Lions secure NFC's No. 1 seed, Broncos and Buccaneers clinch the NFL's final two playoff spots

 

[January 06, 2025]  By ROB MAADDI

The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC will go through Motown.

The Detroit Lions secured a No. 1 seed with a 31-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

Jahmyr Gibbs scored four touchdowns to help the Lions (15-2) clinch the NFC North, earn a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

The Vikings (14-3) missed an opportunity to overtake Detroit for the top spot and ended up with the fifth seed. They'll play on the road against the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Rams (10-7) next Monday night.

The Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers captured the NFL's final two playoff spots earlier in the day in Week 18.

Rookie quarterback Bo Nix led the Broncos to a 38-0 victory over Kansas City's backups, sending Denver to the postseason for the first time since Peyton Manning helped the team win the Super Bowl following the 2015 season.

The Buccaneers clinched the NFC South with a 27-19 comeback victory over New Orleans and earned the No. 3 seed when the Los Angeles Rams lost to Seattle 30-25.

Tampa Bay (10-7) will host Washington (12-5) in the wild-card round next Sunday night.

The Broncos (10-7) got the seventh seed and will visit Buffalo (13-4) in the first game on Sunday.

Denver's victory eliminated Cincinnati and Miami, which lost to the Jets.

Green Bay, which lost 24-22 to Chicago, will be the seventh seed and visits No. 2 seed Philadelphia on Sunday in the middle game of a playoff tripleheader. The Eagles (14-3) beat the Packers (11-6) in the season opener, 34-29, in Brazil.

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Commanders beat Dallas 23-19 behind backup quarterback Marcus Mariota’s two touchdown passes. Washington opened the season with a loss in Tampa Bay, but rookie QB Jayden Daniels has come a long way since Week 1.

The AFC’s playoff picture became more clear on Saturday when the Baltimore Ravens beat Cleveland to clinch the North and the No. 3 seed. The Chiefs (15-2) already locked up a first-round bye, the Bills are the No. 2 seed and the Houston Texans are No. 4.

The Los Angeles Chargers beat Las Vegas to get the No. 5 seed. The Chargers (10-7) will play at Houston (10-7) in the first wild-card game on Saturday afternoon. The Ravens (12-5) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7), who lost the final four games of the regular season to drop to the No. 6 seed, on Saturday night. The division rivals split the season series.

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