Biggest Stories and Best Highlights from NFL Week 17

The 2017 NFL regular season came to a dramatic close on Sunday as all 32 teams took the field in a blockbuster slate of games with huge playoff implications.

The NFC's final remaining playoff berth and the AFC's two open postseason spots were all decided with the results of Sunday's action. 

We'll reveal the newly minted playoff seeding and look at the rest of the biggest stories and best highlights from Week 17.

NFL Playoff Picture Decided

The 10-6 Atlanta Falcons clinched the NFC's last remaining playoff berth with a decisive 22-10 win over the 11-5 Carolina Panthers. 

Atlanta's win eliminated the Seattle Seahawks from postseason contention, but even had the Falcons lost, Seattle would not have made the playoffs because it lost to the Arizona Cardinals minutes later. With the surprising 26-24 defeat, Seattle's five-year postseason streak came to an end. 

Even though the 11-5 New Orleans Saints fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-24, they still clinched the NFC South because of the Panthers' loss to the Falcons. All three of those NFC South teams advanced to the playoffs. 

The 13-3 Minnesota Vikings secured the NFC's No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in their 23-10 win over the Chicago Bears early Sunday.

In the AFC, the 13-3 New England Patriots earned home-field advantage in the playoffs with a 26-6 win over the New York Jets.

The 9-7 Tennessee Titans clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2008 thanks to a 15-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans controlled their destiny coming into Week 17 because they owned the best conference record among the contending teams, which is the first tiebreaker when more than two teams are tied for a playoff spot.

The 9-7 Buffalo Bills earned the AFC's final playoff berth, their first postseason berth since 1999, thanks to a 22-16 win over the Miami Dolphins and a shocking Baltimore Ravens loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati scored the go-ahead touchdown with 44 seconds left to win 31-27. 

Here's how the playoff seeding shakes out:

NFC

1. Philadelphia Eagles 

2. Minnesota Vikings

3. Los Angeles Rams 

4. New Orleans Saints

5. Carolina Panthers

6. Atlanta Falcons

AFC

1. New England Patriots

2. Pittsburgh Steelers 

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

4. Kansas City Chiefs 

5. Tennessee Titans

6. Buffalo Bills

Notable Individual Performances

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara closed out his rookie season with a bang, returning a kick for 106 yards for a score and also adding 44 rushing yards and a touchdown and 84 receiving yards. 

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers set a career milestone Sunday, becoming the ninth quarterback in NFL history with 50,000 passing yards in the Chargers' win over the Oakland Raiders. 

Rivers' teammate, wide receiver Keenan Allen, had himself quite a day, as well. Allen racked up 133 receiving yards and a touchdown on nine receptions, and he also set a Chargers franchise single-season receptions record. 

Proving himself a valuable big-play weapon this season, Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry became the only player in the NFL with three touchdowns from scrimmage of 65 or more yards. 

Running back Frank Gore rushed for 100 yards en route to eclipsing 14,000 for his career as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans 22-13. Gore is fifth on the NFL's all-time rushing list. 

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford found wide receivers Marvin Jones Jr., Kenny Golladay and Golden Tate for touchdown passes to help his team beat the Green Bay Packers 35-11. Stafford finished with 323 passing yards and caught a pass for a two-point conversion on a trick play.

New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis accrued 32 touches en route to 133 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the Pats' victory.

Running back Latavius Murray rushed for 111 yards and scored two touchdowns to help give the Minnesota Vikings a 23-10 win over the Chicago Bears. 

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster dominated the Cleveland Browns with nine catches, 143 yards and two touchdowns (one receiving, one off a kick return) to help give his team a 28-24 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Plays of the Day

Baltimore Ravens running back Alex Collins kept the team's season alive with this 17-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-3, though it ended up not being enough:

"

This Alex Collins TD was just BEAUTIFUL. #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/z2yDdCAfel

— NFL (@NFL) December 31, 2017"

The big-play theme of Week 17 was long kickoff return touchdowns. 

Seattle Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett took a return 99 yards to the house early in his team's battle with the Arizona Cardinals:

Not to be outdone, Kamara set a new franchise record with a 106-yard kick return to help tie things at 7-7 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter:

Derek Carr and Amari Cooper proved they're still a force despite the Oakland Raiders' struggles this year on this 87-yard touchdown:

The Bears pulled off a trick play to perfection against the Vikings on a punt return. Running back Tarik Cohen faked as if he was going to catch the punt, but Bryce Callahan caught it instead and took the ball 59 yards for a touchdown:

Smith-Schuster continued his excellent day against the Browns with a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to give his team a 27-21 lead:

Week 17 Case of Senioritis?

There were an unusual number of silly gaffes throughout the league in Week 17. 

New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty delighted the internet when he couldn't figure out how to get his helmet on:

The QB didn't appear to realize he was still wearing his beanie as he struggled to pull his helmet over his head. Perhaps he just wanted to stay warm in the frigid New England weather?

Speaking of staying warm, Philadelphia Eagles punter Donnie Jones was so toasty in his sweatpants that he trotted out for a punt still wearing them and was forced to shed them right there on the field:

Week 17 also gave us the most epic flop of the season. 

Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson was forced out of bounds on a play. He spiked the ball in frustration, and it bounced up and into New England Patriots cornerback Johnson Bademosi's facemask. 

Sensing an opportunity, Bademosi dramatically threw himself to the ground, apparently hoping for a call from a nearby official:

Hey, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take. 

Black Monday Comes Early

The Monday following the conclusion of the NFL regular season can be a dark day for coaches who have fallen out of favor with their front offices. This year, the firings started early. 

Following their 30-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Oakland Raiders fired head coach Jack Del Rio, as he himself shared in his postgame press conference, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Raiders will try to convince Jon Gruden to trade broadcasting for coaching as they court him to fill the open job. 

The Indianapolis Colts announced they've fired head coach Chuck Pagano after six seasons. 

Indianapolis finished its season 4-12 without quarterback Andrew Luck, who has been working through a shoulder injury. It's the worst finish for the Colts since they went went 2-14 in 2011. 

Pagano will depart the Colts with a 53-43 regular-season record.

Rapoport reported on Sunday that the Chicago Bears were also expected to part ways with head coach John Fox after Sunday's game. As of Sunday evening, the Bears have not yet issued a statement.