NFL Week 17: Top 10 moments

We boil down the thousands of photos and hundreds of plays from each week’s games to give you a look at the best. For full effect, view this gallery in full-screen mode.

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1. Brees, Saints set records: New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees hugs assistant coach Joe Vitt. The Saints quarterback set a slew of NFL and club records. Teammate Jimmy Graham set the NFL record by receiving yards by a tight end.

Bill Haber / Associated Press

<a data-xslt='_http' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/giants-beat-cowboys-to-win-nfc-east/2012/01/01/gIQACSqPVP_story.html'>2. Giants clinch NFC East: </a>New York Coach Tom Coughlin enjoys getting Gatorade dumped on him after quarterback Eli Manning threw three touchdowns and Victor Cruz caught six passes for 197 yards and a touchdown in a win over the Cowboys.

2. Giants clinch NFC East: New York Coach Tom Coughlin enjoys getting Gatorade dumped on him after quarterback Eli Manning threw three touchdowns and Victor Cruz caught six passes for 197 yards and a touchdown in a win over the Cowboys.

Jeff Zelevansky / Getty Images

<a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101009&home=9&vis=8&final=true'>3. Flynn’s huge day: </a>Detroit’s Calvin Johnson attempts to make one of his 11 catches, but it wasn’t enough as Green Bay won behind back-up quarterback Matt Flynn, who threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns.

3. Flynn’s huge day: Detroit’s Calvin Johnson attempts to make one of his 11 catches, but it wasn’t enough as Green Bay won behind back-up quarterback Matt Flynn, who threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns.

Morry Gash / Associated Press

4. <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101015&home=15&vis=20&final=true'>Taylor goes out a winner: </a>Dolphins outside linebacker Jason Taylor, the NFL’s active sacks leader, is carried off the field after his final game, a win that knocked the Jets from the playoff hunt.

4. Taylor goes out a winner: Dolphins outside linebacker Jason Taylor, the NFL’s active sacks leader, is carried off the field after his final game, a win that knocked the Jets from the playoff hunt.

Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press

<a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101016&home=16&vis=3&final=true'>5. Allen finishes with 22 sacks: </a>Chicago’s Julius Peppers (90) congratulates Minnesota’s Jared Allen, who finished the season with 22 sacks, behind Michael Strahan’s mark of 22 <sup>1</sup>
<span>/</span>
<sub>2 </sub>for the New York Giants in 2001.

5. Allen finishes with 22 sacks: Chicago’s Julius Peppers (90) congratulates Minnesota’s Jared Allen, who finished the season with 22 sacks, behind Michael Strahan’s mark of 22 ¹ / ₂for the New York Giants in 2001.

Hannah Foslien / Getty Images

<a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101017&home=17&vis=2&final=true'>6. <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101017&home=17&vis=2&final=true'>Patriots overcome 21-point deficit: </a>
</a>Bills wide receiver Steve Johnson celebrates a touchdown, but New England would laugh last as the Patriots scored 49 unanswered points to beat Buffalo.

6. Patriots overcome 21-point deficit: Bills wide receiver Steve Johnson celebrates a touchdown, but New England would laugh last as the Patriots scored 49 unanswered points to beat Buffalo.

Elise Amendola / Associated Press

<a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101014&home=14&vis=25&final=true'>7. San Francisco clinches No. 2 seed in NFC: </a>49ers tight end Vernon Davis, left, catches a 44-yard pass in San Francisco’s win over the Rams. The 49ers’ 13-3 finish is their best since 1997.

7. San Francisco clinches No. 2 seed in NFC: 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, left, catches a 44-yard pass in San Francisco’s win over the Rams. The 49ers’ 13-3 finish is their best since 1997.

L.G. Patterson / Associated Press

<a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101004&home=4&vis=33&final=true'>8. Rice leaves Bengals in his dust: </a>Ravens running back Ray Rice runs for a 70-yard touchdown. He would finish with 191 rushing yards and two touchdowns as Baltimore clinched the AFC North.

8. Rice leaves Bengals in his dust: Ravens running back Ray Rice runs for a 70-yard touchdown. He would finish with 191 rushing yards and two touchdowns as Baltimore clinched the AFC North.

Darron Cummings / Associated Press

<a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101005&home=5&vis=23&final=true'>9. Steelers hold off the Browns: </a>Several Steelers break up a desperation pass in the end zone that was intended for Browns wideout Greg Little. Pittsburgh finishes with 12 wins for the second year in a row and will face the Tim Tebow-led Broncos in the playoffs.

9. Steelers hold off the Browns: Several Steelers break up a desperation pass in the end zone that was intended for Browns wideout Greg Little. Pittsburgh finishes with 12 wins for the second year in a row and will face the Tim Tebow-led Broncos in the playoffs.

Mark Duncan / Associated Press

10. <a data-xslt='_http' href='http://stats.washingtonpost.com/fb/recap.asp?g=20120101013&home=13&vis=24&final=true'>Chargers sink Raiders’ playoff hopes: </a>San Diego nose tackle Antonio Garay, seen here, finishes with three tackles as the Chargers eliminated Oakland from the playoff race.

10. Chargers sink Raiders’ playoff hopes: San Diego nose tackle Antonio Garay, seen here, finishes with three tackles as the Chargers eliminated Oakland from the playoff race.

Tony Avelar / Associated Press

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

TV presenter and conservationist Anneka Tanaka-Svenska wears a hat designed by Louis Mariette during the first day of Royal Ascot, in Berkshire, west of London, on June 18, 2013. The five-day meeting is one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar. Horse racing has been held at the famous Berkshire course since 1711 and tradition is a hallmark of the meeting. Top hats and tails remain compulsory in parts of the course while a daily procession of horse-drawn carriages brings the Queen to the course. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNISADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Photos of the day

Royal Ascot, protests in Brazil, Lego exhibition, flooding in India, Cheetah-Cub robot and more.

Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Animal views

Rodent exhibition, swimming with elephants, Mexico’s feline mayoral candidate and more.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Johnathon’s journey

Johnathon Carrington graduated Friday as the valedictorian of his neighborhood school, Dunbar High, and is headed to Georgetown University. But Carrington, 17, is nervous, and so are...

U.S. actress Sandra Bullock poses for the media during a photocall to promote her latest move 'The Heat' in Berlin June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

Eye on entertainment

Sandra Bullock, Jessica Sanchez, Snooki, Billy Porter, Billy Crystal, Sean Hayes, Gwen Stefani and other celebrities.

Inmates walk at a high-security male prison camp outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk May 14, 2013. High-security male prison camp number 17 is intended to house male inmates who are serving a sentence for the first time, and have been convicted for serious crimes. Prisoners at the facility work in wood and metal processing shops, manufacture furniture, sew clothes and do other kinds of work. They can also take part in educational, sport and cultural programs. Picture taken May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin (RUSSIA - Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 4 OF 29 FOR PACKAGE 'INSIDE SIBERIA'S PRISONS' SEARCH 'ILYA PRISON' FOR ALL IMAGES

Life in a Siberian prison

A look inside a high-security prison camp outside Krasnoyarsk, Russia

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

The Grand Medieval Joust

The Grand Medieval Joust at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property that was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to lend insight through reenactment into life at the palace...

In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil’s other soccer fields

With the Confederations Cup opening this week and the World Cup one year away, all eyes are on Brazil, where soccer is arguably played with more passion and art than anywhere else....

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: John F. Tatum Sr. hugs his grandson John F. Tatum III during his annual Father's Day block party on Sunday, June 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Father’s Day picnic in Northeast D.C.

A decades-old backyard barbecue in Northeast Washington draws hundreds in honor of dads everywhere. “It’s off-the-chain fun,” says Butch McNair, who has worked one...

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