CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryce Young threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns, Lathan Ransom intercepted Baker Mayfield with 42 seconds left and the Carolina Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on Sunday to take over first place in the NFC South.
The Panthers (8-7) can wrap up with the division title next Sunday with a win over Seattle and a Buccaneers (7-8) loss to Miami. However, if both teams win or both teams lose, the Panthers would need to beat Tampa Bay again on the road in Week 18 to claim their first division title since 2015.
Tetairoa McMillan had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers once again bounced back with a huge win after a potentially devastating loss to the last-place New Orleans Saints.
Ransom had a huge mistake in that defeat with a late hit on Saints QB Tyler Shough that led to New Orleans’ winning field goal.
But with the Bucs driving for a tying field goal — or a go-ahead touchdown — there was a miscommunication on a second-and-nine pass play between Mayfield and Mike Evans at the Carolina 42 and Ransom got an easy pick to seal the win.
BILLS 23, BROWNS 20
CLEVELAND — James Cook rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, Josh Allen played through a foot injury and the Buffalo Bills drew closer to a playoff berth with a 23-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Ty Johnson also had a rushing score for the Bills (11-4), who have won four straight and five of six.
Allen played the second half despite injuring his right foot during the second quarter.
The reigning NFL MVP was favouring the foot after being sacked by Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Alex Wright for a 22-yard loss to Buffalo’s one-yard line with 60 seconds remaining in the first half. The half-sack gave Garrett 22 on the season. He needs one more sack in the final two games for the Browns (3-12) to pass Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt for the single-season mark.
CHARGERS 34, COWBOYS 17
ARLINGTON, Texas — Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and the Los Angeles Chargers closed in on a playoff spot with a 34-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
The Chargers’ fourth consecutive victory gave them a chance later in the day to clinch their second post-season berth in two seasons under coach Jim Harbaugh. LA (11-4) would be in with a loss or tie by either Indianapolis or Houston.
Dak Prescott had TD passes on his first two drives but couldn’t find the end zone again for Dallas, which was eliminated from the playoffs for the second year in a row with Philadelphia’s NFC East-clinching victory at Washington on Saturday.
The Cowboys (6-8-1) have lost three in a row since a three-game winning streak that put them over .500 for the only time in coach Brian Schottenheimer’s first season.
BENGALS 45, DOLPHINS 21
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Joe Burrow rebounded from his first time being shut out to throw for 309 yards and four touchdowns as the Cincinnati Bengals routed the Miami Dolphins 45-21 on Sunday.
Miami (6-9) and Cincinnati (5-10) were both eliminated from playoff contention last week, but the teams insisted they were still motivated for the final three games of the season.
It appeared that way in the first half. Cincinnati held a 17-14 halftime lead before blowing the game open with 28 points off four straight Dolphins turnovers.
Burrow carved up Miami’s defence, completing 25 of 32 throws with a 146.5 passer rating before being replaced by veteran Joe Flacco early in the fourth quarter. Two of Burrow’s touchdown passes went to running back Chase Brown, from nine and five yards out. Brown, who finished with 66 yards rushing and 43 receiving, also had a 12-yard touchdown run. All of Brown’s TDs came in the third, making him the first player this season with three scores in a single quarter.
SAINTS 29, JETS 6
NEW ORLEANS — Chris Olave caught touchdown passes from Tyler Shough and Taysom Hill, Charlie Smyth tied a Saints record with five field goals and New Orleans extended its winning streak to three with a 29-6 victory over the reeling New York Jets on Sunday.
Cameron Jordan had two sacks for New Orleans (5-10), giving him 130 for his career and moving the 15th-year defensive end two ahead of Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson for 17th most in NFL history. Jordan, now with a team-high 8.5 sacks this season, has had at least eight sacks in nine seasons.
Shough, drafted 40th overall last spring, passed for 308 yards to eclipse 300 for the first time while improving to 4-3 as a starter. Hill accounted for 116 yards with 42 rushing, 36 receiving and his 38-yard scoring pass to Olave in the final minutes.
Undrafted rookie Brady Cook made his second start with the Jets (3-12), who’ve lost three straight and five of six.
TITANS 26, CHIEFS 9
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Cam Ward threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, and the Tennessee Titans snapped an 11-game home skid by beating the Kansas City Chiefs 26-9 on Sunday.
The Titans (3-12) improved to 1-7 at home this season with their first win at Nissan Stadium since Nov. 3, 2024. The skid matched the franchise’s worst since moving to Tennessee in 1997.
With two games left, the Chiefs (6-9) are assured of their first losing record since 2012 — their most recent season without Andy Reid as their coach. Kansas City has lost four straight, its longest skid since 2017, and six of seven.
A week after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending torn ACL, his backup, Gardner Minshew, was knocked out of the game with a knee injury early in the second quarter.
VIKINGS 16, GIANTS 13
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — J.J. McCarthy ran for a touchdown before leaving with an injury to his right, throwing hand, and backup quarterback Max Brosmer helped the Minnesota Vikings win their third game in a row, beating the New York Giants 16-13 on Sunday in a matchup of teams eliminated from playoff contention.
McCarthy was injured on a strip sack by Brian Burns in the final minute of the first half, when it appeared the Vikings (7-8) were going to let the clock run out. Instead, Burns forced McCarthy to fumble with a crushing hit and Tyler Nubin returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.
Brosmer led a go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Will Reichard making a 30-yard field goal. The rookie completed 7-of-9 passes for 52 yards in his fourth NFL appearance and first since throwing four interceptions Nov. 30 in a 26-0 loss at Seattle.
Before getting hurt, McCarthy completed 9-of-14 passes for 108 yards and had a would-be pick-six negated by an offside penalty on Abdul Carter. After having his entire rookie year wiped out by a torn meniscus in his right knee, the 2024 No. 10 pick has missed time this season because of a concussion and a sprained right ankle.
