From Deseret News archives:

Not in the Cards

Vikings' loss sends Pack to playoffs

Published: Monday, Dec. 29, 2003 1:23 a.m. MST
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Cardinals 18, Vikings 17

NEW YORK — Green Bay got the last NFL playoff spot thanks to Arizona's wild comeback victory over Minnesota on Sunday, while Seattle and Baltimore took the other spots still open.

Josh McCown threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Poole on fourth-and-24 as time expired to rally the Cardinals to an 18-17 victory over the Vikings.

That kept Minnesota out of the playoffs at 9-7 after a 6-0 start and gave the NFC North title to Green Bay (10-6). The Packers, who beat Denver 31-3, would have been eliminated had the two teams tied because they held the tiebreaker.

Earlier, Seattle and Baltimore secured berths, leaving Minnesota and Green Bay competing for the NFC North title and the NFL's final playoff berth.

Indianapolis clinched the AFC South, and Philadelphia regained home-field advantage from St. Louis in the NFC when the Rams lost in Detroit, 30-20.

The Ravens (9-6 going into Sunday night's game against Pittsburgh) won the AFC North when Cincinnati (8-8) lost to Cleveland 22-14.

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Seattle (10-6) also made it as the fifth wild-card team, dropping Dallas to sixth in a complicated BCS-like "strength of victory" tiebreaker. The Cowboys lost in New Orleans 13-7.

It made the Seahawks, who beat San Francisco 24-17 on Saturday, the fifth seed in the NFC, pushing the Cowboys to sixth.

Indianapolis, meanwhile, won the AFC South with a 20-17 win on Mike Vanderjagt's 43-yard field goal at the end of regulation. It also gave him a league record of 41 straight field goals without a miss.

That left Tennessee as a wild-card team.

St. Louis' loss in Detroit dropped it to second in the NFC behind Philadelphia, which won in Washington 31-7 Saturday night. Both teams are 12-4, but the Eagles get the home-field advantage because their NFC record is 9-3 compared to 8-4 for the Rams.

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Darren Hauck, Associated Press

Coach Mike Sherman gets a sideline shower after Green Bay secured NFC North title.

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