In some ways the playoff picture is starting to take shape as the NFL hits Week 14. In others, it’s only getting more cloudy.
Here is how Sunday’s games played out.
Eagles 48, Giants 22
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the NFL-best Philadelphia Eagles punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 48-22 victory over the fading New York Giants on Sunday.
Hurts improved his MVP credentials by throwing for 217 yards and hitting DaVonta Smith on a 41-yard fourth-down TD strike and A.J. Brown on a 33-yarder as the Eagles (12-1) scored on their first three possessions. The third-year quarterback also ran for 77 yards, highlighted by a 10-yard TD scamper late in the third quarter.
Miles Sanders ran for 144 yards and scored on runs of 3 and 40 yards as the Eagles handed the Giants their worst loss under first-year coach Brian Daboll. Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for Philadelphia, which secured its second straight postseason appearance and fifth in six seasons.
The Eagles finished with seven sacks, including three by Brandon Graham.
Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor threw touchdown passes for the Giants (7-5-1). They have one win in their last six games (1-4-1) and their hopes of their first playoff berth since 2016 are slipping with four games remaining.
The Eagles, who have the league’s second-ranked defence and third-ranked offence, dominated from the start. They sacked Jones twice on the opening series and Hurts then took over, driving them 84 and 91 yards for touchdowns.
The Giants’ third possession had a comical conclusion. Jamie Gillen lost the ball as he went to punt. The ball bounced and he kicked it 15 yards to the Eagles 42. It was an illegal kick and the Giants were penalized 10 yards with a loss of down. Hurts hit a wide-open Brown for a 21-0 lead on the next play.
Hurts, Sanders and Brown each have scored 10 touchdowns for the Eagles, who have scored at least 30 points in each of the last three weeks.
49ers 37, Buccaneers 7
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score in his first career start and San Francisco’s vaunted defence spoiled Tom Brady’s Bay Area homecoming with a 35-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Purdy outplaying the NFL’s most accomplished quarterback ever was partially overshadowed by another key injury for the 49ers (9-4).
A week after losing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a broken left foot that opened the door for Purdy to start, the Niners lost star receiver Deebo Samuel to an ankle injury that forced him to be taken off the field in tears on a cart.
That was about the only thing that didn’t go right for the 49ers, who thoroughly dominated Brady and the Bucs (6-7) to win their sixth straight game.
Purdy’s first start got off to a painful start when he was flattened on a blitz by Keanu Neal on the first play on a play that was ruled roughing the passer.
The last pick in the 2022 draft got right back up and led the Niners to one of their five touchdown drives on their first seven possessions of the game when Samuel scored on a 13-yard run.
Samuel got hurt on a fumble in the second quarter in an emotional scene that saw dozens of his teammates come on the field to wish him well before he was taken away on a cart with his head in his hands.
San Francisco already led 21-0 at that point with Purdy having scored on a 2-yard run and a 27-yard TD pass to Christian McCaffrey.
He capped a near-perfect first half with a 32-yard TD pass to Brandon Aiyuk, joining Don Strock (1975) as the only players to throw at least two TD passes and run for another in the first half of their first career start, according to Sportradar.
Purdy finished 16 for 21 for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
Bills 20, Jets 12
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score on consecutive possessions and the Buffalo Bills persevered through wet, chilly and windy conditions to beat a banged-up Mike White and the AFC East-rival New York Jets 20-12 on Sunday.
Allen’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Knox in the closing minute of the second quarter led to Buffalo scoring on four consecutive drives, capped by a pair of field goals by Tyler Bass, including a 49-yarder.
The AFC-leading Bills (10-3) won their fourth straight since a two-game skid, which included a 20-17 loss at the Jets. Buffalo has won at least 10 of its first 13 games for the seventh time in franchise history.
The Jets (7-6) have lost four of six in a slump that has made their playoff chances shaky. New York, which hasn’t qualified for the postseason since 2010, entered the week as the AFC’s seventh seed, a win ahead of New England and the Los Angeles Chargers.
New York was undone by having White briefly sidelined twice by injuries to his ribs as well as a pair of costly turnovers in the second half. As a precaution, coach Robert Saleh said White was sent to the hospital after the game to be evaluated.
One play after White was hurt a second time, backup Joe Flacco lost a fumble while being sacked by Greg Rousseau in the third quarter. The turnover led to Bass hitting a 38-yard field goal attempt to put Buffalo ahead 17-7.
Running back Michael Carter then lost a fumble while trying to convert a second-and-2 at Buffalo’s 28 with 2:23 left in the game. Safety Damar Hamlin punched the ball loose after the Jets appeared to gain momentum by cutting the lead to 20-9 when Jermaine Johnson blocked Sam Martin’s punt for a safety five minutes earlier.
The Jets essentially ran out of time to complete a comeback bid. After Greg Zuerlein hit a 26-yard field goal with 1:18 remaining, New York got the ball back at its own 21 with 46 seconds left but White threw four consecutive incompletions, with his last attempt batted down by A.J. Epenesa.
Cowboys 27, Texans 23
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ezekiel Elliott scored the go-ahead touchdown with 41 seconds remaining, and the Dallas Cowboys avoided a major upset with a 27-23 victory over the hapless Houston Texans on Sunday.
Houston (1-11-1) appeared in position to end a seven-game losing streak after Dak Prescott’s interception inside the Dallas 10 with 5:37 to go and the Texans leading by three.
The Cowboys (10-3) stiffened against a makeshift Texans offense, stuffing backup quarterback Jeff Driskel on a fourth-down run to give Prescott another shot starting just outside his own goal line.
The star quarterback delivered the second time, starting with a 21-yard completion to Dalton Schultz from the 2 on first down. Another 18-yarder to Schultz put Dallas at the Houston 4.
After Michael Gallup’s attempted TD catch was barely broken up, Elliott scored on third down from the 2 to cap the 98-yard, 11-play drive.
Tony Pollard scored twice for Dallas, which was a 16 1/2-point favourite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Cowboys stayed two games behind NFL-leading Philadelphia in the NFC East.
Chiefs 38, Broncos 28
DENVER (AP) — L’Jarius Sneed intercepted Broncos backup quarterback Brett Rypien late in the fourth quarter, Patrick Mahomes atoned for a three-interception day by leading Kansas City on a clock-chewing drive, and the Chiefs held on for a 34-28 win on Sunday over Denver, which lost QB Russell Wilson to a concussion.
The Chiefs (10-3) extended their dominance of Denver with their 14th consecutive win over the Broncos (3-10), who made a game of it by scoring three touchdowns in a 3 1/2-minute stretch spanning halftime after falling behind 27-0.
Mahomes threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns, including a no-look hook pass on one of Jerick McKinnon’s two TD receptions.
Jerry Jeudy caught three touchdown passes for Denver, the last one from Rypien after Wilson took a hard hit on a 14-yard scramble to the Kansas City 2 early in the fourth quarter. Wilson was escorted off the field and the Broncos ruled him out with a concussion shortly thereafter.
The Chiefs reached double digits in wins for the eighth straight season and inched closer to winning their seventh consecutive AFC West crown. A Chargers loss Sunday night to the Dolphins would clinch the division for Kansas City, which hasn’t lost to Denver since 2015.
The Broncos lost their fifth straight game to the Chiefs and eighth straight at home to Kansas City. Denver also has lost eight consecutive AFC West games for the first time since divisional play began with the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
Ravens 16, Steelers 14
PITTSBURGH (AP) — J.K. Dobbins ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in his return from a knee injury, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome the loss of backup quarterback Tyler Huntley to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-14 Sunday.
Huntley filled in for injured star Lamar Jackson but entered concussion protocol in the second half. He was replaced by undrafted rookie free agent Anthony Brown.
Justin Tucker kicked three field goals to help Baltimore (9-4) end a four-game losing streak to the Steelers, who also lost their quarterback, Kenny Pickett, to concussion protocol.
Brown essentially spent most of his quarter-plus of play handing off to Dobbins or Gus Edwards while the Steelers self-destructed. Baltimore ran for 215 yards, the most Pittsburgh has allowed since giving up 249 to the Ravens in the 2021 regular-season finale.
The Steelers (5-8) won that game to reach the playoffs. Any chance of making a late run at another postseason berth likely evaporated under a steady stream of turnovers, missed tackles and missed opportunities.
Pittsburgh lost Pickett to a concussion in the first half, and backup Mitch Trubisky — who was benched in favour of Pickett in early October — threw three interceptions in Baltimore territory to thwart potential scoring drives.
Trubisky finished 22 of 30 for 276 yards and a 10-yard touchdown pass with 2:30 remaining to get the Steelers within two. Baltimore churned out a first down on its ensuing possession to run out the clock.
Bengals 23, Browns 10
CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow shook off a sloppy start to throw two touchdown passes and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns 23-10 on Sunday, ending a five-game skid to their Ohio rival.
The Bengals (9-4) have won five straight and nine of 11. They remained tied for the AFC North lead with Baltimore, which beat Pittsburgh 16-14. Burrow picked up his first win in five starts against the Browns (5-8), whose playoff hopes are now all but nonexistent.
Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson was sharper than in his debut with the team last week and threw his first touchdown pass in 707 days, a 13-yarder to David Njoku in the third quarter.
But Watson also threw a fourth-quarter interception and couldn’t hook up with Donovan Peoples-Jones on a late fourth-and-goal from the 6 that would have made it a one-score game. He turned the ball over downs again on the Browns’ last drive when he threw incomplete to Amari Cooper.
Watson finished 26 of 42 for 276 yards, and his touchdown pass was the only one the Browns could muster as the Bengals bottled up Cleveland running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
Burrow was 9 for 21 for 110 yards in the first half, including a 15-yard TD to Ja’Marr Chase. In the third quarter, Burrow found Trenton Irwin for an easy 45-yard scoring pass when the Browns bit on flea-flicker.
Jaguars 36, Titans 22
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence threw for a career-high 368 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score and the Jacksonville Jaguars routed the Tennessee Titans 36-22 Sunday for their first victory in Music City since 2013.
The Jaguars (5-8) snapped a five-game skid against their oldest division rival with just their second victory in this series in 11 games. Doug Pederson also became the first Jacksonville coach to win in Nashville since Gus Bradley on Nov. 10, 2013.
Jacksonville had four sacks and turned four turnovers into 20 points _ three for 17 points in the first half. The Jaguars scored 29 straight points in winning two of their past three.
Jaguars tight end Evan Engram caught 11 passes for a career-high 162 yards receiving and also had two TD receptions.
The Titans (7-6) lost their third straight to match their longest skid since coach Mike Vrabel’s opening season in 2018.
Their rally was too little and too late. Ryan Tannehill threw a TD pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and converting a 2-point conversion pass to Chig Okonkwo that he pinned with one hand against his face mask with 7:15 to pull within 36-22.
The Titans turned it over on downs with 1:59 left, allowing the Jaguars to run out the clock.
This loss follows Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk firing general manager Jon Robinson over roster issues and injuries that had Tennessee playing 77 players after setting an NFL record with 91 different players last season. The Titans were without three defensive starters for this game.
Tennessee lost despite Derrick Henry shaking off some frustration by running for more yards in the first quarter than he had in any of the Titans’ past four games. Henry had 96 yards including a 50-yarder, in the first quarter. He had 119 yards by halftime only to finish with 121.
Lions 34, Vikings 23
DETROIT (AP) — Jared Goff threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, leading the surging Detroit Lions to a 34-23 win over the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
The Vikings (10-3) needed a win or tie to clinch the division title. Kirk Cousins threw for 425 yards, including a franchise-record 223 to Justin Jefferson on 11 catches. But Dalvin Cook ran for just 23 yards on 15 carries, and Minnesota couldn’t stop Goff.
Detroit (6-7) has won five of six, its best stretch since its last postseason appearance in 2016.
The Lions invested a lot to give Goff deep-play threats this season, signing DJ Chark in free agency and trading up to draft Jameson Williams 12th overall. The moves finally paid off against Minnesota.
Panthers 30, Seahawks 24
SEATTLE (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for one touchdown, Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear both had rushing TDs, and the Carolina Panthers stayed in the thick of the muddled NFC South race with a 30-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Darnold and Carolina built leads of 17-0 and 20-7 to take advantage of a sloppy, unenthusiastic first-half performance by the Seahawks. In the second half, the Panthers simply ran through Seattle’s defence and delivered a blow to the Seahawks’ (7-6) hopes of winning the NFC West.
Carolina (5-8) won for the third time in four games, pulled even with Atlanta and is within one game of division-leading Tampa Bay in the NFC South standings after the Buccaneers lost in San Francisco.
Hubbard, Blackshear and D’Onta Foreman were a three-headed trio that Seattle couldn’t stop on the ground. Carolina rushed for 223 yards, with 180 coming from those three backs. Foreman and Hubbard both had 74 yards rushing.
Hubbard’s 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter gave Carolina a 17-0 lead and Blackshear’s 8-yard TD run with 6:57 remaining pushed the lead to 27-17. Blackshear’s TD capped a drive where Carolina ran on eight of the 10 plays and gained 68 of its 74 yards on the ground.
Darnold was 14 of 24 for 120 yards passing but didn’t need to do anything special through the air with the success on the ground.
