Tom Brady threw for two touchdowns as the New England Patriots clinched a playoff berth for the 11th straight season on Sunday with a 34-13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The reigning Super Bowl champions showed no sign of being bothered by this week’s illegal filming controversy on their way to a clinical win that assures them of a place in the postseason.
Patriots receiver N’Keal Harry — controversially denied a touchdown in last week’s defeat to Kansas City — provided one of the game highlights, losing his coverage to make a spectacular diving touchdown catch in the third quarter.
Harry’s score helped the Patriots into a 20-10 lead which soon became 27-10 when cornerback Stephen Gilmore intercepted Andy Dalton for a pick six shortly afterwards.
Patriots quarterback Brady finished with 128 passing yards as Bill Belichick’s team improved to 11-3 at the top of the AFC East. “Happy we won, wish we’d done better,” Brady said afterwards. “There’s always things to improve on even when you win.
“The team has been working hard, trying to put ourselves in good positions,” Brady added.
“We’re 6-2 on the road this year and last year we were 3-5. So it’s good. We just want to keep it going.
The win capped a controversial week for the Patriots, who are currently facing an NFL investigation after a team of videographers was caught improperly filming the Bengals during their game against Cleveland last week.
The Patriots, who were sanctioned by the NFL in 2007 for illegally filming teams, have said the film crew was obtaining footage for a documentary about a team scout.
 
Cowboys thrash Rams
Elsewhere Sunday, the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers all made sure of their place in the playoffs after results combined in their favour.
The Packers all but clinched their playoff spot with a 21-13 win over the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.
Aaron Rodgers threw for one touchdown and 203 yards as the Packers improved to 11-3 at the top of the NFC North with the win.
The Packers’ postseason berth was confirmed later Sunday after the Dallas Cowboys surprisingly thrashed the Los Angeles Rams by 44-21 at Arlington.
The Rams headed into the game on a hot streak, buoyed by an impressive 28-12 defeat of the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday.
But last year’s beaten Super Bowl finalists were blown away by a rampant Dallas offensive ground game, with running back Ezekiel Elliott rushing for two touchdowns and 117 yards.
The Cowboys, who improved to 7-7 with the win, can clinch the NFC East with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles next weekend. The Rams’ defeat also guaranteed playoff berths for NFC West rivals the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers reached postseason for the first time since 2013 despite a dramatic final seconds 29-22 defeat at home to the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons (4-9) stunned the 49ers when quarterback Matt Ryan’s short pass to Julio Jones was reversed and ruled a touchdown with just two seconds on the clock. The Falcons then added a fumble recovery score to stretch the lead. 
Seattle had put one hand on a playoff spot after scoring a 30-24 road victory over the Carolina Panthers.