LANDOVER, Md. — After Jalen Hurts left with a concussion, Jayden Daniels threw five touchdown passes while running at will in the rookie quarterback's latest masterful performance, and the Washington Commanders ended the Philadelphia Eagles winning streak at 10 by rallying to defeat the NFC East leaders 36-33 on Sunday.
Daniels' heroics culminated with a 57-yard touchdown drive in the final 1:58, finding Jamison Crowder in the end zone with 6 seconds left. He bounced back from throwing an interception on the previous possession and led the Commanders (10-5) back after they fell behind by 14 points seven minutes into the game and trailed by 14 going into the fourth quarter.
They are now on the verge of making the playoffs after handing Philadelphia (12-3) its first loss since Sept. 29. The Eagles played without Hurts for the vast majority of the game and failed to clinch the division and one of the conference's top two seeds despite Saquon Barkley running for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone.
Daniels was the primary reason for that, beating the Eagles a month after losing to them on the road. He was 24 of 39 for 258 yards with a pair of TDs to Crowder and Olamide Zaccheaus and one to Terry McLaurin — and Daniels was Washington's leading rusher with 81 yards on nine carries.
BENGALS 24, BROWNS 6
CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes, including one as he was falling to the turf, and the Cincinnati Bengals kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 24-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The Bengals (7-8) need to win their last two games and get some help to reach the postseason.
Burrow passed for three or more TDs for the seventh consecutive game and finished 23 of 30 for 252 yards. Ja’Marr Chase had six catches for 97 yards and a garbage-time touchdown for Cincinnati to reach 1,510 yards this season and break his own franchise record of 1,455 yards set in 2021.
Myles Garrett, who said this week the Browns franchise should be focused on winning and not rebuilding, recorded the 100th sack of his career in the second quarter.
With Dorian Thompson-Robinson replacing Jameis Winston at quarterback, Cleveland (3-12) missed some chances in the red zone.
LIONS 34, BEARS 17
CHICAGO — Jared Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and the Detroit Lions remained on top of the NFC with their franchise-record 13th win, 34-17 over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Jameson Williams had a career-high 143 yards receiving on five catches, including an 82-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 109 yards and a score, and Detroit (13-2) broke a tie with the 1991 and 2023 teams for the most wins in franchise history. The Lions also set a single-season record for scoring with 493 points.
The Lions took control early against the Bears (4-11), and they even flexed their dominance by executing a trick play in which Goff intentionally stumbled while dropping back. With Detroit players yelling “Fumble!” and Gibbs pretending to dive for the ball, Goff threw to Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown that made it 34-14.
It was just the sort of performance Detroit was looking for coming off a 48-42 loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. That stopped a franchise-best win streak at 11 games and dropped the Lions into a tie atop the conference with Philadelphia and NFC North rival Minnesota.
FALCONS 34, GIANTS 7
ATLANTA — Michael Penix Jr. won his debut as Atlanta’s starting quarterback, thanks largely to a defence that returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns, and the Falcons bolstered their playoff hopes by handing the hapless New York Giants their franchise-record 10th straight loss, 34-7 on Sunday.
Jessie Bates and Matthew Judon each had a pick-six to carry Atlanta (8-7) to its second straight win after a four-game losing streak put its post-season hopes in jeopardy. The Falcons came into the week a game behind Tampa Bay in the NFC South and are holding the tiebreaker edge over the Buccaneers, who are playing Sunday night in Dallas.
Penix, the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, got his first NFL start against the Giants (2-13) after the Falcons decided to bench turnover-prone Kirk Cousins.
The left-handed rookie was not overwhelmed by the moment, completing 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards — numbers that would’ve been better if not for at least three dropped passes, one of which Kyle Pitts bobbled right into the hands of a New York defender for Penix’s lone interception.
COLTS 38, TITANS 30
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jonathan Taylor rebounded from perhaps the most embarrassing moment of his career by rushing for 218 yards and scoring three times including runs of 65 and 70 yards Sunday, leading the Indianapolis Colts past the Tennessee Titans 38-30.
Indy rushed for a franchise-record 335 yards as Taylor posted the second-highest single-game rushing total in the league this season and also of his five-year career. The three rushing scores were the most since he scored four TDs against Buffalo in 2021.
Indy (7-8) won its fourth straight in this AFC South series.
Tennessee (3-12) lost its fourth in a row on an abysmal day for what had been a pretty stingy defence. The Titans allowed their most yards rushing since moving from Houston to Nashville in the late 1990s, and it was the second time in four games an opponent topped the 200-yard mark.
RAMS 19, JETS 9
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Matthew Stafford threw a go-ahead 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee early in the fourth quarter after a turnover by Aaron Rodgers and the Los Angeles Rams beat the New York Jets 19-9 on Sunday for their fourth consecutive victory.
The Rams (9-6), who have won five of six, maintained their spot atop the NFC West standings with the victory after a slow start against the Jets (4-11) on a day when it was a frosty 23 degrees (minus-5 Celsius) at kickoff.
But Los Angeles’ defence, which struggled most of the game against Rodgers and New York’s offence, came up with a momentum-turning play.
With the game tied at 9 early in the fourth quarter, Kam Curl sacked Rodgers on a blitz and forced a fumble that Jared Verse recovered at the Jets 21.
Three plays later, Stafford found Higbee — making his season debut after missing the first 14 games with a knee injury — for a go-ahead 11-yard touchdown that made it 16-9.
PANTHERS 36, CARDINALS 30 (OT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chuba Hubbard ran for a 21-yard touchdown in overtime, and the Carolina Panthers eliminated the Arizona Cardinals from playoff contention with a 36-30 victory on Sunday.
Hubbard finished with 152 yards and two TDs on 25 carries. He rushed for 49 yards on the decisive drive in OT.
Kyler Murray threw for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and his 20-yard TD run helped rally Arizona (7-8) from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force the extra period. But it wasn't enough for the Cardinals, who led the NFC West in early November but have lost four of five since.
Bryce Young went 17 of 26 for 158 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a career-high 68 yards, including a 23-yard score, as the Panthers snapped a four-game skid. Adam Thielen and David Moore had TD catches for Carolina (4-11).
VIKINGS 27, SEAHAWKS 24
Sam Darnold connected with a well-covered Justin Jefferson with 3:51 left for his third TD pass of the game, and the Minnesota Vikings outlasted Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 on Sunday to keep pace with Detroit for the top spot in the NFC.
After the Seahawks took the lead on Smith's third TD pass, Darnold led a 30-second drive that was aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty. He stepped up in a collapsing pocket and launched a deep ball that Jefferson hauled in just short of the goal line with two defenders closing in.
Jefferson finished with 10 catches for 148 yards as the Vikings (13-2) won their eighth straight. If they can beat Green Bay and Detroit to close out the season, they will earn the top seed in the conference and a first-round playoff bye.
DOLPHINS, 29, 49ERS 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa threw for 215 yards and a touchdown, Jason Sanders nailed five field goals, and the Miami Dolphins kept their playoff chances alive by beating the San Francisco 49ers 29-17 on Sunday.
The 49ers were eliminated from the playoffs before the game because of wins by the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders earlier Sunday. The loss ensured that last year's NFC champions will have a losing season for the first time since 2020.
The Dolphins (7-8) helped their chances of making the playoffs for a third straight season, but will need to win their final two games and get help from losses by the Broncos, Chargers and Colts for that to happen.
Trailing by nine early in the fourth, San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy found tight end Eric Saubert for a 2-yard score that cut the lead to 19-17, but the Niners couldn't get past self-inflicted wounds.
RAIDERS 19, JAGUARS 14
LAS VEGAS — Aidan O'Connell returned from an injury and passed for 257 yards, and the Las Vegas Raiders ended a 10-game losing streak with a 19-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
The Raiders, whose skid was the longest active streak in the NFL, won for the first time since beating the Cleveland Browns 20-16 on Sept. 29. The victory, however, means the Raiders (3-12) moved ahead of the league-worst New York Giants (2-13). The team with the worst record is in line for the top pick in next year's draft.
Jacksonville (3-12) has lost seven of its last eight games and is 2-9 in one-score contests.
O'Connell made his first start in two weeks. He didn't play in Monday night's 15-9 loss to Atlanta because of a left knee injury.
Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers caught 11 passes for 99 yards, leaving him 10 yards away from breaking Mike Ditka’s 63-year-old NFL rookie record for tight ends. Ditka had 1,076 yards in 1961. Bowers did become the third rookie tight end to reach 1,000 yards in a season, joining Ditka and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts in 2021.
BILLS 24, PATRIOTS 21
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — James Cook scored two touchdowns, Buffalo’s defence forced three second-half turnovers, and the AFC East champion Bills overcame a 14-0 deficit to pull out a 24-21 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.
With trainers examining Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s right throwing elbow on the sideline, cornerback Taron Johnson secured the victory by recovering a fumble in the end zone to put Buffalo up 24-14 with 10:10 left. Allen returned on the Bills next possession on which he completed two of three attempts and finished 16 of 29 for 154 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Buffalo improved to 12-3 in keeping alive its slim chances of catching the Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) for the AFC’s top seed entering the playoffs. The Bills had their single-season NFL record-tying run of scoring 30 or more points end at eight straight games.
The Patriots (3-12) dropped their fifth straight and are in jeopardy of finishing with their fewest wins in a season since a 2-14 finish in 1992. They're in their first season under Jerod Mayo, who replaced Bill Belichick following a 4-13 finish last season.
COWBOYS 26, BUCCANEERS 24
ARLINGTON, Texas — Cooper Rush threw for a touchdown, Brandon Aubrey kicked two 58-yarders among four field goals and the Dallas Cowboys beat Tampa Bay 26-24 on Sunday night, costing Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers control of their playoff fate.
The end of a four-game winning streak left the Bucs (8-7) even with Atlanta atop the NFC South with two games remaining, but the Falcons have the tiebreaker because they won both meetings with Tampa Bay.
A three-year playoff run for the Cowboys (7-8) ended when they were eliminated from post-season contention before the prime-time kickoff. Still, Dallas won for the fourth time in five games since a five-game losing streak that put those playoff hopes in peril.
Mayfield, the Texas native playing not far from his high school and college roots, was in position to lead a rally from a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes when he escaped a sack and shovelled the ball to Rachaad White in the final two minutes.
DaRon Bland ripped the ball out of White's hands before he hit the ground, giving Dallas possession at the Tampa Bay 32-yard line and allowing the Cowboys to run out the clock.
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