As we approach closer and closer to the new year, the NFL's playoff picture and true contenders are becoming a little clearer.
With the Kansas City Chiefs surviving in overtime against the lowly Houston Texans in the earlier window, the club clinched their seventh-straight AFC West title — this year without the services of superstar receiver Tyreek Hill.
On the other hand, the Dallas Cowboys got walked off on a pick-6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, dropping a crucial game that could affect their potential playoff seeding.
In the afternoon slate, the New England Patriots provided the blunder of the season on a last-second lateral play, intercepted by Raiders linebacker Chandler Jones, that gifted the Las Vegas a win.
Here's a recap of Sunday's action.
Raiders 30, Patriots 24
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Defensive end Chandler Jones grabbed a bizarre, 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 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, who went to high school in Las Vegas, 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. Cole’s left foot came down close to the boundary, but the play was upheld on review.
Then came the crazy final play that will surely lead to questions about the strategy of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who lost to his longtime assistant, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels.
Bengals 34, Buccaneers 23
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Joe Burrow threw for four second-half touchdowns and the surging Cincinnati Bengals rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-23 for their sixth straight victory on Sunday.
The Bengals (10-4) retained sole possession of first place in the AFC North, with Tre Flowers intercepting Brady to set up one touchdown and Logan Wilson sacking 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, who at 5-9 remain in contention for a division title in the woeful NFC South despite being assured of finishing with losing records.
Burrow began Cincinnati’s comeback from a 17-0 deficit with a field goal drive in the final 1:39 of the opening half. He threw scoring passes of 5 yards to Tee Higgins, 3 yards to Tyler Boyd, 8 yards to Ja’Marr Chase and 12 yards to Mitchell Wilcox.
Burrow finished 27 of 39 for 200 yards and an interception. After being outgained 261 yards to 83 while running just 20 plays to Tampa Bay’s 40 in the first half, the Bengals scored on drives of 13, 31, 13 and 39 yards with help from Bucs mistakes after halftime.
Chiefs 30, Texans 24 (OT)
HOUSTON (AP) — Jerick McKinnon had a 26-yard touchdown run in overtime and the Kansas City Chiefs got three touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes in a 30-24 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday that clinched their seventh straight AFC West title.
The Chiefs (11-3) got the ball first in overtime but had to punt it away after 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, dashed untouched into the end zone on the next play.
Houston (1-12-1) tied it at 24 on a 29-yard field goal with about five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs had a chance to win it in regulation, but Harrison Butker's 51-yard attempt was wide right.
Kansas City overcame two turnovers and a season-high 102 penalty yards to win for the seventh time in eight games.
Jaguars 40, Cowboys 34 (OT)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — 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 20-game skid against NFC teams. It's an NFL record.
Prescott sat on the field as the Jaguars celebrated one of their more improbable wins in franchise history. The Cowboys (10-4) ended a five-game winning streak.
The stunner prevented Dallas from securing a playoff spot. Jacksonville (6-8), meanwhile, could gain ground on Tennessee in the topsy-turvy AFC South.
Eagles 25, Bears 20
CHICAGO (AP) — Jalen Hurts tied a career high by running for three touchdowns and the Philadelphia Eagles outlasted the struggling Chicago Bears 25-20 on Sunday.
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 is also closing in on history as a rusher. He has 13 rushing touchdowns, one short of the NFL record for a QB, set by Cam Newton during his rookie year in 2011.
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.
Chargers 17, Titans 14
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Cameron Dicker connected on a 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining, and the Los Angeles Chargers bolstered their hopes for a playoff spot with a 17-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
The Titans appeared to force overtime when Ryan Tannehill scored on a 1-yard QB sneak with 48 seconds remaining, but then the Chargers went 52 yards in six plays. Mike Williams had the key play on the drive with a 35-yard reception between two Tennessee defenders at the Titans' 20-yard line.
Justin Herbert spiked the ball with 15 seconds remaining, and Los Angeles then had a delay of game penalty and an incomplete pass. Dicker came on and booted his third game-winner of the season and second with the Chargers.
Herbert had his third straight 300-yard game. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 313 yards but didn't throw a touchdown for only the third time in 46 career games.
Lions 20, Jets 17
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Jared Goff threw a go-ahead 51-yard touchdown pass to Brock Wright on fourth-and-1 with 1:49 remaining, and the Detroit Lions held on for a 20-17 victory over Zach Wilson and the New York Jets on Sunday.
Coming out of the two-minute warning, Goff looked to his left and found Wright wide open, and the tight end rumbled untouched into the end zone. The Lions went wild on the field and sideline, stunning the Jets and their fans.
But Wilson — who had an up-and-down return as the starting quarterback — and the Jets had one more chance to tie or win.
On fourth-and-the-game from the Jets 40, Wilson rolled to his right and completed a 20-yard pass to Elijah Moore for a first down. Robert Saleh then called a timeout with 1 second remaining.
The Jets (7-7) sent out Greg Zuerlein for a potential tying 58-yard field goal, but his kick went wide left — sending the Lions (7-7) to their third straight win and sixth in their past seven games.
Saints 21, Falcons 18
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill combined to throw three touchdown passes, and the New Orleans Saints beat Atlanta 21-18 on Sunday in the debut of Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder.
Juwan Johnson had career-high 67 yards receiving and caught both of Dalton's scoring passes. Hill, a utility player who lines up mostly at tight end, 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 — a division in which every team entered Week 15 with a losing record.
Steelers 24, Panthers 16
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Mitch Trubisky threw for 179 yards and engineered three long touchdown drives as the Pittsburgh Steelers held on to beat Carolina 24-16 on Sunday, dealing the Panthers' playoff hopes a major blow.
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) entered the weekend in control of their playoff destiny, needing four wins in four games to win the unimpressive NFC South.
Broncos 24, Cardinals 15
DENVER (AP) — Backup quarterback Brett Rypien overcame relentless pressure from a J.J. Watt-led Arizona defence, Justin Simmons had two interceptions and the Denver Broncos held off the Cardinals 24-15 on Sunday.
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 Watt, but directed three second-half scoring drives to help the Broncos (4-10) snap a five-game losing streak.
COMMANDERS 20, GIANTS 12
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Kayvon Thibodeaux was prepared for the national stage just like he promised, Daniel Jones shined under the lights to end his career-long skid in night games and New York beat Washington to bolster its playoff chances and hurt those of a rival.
After declaring, “Prime time likes me,” Thibodeaux was a force rushing the passer and busting into the backfield. He stripped Taylor Heinicke of the ball, recovered it to score a touchdown and finished with three tackles for loss.
Jones, 0-9 in his first nine prime-time games for the Giants (8-5-1) who had lost 11 in a row in these situations, 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 ended that drive with a 3-yard run into the end zone on a direct snap. Barkley finished with 87 yards rushing.
New York’s defense stopped Washington (7-6-1) 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 strengthened their hold on the second of three NFC wild-card spots. Washington remained in playoff position, half a game up on Seattle and Detroit.
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