Detroit Lions 23, Chicago Bears 20
The Lions extended their win streak to 10 games as they defeated the Bears 23-20 on Thanksgiving. Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Sam LaPorta, Jake Bates made three field goals in the first half and Detroit held off the Bears. The Bears had the ball in Lions territory late in the game with a chance to drive for a game-tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown, but they blew the opportunity. Caleb Williams threw an incomplete pass as time expired from the Detroit 41 yard line after being sacked with about 30 seconds left, allowing time to run off the clock even though Chicago had one more timeout. Williams finished with 256 yards and two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and one to DJ Moore, but it wasn’t enough. Coach Matt Eberflus was fired the next day.
Dallas Cowboys 27, New York Giants 20
DeMarvion Overshown’s dynamic pick six from 23 yards out put Dallas in front for good, Rico Dowdle ran for a score in his first career 100-yard game and the Cowboys held on for a 27-20 Thanksgiving Day victory over the New York Giants. Cooper Rush also threw for a touchdown as the Cowboys snapped a six game home losing streak. Drew Lock, who started in place of the injured Tommy Devito, passed for 178 yards and an interception but also ran for 57 yards and a touchdown that ended up being too late to avoid New York’s eighth consecutive loss to its NFC East rival as the Giants were eliminated from playoff contention.
Green Bay Packers 30, Miami Dolphins 17
Jordan Love threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns as the Packers picked up a huge win over the Dolphins in a cold Lambeau Field and continued the narrative of the Dolphins not being able to win in the cold. Both touchdown passes went to Jayden Reed and Josh Jacobs ran for 43 yards and another score. The Dolphins have lost their past 12 regular-season or postseason games in which the temperature at kickoff has been below 40 degrees. Tua Tagovailoa finished with 365 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Kansas City Chiefs 19, Las Vegas Raiders 17
The Chiefs found yet another way to win as this time on Black Friday it took some miscommunication between rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapping the ball before quarterback Aidan O’Connell was ready and Nick Bolton recovering the loose ball to seal the win for Kansas City. It wasn’t a pretty game for KC who blew a 13-point second-half lead and allowed O’Connell to carve up the defense to the tune of 340 yards and two touchdowns but they found a way to get it done. Rookie Brock Bowers hauled in 10 passes for 140 yards and a score for Vegas as he continues his stellar rookie campaign. Patrick Mahomes finished with 306 yards and a touchdown. The offensive tackles again played poorly for KC allowing Mahomes to get sacked five times and will be something to watch as the season heads towards the playoffs as the Chiefs improve to 11-1 and clinch a playoff spot but still have much to be desired.
Pittsburgh Steelers 44, Cincinnati Bengals 38
Russell Wilson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns as the Steelers won a shootout over Joe Burrow and the Bengals. The Bengals lost for the fourth time in five games as their playoff hope continues to dwindle away. Najee Harris finished with 75 yards rushing and 54 yards receiving. George Pickens, Calvin Austin III, and Pat Freiermuth caught TD passes for the Steelers. Burrow finished with 309 yards, three touchdowns, an interception and two costly fumbles. Chase Brown rushed for a touchdown for Cincinnati. Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Andrei Iosivas each had a TD reception. The Bengals have allowed 34 or more points in six games this season, including losses in four of the last five.
Los Angeles Chargers 17, Atlanta Falcons 13
In a gritty, grind-it-out sort of game, the Chargers capitalized off four Kirk Cousins interceptions and found a way to win 17-13. Tarheeb Still had two picks including his second which he took back 61 yards to the house. The Chargers surrendered five sacks to a team that had an NFL-low 10 coming into the game, not to mention fumbled the ball away in their territory to set up Atlanta’s only TD. There also was a fake punt that didn’t work and a largely listless offense that managed just two first downs in the second half. Atlanta’s last two possessions both ended with Cousins’ interceptions when a touchdown could have pulled the game out. It was the only the second four interception game of Cousin’s career.
Minnesota Vikings 23, Arizona Cardinals 22
The Vikings won their fifth straight as Sam Darnold led a second-half comeback effort that was capped off with an Aaron Jones five yard receiving touchdown with 1:13 left. Darnold passed for 104 of his 235 yards in the fourth quarter against the blitz-heavy Cardinals, whose five sacks helped deny the Vikings the end zone until Darnold hit Johnny Mundt in the third quarter. Justin Jefferson hauled in seven passes for 99 yards in the win. Kyler Murray threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter to spoil a strong start by the Cardinals, who fell one game behind NFC West-leading Seattle. Trey McBride had yet another great game catching 12 passes for 96 yards in the loss.
Indianapolis Colts 25, New England Patriots 24
Anthony Richardson threw for a touchdown and ran for the ensuing two-point conversion with 12 seconds left to give the Colts a 25-24 win over the Patriots and keep them in the playoff hunt. Richardson only finished with 109 yards passing but had two touchdowns, two picks, 48 yards on the ground, and a score. Indy’s Jonathan Taylor carried 25 times for 96 yards, passing Marshall Faulk (5,320 yards) for third place on the franchise rushing list. The Patriots were eliminated from playoff contention with their fourth loss in five games. Drake Maye threw for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Patriots were balanced offensively, rushing for a season-high 200 yards. But they scored touchdowns on just two of six trips to the red zone.
Seattle Seahawks 26, New York Jets 21
A 92-yard pick-six by Leonard Williams and a late touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet sunk the Jets as the Seahawks came back and won 26-21. The win was the third straight for Seattle and Geno Smith threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner for Seattle, which was sloppy early but took over sole possession of first place in the NFC West with Arizona losing to Minnesota. The Williams interception was critical as the play before Aaron Rodgers missed a wide open Garrett Wilson in the end zone that could have put New York up 28-7, instead, the game was flipped on its head and the Jets only found themselves up 21-14. Rodgers threw for 185 yards and touchdown passes to Davante Adams and Isaiah Davis, but also had the pick-six. New York, which fired general manager Joe Douglas last week, has dropped three in a row, eight of its past nine, and fell to 1-6 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.
Washington Commanders 42, Tennessee Titans 19
Jayden Daniels threw for 206 yards, three touchdowns, a pick, 34 yards rushing, and a rushing touchdown as the Commanders snapped their three-game losing streak with a dominant 42-19 win over the Titans. Terry McClaurin hauled in eight passes for 73 yards and two scores as Brian Robinson Jr also rushed for 103 yards and a score in the win. The Commanders rushed for 267 yards as a team as Chris Rodriguez Jr also had a huge game rushing for 94 yards and a score in the win. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine hauled in three passes for 61 yards and two scores for Tennessee in the loss.
Houston Texans 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 20
Joe Mixon ran for 101 yards and a touchdown, Nico Collins caught eight passes for 119 yards and the Houston Texans beat Jacksonville 23-20 Sunday after knocking quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of the game with a concussion. The Texans won for just the second time in five weeks and maintained a two-game lead in the AFC South. C.J. Stroud passed for 242 yards, with a 22-yard TD pass to Dalton Schultz early in the fourth quarter that essentially iced the game. It was Houston’s 12th win in its past 14 meetings with the Jaguars and sixth in a row in Jacksonville. The game will be remembered for linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair’s violent hit on Lawrence in the second quarter that prompted a sideline-clearing brawl. Al-Shaair hit Lawrence with an elbow as the defenseless quarterback slid to the ground following a six-yard scramble. Al-Shaair was suspended for three games by the league for the hit.
Los Angeles Rams 21, New Orleans Saints 14
Matthew Stafford threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns and Kyren Williams ran for 104 yards and a score as the Rams grinded out a 21-14 win over the Saints. Puka Nacua hauled in five passes for 56 yards and a score as the Rams stay in the hunt for the NFC West title as they improve to 6-6 on the year. The Saints had a chance to tie the game late as they drove inside the Rams 10-yard line in the final minutes, but Derek Carr’s pass on 4th and 3 was deflected from behind by edge rusher Jared Verse and fell incomplete. The Saints also lost do-it-all guy, Taysom Hill, to a season-ending ACL tear.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26, Carolina Panthers 23
Chase McLaughlin’s overtime field goal lifted the Buccaneers to a 26-23 win over the Panthers to move into a first-place tie with Atlanta. Bucky Irving ran for 152 yards and a score in the win for Tampa. Baker Mayfield threw for 235 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions in the win. Mike Evans hauled in eight passes for 118 yards and a score in the win. Bryce Young continues to improve for Carolina as he threw for 298 yards and a score in the loss. Adam Thielen was his favorite target catching eight balls for 99 yards and a score. He appeared to have another score that was wiped off the board even though the replay showed he maintained possession of the ball and got both an elbow and a foot down in bounds. The Panthers also had a chance to win it in OT as after the Bucs went three-and-out, the Panthers moved into field goal range after a nice one-handed catch by Thielen but then on the ensuing play Chuba Hubbard fumbled and the ball was recovered by Tampa Bay who moved down the field and kicked the game-winner.
Philadelphia Eagles 24, Baltimore Ravens 19
Philly’s defense and three missed kicks from Justin Tucker doomed Baltimore as Lamar Jackson now falls to 22-2 vs the NFC. He threw for 237 yards and ran for 79. Jalen Hurts joins Daniel Jones as the only NFC quarterback to beat Jackson. The much-anticipated rushing battle between Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry didn’t quite live up to expectations. A good fourth quarter pushed Barkley up to 107 yards rushing, including a 25-yard touchdown. Henry produced 82 yards along with three catches for 29 yards. Justin Tucker’s nightmarish season continued for Baltimore. The star kicker missed two field goals and an extra point as the Ravens fell 1 1/2 games behind first-place Pittsburgh in the AFC North.
Buffalo Bills 35, San Francisco 49ers 10
In the snow in Buffalo Josh Allen furthered his MVP campaign with a stellar game finishing with 148 passing yards, two touchdowns, 18 rushing yards and a score, and a receiving touchdown. Buffalo out rushed San Francisco 220-153 led by James Cook and Ray Davis who rushed for 107 and 63 yards respectively and a touchdown each. The defending NFC champion 49ers unraveled as they dropped their third straight and lost running back Christian McCaffrey to what coach Kyle Shanahan said was a potential season-ending injury to the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Very little went right for the 49ers in an outing they lost three fumbles and Jake Moody missed two of three field-goal attempts. San Francisco was also missing five starters due to injury and is now in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.
Denver Broncos 41, Cleveland Browns 32
Jameis Winston threw for a franchise record 497 yards and four touchdowns but also had three interceptions including two that went for Denver pick-six touchdowns. He threw a 70-yard TD pass to Jerry Jeudy and a pair of scores to tight end David Njoku in falling to 2-3 as the starter for the Browns since replacing an injured Deshaun Watson. Jeudy hauled in nine passes for 235 yards and a score, the most yards by a player against their former team. Bo Nix finished with 294 yards, a touchdown, and two picks including a gorgeous 93-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims Jr. Denver will enter their bye week in the seventh and final AFC playoff spot with 5 weeks left in the season. Winston and the Browns had plenty of time to drive for a winning score, but Winston’s throw to Elijah Moore was late and behind him and Ja’Quan McMillian jumped the route. He fell to the turf untouched after making the catch, got up, and sprinted to the end zone with 1:48 to play in the game making it a two-possession game.
