Seahawks, Colts, Falcons and Steelers win titles

Yep, those were championship hats the Seattle Seahawks were wearing.

Nope, they aren't ashamed one bit.

The Seahawks became the first NFL division winner with a losing record — that dates to 1933, folks — when they beat St. Louis 16-6 on Sunday night. At 7-9, they are NFC West champions, while two 10-6 clubs (Tampa Bay and the New York Giants) are out of the postseason.

Apologize for their fortune? Forget it.

"It just shows that no matter what happens through an awkward year, if a team sticks together they can have a shot at the end to accomplish what they talked about in the beginning," safety Lawyer Milloy said. "We know it wasn't pretty getting here, but what we talked about was right there at the end and we took advantage of it. Nobody can take that away from us."

Indianapolis tied an NFL record with its ninth straight playoff berth by beating Tennessee 23-20 on Adam Vinatieri's 43-yard field goal as time expired. The Colts (10-6), host the wild-card Jets (11-4), who routed Buffalo 38-7, next Saturday night.

Atlanta secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, winning the NFC South by defeating Carolina 31-10. The Falcons (13-3) get a bye next week, as do the NFC North champion Bears (11-5), who fell at Green Bay 10-3, giving the Packers (10-6) a wild-card spot.

Green Bay visits Philadelphia (10-6), the NFC East champ, next Sunday after AFC West winner Kansas City (10-6) hosts Baltimore (12-4).

Along with Atlanta, teams with byes are New England, which finished a league-best 14-2; Pittsburgh (12-4); and Chicago.

Failing to make the playoffs in the NFC were the Giants and Buccaneers, the first time since 1991 that a 10-6 team didn't get in from the NFC.

Seahawks 16, Rams 6

At Seattle, both teams finished 7-9 in the mild, mild West, with Seattle getting the nod thanks to a 4-2 division record. St. Louis was 3-3.

Making his second career start, backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw a 4-yard TD pass on Seattle's first possession, and Olindo Mare kicked three second-half field goals. A defense that yielded at least 34 points in three straight losses was stingy against Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford and 1,000-yard rusher Steven Jackson.

Colts 23, Titans 20

At Indianapolis, Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes before Vinatieri's clutch kick. The Colts tied Dallas' NFL record for consecutive playoff appearances as Manning set the single-season record for completions with 450.

Tennessee (6-10) lost eight of its last nine. Chris Johnson, a 2,000-yard rusher a year ago, ran 20 times for 39 yards and finished with 1,364.

Falcons 31, Panthers 10

At Atlanta, the Falcons earned their first division title since 2004. Matt Ryan passed for 236 yards with TDs to Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White, and Eric Weems scored on a 55-yard punt return.

Carolina (2-14) had a weak finish to an awful season under coach John Fox as the league's worst offense was held without a touchdown until the final minute. The Panthers announced Friday that this was Fox's last game as coach.

Steelers 41, Browns 9

At Cleveland, Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes, including a 56-yarder to Mike Wallace on his first pass. Wallace had three catches for 105 yards.

Browns coach Eric Mangini's record has been 5-11 in each of his two seasons. On Monday, he's scheduled to meet with team president Mike Holmgren.

Packers 10, Bears 3

At Green Bay, Wis., Aaron Rodgers' 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Donald Lee gave the Packers the lead, and their defense held on to clinch a wild card.

The Packers trailed 3-0 at halftime and were tied going into the fourth quarter with the Bears, who didn't have anything to play for in terms of playoff seeding, but still played to win with their starters.

Patriots 38, Dolphins 7

At Foxborough, Mass., Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to cap a record-setting season as New England won its eighth straight.

The game meant nothing in the standings. Still, Brady played into the third quarter and finished with 36 touchdowns passing and four interceptions. He extended his NFL records to 335 straight passes without an interception and 28 consecutive regular-season wins as a starter at home.

The Dolphins (7-9) lost for the fourth time in five games, jeopardizing the job of coach Tony Sparano.

Ravens 13, Bengals 7

At Baltimore, Ed Reed had two interceptions and Ray Lewis recovered two fumbles, part of an opportunistic defense that carried Baltimore.

Ray Rice scored on a 7-yard run and Billy Cundiff kicked two field goals for the Ravens, who forced five turnovers to offset the 395 yards in offense amassed by the Bengals (4-12).

Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis' contract ran out with the loss.

Jets 38, Bills 7

At East Rutherford, N.J., Mark Brunell threw two touchdown passes in relief of Mark Sanchez, Joe McKnight ran for a career-high 158 yards and the Jets' defense dominated.

Having already clinched a postseason spot, New York sat a handful of starters, including LaDainian Tomlinson and Darrelle Revis, but still earned the fourth 11-win season in franchise history — and first since the 1998 team went to the AFC championship game.

Buffalo finished 4-12, out of the playoffs for the 11th successive season.

Buccaneers 23, Saints 13

At New Orleans, Josh Freeman passed for two touchdowns and 255 yards, with a 2-yard scoring strike to Dezmon Briscoe in the back of the end zone, and an 18-yard TD to Mike Williams on fourth-and-short. Connor Barth hit three field goals as Tampa Bay finished off a sharp turnaround from 3-13.

Raiders 31, Chiefs 10

At Kansas City, Mo., Michael Bush rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown and short-handed Oakland won to gain an unenviable NFL distinction.

The Raiders (8-8) finished 6-0 in the AFC West, the first team since the 1970 merger to go unbeaten in the division and not make the playoffs. The AFC West champion Chiefs were 2-4 in the division.

Two of Oakland's best players, running back Darren McFadden and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Richard Seymour, were inactive because of injuries. But the Raiders dominated in just about every way while handing the Chiefs their first home loss.

Cowboys 14, Eagles 13

At Philadelphia, Stephen McGee threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten with 55 seconds left. Michael Vick and nearly every starter didn't play in a game that had no effect on Philadelphia's playoff positioning.

The Cowboys (6-10) were playing for jobs next year, and the win might convince owner Jerry Jones to have Jason Garrett stay on next season after going 5-3 as interim coach.

Giants 17, Redskins 14

At Landover, Md., Giants co-owner John Mara said coach Tom Coughlin will return after a game in which end Osi Umenyiora caused two of the defense's four takeaways for the visiting Giants. Umenyiora tied an NFL record with 10 forced fumbles in a season.

Rex Grossman threw for 336 yards for the Redskins, who finished 6-10. Washington went 2-6 at home, its worst mark since 1994.

Texans 34, Jaguars 17

At Houston, Arian Foster ran for 180 yards to capture the NFL rushing title. Foster finished with 1,616 yards rushing, the highest single-season total for an undrafted player, as Houston went 6-10.

The Jaguars (8-8) couldn't overcome the absence of their top two offensive players. Quarterback David Garrard had finger surgery Thursday and Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew sat out with a right knee injury.

Lions 20, Vikings 13

At Detroit, Brett Favre stood in street clothes on the sideline in what likely was the final game of his 20-season career, watching the Lions (6-10) win their fourth straight.

The Vikings (6-10) closed out a lost season by putting the three-time MVP quarterback on the inactive list because of a concussion, with rookie Joe Webb making his second start.

After the game, Favre said it was time for him to call it a career.

The Lions tripled last season's win total and closed with their best finish since 1995. Shaun Hill threw for 258 yards and a touchdown for Detroit.

49ers 38, Cardinals 7

At San Francisco, Alex Smith threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis in what likely was the quarterback's final hurrah with the 49ers.

Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick who will become a free agent, threw for 276 yards and two TDs overall and the Niners (6-10) made interim coach Jim Tomsula a winner in what will probably be his only game coaching the team. Tomsula was promoted from his defensive line duties after coach Mike Singletary was fired following a loss last week.

Larry Fitzgerald had a 10-yard TD reception from John Skelton among his 11 catches for Arizona (5-11).

Chargers 33, Broncos 28

At Denver, rookie Ryan Mathews ran for three scores and Nate Kaeding kicked four field goals for San Diego. Mathews topped 100 yards for the first time, gaining 120 on 26 carries and scoring on runs of 27, 12 and 31 yards.

The Broncos (4-12) closed out the season with more than 11 losses for the first time in club history, but secured the No. 2 overall pick in the April draft behind Carolina.

San Diego (9-7) missed the playoffs after winning the AFC West title the past four years.