Wigan were relegated from the Championship after losing to Reading while the line-up for the playoffs was all but confirmed on the penultimate weekend of the season.
The Latics were promoted from League One last season but face another stint in the third tier after Yann Kermorgant's sixth-minute effort gave Reading a 1-0 victory at the Madejski Stadium.
Kermorgant headed home his 17th goal of the season early on, and although the visitors battled manfully they could not find a way back into the contest and join Rotherham in dropping out of the division next season.
Three teams -- Blackburn, Nottingham Forest or Birmingham -- could yet join them.
Blackburn, who have not competed in the third tier since 1980, occupy 22nd spot but kept their survival hopes intact by defeating Aston Villa 1-0 courtesy of Danny Graham's 54th-minute goal.
The result moved Rovers level with Forest on 48 points as the former European champions were beaten 2-0 at QPR with Conor Washington's 49th-minute strike and Joel Lynch's header on the hour ending a run of six successive defeats for Rangers and guaranteeing their safety.
Birmingham claimed their first win under Harry Redknapp and moved two points clear of the drop after seeing off playoff-bound Huddersfield 2-0 at home.
Despite playing most of the match with 10 men after Che Adams' dismissal midway through the first half, Jonathan Grounds' header four minutes before the interval and Craig Gardner's 76th-minute penalty gave the Blues three vital points.
Brighton failed to secure the Championship trophy as Bristol City secured their safety with a 1-0 win at the Amex.
Three points would have given Brighton, promoted with a win over Wigan two matches ago, the title -- but they produced a stuttering performance and lost to a Josh Brownhill header two minutes before the break.
The Seagulls failed to create much in the way of clear chances but can still clinch the title if they win at Aston Villa on the final day.
Leeds were unable to find a winner against 10-man Norwich to keep their playoff hopes alive, despite hitting back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 in an enthralling encounter.
The Canaries looked certain winners when Steven Naismith's opener was followed by a brace from Nelson Oliveira although Chris Wood grabbed one back just before half-time.
Kyle Bartley reduced the arrears even further and Pablo Hernandez levelled but they could not make another breakthrough despite Naismith's late dismissal.
Sheffield Wednesday, who beat Ipswich 1-0 away thanks to Kieran Lee's 77th-minute winner, cannot be caught by their Yorkshire rivals while it would take an extreme set of results for Leeds to leapfrog Fulham.
Fulham drew 1-1 at home to Brentford, for whom Nico Yennaris cancelled out Tom Cairney's opener. Cairney then missed the chance to give the Cottagers the lead again when his penalty was saved by Brentford goalkeeper Daniel Bentley.
Substitute Luke Varney scored within moments of his introduction as Burton drew 1-1 at Barnsley, who had opened the scoring through George Moncur, while the clash at Deepdale was also 1-1 as Richard Smallwood's opener for Rotherham was cancelled out by Preston striker Stevie May.
David Nugent, Bradley Johnson and Craig Bryson were on the scoresheet as Derby clinched a 3-1 win over 10-man Wolves, who had Ivan Cavaleiro sent off early on and whose goal came from Ben Marshall.