The Jaguars bounce New Orleans out of the playoffs with 20-19 victory.
By The Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -You’ve got to be kidding!

The Saints scored a touchdown on one of the wackiest plays in NFL history Sunday, then – just as unbelievably – John Carney missed the extra point with no time left. The result, a 20-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that dropped the Saints out of the playoff race.

The Saints (7-8), coming off Joe Horn’s cell phone shenanigans last week, looked like they had a play, a moment, to put that whole episode to shame.

With six seconds left, Aaron Brooks passed to Donte’ Stallworth, who then threw crossfield to Michael Lewis. He pitched back to Deuce McAllister, who lateraled to Jerome Pathon, who went the final 21 yards for the 75-yard touchdown.

“The only thing missing was the band,” Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said, recalling the ending of the famous 1982 Stanford-Cal game, a play that looked eerily similar to this.

A long video review ensued, and after referee Gerry Austin determined all the passes were legal laterals, the teams lined up for the extra point.

Routine?

Not today.

Carney, 403-for-408 on extra points over his 14-year career and 35-for-35 this season, hit a dead push, sailing the kick wide right. The Jaguars (5-10), despondent just moments earlier, stormed the field as though they’d won the Super Bowl.

Many Saints just laid there, watching their miracle turn into nothing – maybe the cruelest chapter in the 37-year history of their star-struck franchise. Although their playoff hopes were slim even with a win, the loss officially knocked them out.

And what a way to go.

Rams 27, Bengals 10

ST. LOUIS – A week after clinching the NFC West, there was no letdown for the St. Louis Rams. That was bad news for the Cincinnati Bengals and their playoff hopes.

Marshall Faulk scored two touchdowns, Torry Holt had his 10th 100-yard receiving game and Grant Wistrom added 21/2 sacks to help St. Louis beat Cincinnati 27-10 Sunday, knocking the Bengals from a first-place tie in the AFC North.

Jeff Wilkins added two field goals to give him 37 for the season as the Rams (12-3) clinched a first-round playoff bye.

Baltimore (9-6) shut out Cleveland and leads the Bengals (8-7) by a game heading into the final weekend, with the Bengals finishing at home against the Browns and Baltimore at home against the Steelers. The Bengals hold all the relevant tiebreakers if the teams end with the same record.

The first-round bye and staying alive for home-field advantage in the NFC turned out to be plenty of incentive for the Rams, who intercepted three of Jon Kitna’s passes.

The Rams, who broke a 7-7 second-quarter tie and were never caught, finished 8-0 at home and now have won 14 straight in the Edward Jones game, breaking a record they set from 1998-00.

Marc Bulger was 24-for-38 for 229 yards with touchdown passes of 28 yards to Holt in the second quarter and 9 yards to Faulk early in the fourth. That score put the Rams ahead 27-10.

Holt caught 10 passes for 124 yards to help the Rams compensate for the absence of the injured Isaac Bruce, out with a mild high ankle sprain sustained last week.

Faulk had 121 yards on 22 carries, his fifth 100-yard game in six weeks. His touchdown catch was his first in his last 11 games, dating to Oct. 20, 2002, against the Seahawks.

Both teams were missing a receiver, with the Bengals’ Peter Warrick out following arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday. Chad Johnson caught seven passes for 115 yards, setting a franchise single-season yardage record with 1,326.

Johnson might have invited another fine from the NFL because he wore orange shoes in violation of the uniform code. Last week he said he was saving money to get fined in each of the last two games.

Tommy Polley picked off Kitna in the first quarter, Adam Archuleta got his first of the season in the third quarter and Jerametrius Butler ended the Ravens’ best chance to score in the second half with an end zone interception midway through the fourth quarter.

Kelley Washington, the replacement for Warrick, caught a 2-yard pass from Kitna in the second quarter.

AP-ES-12-21-03 1630EST