By The Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren’t content with just making the playoffs.

Joey Galloway caught his ninth and 10th touchdown passes to set a franchise season record Sunday, and the Bucs beat the New Orleans Saints 27-13 to clinch their first NFC South division title in three years and guarantee themselves a home playoff game.

Tampa Bay (11-5) was assured a playoff berth when the New York Giants beat the Oakland Raiders on Saturday night, but needed to beat the Saints (3-13) to finish a worst-to-first turnaround that few people envisioned when the season began.

The Bucs lost 20 of 32 games and missed the playoffs the past two seasons, becoming the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl and then post losing records the following two years. Tampa Bay will host either Washington or Dallas next week.

Galloway has been a big part of the transformation, rebounding from injuries that sidelined him part of 2004 with 83 receptions for 1,287 yards, including TD passes of 7 and 4 yards from Chris Simms on Sunday.

Simms was 12-of-25 for 143 yards and had a crucial fourth-quarter interception overturned by instant replay. Meanwhile, Michael Pittman set up a field goal with a 64-yard run on his only carry of the day, and rookie Carnell “Cadillac” Williams rushed for 81 yards on 22 carries for the Bucs.

The Saints, finishing a tumultuous season thrown into chaos by Hurricane Katrina, didn’t go down without a fight.

Todd Bouman threw for 265 yards and a touchdown and John Carney kicked two field goals to keep New Orleans within striking distance until Dwayne White sacked Bouman, forcing a fumble that the 273-yard defensive end picked and returned 35 yards to make it 27-13 with less than two minutes to go.

The Saints pulled within 17-13 on Carney’s 24-yard field goal with 12:06 remaining, then nearly put themselves into position to take the lead when linebacker Ronald McKinnon dove to the ground and appeared intercept a tipped pass at Tampa Bay 25.

Vikings 34, Bears 10

MINNEAPOLIS -Mike Tice left the Metrodome with a win – and a notice of unemployment. His fourth full season with Minnesota ended after a meaningless 34-10 victory over the Chicago Bears that gave the Vikings a winning record after a rough start.

Then owner Zygi Wilf informed the coach in a brief emotional meeting that his contract was not being renewed, a firing that Tice himself expected – but didn’t embrace.

Minnesota finished 9-7, one positive for Tice during yet another up-and-down year marred by a scandalous boat party during the team’s bye week. But despite wins in seven of the final nine games, Wilf – who bought the team this summer – told Tice he wanted to go in another direction.

Chiefs 37, Bengals 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dick Vermeil went out with a win on his home field – and a loss on another field half a continent away.

Larry Johnson ran for 201 yards and a career-high three scores on 21 carries, his ninth straight 100-yard game, and broke Kansas City’s single-season rushing record in Sunday’s 37-3 victory over the playoff-bound Cincinnati Bengals.

However, Pittsburgh’s 35-21 victory over Detroit kept the Chiefs (10-6) from reaching the AFC playoffs, meaning Vermeil’s decision to retire at the end of the season takes effect immediately.

Jets 30, Bills 26

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Justin Miller provided the electrifying kickoff return, and Ty Law helped the Jets end their season with some dignity.

Miller returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with 5:58 remaining, and Law had three interceptions as New York beat Buffalo 30-26 Sunday.

After Buffalo went ahead on Rian Lindell’s 36-yard field goal, Miller took the ensuing kickoff and tiptoed down the sideline, finally providing the special teams score the Jets (4-12) lacked all season.

Buffalo (5-11) had one final shot with 47 seconds left, but Law intercepted Holcomb’s deep heave in perhaps his last game for the Jets.

Colts 17, Cardinals 13

INDIANAPOLIS – Tony Dungy grabbed the game ball in his right hand, raised it and pumped it toward the crowd in relief Sunday. It was a rare emotional outburst for the usually stoic Indianapolis Colts coach.

Who could blame him?

The Colts’ defense had a late goal line stand after Jim Sorgi threw two touchdown passes to give Dungy a 17-13 victory three days after he returned to the team following his oldest son’s funeral in Tampa.

Indianapolis (14-2) set a single-season franchise record for victories by avoiding its first three-game losing streak since midway through the 2002 season. Dungy earned his 107th career victory – and perhaps his most emotional.

Steelers 35, Lions 21

PITTSBURGH – Jerome Bettis made sure that what likely was his final game in Pittsburgh wasn’t the Steelers’ last game of the season.

Bettis matched his career high with three touchdown runs, none longer than 5 yards, and the Steelers overcame some sloppy defensive play to beat the Detroit Lions 35-21 Sunday and secure their 10th playoff appearance in 14 seasons under coach Bill Cowher.

Bettis, the fifth-leading rusher in NFL history, didn’t have a big yardage game – 41 yards – as Willie Parker got most of the carries while gaining 135 yards.

But Bettis scored on runs of 1, 5 and 4 yards to help the Steelers (11-5) overcome an early 14-7 deficit against the Lions (5-11), who finished another dismal season with six losses in their final seven games.

Panthers 44, Falcons 11

ATLANTA – With a trip to the playoffs on the line, the Carolina Panthers didn’t make the same mistake again.

DeShaun Foster rushed for 165 yards, including the longest scoring run in team history, and Jake Delhomme threw for two touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a 44-11 rout of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Carolina (11-5) clinched one of the two NFC playoff spots still available going into Week 17, settling for a wild card when Tampa Bay clinched the South Division title with a win over New Orleans.

Browns 20, Ravens 16

CLEVELAND – Dennis Northcutt bowed when he reached the end zone, then peeked over his shoulder to make sure he deserved the applause.

Finally, he and the Cleveland Browns could soak it in.

Northcutt’s 62-yard punt return for a touchdown helped the Browns close a tumultuous final weekend and season on Sunday with a 20-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens, who finished 0-8 on the road.

Earlier this season, Northcutt twice brought back punts for TDs only to have them nullified by penalties. But after his third-quarter jaunt, when he reversed field and picked up some blocks, Northcutt checked to be certain there were no penalty flags and waved his arms like an official.

Packers 23, Seahawks 17

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Facing an uncertain future, Lambeau Field fans were pleading for more Brett Favre magic. The quarterback obliged Sunday by throwing his first touchdown pass in five games, giving the Green Bay Packers a 23-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

But in what might be the final game of Favre’s career, Favre’s former coach allowed running back Shaun Alexander to steal the show and set an NFL record for touchdowns in a season with 28.

Alexander blamed Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren for costing him the NFL rushing title last year.

But despite the Seahawks (13-3) having already clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, Holmgren let Alexander run wild in the first half Sunday.

49ers 20, Texans 17

SAN FRANCISCO – The Houston Texans had so much to lose if they won their season finale. They nearly did it anyway.

Instead, the San Francisco 49ers salvaged some pride in their own miserable season – and the Texans got on the clock for the NFL draft in April.

Mike Adams lateraled his second interception to Ben Emanuel for a 35-yard return in overtime, Joe Nedney kicked a 33-yard field goal with 3:52 left and the 49ers earned their first consecutive victories in more than two years with a 20-17 victory Sunday.

Jaguars 40, Titans 13

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars avoided another slow start and gained some much-needed momentum for the postseason.

They did it in surprising fashion, too, not needing a comeback thanks to the early work of David Garrard.

The Jaguars scored 27 points in the first half and routed the Tennessee Titans 40-13 Sunday for their eighth win in the last nine games.

Although all eight victories came against teams with losing records, this one felt much different than others in recent weeks.

After trailing in the second half in each of the last four games, Jacksonville (12-4) scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, took advantage of two turnovers and essentially sealed the victory on Derrick Wimbush’s 6-yard TD run with 4:11 remaining in the second quarter.

Rams 20, Cowboys 10

IRVING, Texas – Their playoff incentive gone, the Dallas Cowboys couldn’t muster much enthusiasm – or many points – against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday night.

Aveion Cason and Arlen Harris ran for their first touchdowns since 2003 and Jeff Wilkins added two field goals, giving the Rams a 20-10 victory over the Cowboys that added one more disappointment to Dallas’ finish.

The Rams (6-10) were giving up a league-worst 27.9 points per game, but came away with their stingiest effort of the season.

Although effort may be too strong a word in a game rendered meaningless when Washington beat Philadelphia and eliminated Dallas from the wild-card chase more than an hour before kickoff.