Box Score
Houston Texans 25 (8-7), Baltimore Ravens 13 (9-6) – Box Score
Miami Dolphins 37 (8-7), Minnestoa Vikings 35 (6-9) – Box Score
Oakland Raiders 26 (6-9), Buffalo Bills 24 (8-7) – Box Score
Carolina Panthers 17 (6-8-1), Cleveland Browns 13 (7-8) – Box Score
Atlanta Falcons 30 (6-9), New Orleans Saints 14 (6-9) – Box Score
New York Giants 37 (6-9), St. Louis Rams 27 (6-9) – Box Score
Seattle Seahawks (11-4) 35, Arizona Cardinals (11-4) 6 – Box Score
