The Dust Settles on Playoff Field

Ravens, Eagles Among Those to Earn Spots

BALTIMORE, Dec. 28 -- The Baltimore Ravens left no room for anything dramatic or unexpected to happen. With an AFC playoff spot there for the taking with a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose postseason hopes had dissipated long ago, the Ravens seized control of the game early and never let up, getting to the playoffs with ease with a 27-7 triumph Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.

But things were far less certain elsewhere as the NFL's regular season came to a close with a scramble for the final postseason spots.

The Philadelphia Eagles got the help they needed in the early-afternoon games and then overwhelmed the Dallas Cowboys to get into the NFC playoff field. The Minnesota Vikings won the NFC North and the Carolina Panthers secured the conference's second playoff seed.

In the AFC, the Miami Dolphins completed their startling turnaround from last season's one-victory performance. They won the AFC East by beating the New York Jets, and they'll host the Ravens in a first-round playoff game next weekend. The San Diego Chargers routed the Denver Broncos, 52-21, Sunday night for the AFC West title and will host the Indianapolis Colts.

At one point during the day, it appeared that the day's most meaningful playoff development might have come in Pittsburgh in a game that had no impact on the postseason seedings. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was taken from the field on a stretcher after absorbing a second-quarter hit by two Browns defenders and having his head slammed to the turf.

But Roethlisberger had movement in his arms and legs before leaving the field. He reportedly suffered a concussion, but Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after the game he was optimistic that Roethlisberger will be available for the club's opening playoff game following a first-round bye.

"We are optimistic of where he is going to be," Tomlin said at his postgame news conference, according to the Associated Press. "The bye is going to be helpful in regards to that."

Roethlisberger was injured on a hit by Browns linebackers Willie McGinest and D'Qwell Jackson after delivering a pass. The game was stopped for approximately 15 minutes while members of the Steelers' medical staff treated Roethlisberger, whose helmet was disassembled so his head and neck could be properly stabilized. He gave a thumbs-up gesture to the crowd as he was driven off the field on a cart.

The Steelers already had clinched the second seed in the AFC playoffs and Roethlisberger reportedly had been expected to leave the game at halftime. Tomlin reportedly wanted his starters to get some playing time because the Steelers wouldn't play again for two weeks.

Tomlin's decision left him open to criticism. In Baltimore, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he hoped that Roethlisberger's injury isn't serious but he was glad that Roethlisberger was on the field even for a game that didn't have playoff implications for the Steelers.

"I think we owe the fans competitive football," Goodell said, meeting with reporters in the press box before the Ravens-Jaguars game. "I think players should play when they're capable of playing. . . . Injuries are part of the game. They happen. They're unfortunate. Hopefully, it's not serious and he'll be back for the playoffs."

The day's most unlikely developments involved the Eagles, who needed losses by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and either the Vikings or Chicago Bears in the early games to have any chance to get into the playoffs by beating the Cowboys. Things went the Eagles' way. The Buccaneers lost. The Bears lost.

And the Eagles beat the Cowboys, 44-6, to get into the playoffs in a season that included an ugly tie against the Cincinnati Bengals, a halftime benching of quarterback Donovan McNabb by Coach Andy Reid during a game in Baltimore and a defeat to the Washington Redskins a week ago at FedEx Field that seemed to all but extinguish any postseason aspirations. It was the Cowboys, though, who were left to begin picking up the pieces from their broken season, while others readied for the playoffs.

"We'll have an opportunity to be in the tournament, and we'll have an opportunity to prove if we're the best team in the NFL," Ravens Coach John Harbaugh said. "That's what we're going to try to do."