N.F.L. Fines 16 Players for Illegal Hits

Biermann and Jones received the biggest fines for helmet-to-helmet contact, by Biermann on Seattle quarterback Charlie Whitehurst and Jones for a hit on quarterback .

Seven players were fined for roughing the passer and three for flagrant fouls on defenseless receivers, two points of emphasis by the league this year.

Baltimore free safety Ed Reed was fined $10,000 for hitting New Orleans quarterback in the face. Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher lost $10,000 for striking the defenseless Minnesota tight end Visanthe Shiancoe in the neck and head area, Urlacher’s second violation this season.

Another Bears defender, the rookie safety Major Wright, was also fined $10,000 for hitting the rookie quarterback Joe Webb in the head and neck area and for leading with his helmet.

Two defenders, end Robert Mathis and safety Antoine Bethea, were fined $10,000 each. Mathis struck Jaguars quarterback David Garrard in the head and neck area, and Bethea was punished for helmet-to-helmet contact with Jaguars receiver Mike Thomas.

cornerback Devin McCourty was fined $10,000 for unnecessary roughness against the , and five players were fined $7,500 apiece, including tackle Kevin Williams for a late hit and his teammate Antoine Winfield for a hit on the Bears’ Jay Cutler.

Giants linebacker Jonathan Goff was fined $7,500 for unnecessary roughness for hitting quarterback late and out of bounds, and Eagles cornerback Dimitri Patterson was called for a horse-collar tackle.

JONES-DREW MAY SIT Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew missed a third consecutive day of practice, casting doubt on his availability Sunday against Washington. Jones-Drew has dealt with knee problems most of the season, but his right one really became problematic after his sixth consecutive 100-yard game, Dec. 12 against Oakland. He missed two days of practice last week, and Indianapolis held him to 46 yards last Sunday.

STAYING FOR NOW The San Francisco 49ers are staying put until at least 2014 after the team reached a tentative deal with the city on repairs to Candlestick Park. Mayor met with the 49ers’ president, Jed York, this week to finalize the deal, which settles a $60 million claim filed by the 49ers. The suit charged that the city failed to complete required maintenance on the stadium, including flood control work and the replacement of seats. Under the agreement, the team will get rent credit for doing the repairs itself. It also adds flexibility to its lease after the 2014 season, when the 49ers plan to move to a new stadium in Santa Clara.

STAFFORD DONE FOR YEAR The placed quarterback Matthew Stafford on injured reserve with a separated right shoulder. The move ends Stafford’s season with two games remaining. Stafford played in only three games this season and just 10 last year because of injuries. Stafford’s shoulder was separated in this season’s opener at Chicago. He later aggravated the injury. The move leaves Detroit (4-10) with two banged-up quarterbacks in Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton, along with the rookie Zac Robinson.

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Seahawks, Colts, Falcons and Steelers Win Titles

Yep, those were championship hats the 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 ) 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 ‘s 43-yard field goal as time expired. The (10-6), host the wild-card (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 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, 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, 20

At Indianapolis, 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, 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.

41, Browns 9

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

Browns coach ‘s record has been 5-11 in each of his two seasons. On Monday, he’s scheduled to meet with team president .

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.

38, 7

At Foxborough, Mass., 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.

13, 7

At Baltimore, Ed Reed had two interceptions and 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, 7

At East Rutherford, N.J., threw two touchdown passes in relief of , 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, 13

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Thursday Night Lights: Ravens-Falcons

Once or twice a season, NFL Network gets a matchup worth, well, worth searching for a TV system that gets NFL Network.

The first Thursday night game in the network’s package is as good as it can get: division leaders Baltimore and Atlanta. Both are 6-2. One team (the ) has a powerful and physical defense. The other has a powerful and physical offense.

Atlanta is 4-0 at home and ranks fifth in offense behind rugged running back Michael Turner and efficient quarterback Matt Ryan. The Falcons also are a plus-7 in turnover margin, and they win close games: In five games decided by an average of 4.8 points this season, the Falcons have four victories.

“It’s preparing us for later in the season, and you know playoff games are always going to be tight,” said leading receiver Roddy White, whose team is a 1-point favorite.

The Ravens are among the most balanced teams around, and they got stronger in the secondary — and in experience and leadership — when star safety Ed Reed returned from injury. He has three picks in two games.

Like Ryan, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco has been a starter since 2008, when both were rookies. Like Ryan, he has plenty of helpers. He also has a better defense.

RAVENS, 19-17

We know all about how teams get stoked by coaching changes. Maybe it will happen for the — next year.

BEST BET: GIANTS, 31-7

Rested, with a fierce pass rush and, just maybe, a who is on a mission, the will push Miami to 0-4 at home.

UPSET SPECIAL: TITANS, 21-17

After that stinker at Cleveland, the should be motivated and mad. looked shaky in second half against .

PATRIOTS, 22-20

How much is Andy Reid enjoying some QB melodrama somewhere other than in Philly? And with in the middle, no less.

, 24-17

There’s no truth to reports the are bringing back Marvin Harrison to play wideout.

COLTS, 24-17

Last week convinced us it’s dangerous to rely on the in tight matchups. Jaguars, coming off a bye, aren’t much more reliable.

JAGUARS, 18-15

We still don’t believe the are turning it around, even after that scintillating comeback against Arizona. We do believe the Vikes are good enough in this one.

VIKINGS, 24-17

Drew Stanton at QB offsets many of the strides the have made in other positions. keep coming close. This time, they get over the hump.

BILLS, 14-13

If the Jets truly are a contender, they need to begin showing it here, especially on defense against a team growing in confidence. This one has OT written all over it.

JETS, 20-17

Spunky Bucs should have little trouble handling undermanned and undertalented .

BUCCANEERS, 23-6

haven’t been favored in the Mile High City often. might not be a favorite the rest of the way.

CHIEFS, 24-18

A chance for each team to prove some worth in the weak NFC West. We’ll give the Niners one more chance.

, 21-20

This one depends entirely on whether Seattle gets back QB Matt Hasselbeck from a concussion. Charlie Whitehurst might not be good enough to start for the Cardinals, and that is saying something.

(with Hasselbeck), 17-13

___

RECORD:

Versus spread, 9-4 (overall 69-53-1); Straight up, 9-4 (overall 82-48)

Best Bet: 4-5 against spread, 6-3 straight up.

Upset Special: 6-3 against spread, 6-3 straight up.

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