Philadelphia Eagles 26, Washington Commanders 18
The Eagles firmly cemented themselves atop the NFC East with a 26-18 win over the Commanders. Saquon Barkley led the Eagles offense with 146 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Both touchdowns came in the fourth quarter and put the Commanders away scoring from 23 and 39 yards out. The Eagles defense also held rookie Jayden Daniels to only 191 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. They also held star wide receiver Terry McLaurin to just one catch for 10 yards. Kicking was a struggle for the Eagles, as Jake Elliott was 2/4 on his field goal attempts and missed an extra point. Jalen Hurts had an ineffective first half for the Eagles, but finished with 221 yards passing 39 yards rushing and a score.
Green Bay Packers 20, Chicago Bears 19
The oldest rivalry in the NFL had yet another classic game, as the Packers beat the Bears 20-19 with a blocked field goal as time expired. Jordan Love ran for a go-ahead touchdown with 2:59 left to give the Packers the lead before Karl Brooks blocked Cairo Santos’s game-winning field goal attempt. Christian Watson set a career high with 150 yards on just four catches, including a 60-yarder that set up Love’s touchdown run, and the Packers avoided falling further behind Detroit and Minnesota in the NFC North. They also beat the last-place Bears for the 11th straight time, the longest streak by either team in the storied rivalry. During the week Chicago fired their offensive coordinator, and their offense looked much improved. The Bears out gained Green Bay 391-366 and Caleb Williams finished with 231 yards passing and 71 yards rushing. D’Andre Swift led Chicago with 71 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Detroit Lions 52, Jacksonville Jaguars 6
The Lions had yet another dominant blowout win, destroying the Jaguars 52-6. Jared Goff threw two of his four touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, David Montgomery, and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for three rushing touchdowns. The NFC-leading Lions (9-1) have won eight straight, and nine of their first 10 games in a season for the first time since 1934. Detroit’s winning margin of 46 points was the largest in franchise history, and it handed Jacksonville its biggest-ever defeat. The Lions also set a franchise record in total yards with 645. The Lions, the 1969 Minnesota Vikings, and the 1973 Atlanta Falcons are the three teams in the Super Bowl era to win three of their first 10 games by at least 35 points.
Minnesota Vikings 23, Tennessee Titans 13
Sam Darnold led the Vikings to their third straight win, as they beat the Titans 23-13. Darnold threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score in the win. One of those touchdowns was a beautiful 47-yard pass to Jordan Addison for a score. The Vikings defense was also a big part of the win, led by Andrew Van Ginkel who had his two sacks on back-to-back plays as Minnesota finished with five. Pat Jones II also had two. Harrison Smith clinched the win with an interception with 1:50 left. The Titans lost their second straight but sure made it interesting. Down 23-13, they went for it twice on fourth down near midfield. Will Levis was sacked by Jones on fourth-and-4, and he was forced to throw it away on fourth-and-7 with 2:23 left.
Miami Dolphins 34, Las Vegas Raiders 19
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns as the Dolphins kept their playoff chances alive with a 34-19 win over the lowly Raiders. Two of those touchdowns went to Jonnu Smith who led Miami in receiving with six catches for 101 yards. Tyreek Hill finally had a Tyreek Hill-esque game hauling in seven passes for 61 yards and a score. Tagovailoa led the Dolphins down the field with long, methodical drives, three of them more than seven minutes, that all ended in scores. Miami scored 30 points for the first time this season. Brock Bowers continues to be the lone bright spot on the Raiders as he had another fantastic game hauling in 13 passes for 126 yards and a score. Bowers continues to lead all tight ends in receptions and yards.
Los Angeles Rams 28, New England Patriots 22
Matthew Stafford threw four touchdowns as the Rams beat the Patriots 28-22. Those four touchdowns now give Stafford 370 in his career, passing Eli Manning for 10th on the NFL’s all-time list. Cooper Kupp hauled in two of those touchdowns, to go along with six catches for 106 yards. Puka Nacua led Los Angeles in receiving with seven catches for 123 yards and a score. Kupp and Nacua continue to be a lethal duo for Stafford and the Rams when healthy. Drake Maye came close to leading his team to victory finishing with 282 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick. A false start on a fourth-and-1 with five minutes left hurt another chance to close the gap, and the Patriots settled for a field goal. New England got the ball back at its 10 with 2:14 left and one timeout, but Kamren Kinchens intercepted Maye to ice it.
New Orleans Saints 35, Cleveland Browns 14
Taysom Hill, finally healthy, had a monster all around game and led the Saints to a 35-14 win over the Browns. Hill, has been a jack of all trades since he entered the league and finished the game with 18 yards passing, 138 yards rushing, and 3 touchdowns, and caught eight passes for 50 yards. The Saints improved to 2-0 under interim head coach Darren Rizzi over a Browns team that continues to struggle. Derek Carr passed for 248 yards and two touchdowns for New Orleans, highlighted by Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s 71-yard catch and run on a short crossing route. Jameis Winston passed for 395 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. His scoring throws included a short pass during a scramble that Jerry Jeudy turned into an 89-yard touchdown. He also hit Elijah Moore in the back of the end zone with a 30-yard pass and followed that with a completion to tight end David Njoku for a two-point conversion that tied the game at 14 in the third quarter before the Saints pulled away late.
Indianapolis Colts 28, New York Jets 27
With Anthony Richardson back in the starting role he led the Colts to a 28-27 come-from-behind win over the Jets. Richardson finished his day with 272 yards, a touchdown, 32 yards rushing, and tw0 rushing touchdowns. His second rushing touchdown came with 46 seconds left to firmly put the Colts in front. The Colts stay in the playoff hunt as they snap their two-game skid and improve to 5-6 on the year. Kwity Paye had two sacks on Aaron Rodgers on the final drive to seal the Colts win. Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and Hall had a touchdown catch and ran for a score, but the Jets dropped their seventh in eight games and fell to 1-5 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.
Pittsburgh Steelers 18, Baltimore Ravens 16
The Steelers continue to be Lamar Jackson’s kryptonite, as on the back of Chris Boswell’s leg and a stout defense the Steelers beat the Ravens 18-16 to take firm control of the AFC North and cement themselves as a top AFC contender. Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the rest of the offense never found their rhythm against Pittsburgh’s defense. Baltimore finished with season lows in points and yards (329) and was slowed by 12 penalties and three turnovers. Jackson passed for 207 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He hit Zay Flowers for a 16-yard score with 1:06 left to move the Ravens within two, but the two-point conversion attempt failed. The miscues started early for the Ravens as Henry fumbled on the second play of the game, and Justin Tucker sent a pair of field goals wide left on consecutive series later in the first quarter. Russell Wilson continues to command this Pittsburgh offense finishing with 205 yards and an interception. George Pickens finished with eight catches for 89 yards as the Steelers did just enough on offense to win knowing in the future they will want to finish more drives with touchdowns.
Denver Broncos 38, Atlanta Falcons 6
Bo Nix cemented his case for offensive rookie of the year leading his team to a dominant 38-6 win over the Falcons. Nix continues to develop under Sean Payton and finished with 307 yards, four touchdowns, and yet again, no turnovers. Nix joined Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as the only rookie QB’s in NFL history to throw for 200+ yards with two or more touchdowns in four consecutive home games. Five different players scored a touchdown for Denver on Sunday as well as nine different players caught a pass as Nix spread the ball around the whole offense. Nothing much went right for Atlanta who only mustered 226 total yards.
Seattle Seahawks 20, San Francisco 49ers 17
A 13-yard touchdown run by Geno Smith with 12 seconds left gave Seattle a 20-17 win over the 49ers and kept their playoff hopes alive as they improved to 5-5. The scramble capped off an 80-yard game-winning drive and capped off a day for Smith in which he finished with 221 yards, an interception, 29 yards rushing, and the game-winning rushing score. The 49ers have now lost three division games, blowing fourth-quarter leads in all of them after dropping games earlier this season to the Rams and Cardinals. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 10 catches for 110 yards and Kenneth Walker III scored on a one-yard run for the Seahawks. Brock Purdy finished with 159 yards, a touchdown, and a pick while also rushing for 40 yards and a score. Jauan Jennings hauled in 10 passes for 91 yards and a score as the 49ers were without tight end George Kittle who missed the game due to a hamstring injury. Nick Bosa also missed the game due to an oblique injury.
Buffalo Bills 30, Kansas City Chiefs 21
The 1972 Dolphins can pop the champagne as the Buffalo Bills, led by Josh Allen, knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs to give KC their first loss of the season. Allen improved to 4-1 against Patrick Mahomes in the regular season and finished this game with 262 yards, a touchdown, a pick, and ran for 55 yards and a score including the game-clinching score from 26 yards out on fourth-and-2 with just over two minutes left. Buffalo controlled the game from the start picking off Patrick Mahomes on the second play of the game. A throw that Mahomes probably wants back knowing he should have just taken the sack and gone down. Mahomes finished with 196 yards, three touchdowns, but two interceptions. Buffalo was able to limit both Travis Kelce and Deandre Hopkins to a combined five catches for 37 yards. Noah Gray and Xavier Worthy carried the Chiefs receiving corps as Gray hauled in four passes for 23 yards and two scores, the first multi-score game of his career. Worthy grabbed four of his own for 61 yards and a score. However, he and Mahomes again couldn’t connect on another deep ball that Worthy was wide open but Mahomes slung it too far towards the sideline and Worthy couldn’t get both feet down. The Chiefs defense allowed more than 28 points for the first time since Super Bowl LVII. They also gave up 366 total yards and allowed Buffalo to convert 9/15 on third down. The race for the AFC’s number one seed is now wide open as Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo all have a shot in these next seven weeks.
Los Angeles Chargers 34, Cincinnati Bengals 27
J.K. Dobbins scampered for a 29-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left to seal the Chargers win over the Bengals after the Chargers blew a 21-point halftime lead. It was a quarterback duel all night as Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow kept throwing punches at each other, more than we saw in the Jake Paul v Mike Tyson fight. Joe Burrow got Cincinnati to the Chargers 43 in the final seconds but his hail mary pass fell incomplete dropping the Bengals to 4-7 and even farther away from the playoffs. The loss was also the Bengals fifth defeat this season by seven points or fewer. Burrow finished with 356 yards and three touchdowns, the second consecutive week he’s thrown for 350+ yards, and three or more touchdowns and lost. Tee Higgins, finally healthy, racked up nine catches for 148 yards and a score while Ja’Mar Chase grabbed seven balls for 75 yards and two scores. To add salt to the wound for Cincinnati, kicker Evan McPherson had two chances in the fourth quarter to give the Bengals the lead but was wide left from 48 and 51 yards. Justin Herbert finished the game with 297 yards, two touchdowns, and ran for 65 yards. Rookie Ladd McConkey had a career game hauling in six passes for 123 yards, including two critical grabs on the final drive that set up the Dobbins go-ahead score.
Houston Texans 34, Dallas Cowboys 10
In the Texas Showdown, the Texans throttled the Cowboys 34-10. Joe Mixon led the way for Houston finishing with 153 total yards and three touchdowns. Mixon extended his touchdown streak to six games since returning from an ankle injury. The win snapped the Texans two game skid and moved them to 7-4 while still maintaining a two game lead in the AFC South. Derek Barnett also chipped in with a 28-yard scoop-n-score to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. The loss was the fifth straight for Dallas whose season continues to plummet. Cooper Rush threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin but lost his second start since Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury. The Dallas losing streak is its longest since a seven-game skid in 2015, and the Cowboys dropped to 0-5 at home. Dallas is the first team in NFL history to trail by at least 20 points in six consecutive home games.
Week 12 kicks off Thursday night as the Steelers head to Cleveland to play the Browns and finishes up on Monday Night Football as the Baltimore Ravens head west to face the Chargers in a matchup of John Harbaugh vs his brother Jim.
