The New England Patriots have clinched home-ground advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a 35-14 victory over the Dolphins in Miami.
New England (14-2) entered the game with the AFC East title and a first-round NFL playoff bye already sewn up.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady passed for 276 yards and three touchdowns.
Brady completed 25 of 33 passes and was not intercepted or sacked.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman caught eight passes for 151 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown.
With the loss, the Dolphins (10-6) will be seeded sixth in the AFC playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ incredibly slim chance of snatching a playoff spot ended despite a 17-16 victory against the Carolina Panthers.
The Bucs needed to win while hoping six other results went in their favour – including the later match between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins and Monday’s clash between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions.
But the result that cost the Bucs a place in the post-season was the Dallas Cowboys’ 27-13 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles as tight end Zach Ertz notched two touchdown scores for 139 yards.
Cincinnati Bengals running back Rex Burkhead rushed in two touchdowns for 119 yards as they eased past the Baltimore Ravens in a 27-10 success at the Paul Brown Stadium.
The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to their 13th defeat of the regular season at the hands of AFC South rivals the Indianapolis Colts thanks to a touchdown from tight end Jack Doyle with nine seconds remaining to steal a 24-20 win.
Sam Bradford completed 25 from 33 attempted passes and threw three touchdowns to help the Minnesota Vikings to a comfortable 38-10 victory over the Chicago Bears.
While the Tennessee Titans edged the Houston Texans in a 24-17 success and a Ryan Fitzpatrick-inspired New York Jets got the better of the Buffalo Bills with a 30-10 home win.
monday QB
Guest
Easy schedule perhaps, but are you really discounting them? Foxborough in January is a fortress.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Nope. They played the easiest schedule this season and will be found out. They beat Miami twice, who had the second easiest schedule this year. The Pats played teams that went a combined 111-142 (44%), with wins over 94-128
GFH
Roar Rookie
Ain't nobody stopping the Pats reaching the SuperBowl. KC at a pinch. Big Ben if he has a game for the ages. Do you think the names "Tom Savage", "Matt Moore" and "Connor Cook" strike the fear of God into a New England team meeting? Didn't think so. If you're a hardcore Pats fan, you might as well book your flight with Qantas direct to Dallas right now.