The Broncos (14-3) claimed the AFC top seed, a first-round bye, and playoff home-field advantage by defeating the visiting Los Angeles Chargers 19-3.
Ja'Quan McMillian's 45-yard interception return touchdown gave Denver a 10-0 lead, and Wil Lutz added field goals of 23, 26, and 41 yards in the second half to secure a triumph over the playoff-bound Chargers (11-6).
A Denver loss would have opened the door for New England, which routed Miami 38-10 as Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeon Henderson each ran for two touchdowns.
The Patriots (14-3) settled for the AFC second seed and will host the Chargers in their playoff opener.
Had Denver and New England both lost, the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4) would have swiped the AFC top seed after routing the Tennessee Titans 41-7 to close the season on an eight-game win streak.
Panthers in, Buccaneers out
The Carolina Panthers advanced to the NFL playoffs on Sunday without stepping onto the field, capturing a postseason berth on tie-breakers thanks to Atlanta's 19-17 victory over New Orleans.
The unusual situation was part of a hectic closing day of the NFL regular season that also included a winner-take-all showdown for a playoff spot with the AFC playoff top seed also up for grabs.
After Tampa Bay defeated Carolina 16-14 on Saturday to leave both clubs 8-9 for the campaign, the fight for the NFC South division title and final NFC playoff berth came down to Sunday's New Orleans at Atlanta result.
With the triumph, the host Falcons matched Carolina and Tampa Bay at 8-9. In a three-way head-to-head results tie-breaker, Carolina took the division crown and playoff spot; the Saints were unable to take the victory that would have sent Tampa Bay to the playoffs.
As both idle teams watched from afar with their seasons at stake, the Falcons grabbed a 16-10 lead as Kirk Cousins threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Drake London and Zane Gonzalez kicked field goals of 40, 51, and 38 yards.
Atlanta's Dee Alford intercepted a pass by the Saints' Tyler Shough to end a late New Orleans drive and set up another 38-yard Gonzalez field goal for a 19-10 lead with 2:52 remaining.
New Orleans answered on Shough's 16-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Bell with 1:11 to play, but the Saints could not recover an onside kick attempt, and Atlanta ran out the clock for the victory.
Jaguars claim AFC South title
The Jacksonville Jaguars claimed the AFC South title for the first time since 2017 after their dominant 41-7 win over their division rival Tennessee Titans.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence broke the single-season franchise record with 29 passing touchdowns on the year after throwing three.
Kicker Cam Little, who set the NFL record with a 68-yard field goal earlier this season, came back in the final regular-season game to drill one from 67 with ease.
Myles Garrett sack record, Cam Jordan franchise record
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett set an NFL record for quarterback sacks in a single season by taking down Cincinnati's Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter of Cleveland's 20-18 road victory.
Garrett raised his season total to 23 sacks, eclipsing the old record of 22.5 sacks shared by T.J. Watt from 2021 and Michael Strahan from 2001.
"I was nervous as hell," Garrett said. "I had a dream last night that I didn't get it and all the feelings that come with that. I woke up and I was sweating."
"I was like, there's no way I'm going to let that be my destiny, so I was fighting like hell to rewrite history."
In New Orleans, Cam Jordan set a franchise record after recording at least 10+ sacks in seven seasons.
Jordan has been with the Saints since the team drafted him 24th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Since then, he's been selected to eight Pro Bowls, three All-Pros, and the Hall of Fame All-2010s Team.
Around the league
The Vikings took care of the Packers 16-3 in their final game of the season. Despite being eliminated from the playoffs, they gave their home crowd one last win before wrapping things up.
The New York Giants throttled the Dallas Cowboys 34-17. Had the Giants lost, they would've locked up the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
But thanks to that win, the Las Vegas Raiders secured the No. 1 overall pick. This will be the first time the franchise has selected No. 1 in the draft since the team took JaMarcus Russell first in the 2007 draft.
Chicago lost 19-16 at home to Detroit, but took a second seed when Philadelphia lost 24-17 to Washington.
That sends San Francisco to Philadelphia and Green Bay to Chicago for playoff openers.
No. 4 seed vs. Houston Texans
The NFL's final playoff berth will be decided in the final game of the regular season.
In a historic rivalry to end the season, the Baltimore Ravens will visit Pittsburgh for a winner-take-all showdown to decide the AFC North title, with the loser out of the playoffs and the winner claiming the AFC fourth seed.
The winner between the Ravens-Steelers will host the Houston Texans in the first round of the playoffs, a team who just stretched their win streak to nine games and took the AFC fifth seed by defeating Indianapolis 38-30, the Colts closing the season with seven losses in a row.
Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn kicked a career-high six field goals, including a game clincher from 43 yards with 12 seconds remaining.
Next week's AFC playoff openers find the Chargers at New England, Buffalo at Jacksonville and Houston at Pittsburgh, which beat Baltimore 26-24 for the AFC North division crown and final playoff spot.
In a fourth-quarter see-saw drama, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson hit Zay Flowers with touchdown passes of 50 and 64 yards while Kenneth Gainwell had a two-yard touchdown run and 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin with 55 seconds remaining, but Chris Boswell missed the extra point, creating the final margin.
Baltimore's Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right on the last play to hand Pittsburgh the nerve-wracking victory.
"When we had to have points, we went down and scored," Rodgers said. "It's pretty emotional.
"We found that something special, which is belief, and I'm proud of our guys the way we responded in the fourth quarter."
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt made two tackles in returning from a collapsed lung.
"It truly was awesome," Watt said. "Just tried to fly around and feed off the energy."