SAN FRANCISCO — Vernon Davis pulled on a black “NFC West champions” hat to dress up his suit and tie for a snazzy night on the town with some San Francisco teammates. They were off for a celebratory steak dinner at one of the city’s hotspots.
The 49ers trounced the beaten-up St. Louis Rams 26-0 on Sunday to become the NFL’s second team to secure a playoff berth behind unbeaten defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay.
The 49ers are NFC West champs and back in the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
“We want to make it to the championship. It’s something we’ve been wanting for a long time,” Davis said. “This is the reason why I’m here. It means a lot to me.”
Alex Smith threw second-half touchdowns of 52 and 56 yards to Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams, and David Akers kicked four field goals to help Jim Harbaugh join George Seifert (1989) and Steve Mariucci (1997) as the only rookie coaches in franchise history to win the division.
Steelers 35, Bengals 7
PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger passed for two touchdowns and Pittsburgh (9-3) swept the season series from Cincinnati (7-5) for the second straight year behind a 28-point explosion in the second quarter.
Rashard Mendenhall and wide receiver Mike Wallace scored two touchdowns for the Steelers, who won for the seventh time in their past eight games.
Cardinals 19, Cowboys 13 (OT
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Larod Stephens-Howling caught a short pass from Kevin Kolb and zipped 52 yards for a touchdown in overtime, snapping Dallas’ four-game winning streak.
Dan Bailey missed a 49-yard field goal at the end of regulation that would have won it for Dallas. He also missed a 53-yarder. The rookie kicker came into the game with one miss all season.
Texans 17, Falcons 10
HOUSTON — Rookie T.J. Yates threw a touchdown pass in his first NFL start, Arian Foster rushed for 111 yards and Houston overcame another hamstring injury to Andre Johnson.
The Texans (9-3) have won a franchise-record six straight games, a remarkable feat considering they’re down to their third-string quarterback and have played the bulk of their streak without their star receiver. Johnson left in the third quarter after hurting his left hamstring. He injured his right hamstring in Week 4 and sat out six games.
Patriots 31, Colts 24
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rob Gronkowski caught two touchdown passes and scored on a lateral, and New England then withstood a fourth-quarter rally to keep Indianapolis winless.
Trailing 31-3, the Colts rallied with a touchdown run by Donald Brown and two scoring passes from Dan Orlovsky to Pierre Garcon, the last a 40-yarder with 36 seconds to go. But Deion Branch recovered the onside kick and Tom Brady took a knee on the final play.
Titans 23, Bills 17
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Chris Johnson rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns as Tennessee remained in the playoff chase.
C.J. Spiller had a career-best 83 yards rushing and a touchdown for Buffalo (5-7), which lost its fifth straight.
Jets 34, Redskins 19
LANDOVER, Md. — Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 4:49 to play, and Shonn Greene added a pair of insurance scores. It was Sanchez’s 10th career fourth-quarter comeback or overtime victory, including playoffs, and his second in two weeks.
Ravens 24, Browns 10
CLEVELAND — Ray Rice rushed for a career-high 204 yards, breaking loose on a game-changing 67-yarder in the third quarter, and Baltimore kept pace with Pittsburgh atop the AFC North.
Cleveland lost for the fifth time in six games, and the Browns have just three days to prepare for the Steelers.
Panthers 38, Buccaneers 19
TAMPA, Fla. — The Panthers (4-8) doubled their win total for last season, while Tampa Bay has lost six straight and seven of eight following a 3-1 start.
