KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, Byron Pringle caught two of the TD passes, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-10 on Sunday to clinch their sixth consecutive AFC West title.
The Chiefs (11-4) remained a game ahead of Tennessee for first place in the AFC with their eighth straight win. That would give them the conference’s lone first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a touchdown run for Kansas City before leaving early in the second half with a collarbone injury. Darrel Williams and Derrick Gore carried the load the rest of the way with Williams running for 55 yards and Gore adding 43 yards on the ground and three catches for 61 yards.
The Steelers became the first team in NFL history to trail by at least 23 points at halftime in three straight road games. Already on the playoff bubble, Pittsburgh (7-7-1) dropped further behind the Bengals (9-6) in the AFC North.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 159 yards with a late fourth-quarter touchdown for Pittsburgh, along with throwing an interception and losing a fumble. Najee Harris added 93 yards rushing.
BUCCANEERS 32, PANTHERS 6
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tampa Bay won its first NFC South title since 2007 when Tom Brady threw for 232 yards and a touchdown and Antonio Brown made a grand return to the NFL in a rout of Carolina.
The Bucs (11-4) put up 391 yards on offense, and on defense, had seven sacks and limited the Panthers to two field goals.
Carolina (5-10) went with a dual-quarterback approach, starting Cam Newton (7 of 13 for 61 yards and ran for 42 yards) and finishing with Sam Darnold, who went 15 of 33 for 190 yards.
RAMS 30, VIKINGS 23
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brandon Powell returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to lift Los Angeles into the playoffs in its win over Minnesota.
The victory also sent the Rams’ NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals into the postseason.
Sony Michel rushed for a season-high 131 yards and a score for the Rams (11-4), while Matt Gay made three field goals, and the Aaron Donald-led defense did its part, keeping the Vikings out of the end zone on two first-half trips inside the 10-yard line.
For the Vikings (7-8), Kirk Cousins had 315 yards on 27-for-38 passing with a touchdown to K.J. Osborn with 8:21 remaining that cut the lead to 27-20. But his interception in the end zone in the first quarter loomed large all afternoon.
BILLS 33, PATRIOTS 21
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and Buffalo hung on to beat New England to vault the Bills back into first place in the AFC East title race.
Buffalo (9-6) now holds tiebreakers over the Patriots and Dolphins, and is in the driver’s seat to win its second straight division title. Allen finished 30 of 47 passes for 314 yards, and he also rushed 12 times for 64 yards.
Isaiah McKenzie stepped up in place of Bills receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis, who were both on the reserve/COVID-19 list, notching a career-high 11 catches, 125 yards and a touchdown.
The Patriots (9-6) saw rookie quarterback Mac Jones struggling to find openings against the Bills’ top-ranked defense. He went 14 of 32 for 145 yards and two interceptions.
EAGLES 34, GIANTS 10
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts threw a touchdown to lineman Lane Johnson, linebacker Alex Singleton returned an interception for a score and Philadelphia continued its late-season playoff push with a win over New York.
The Eagles (8-7) have won six of eight after opening the season losing five of seven and moved into the seventh playoff spot in the NFC. They could clinch a playoff berth with a win and some help next week.
Hurts shook off a dismal first half and threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns to push the Eagles over .500 for the first time since they won the season opener. Philadelphia scored 31 points in the second half.
Quarterback Jake Fromm got the start with the Giants (4-11) left with little options after Daniel Jones was shut down for the season because of a sprained neck. Fromm went 6 of 17 for 25 yards and one interception before he was pulled for Mike Glennon late in the third.
RAIDERS 17, BRONCOS 13
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Josh Jacobs rushed for 129 yards and Las Vegas came from behind to defeat Denver and stay relevant in the AFC playoff picture.
With the win, the Raiders (8-7) severely damaged the postseason chances for AFC West rival Denver (7-8), which dropped its third game in the last four.
Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr completed 20 of 25 passes for 201 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Zay Jones had six receptions for 50 yards and Hunter Renfrow had three catches for 40 yards and one touchdown.
FALCONS 20, LIONS 16
ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Ryan threw a tiebreaking 12-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Hurst early in the fourth quarter Atlanta held on late to beat Detroit — and preserve its slim playoff hopes.
The Falcons (7-8) began the day knowing they had to win their final three regular-season games to protect hopes of making the playoffs. Ryan’s 19-yard pass to rookie Kyle Pitts set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Without Goff, Detroit (2-12-1) couldn’t maintain momentum gained by last week’s surprising 30-12 win over Arizona. The Lions were called for six offside penalties.
BEARS 25, SEAHAWKS 24
SEATTLE (AP) — Jimmy Graham caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Nick Foles with 1:01 remaining, Damiere Byrd made an acrobatic reception for the 2-point conversion, and Chicago Bears beat Seattle.
Making his first start since last season, Foles led the Bears 80 yards in the closing minutes, capping the drive with his TD toss to Graham, who spent three seasons with the Seahawks. Graham posted up a pair of smaller defensive backs to make the catch in the corner of the end zone.
On the 2-point attempt, Foles threw late, but Byrd got his knee down in the end zone with multiple Seattle defenders trying to push him over the back line.
It was a stunning conclusion to rare snow game in Seattle that eliminated the Seahawks (5-10) from the NFC playoff picture. Russell Wilson was 16 of 27 for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
Foles finished 24 of 35 for 250 yards for the Bears (5-10), and David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert each had rushing touchdowns.
JETS 26, JAGUARS 21
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to outduel Trevor Lawrence, and short-handed New York used a goal-line stand at the end of the game to hold on and beat Jacksonville.
It was the fourth matchup of rookie quarterbacks taken with the first two picks in the draft — and the No. 2 selection came out on top. Barely.
After Eddy Pineiro’s 20-yard field goal gave the Jets (4-11) a five-point lead with 1:47 remaining, Lawrence and the Jaguars (2-13) got the ball back. A 26-yard run by Lawrence got the ball to the 5, and he followed with a 4-yard pass to Marvin Jones. Lawrence spiked the ball to stop the clock to make it fourth-and-the-game.
TEXANS 41, CHARGERS 29
HOUSTON (AP) — Rex Burkhead ran for a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns, and Houston took advantage of three turnovers to beat Los Angeles. Both teams were missing more than a dozen players because COVID-19 protocols.
The playoff chances for the Chargers (8-7), who entered in second place in the AFC West, took a serious blow with the loss to the lowly, if recently improved, Texans. Houston (4-11) had 16 players on the COVID-19 list but managed to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
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