Four Teams Surge Into NFL Playoffs

The Titans and Raiders are in the playoffs. No surprise there. <br><br>The Eagles and Ravens also are in the playoffs. Say what? <br><br>And the high-priced Washington Redskins, a mere .500 team, are on

Monday, December 11th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The Titans and Raiders are in the playoffs. No surprise there.

The Eagles and Ravens also are in the playoffs. Say what?

And the high-priced Washington Redskins, a mere .500 team, are on the brink of missing the postseason.

``We didn't have that pride that we needed,'' Redskins interim coach Terry Robiskie said after a 32-13 loss at Dallas, which lost Troy Aikman to a concussion, placing his NFL future in doubt.

Tennessee, Oakland, Philadelphia and Baltimore all had convincing victories Sunday to secure postseason spots.

The Titans routed Cincinnati 35-3. The Raiders ripped the New York Jets 31-7. Philadelphia beat Cleveland 35-24. Baltimore took San Diego 24-3.

Also, it was St. Louis 40, Minnesota 29; Tampa Bay 16, Miami 13; the New York Giants 30, Pittsburgh 10; Denver 31, Seattle 24; New Orleans 31, San Francisco 27; Green Bay 26, Detroit 13; Chicago 24, New England 17; Kansas City 15, Carolina 14; and Jacksonville 44, Arizona 10.

Monday night, it's Buffalo at Indianapolis. Atlanta had a bye.

Titans 35, Bengals 3

Steve McNair, took off a sprained knee that sidelined him for most of the week's practices and threw three touchdown passes as the defending AFC champions qualified for the playoffs. Tennessee (11-3) has the inside track to a first-round bye.

Eddie George caught a pair of TD passes and ran for another score as the Titans ended a seven-quarter TD drought.

``We just secured a spot in the playoffs. It's nothing to pop champagne about,'' George said.

Visiting Cincinnati (3-11) couldn't get its top-ranked rushing game going as Corey Dillon was held to 42 yards on 18 carries.

Eagles 35, Browns 24

Philadelphia, which was 5-11 in Andy Reid's first season as coach, improved to 10-5 with a bye upcoming. Donovan McNabb passed for a career-high 390 yards and four touchdowns as Philadelphia clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 1996.

McNabb threw two TD passes to Torrance Small in the first half and added two more to Charles Johnson in the third quarter.

``He gets my MVP vote,'' said tight end Chad Lewis, who caught five passes for 100 yards. ``It's like he feels no pressure and is having fun. And we're having fun with him.''

Host Cleveland (3-12) lost its fourth in a row.

Ravens 24, Chargers 3

For the first time since the Colts in 1977, Baltimore has a playoff team. The Ravens (10-4) won their team-record fifth straight as Trent Dilfer threw two touchdown passes against visiting San Diego (1-13), which absorbed its franchise-record 13th loss.

``It feels good. All the hard work we put in, the way we practiced, the way we prepared, it's paying off,'' offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden said.

Before the game, Art Modell was honored for his 40 years as an NFL owner. Instead of introducing the offense or defense, the Ravens had Modell walk on the field with team captains Shannon Sharpe and Ray Lewis.

Cowboys 32, Redskins 13

Aikman suffered the 10th concussion of his career in the first quarter, but with Emmitt Smith rushing for 150 yards and a TD, Dallas (5-9) won its seventh straight vs. Washington (7-7).

Smith went over 15,000 yards rushing for his career â€” only Walter Payton and Barry Sanders had done it â€” and beyond 1,000 yards rushing for the 10th straight year as Dallas ran for 242 yards.

The visiting Redskins played their first game under coach Terry Robiskie, who replaced the fired Norv Turner.

Rams 40, Vikings 29

The tried and true formula of Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner got the Rams on track.

The defending champions ended a three-game losing streak, getting a team-record four touchdowns rushing from Faulk against Minnesota (11-3), which already had a playoff berth. The Rams (9-5), who also had lost three in a row at home, celebrated their first two touchdowns with the banned ``Bob 'N Weave'' dance â€” which Vikings coach Dennis Green, co-chairman of the NFL's competition committee, helped outlaw.

Faulk's touchdowns gave him a league-leading and career-high 19. He had 135 yards rushing on 25 carries, topping 1,000 yards for the fourth straight season, and 43 yards on six receptions.

Warner, who threw four interceptions in a 16-3 loss at Carolina last week in his return from a broken pinkie, was sharp, going 27-for-32 for 346 yards.

Raiders 31, Jets 7

The Raiders (11-3) earned their first playoff berth since 1993, and first in Oakland since 1980 with a lopsided victory. Rich Gannon threw for two touchdowns and Eric Allen had a 50-yard return of an interception to open the scoring.

New York (9-5) had a three-game winning streak snapped and QB Vinny Testaverde injured his groin in the first half.

Buccaneers 16, Dolphins 13

Tampa Bay (9-5) improved its playoff standing in the rain at Miami, intercepting Jay Fielder four times and forcing him to fumble.

Martin Gramatica's 46-yard field goal with 8:12 left won it. Damien Robinson protected Tampa Bay's sixth victory in seven games with an interception at his 30 with 14 seconds left.

The Dolphins (10-4) can still earn a playoff spot if Indianapolis loses or ties Buffalo.

Giants 30, Steelers 10

New York (10-4) moved closer to a playoff berth as the defense shut down Jerome Bettis and Kerry Collins passed for 333 yards and two touchdowns.

Collins found Amani Toomer nine times for 136 yards and a touchdown as the hosts won their third in a row since coach Jim Fassel guaranteed the Giants would make the postseason for the first time since 1997.

Pittsburgh (7-7) saw its postseason hopes diminish.

Broncos 31, Seahawks 24

Mike Anderson's sensational rookie season continued as he ran for 131 yards and scored two second-half touchdowns, leading the Broncos (10-4) to their sixth straight victory.

The host Broncos, who beat Seattle 38-31 just two weeks ago, have gotten 577 yards rushing from Anderson in the last three games, including an NFL rookie-record 251 last week against New Orleans.

Jon Kitna threw three touchdown passes, all in the second half, for Seattle (5-9).

Saints 31, 49ers 27

The visiting Saints (9-5) staged a late comeback to secure their sixth winning season in 34 years. Terry Allen scored on a 1-yard run with 46 seconds left after New Orleans trailed 27-17 with six minutes to play, but Aaron Brooks led it on two late scoring drives.

New Orleans, tied with St. Louis atop the NFC West, also withstood 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia's 305 yards passing and two touchdowns. Garcia also ran for two scores for San Francisco (5-9.)

Packers 26, Lions 13

Brett Favre threw a 3-yard touchdown toss to Ahman Green that secured Favre's 26th straight win at home for Green Bay (7-7) in temperatures 34 or below. He did it despite completing just 15 of 36 passes for 208 yards with one interception in the end zone and a fumble.

Ryan Longwell kicked four field goals and Green had a late 39-yard TD run to finish with 118 yards.

Detroit (8-6) lost its 10th straight in Wisconsin and saw its playoff hopes endangered.

Bears 24, Patriots 17

Shane Matthews completed a club-record 15 straight passes, and James Allen went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season for Chicago (4-10). Matthews finished 22-of-27 for 239 yards against the Patriots (4-10) at Soldier Field, where there were 26,014 no-shows.

Allen became Chicago's first 1,000-yard rusher since Raymont Harris in 1997. Harris was on the opposite sideline Sunday, having been re-signed last week by the Patriots.

Chiefs 15, Panthers 14

Host Kansas City (6-8) ended a five-game slide as Tony Gonzalez, who dropped two certain TD passes, caught a 6-yarder on a deflection. The star tight end broke the team single-season record with 84 receptions.

``If I can drop two touchdowns a day and win, I'll take it every time,'' said Gonzalez. ``I'm just glad I had a chance at it again.''

The Panthers (6-8) lost when Joe Nedney missed a 48-yard field goal with 1:35 left. He had made a team-record 18 straight.

Jaguars 44, Cardinals 10

Fred Taylor rushed for 137 yards to surpass the 100-yard mark for the eighth straight game, lifting the Jaguars (7-7) to their fourth straight victory. The Jags closed their home schedule on a strong note, with a pair of wins by a combined margin of 92-10.

Arizona (3-11) has lost five straight.