SATURDAY:
VIKINGS 39, COLTS 36 OT
The Minnesota Vikings completed the biggest comeback in NFL history, erasing a 33-point deficit by beating the Colts 39-36 on Greg Joseph’s 40-yard field goal with three seconds left in overtime Saturday to win the NFC North division.
Kirk Cousins passed for 460 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Vikings (11-3), who trailed 36-7 late in the third quarter and became just the third team in league history to win 10 games in a season by eight points or fewer.
The Colts fell to (4-9-1) on the season.
BROWNS 13, RAVENS 3
Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass in his home debut for Cleveland, leading the Browns to an ugly 13-3 win on over the Baltimore Ravens.
In his third game after serving an 11-game NFL suspension for alleged sexual misconduct, Watson did enough to help the Browns (6-8) keep their miniscule playoff hopes alive while knocking the Ravens (9-5) off stride.
Baltimore had won six of seven. But the loss knocked the Ravens out of first in the AFC North.
Watson finished 18 of 28 for 161 yards, and added 22 on the ground.
BILLS 32, DOLPHINS 29
Tyler Bass hit a 25-yard field goal as time expired, and the Buffalo Bills clinched their fourth consecutive playoff berth after rallying to a 32-29 win over the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night.
The AFC-leading Bills (11-3) overcame a 29-21 deficit by scoring on their final two drives. Josh Allen tied the game with a 5-yard pass to Dawson Knox and the quarterback then leaped over the line for a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 29 with 9:02 remaining. Allen lost control of the ball, but a replay review showed he crossed the goal line before fumbling.
Allen then led a 15-play, 86-yard drive that ate up the final 5:56 to set up Bass’ field goal.
Allen threw four touchdown passes to increase his career total to 171 (including one receiving), and tie former Miami quarterback Dan Marino for the most by an NFL player in the first five seasons of his career.
The Dolphins (8-6) entered the weekend in second place and as the AFC’s sixth seed. They’ve now lost three in a row in their bid to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Tua Tagovailoa finished 17 of 30 for 234 yards and two touchdowns, including a 67-yarder to Jaylen Waddle. Raheem Mostert finished with 136 yards rushing, while backup Salvon Ahmed ran for 43 yards, including an 11-yard TD.
SUNDAY:
RAIDERS 30, PATRIOTS 24
Defensive end Chandler Jones grabbed an unnecessary lateral by New England’s Jakobi Meyers out of the air on the final play and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown, giving the Las Vegas Raiders a 30-24 victory over the Patriots on Sunday.
With the game tied at 24-all, the Patriots decided to run a series of pitches in a last-ditch attempt to avoid overtime. Rhamondre Stevenson pitched the ball to Meyers, who heaved it across the field and into the arms of Jones, who stiff-armed Patriots QB Mac Jones and then had nothing but open field in front of him.
The wild finish bailed out the Raiders (6-8), who led 17-3 at halftime before allowing the Patriots (7-7) to score 21 straight points. Las Vegas scored two touchdowns in the final 32 seconds and seriously damaged New England’s playoff hopes.
Stevenson had 19 carries for 172 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown with 3:43 left that appeared to put the game away.
But the Raiders answered in the final minute. Derek Carr found Keenan Cole in the left corner of the end zone for a 30-yard TD.
Carr completed 20 of 38 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns. Josh Jacobs rushed for 93 yards on 22 carries as the Raiders ended a six-game losing streak to the Patriots dating to 2002.
BENGALS 34, BUCCANEERS 23
Joe Burrow threw for four second-half touchdowns and Cincinnati rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Tom Brady and Tampa Bay.
The Bengals (10-4) won their sixth straight and retained sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Trey Flowers intercepted Brady to set up one touchdown and Logan Wilson sacked the seven-time Super Bowl champion to force a fumble that led to another TD.
The first-place Bucs (6-8) wasted an opportunity to take a two-game lead over Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans in the woeful NFC South.
Burrow finished 27 of 39 for 200 yards and an interception.
Brady lost for the first time in his 23-year career after leading by at least 17 points. He was 89-0 in such games before Sunday. The 45-year-old quarterback was 30 of 44 for 312 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
JAGUARS 40, COWBOYS 34, OT
Rayshawn Jenkins intercepted Dak Prescott’s bobbled pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown that gave the Jacksonville Jaguars a 40-34 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in overtime Sunday.
Noah Brown failed to secure Prescott’s low throw, and Jenkins made a shoelace grab and went untouched the other way to end Jacksonville’s NFL-record 20-game skid against NFC teams.
The Cowboys (10-4) ended a four-game winning streak. Luckily, for them, the Washington Commanders’ defeat Sunday night secured a playoff spot for Dallas, which must now run the table and hope Philadelphia loses out to do better than a wild card.
Jacksonville (6-8), meanwhile, gained ground on Tennessee in the topsy-turvy AFC South.
Prescott completed 23 of 30 passes for 256 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Lawrence threw three TD passes to Zay Jones. Travis Etienne ran for 103 yards.
CHIEFS 30, TEXANS 24, OT
Jerick McKinnon ran for a 26-yard touchdown in overtime and Kansas City beat Houston to clinch its seventh straight AFC West title.
The Chiefs (11-3) got the ball first in overtime but had to punt after Patrick Mahomes was sacked by Blake Cashman on third down. Texans quarterback Davis Mills fumbled on a scramble on Houston’s first play, and it was recovered by Kansas City’s Willie Gay on the Texans 26.
McKinnon, who also had a TD reception, ran untouched into the end zone on the next play.
Mahomes threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as Kansas City overcame two turnovers and a season-high 102 penalty yards to win for the seventh time in eight games.
Mills threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns while sharing time at quarterback with Jeff Driskel. The Texans dropped their ninth straight game, their longest skid since losing the final 14 games of the 2013 season.
LIONS 20, JETS 17
Jared Goff threw a go-ahead 51-yard touchdown pass to Brock Wright on fourth-and-1 with 1:49 remaining, and Detroit held on to beat Zach Wilson and New York.
Coming out of the two-minute warning, Goff looked to his left and found Wright wide open, and the tight end ran untouched into the end zone.
Wilson and the Jets had one more chance. He completed a 20-yard pass to Elijah Moore on fourth down, setting up Greg Zuerlein for a 58-yard field-goal try. But the kick went wide left, sending the Lions (7-7) to their third straight win and sixth in their past seven games.
The loss further damaged the playoff hopes for the Jets (7-7), who are looking to snap an 11-year postseason drought.
Starting after being benched for three games, Wilson finished 18 of 35 for 317 yards with two touchdown throws to Uzomah — and a costly interception. Wilson played in place of Mike White, who’s dealing with fractured ribs.
Goff was 23 of 38 for 252 yards and the touchdown to Wright.
CHARGERS 17, TITANS 14
Cameron Dicker connected on a 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining and Los Angeles beat Tennessee.
The Titans appeared to force overtime when Ryan Tannehill scored on a 1-yard QB sneak with 48 seconds remaining, but the Chargers responded by going 52 yards in six plays. Mike Williams had the key play on the drive, a 35-yard reception between two defenders at the Titans 20-yard line.
Justin Herbert had his third straight 300-yard game. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 313 yards but didn’t throw a touchdown pass for only the third time in 46 career games.
Austin Ekeler scored his AFC-leading 14th touchdown of the season early in the fourth quarter.
Derrick Henry rushed for 104 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown for the Titans (7-7), who have a one-game lead over Jacksonville in the AFC South but have dropped four straight games for the first time since 2015.
EAGLES 25, BEARS 20
Jalen Hurts tied a career high by running for three touchdowns and Philadelphia outlasted Chicago.
The Eagles (13-1), with the best record in the NFL, made just enough plays to come away with a tighter-than-anticipated win.
Chicago’s Justin Fields rushed for 95 yards to reach exactly 1,000 on the season, joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson as the only quarterbacks to rush for 1,000 or more. He also set a franchise single-season rushing record for a QB. But the Bears (3-11) lost their seventh straight game — their worst skid since dropping eight in a row in 2002 to match a franchise record.
Hurts finished with 61 yards rushing and has 747 this season. He also threw for 315 yards, completing 22 of 37 passes with two interceptions.
A.J. Brown caught nine passes for 181 yards for the Eagles. DeVonta Smith had five receptions for 126 yards.
STEELERS 24, PANTHERS 16
Mitch Trubisky threw for 179 yards and engineered three long touchdown drives as Pittsburgh beat Carolina.
Trubisky, filling in for concussed rookie Kenny Pickett, ran for a 1-yard touchdown and played turnover-free football. Najee Harris carried 24 times for 86 yards and a touchdown and Jaylen Warren added a 2-yard TD run for Pittsburgh (6-8), which has won three of its last four.
The Panthers (5-9) can still win the unimpressive NFC South if they win their last three games.
Sam Darnold finished 14 of 23 for 225 yards with a 5-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Moore. But he was sacked four times, and the Panthers struggled in the red zone.
SAINTS 21, FALCONS 18
Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill combined to throw three touchdown passes, and New Orleans beat Atlanta in rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder’s debut.
Juwan Johnson had career-high 67 yards receiving and caught both of Dalton’s scoring passes. Hill threw his second touchdown pass of the season on a 73-yard connection with rookie receiver Rashid Shaheed.
New Orleans (5-9) remained mathematically alive in the anemic NFC South.
Atlanta (5-9) was down by a field goal and threatening to score with less than three minutes remaining when Ridder hit Drake London over the middle for first-down yardage on fourth-and-5. But safety Justin Evans punched the ball from London’s grasp, and cornerback Bradley Robey snagged it out of the air.
Ridder completed 13 of 26 passes for 97 yards without an interception. Rookie running back Tyler Allgeier helped the Falcons sustain drives with 139 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
Dalton was efficient for the Saints, going 11 of 17 for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
BRONCOS 24, CARDINALS 15
Backup quarterback Brett Rypien overcame relentless pressure, Justin Simmons had two interceptions and Denver held off Arizona.
The game featured two backup QBs, but Arizona lost Colt McCoy to a concussion early in the third quarter after he took a hit while diving for a first down. McCoy was intercepted once and his replacement, Trace McSorley, threw two more picks.
Rypien was sacked seven times, including three by J.J. Watt, but directed three second-half scoring drives to help the Broncos (4-10) snap a five-game losing streak.
Latavius Murray ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, Marlon Mack also had a rushing TD, and Rypien threw a short scoring pass to Eric Tomlinson as Denver turned a 9-3 deficit into a 24-9 lead.
Subbing for Russell Wilson, Rypien had 197 yards passing and one interception.
The only offense generated by the Cardinals early on were three field goals by former Bronco Matt Prater. James Conner had a late TD run for the Cardinals (4-10), who have lost four straight.
SUNDAY NIGHT: GIANTS 20, COMMANDERS 12
The New York Giants beat the Washington Commanders 20-12 on Sunday to bolster their playoff chances.
Kayvon Thibodeaux stripped Taylor Heinicke of the ball, recovered it to score a touchdown and finished with three tackles for loss among his game-high 12 before being helped off the field with 48 seconds left.
Daniel Jones beat the Commanders (7-6-1) with his arm rather than running all over Washington as he did in many of their previous meetings. He was 21 of 32 for 160 yards and engineered an 18-play touchdown drive in the second quarter that started at the 3 and lasted 8:35.
Saquon Barkley finished that drive with a 3-yard run into the end zone on a direct snap.
New York’s defense stopped Washington on a goal-to-go situation in the final minutes, with Darnay Holmes making the final pass breakup on a play that arguably could have been called pass interference. That sealed the victory and ended a four-game winless streak.
The Giants (8-5-1) strengthened their hold on the second of three NFC wild-card spots behind the division rival Dallas Cowboys and now have the tiebreaker over Washington.
TONIGHT on MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
The (4-9) Los Angeles Rams are in Green Bay to battle the (5-8) Packers.
Raiders QB Derek Carr talks about the win over the Patriots
Patriots coach Bill Belichick talks about the loss to the Raiders
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh reacts to Jets’ 20-17 loss to Lions
The Vikings pulled of the biggest comeback in NFL history, QB Kirk Cousins finds out he and the team set a new record.
Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski addressed the team postgame in the locker room after the victory over the Ravens.
Bills Quarterback Josh Allen talks about the win over the Miami Dolphins. They’ve officially clinched a playoff spot.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts talks about the win over Chicago and says he’ll be listening to Anita Baker on the flight home.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes talks about clinching a playoffs spot after their win over Houston.
Bucs QB Tom Brady on the loss to the Bengals
