Since their opening-week shootout victory against the Detroit Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles have been the class of the 2022 NFL season.
Week 13 was no different.
With wide receiver A.J. Brown matching up against his former team, the Tennessee Titans, the Ole Miss product had himself a day, catching eight passes for 119 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
In other news, star quarterback Lamar Jackson sustained a knee injury and was forced to exit the Baltimore Ravens' win against the Denver Broncos, the Minnesota Vikings held on (once again) for another close victory, and Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers proved, despite their recent struggles, they still "own" the Chicago Bears.
Later, in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals topped the Kansas City Chiefs once again, behind a three-touchdown performance from the star quarterback.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers were forced to go without their quarterback as Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot and will be out for the remainder of the season. Rookie Brock Purdy stepped up with 210 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Here's a roundup of the Week 13 action.
Eagles 35, Titans 10
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts strengthened his MVP bid by throwing for 380 yards and three touchdowns and running for another score, and A.J Brown caught two touchdown passes against his former team to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a 35-10 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Hurts has led the Eagles to an 11-1 start, their first time with that record since 2004 and the fourth time in franchise history. The 1949 Eagles won the NFL championship. The 1980 and 2004 teams lost in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles look every bit like a team that can win the Super Bowl.
Hurts was all they really needed to inch closer to a playoff spot.
The speedy, sure-armed QB set a career high with 29 total touchdowns and had his third career game with four total TDs. His first half alone was a pretty good game for most quarterbacks: 268 yards passing and two touchdowns with one rushing score.
The Eagles' defence was first-rate, too, bottling up Derrick Henry -- who had 11 carries for 30 yards -- and limiting Ryan Tannehill to 141 yards passing and a touchdown. The Titans (7-5) lost their second straight but still have a comfortable lead in the AFC South.
Bengals 27, Chiefs 24
CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, Samaje Perine rushed for a season-high 106 yards and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 on Sunday in their first meeting since the Bengals prevailed in last season's AFC championship game.
Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs lost their chance to avenge two losses to Burrow and Cincinnati last season. The Bengals beat the Chiefs last Jan. 2 to clinch the AFC North title, then won four weeks later in overtime — also by a 27-24 score — to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.
In this matchup of elite quarterbacks, a defensive play in the fourth quarter proved to be the turning point.
With the Chiefs leading 24-20, Cincinnati linebacker Germaine Pratt stripped Trave Kelce after a catch and recovered the fumble.
Burrow, working from his own 47, then completed six of seven passes for 53 yards, finishing the drive with an 8-yard TD pass to backup running back Chris Evans that gave the Bengals the lead with 8:54 remaining.
The subsequent Chiefs drive was snuffed out when Joseph Ossai sacked Mahomes, and Harrison Butker missed a 55-yard field-goal attempt wide right.
Seahawks 27, Rams 23
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — DK Metcalf caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith with 36 seconds to play, and the Seattle Seahawks overcame an inspired performance by Bobby Wagner for a 27-23 victory over the spiralling Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Smith passed for a career-high 367 yards and threw three TD passes for the Seahawks (7-5), who barely snapped their two-game skid with 438 yards of offence against a Rams defence missing Aaron Donald.
After Cam Akers' second TD run put the Rams up 23-20 with 2:56 to play, Smith patiently directed the winning 75-yard drive, hitting Marquise Goodwin for 17 yards one play before finding Metcalf between defenders in the end zone.
Tyler Lockett and Noah Fant caught early TD passes from Smith in the most prolific game of the quarterback's decade in the NFL. Metcalf had eight catches for 127 yards, and Lockett had nine receptions for a season-high 128 yards as the Seahawks sent defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles (3-9) to its sixth straight defeat.
49ers 33, Dolphins 17
ANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Rookie Brock Purdy threw two touchdown passes after replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers used another dominant defensive performance to beat the Miami Dolphins 33-17 Sunday for their fifth straight win.
The 49ers (8-4) allowed a 75-yard touchdown pass to Trent Sherfield on the opening play from scrimmage but little else until the fourth quarter against a high-powered attack for Miami (8-4) which had scored at least 30 points in four straight games.
Jimmie Ward and Deommodore Lenoir intercepted Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter to lead to two field goals.
The 49ers had their four-game, second-half shutout streak snapped when Tagovailoa threw a 45-yard TD pass to Tyreek Hill in the opening minute of the fourth quarter but held on from there. They capped the ˇ with a strip-sack from Nick Bosa that Dre Greenlaw returned for a 23-yard score.
The Dolphins had their five-game winning streak snapped in coach Mike McDaniel's first game against the 49ers after spending the past five years as an assistant in San Francisco.
Cowboys 54, Colts 19
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dallas safety Malik Hooker had no idea what he was starting with a fumble return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter against his former team.
The 38-yard TD return was part of a 33-point fourth quarter that turned a close game into the Cowboys' 54-19 rout of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
It was just the third time in NFL history a team has scored at least that many in the fourth. And it was a little bit personal for Hooker, who also had one of three interceptions of Matt Ryan.
Hooker was drafted 15th overall by the Colts in 2017, but didn't get a second contract after four injury-plagued seasons. He signed with Dallas during training camp last year.
Raiders 27, Chargers 20
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Derek Carr completed two long touchdown passes to Davante Adams in the third quarter to rally the Las Vegas Raiders to a 27-20 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
That connection on offence backed an aggressive defence that sacked Justin Herbert five times as the Raiders (5-7) won their third consecutive game and split their season series with the Chargers.
The loss was a significant setback for the Chargers (6-6), who are just outside the playoff picture.
Los Angeles led 10-0 early in the second quarter before the Raiders charged back by outscoring the Chargers 27-3.
Carr completed a 31-yarder to Adams early in the third quarter to give Las Vegas the lead for good at 17-13. Less than four minutes later, the duo hooked up on a 45-yard flea flicker for another score.
Adams finished with eight receptions for 177 yards, surpassing 1,000 yards for the fourth time since 2018. He also has 85 career touchdown catches, surpassing Calvin Johnson for fifth-most for a receiver in his first nine seasons.
Ravens 10, Broncos 9
BALTIMORE (AP) — Tyler Huntley capped a 91-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds remaining, and the Baltimore Ravens overcame Lamar Jackson‘s injury to edge the Denver Broncos 10-9 on Sunday.
Jackson left after the first quarter with an injured knee, and the Broncos mostly shut down Baltimore after that. But on their final possession, the Ravens drove 16 plays, aided by a couple big Denver penalties. Huntley converted on fourth-and-2 from the Denver 18 with a short run, then Kenyan Drake caught a 13-yard pass.
Huntley scored on the next play for the Ravens (8-4).
Russell Wilson led the Broncos (3-9) back into Baltimore territory, but Brandon McManus came up short on a 63-yard field goal as time expired.
Baltimore wasn’t moving the ball much when Jackson was in, and although Huntley completed his first six passes, the Ravens didn’t reach the end zone until the very end. That one big drive was enough to keep them atop the AFC North.
Vikings 27, Jets 22
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Justin Jefferson’s touchdown catch with 8:33 left gave the Minnesota Vikings enough of a lead to hang on for a 27-22 victory despite a relentless rally by the New York Jets on Sunday.
Camryn Bynum’s interception at the 1-yard line with 10 seconds left finally sealed it for the Vikings (10-2), who completed a four-game sweep of the AFC East in their typical nail-biting fashion.
Mike White, who was picked off twice, was 31 of 57 for 369 yards in his second start this season for the Jets (7-5). He scored on a fourth-and-goal sneak from the 1 to pull within five points with 6:45 to go after a replay review reversed the initial ruling that he was stopped short.
With 1:43 remaining, White’s fourth-and-goal pass from the 1 was incomplete when Braxton Berrios bobbled it and the ball hit the turf. The Jets had all three timeouts left and got the ball right back at the Minnesota 43, but with White under plenty of pressure they stalled out at the 19.
Commanders 20, Giants 20 (OT)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Giants kicker Graham Gano came up well short on a 58-yard field goal attempt as time expired in overtime, leaving New York and the Washington Commanders tied at 20 Sunday in a deadlock between teams on the periphery of the NFC playoff picture.
Taylor Heinicke threw two touchdown passes for Washington and hit a crucial fourth-down pass on a tying 90-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.
The Giants (7-4-1) ended a two-game losing streak, while the Commanders (7-5-1) are unbeaten in four (3-0-1) and have only one loss in their last eight games. The teams held the final two NFC postseason spots as the standings stood at the final whistle.
Heinicke was 27 of 41 for 275 yards and threw touchdown passes of 19 yards to Terry McLaurin (8 catches, 105 yards) and 28 to Johan Dotson that tied it with 1:45 to play. That drive featured Heinicke rolling to his left to hit Curtis Samuel for 20 yards on a fourth-and-4 play from his own 27 with less than three minutes to play.
Daniel Jones threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins, and Saquon Barkley scored on a 13-yard run. Gano kicked two field goals for the Giants, who are trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Packers 28, Bears 19
CHICAGO (AP) — Aaron Rodgers led three fourth-quarter scoring drives, receiver Christian Watson took an end-around 46 yards for a touchdown in the closing minutes after Jaire Alexander intercepted Justin Fields, and the Green Bay Packers rallied to beat the Chicago Bears 28-19 on Sunday.
The Packers (5-8) looked like they were on their way to another loss after dropping seven of eight, trailing 19-10 through three quarters. But they made enough plays down the stretch to come away with their eighth straight win over the Bears (3-10), who lost their sixth straight.
AJ Dillon ran for a 21-yard touchdown in the opening minute of the fourth and Mason Crosby kicked a 32-yard field goal to give Green Bay a 20-19 lead with just under five minutes left.
The Bears drove to the Packers 33 before Alexander stepped in front of a pass intended for Equanimeous St. Brown. Three plays later, Watson sprinted untouched to the end zone, and Rodgers completed a 2-point conversion pass to Mercedes Lewis. That made it 28-19 with 1:51 remaining.
Fields was then intercepted at the Green Bay 5 by Keisean Nixon.
Browns 27, Texans 14
HOUSTON (AP) — Deshaun Watson struggled in a sloppy performance in his first game in 700 days but a punt return for a touchdown by Donovan Peoples-Jones and two defensive TDs were plenty enough to give the Cleveland Browns a 27-14 win over the lowly Houston Texans on Sunday.
In the same stadium where he played his previous game, a rusty Watson threw for 131 yards with an interception in his debut for the Browns (5-7) against his former team in his return after serving an 11-game NFL suspension for sexual misconduct allegations.
Plenty of fans attended the game wearing Watson’s No. 4 jersey from both the Texans (1-10-1) and the Browns, but there were also detractors with loud boos raining down on him every time he touched the ball.
Steelers 19, Falcons 16
ATLANTA (AP) — Kenny Pickett tossed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Connor Heyward, Matthew Wright kicked four field goals and the Pittsburgh Steelers made it two wins in a row for the first time this season, holding off the Atlanta Falcons 19-16 Sunday.
Coming off a Monday night victory at Indianapolis, the Steelers (5-7) finally put together a winning streak in what has been a tough rebuilding year in Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, Atlanta (5-8) squandered an opportunity near the goal line for the second week in a row.
After having a deflected pass picked off in the end zone at Washington, which preserved the Commanders' 19-13 victory, the Falcons had first-and goal from the Steelers 10 with another chance to pull out a victory with a touchdown.
But a clear holding penalty on Parker Hesse wiped out Cordarrelle Patterson's apparent TD run around left end, and the Falcons wound up settling for Younghoe Koo's third field goal of the day from 28 yards with 5:27 remaining.
The Steelers ran off all but the final 42 seconds before Pressley Harvin pinned a punt at the Falcons' 2-yard line. In desperation mode with no timeouts remaining, Marcus Mariota's pass was picked off by Minkah Fitzpatrick to seal the victory and send a hefty contingent of towel-waving Steelers fans into a wild celebration that made Mercedes-Benz Stadium look like Pittsburgh South.
Lions 40, Jaguars 14
DETROIT (AP) — Jamaal Williams ran for his 14th touchdown to help the Detroit Lions get off to a strong start and they did not slow down in a 40-14 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
The Lions (5-7) scored on all five of their drives in the first half to take a 17-point lead, and their first three possessions of the second half to pull away.
The Jaguars (4-8) had a scare on the last play of the second quarter when quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sacked and grabbed his left knee, but their defense made his return moot.
Lawrence, coming off the best performance of his two-year career, was taken out in the fourth quarter with his team trailing by 26 points. He finished 17 of 31 for 179 yards with a touchdown.
Detroit’s Jared Goff, meanwhile, had one of his best games of the season by completing 31 of 41 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
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