Saquon Barkley starred yet again, Kirk Cousins endured a nightmare dare, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers denied the Carolina Panthers in overtime and a hit on Trevor Lawrence prompted a brawl between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans on a wild NFL Sunday…
Philadelphia Eagles 24-19 Baltimore Ravens
Barkley scored on a 25-yard run with 7:56 remaining as Philadelphia’s defense kept Lamar Jackson under control in a 24-19 victory over the Baltimore Ravens to chalk up the Eagles’ eighth win in a row.
Justin Tucker’s nightmarish season continued for Baltimore as the star kicker missed two field goals and an extra point in a defeat that would leave the Ravens (8-5) one-and-a-half games behind first-place Pittsburgh in the AFC North.
The NFC East-leading Eagles (10-2) rallied from an early 9-0 deficit with two second-quarter touchdowns, and although Tucker did make a 50-yard kick shortly before half-time, the Ravens didn’t manage a point after that until the final seconds of the game.
Barkley finished with 107 yards rushing while Derrick Henry had 82 yards along with three catches for 29 yards in what had been billed as a battle of the league’s two leading running backs.
Down 14-12, the Ravens had the ball for most of the third quarter but could not capitalise score as Tucker missed kicks of 47 and 53 yards.
Barkley’s touchdown finally put Philadelphia ahead 21-12. After a field goal pushed the lead to 12, Jackson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely with three seconds left as he finished with 237 passing yards and two scores, his other a 14-yard strike to Mark Andrews.
Pittsburgh Steelers 44-38 Cincinnati Bengals
Russell Wilson threw for a season-high 414 yards and three touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals 44-38.
Wilson logged the second-most passing yards and the third 400-yard game of his career after recovering from a first-quarter pick-six to finish 29 for 38 as the Steelers (9-3) rebounded from losing 24-19 to the Cleveland Browns at the end of November.
Wilson threw for 257 yards, Najee Harris scored a 10-yard touchdown run and Chris Boswell kicked two field goals to help Pittsburgh to a 27-21 half-time lead.
Harris finished with 75 yards rushing and 54 yards receiving, while George Pickens, Calvin Austin III and Pat Freiermuth caught touchdown passes for the Steelers.
Burrow continued his terrific season, going 28 for 38 for 309 yards and three more touchdowns, but lost a fumble resulting in a first-half field goal as well as throwing a second-half interception.
Burrow fumbled again in the fourth quarter when he was sacked by Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig, with linebacker Payton Wilson scooping up the ball to run it to the house for a 21-yard touchdown.
Chase Brown also rushed for a touchdown for Cincinnati, while Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas each had scoring grabs.
Houston Texans 23-20 Jacksonville Jaguars
Joe Mixon ran for 101 yards and a touchdown, Nico Collins caught eight passes for 119 yards and the Houston Texans beat Jacksonville 23-20 after knocking quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of the game with a concussion.
Mixon became the third player in NFL history with at least 100 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown in six road games in the same season. He joined Tiki Barber of the New York Giants (2004) and Derrick Henry of Tennessee (2020) in accomplishing the feat.
He carried 20 times, none bigger than his eight-yard gain on third-and-five in the final minutes that moved the chains and sealed the victory.
C.J. Stroud completed 22 of 34 passes for 242 yards, with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz early in the fourth quarter that effectively iced the game.
The game was marred by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair’s ejection for a dreadful hit on Lawrence that prompted a brawl between the two sidelines, with the Texans man being ejected after leading with an elbow on the quarterback.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-23 Carolina Panthers (OT)
Chase McLaughlin kicked a 30-yard field goal in overtime, Baker Mayfield overcame an ankle injury to lead four scoring drives in the fourth quarter and the extra period, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers 26-23 on to move into a tie for first place in the NFC South.
Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown for the Bucs (6-6), while Mayfield finished 21 of 33 for 235 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions to improve to 4-0 against the Panthers, who cut him in 2022.
Mike Evans had five catches for 118 yards, including a one-handed grab on a one-yard touchdown catch for Tampa Bay.
Bryce Young was 26 of 46 passing for 298 yards for the Panthers (3-9), who secured their seventh straight losing season.
McLaughlin converted a 51-yard kick on the final play of regulation, then missed a 55-yarder on the Bucs’ first possession of OT. After that miss, Adam Thielen made a one-handed catch that moved Carolina to the Tampa Bay 34 before Chuba Hubbard lost a fumble on the next play.
Mayfield connected with Evans for 21 yards before Rachaad White broke free for a 38-yard run to reach the Carolina 10 and set up McLaughlin’s fourth field goal of the game.
Seattle Seahawks 26-21 New York Jets
Zach Charbonnet ran for a go-ahead eight-yard touchdown with 5:31 remaining, Leonard Williams returned an interception 92 yards for a momentum-turning score and the Seattle Seahawks held on to beat the New York Jets 26-21 for their third straight victory.
Geno Smith finished 20 of 31 for 206 yards and a touchdown pass to AJ Barner as the Seahawks took sole possession of first place in the NFC West.
Aaron Rodgers was 21 of 39 for 185 yards and touchdown passes to Davante Adams and Isaiah Davis as well as the Williams pick-six.
Charbonnet’s touchdown capped a drive driven by four Jets penalties before Williams derailed New York’s ensuing possession.
It came after an action-packed first half that saw the Jets’ Kene Nwangwu return a kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown before Williams’ remarkable interception score.
Tennessee Titans 19-42 Washington Commanders
Jayden Daniels threw two of his three touchdown passes to Terry McLaurin and also scored one rushing as the Washington Commanders beat the Tennessee Titans 42-19 to end their three-game losing streak.
Daniels completed 25 of 30 passes for 206 yards and scoring strikes to McLaurin and Zach Ertz, offsetting his interception and bolstering his status as favourite for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Brian Robinson Jr. returned from a sprained ankle to run for 103 yards and a touchdown, while the defense and special teams each forced a fumble in a game that saw the Commanders enter half-time with a 28-7 lead.
The Commanders went nine of 14 on third down and went up 28-0 just over 19 minutes into the game – the fastest lead by that margin since Baltimore did it in 16:11 against Miami in 2019. Washington scored 21 points in the first quarter for the first time since 2015.
Tennessee (3-9) didn’t score until Will Levis’ 27-yard TD pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine late in the second quarter, and the two connected on another with seven minutes remaining in the fourth. Levis was 18 of 37 for 212 yards and two scores.
Arizona Cardinals 22-23 Minnesota Vikings
Sam Darnold’s second touchdown pass of the second half went to Aaron Jones for Minnesota’s first lead with 1:13 left as the Vikings rallied from 13 points down to beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-22 for their fifth straight victory.
Darnold went 21 for 31 for 235 yards while being sacked five times by the blitz-heavy Cardinals, who kept the Vikings (10-2) out of the end zone until their quarterback hit Johnny Mundt with 1:17 remaining in the third quarter.
Kyler Murray threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter to spoil what had been a stellar performance by the Cardinals (6-6), who fell into second place in the NFC West behind Seattle.
Jonathan Greenard poked the ball out of Murray’s hand on second down for Minnesota’s first sack of the game with 48 seconds to go, and Greenard chased down Murray on the next play for a three-yard gain in bounds to force Arizona to use its second timeout.
The Vikings then swarmed Murray in the pocket on fourth down, forcing a desperation heave that Shaquill Griffin picked off. Earlier, Murray’s risky fling on third down under pressure was intercepted by Byron Murphy at the Minnesota 32, setting up the Vikings for a third field goal by Parker Romo.
Justin Jefferson had seven receptions for 99 yards for the Vikings, including an underneath catch on fourth-and-six from the Arizona 34 that kept the winning drive alive.
Indianapolis Colts 25-24 New England Patriots
Anthony Richardson threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce with 12 seconds left before running for the go-ahead two-point conversion as the Indianapolis Colts beat New England 25-24.
The Patriots’ Joey Slye missed a 68-yard field goal attempt as time expired for what would have been an NFL record.
Richardson finished 12 of 24 for 109 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to help the Colts (6-7) keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Patriots (3-10) have now lost four of five. Drake Maye finished 24 of 30 for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Indy’s Jonathan Taylor carried 25 times for 96 yards, passing Marshall Faulk (5,320 yards) for third place on the franchise rushing list.
Los Angeles Rams 21-14 New Orleans Saints
Matthew Stafford passed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Kyren Williams rushed for 104 yards and a score, and the Los Angeles Rams beat New Orleans 21-14 to hand interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi his first loss.
The Saints drove inside the Rams 10-yard line in the final minutes, but Derek Carr’s pass on fourth-and-three was deflected from behind by edge rusher Jared Verse before falling incomplete.
That allowed the Rams (6-6) to run out the clock on the Saints (4-8) and Rizzi, who had won his first two games since taking over after the firing of Dennis Allen.
Stafford passed for 183 yards without a turnover. His scoring passes went for three yards to Demarcus Robinson and seven yards to Puca Nacua, the latter putting the Rams up for good with 8:54 left.
Tight end Taysom Hill, coming off one of his best games for the Saints, injured his left knee and was carted off the field after converting a fourth-and-short run late in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles Chargers 17-13 Atlanta Falcons
Rookie Tarheeb Still returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown, his second pick of the game and one of four thrown by Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins as the Los Angeles Chargers handed the first-place Falcons a 17-13 loss
Cousins telegraphed his pass intended for Darnell Mooney on fourth-and-five late in the third quarter, with Still jumping the route to make the pick before racing down the sideline to put the Chargers ahead for good.
The Chargers moved to 8-4 despite allowing five sacks, fumbling deep in their own territory and squandering a fake punt as they played without star running back J.K. Dobbins, who has just been placed on injured reserve.
Cousins finished the game 24 of 39 for 245 yards and four interceptions, while Bijan Robinson had 26 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Justin Herbert was 16 of 23 for 147 yards, 117 of which came courtesy of Ladd McConkey.