There were two major upsets, along with a walk-off punt return in the early window of Week 14 of the NFL season on Sunday.
Then, the late window produced even more drama — with the lowest-scoring NFL game in 16 years, along with a dramatic, controversial win for the Buffalo Bills over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Here’s a look at all the action.
RAVENS 37, RAMS 31 (OT)
BALTIMORE — Tylan Wallace returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown in overtime to lift the Baltimore Ravens to a 37-31 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday, snapping the Rams’ three-game winning streak.
Wallace, who committed a crucial penalty on special teams earlier in the game that led to points for Los Angeles (6-7), eluded a couple of tackles after fielding the punt and stayed on his feet when Shaun Jolly made a diving attempt at him along the left sideline.
The Ravens (10-3) remained atop the AFC standings, a half-game ahead of Miami. The Dolphins host Tennessee on Monday night.
Wallace was returning that punt after the Ravens lost Devin Duvernay, their main return man, earlier in the game with back issues. Wallace punctuated the winning touchdown with a leap into the end zone before the Ravens mobbed him in the corner.
Lamar Jackson and Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes apiece, overcoming wet conditions and dropped passes in a game that was high-scoring yet sloppy. Each offence went three-and-out in overtime before the final Los Angeles punt.
It was a crushing way to lose for the Rams, who worked their way into the thick of the NFC playoff race with their recent winning streak.
49ERS 28, SEAHAWKS 16
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Deebo Samuel scored on a catch and a run and the San Francisco 49ers won their 11th straight division game, beating the Seattle Seahawks 28-16 on Sunday.
Samuel had his second straight game with multiple touchdowns to lead San Francisco (10-3) to the brink of winning back-to-back NFC West titles for the first time since 2011-12. The Niners lead the Seahawks (6-7) and Rams by four games with four to play and hold the tiebreaker over Seattle.
Seattle has lost four straight games for the first time in 14 seasons under Pete Carroll and has lost five in a row to the 49ers for the first time.
Drew Lock threw two TD passes in his first start since the end of the 2021 season in place of an injured Geno Smith, but couldn’t keep up with the high-powered 49ers.
Christian McCaffrey had a 72-yard run on the first play from scrimmage for San Francisco to set up a short TD run by Jordan Mason. Brock Purdy and Samuel took over from there after Purdy threw an early interception.
He responded by hitting Samuel on a 54-yard deep shot in the second quarter and broke the game open with a 44-yard TD pass to George Kittle in the fourth quarter to make it 28-16. Samuel also scored on a short run after getting tackled at the 1 on a 13-yard reception.
Purdy finished 19 for 27 for a career-high 368 yards with two TDs and one interception, becoming the fourth player to complete at least 70% of his passes in seven straight games. Joe Montana holds the record with eight in 1989 for San Francisco.
VIKINGS 3, RAIDERS 0
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Minnesota and Las Vegas played the lowest-scoring NFL game in 16 years, with Greg Joseph’s 36-year-old field goal with 1:57 left giving the Vikings a 3-0 victory over the Raiders on Sunday.
It was the first 3-0 game since Pittsburgh beat Miami on Nov. 26, 2007, the third in the past 40 years and the seventh in the Super Bowl era.
Joseph’s kick ensured the game wouldn’t end regulation scoreless for the first time since the New York Giants played the host Detroit Lions to a 0-0 tie on Nov. 7, 1943.
The Vikings (7-6) had just 230 total yards, and the Raiders (5-8) — losers of three in a row — were limited to 201 yards and nine first downs. Minnesota beat an AFC West opponent for the first time this season after going 0-3.
It was Minnesota’s first shutout since defeating the Packers 16-0 on Dec. 23, 2017 and the first blanking of Las Vegas since its 24-0 loss to New Orleans on Oct. 30, 2022.
Nick Mullens relieved a struggling Joshua Dobbs at quarterback and led the Vikings on their lone scoring drive. His 22-yard completion to Jordan Addison to the Raiders 20 set up Joseph’s kick.
CHARGERS 24, BRONCOS 7
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes and the Denver Broncos beat the Chargers 24-7 Sunday after Los Angeles lost quarterback Justin Herbert due to a finger injury in the first half.
Wilson completed 21 of 33 for 224 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown to Courtland Sutton in the third quarter for Denver (7-6), which has won six of its last seven.
It was the Broncos’ first road victory against an AFC West foe since beating the Chargers on Oct. 6, 2019.
Herbert was 9 of 17 for 96 yards with an interception before being injured, apparently while he was taken down awkwardly by Denver’s Zach Allen after throwing a pass. Herbert had been sacked four times and hit six times during the Chargers’ first six possessions, with his teammates repeatedly missing their blocks against Denver’s pass rushers.
Easton Stick completed 13 of 24 passes for 179 yards in Herbert’s place. He had played two NFL snaps in five seasons with Los Angeles before replacing the Bolts’ franchise quarterback with 1:52 remaining in the second quarter. His best throw was a 57-yard strike to Quentin Johnston during the fourth quarter. Four plays later, Austin Ekeler put Los Angeles on the board with a 4-yard TD.
Javonte Williams and Adam Trautman also scored for the Broncos. Denver’s defence forced six sacks and a pair of turnovers.
BILLS 20, CHIEFS 17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Josh Allen threw for 233 yards with touchdowns running and throwing, the Bills kicked a go-ahead field goal with 1:54 to go and, thanks to a crucial penalty on Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney, Buffalo held on to beat Kansas City 20-17 on Sunday.
The game was tied 17-all when the Bills (7-6) took over with about seven minutes left. They converted on three third downs, one courtesy of a penalty on Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson, before Tyler Bass kicked his 39-yarder for the lead.
But two pass plays that Buffalo called just before the two-minute warning — both incomplete — left time for the Chiefs (8-5) to work.
And moments later, they thought they’d taken the lead when Patrick Mahomes hit Travis Kelce over the middle, and the high school QB threw far across the field to Toney, who ran the rest of the 49 yards for a touchdown.
Only one problem: Toney had lined up offside. The penalty wiped out the play.
The Chiefs still had 1:12 left to get within range of big-legged kicker Harrison Butker, but Mahomes threw incomplete on his next two passes, and his fourth-and-15 throw across the middle of the field found nothing but grass.
COWBOYS 33, EAGLES 13
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott threw for two touchdowns, Brandon Aubrey made four field goals to start his career a record 30-for-30, and the Dallas Cowboys pulled even in the NFC East with their 15th consecutive home victory, 33-13 over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.
The Cowboys (10-3) weren’t deterred by Jalen Carter’s 42-yard fumble return for a touchdown, winning their fifth consecutive game since a loss at Philadelphia that gave the Eagles a two-game division lead.
The Eagles (10-3) lost three fumbles and didn’t score an offensive touchdown as quarterback Jalen Hurts, who had the first fumble, lost consecutive games for the first time since October 2021.
While the Cowboys currently hold the tiebreaker, the Eagles would take the division title if they win their remaining four games.
Prescott had a career-best seventh consecutive game with at least two TD passes. Aubrey connected from 60, 59, 45 and 50 yards, becoming the first to make two kicks of 59 yards or more in a game.
Prescott was 24 of 39 for 271 yards, and the Cowboys limited Hurts to 197 yards passing and 30 rushing.
BROWNS 31, JAGUARS 27
CLEVELAND (AP) — Joe Flacco threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns in his home debut for Cleveland, and the Browns survived a late rally by Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 31-27 win Sunday.
The 38-year-old Flacco, who was only signed three weeks ago by the Browns (8-5), delivered the kind of performance he had almost annually as a visitor with Baltimore. Flacco went 26 of 45 and improved to 10-2 as a starter in Cleveland.
Lawrence played despite spraining his right ankle Monday night. He threw a season-high three interceptions before bringing the Jaguars (8-5) back in the fourth quarter.
His third TD pass — to Evan Engram with 1:33 left — pulled the Jaguars within four points. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett then sacked Lawrence on the 2-point conversion, and the Browns recovered an onside kick to close it out.
Flacco threw two TD passes in the first half to tight end David Njoku and completed a 41-yarder to wide receiver David Bell in the fourth quarter when the Jaguars gambled with an all-out blitz on fourth down.
The Browns have been forced to play four QBs due to injuries and are putting their playoff hopes in Flacco’s hands. He’ll lead their stretch drive.
BEARS 28, LIONS 13
CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Fields threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and the Chicago Bears played their most impressive game of the season, beating the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions 28-13 on Sunday.
Receiver DJ Moore had his first career rushing touchdown and caught a scoring pass to help Chicago (5-8) win for the third time in four games.
The Bears scored 15 points in a span of about seven minutes to break open a game that was tied at 13-all late in the third quarter. They got the payback they were seeking after giving up 17 points over the final 2:59 in a 31-26 loss at Detroit three weeks earlier.
Detroit’s Jared Goff threw two interceptions, lost a fumbled snap and was sacked four times. The Lions (9-4), who looked like a Super Bowl threat not long ago, have lost two of three.
Fields completed 19 of 33 passes for 223 yards. He also ran for 58 yards, giving him 2,021 in his career and joining Bobby Douglass (2,470) as the only Bears quarterbacks with 2,000 yards rushing.
JETS 30, TEXANS 6
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes in his return from a two-game benching, New York shut down C.J. Stroud before Houston’s star rookie quarterback left late with a head injury and the Jets ended a five-game losing streak with a 30-6 victory over the Texans on Sunday.
Wilson was 27 of 36 for 301 yards — his third career game of 300 or more yards — in easily his best performance of the season after sitting in favor of the since-waived Tim Boyle.
Breece Hall and Randall Cobb caught touchdown passes and Xavier Gipson ran for a score for the Jets (5-8), who reached 30 points for just the second time this season and first since beating Denver 31-21 in Week 5.
Stroud left with 6:30 remaining when he was hit by Quinnen Williams, fell backward and his head appeared to bounce off the MetLife Stadium turf. He was examined briefly on the sideline before he walked to the locker room. The Texans announced Stroud was done for the game and Davis Mills replaced him.
Stroud, who came in leading the NFL in yards passing, was unable to do much against an aggressive Jets defense. He was just 10 of 23 for a season-low 91 yards before leaving with the head injury. The Texans (7-6) finished with just 135 total yards and went 1 for 12 on third down.
BENGALS 34, COLTS 14
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jake Browning threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in his second straight outstanding performance for the Cincinnati Bengals, who pounded the Indianapolis Colts 34-14 on Sunday.
With Joe Burrow out for the season because of a wrist injury, Browning has kept the Bengals (7-6) in playoff contention. He followed up a 354-yard outing in a win at Jacksonville last Monday night by completing 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards with an interception against the Colts.
Indianapolis (7-6) had its four-game win streak snapped and its playoff positioning took a hit. Gardner Minshew threw for 240 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Colts, whose offence stalled after halftime.
The game was tied at 14-all at the break, but Indy’s first four second-half possessions ended with two punts, a pick thrown by Minshew and a failed fourth-down attempt.
Meanwhile, the Bengals scored on their first two drives of the second half — an 11-yard TD grab by Tanner Hudson and a 1-yard keeper by Browning.
Rookie running back Chase Brown had a 54-yard touchdown reception for the Bengals that opened the scoring. The Canadian grabbed a short pass out of the backfield and raced untouched down the right sideline, juking safety Rodney Thompson II at the 6-yard-line on the way to the end zone.
BUCCANEERS 29, FALCONS 25
ATLANTA (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton with 31 seconds remaining, capping a wild fourth quarter that pushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into a tie for first place with a 29-25 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The Falcons (6-7) rallied for a 25-22 lead with a pair of TDs in the final period, including Desmond Ridder’s 6-yard scoring run with 3:23 remaining.
But Mayfield, who passed for just 144 yards, guided a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive that gave the Buccaneers (6-7) a win they had to have with four weeks left in the regular season. The biggest play was a 32-yard completion to Chris Godwin.
Atlanta got one last chance at winning it from the Tampa Bay 31, but Drake London was smothered 3 yards shy of the end zone after hauling in Ridder’s pass down the middle.
Mayfield completed 14 of 29 with two touchdowns, also connecting on a short throw that Rachaad White took for a 31-yard score late in the third quarter to give Tampa Bay a 19-10 lead. Mayfield ran for the Buccaneers’ first TD.
Tampa Bay’s defense came up big in the first half. Carlton Davis intercepted a pass at the Atlanta 8 to set up Mayfield’s 1-yard scoring run, and Antoine Winfield Jr. forced a fumble by the Atlanta quarterback that resulted in a safety.
SAINTS 28, PANTHERS 6
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Derek Carr returned from a recent concussion and upper body injuries to throw touchdown passes to Chris Olave and Jimmy Graham, and the New Orleans Saints defeated the hapless Carolina Panthers 28-6 on Sunday.
Alvin Kamara ran 9 yards for a touchdown as New Orleans (6-7) snapped a three-game skid and pulled into a tie with Atlanta (6-7) and Tampa Bay (6-7) for first place in the feeble NFC South.
Carolina (1-12) helped New Orleans with a couple of poorly executed plays on special teams. The Panthers have lost six straight for the second time this season.
Johnny Hekker’s punt attempt in the second quarter was smothered by Saints linebacker Nephi Sewell. D’Marco Jackson scooped what was officially ruled a fumble and returned it 8 yards for a touchdown that gave New Orleans a 14-3 lead.
While the Saints won for the first time since Nov. 5, frustrated fans in the Superdome didn’t hesitate to boo New Orleans’ offense when it stalled inside the 10 and Blake Gruppe missed a 29-yard field goal try.
They did so again when Carr was intercepted late in the first half by defensive end Derrick Brown, who batted a pass over the middle off of guard Cesar Ruiz’s helmet and caught it on the rebound near midfield.