With Tebow completing 6 of 22 passes for 60 yards and a game-sealing interception, Denver (8-8) claimed a first-round home game by virtue of a tiebreaker over Oakland and San Diego and will host Pittsburgh next weekend.

The Raiders’ loss also pushed the Bengals (9-7) into the playoffs as the sixth seed even though Cincinnati’s comeback fell short against Baltimore. Cincinnati will go on the road to play Houston (10-6), the No. 3 seed, in the first round.

With the Ravens (12-4) winning, the result of Pittsburgh’s game against Cleveland was all but meaningless. The Steelers (12-4) wound up beating their AFC North rival, 13-9, and are the No. 5 seed, but lost the tiebreaker to Baltimore, which swept the season series from the Steelers.

Baltimore didn’t have its game in hand until the final play, when Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton’s desperation pass fell incomplete as time expired.

Earlier in the afternoon, the New England Patriots secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, with a 49-21 victory over Buffalo. Quarterback Tom Brady passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns to rally New England from a three-touchdown deficit as the Patriots scored 49 consecutive points. The Patriots (13-3) finished the regular season with eight wins in a row, and Brady’s 5,235 yards passing were the second most in NFL history for one season.

While much of the AFC picture unfolded late in the afternoon, all but one of the NFC playoff teams were settled by the early games. A night game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys would decide the NFC East champion and No. 4 seed.

The top-seeded Green Bay Packers (15-1), who clinched the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye last week, beat the Detroit Lions 45-41, despite five touchdowns and 520 yards passing by Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford,

The loss, coupled with Atlanta’s 45-24 win over Tampa Bay, made Detroit (10-6) the sixth seed. Detroit will play at New Orleans (13-3) in the first round. The Saints clobbered Carolina, 45-17, behind five touchdowns and 389 yards passing from quarterback Drew Brees, who finished the season with an NFL-record 5,476 yards passing. But the Saints drew the third seed when San Francisco (13-3) outlasted St. Louis, 34-27, to claim a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed and NFC West champion.

The fifth-seeded Falcons (10-6) will visit Dallas or New York in the first round.