By Zachary McMahon-
Pats vs. Colts: The Patriots fought a hard game against Anthony Richardson and the Indianapolis Colts as his offense went on a 19-play drive to have Richardson throw a passing touchdown at the goal line, and then run for the two-point conversion with 12 seconds left in the game. With two timeouts left in the game for the Pats, who wore their throwback red uniforms, Drake Maye threw two passes, with tight end Hunter Henry sliding down at the 50 yard line, and Joey Slye, who missed a chip shot field goal earlier in the game, to try a 68-yard field goal. The ball fell just below the crossbar, as the Colts came back 25-24 over the Pats, and stayed in the hunt in the AFC playoff picture. Meanwhile, the Pats were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Jets vs. Seahawks: The Jets had a 21-7 lead halfway through the second quarter after two touchdown passes inside the 10-yard line from Aaron Rodgers and a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown from Kene Nwangwu, who was elevated from the practice squad for the game after offensive lineman Tyron Smith was placed on injured reserve. They had a strong first half on special teams, as they had a kickoff return touchdown, two fumble recoveries on kickoffs, and a blocked PAT, which made the Jets the first team in NFL history to accomplish this all in the same game. The blocked PAT was by Quinnen Williams, which was the Jets first PAT block since Week 13 2018 against the Tennessee Titans and the first at home since 1995. The return touchdown was the first since 2021, and the Jets became the second team this season to have 230 kickoff return yards and a kickoff return touchdown in a game and the first time for the Jets since week 16 in 2018 against the Green Bay Packers. However, the Seahawks 19 unanswered points for the rest of the game, starting with a 92-yard interception return by former Jets defensive end Leonard Williams in the second quarter. Zach Charbonnet had a go-ahead rushing touchdown that made it 26-21 with 5:35 left in the game. Leonard Williams made it harder for the Jets to have a comeback victory in the final seconds with a sack. Rodgers’s hail mary, which some argue is his specialty, went way over Davante Adams, as the Seahawks hung on to win against the Jets 26-21. Leonard Williams had two sacks, an interception return for a touchdown, and a blocked kick as he’s the first player since 1982 to have all of these accolades in a single game. Also, it was the longest interception return for a touchdown by a defensive lineman in NFL history. Rookie fifth-round running back Isiah Davis had a receiving touchdown from Rodgers, as his first career touchdown. The Jets are the first team since the 2020 Buffalo Bills to have two rookie running backs score a touchdown in the same season as Braelon Allen scored in Week 2 against the Titans.
Steelers vs. Bengals: Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers faced their division rival the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. He had a bit of a shaky start as Can Taylor-Britt returned a 51-yard interception for a touchdown. However, Wilson would go on to have one of the best games of his career as he threw for 414 passing yards, his second highest yardage total in a game in his career and his third career 400-yard passing game. Wilson also threw for three touchdowns in the 44-38 win over the Bengals. The Steelers move on to 9-3 as Mike Tomlin makes it his 18th straight winning season since taking over the Steelers in 2007, and their 21st straight season without a losing record, which ties for the longest streak in NFL history with the Dallas Cowboys who had 21 straight seasons without a losing record from 1965-85.
Falcons vs. Chargers: The Atlanta Falcons were stopped consistently by the Los Angeles Chargers defense, as the Bolts offense did not score any touchdown, and relied on Cameron Dicker to kick three field goals in the first half, as they had a 9-7 lead after a touchdown by Bijan Robinson. Chargers rookie cornerback Tarheeb Still had two interceptions in the game off Kirk Cousins, as one of them was for a touchdown. Still is the first rookie defensive player for the Chargers to have two picks in the same game since John Hendy 39 years ago today on Dec. 1, 1985 against the Bills, he also returned one interception for a touchdown. Derwin James Jr. and Marcus Maye also had interceptions off Cousins, as the Chargers beat the Falcons 17-13.
Jags vs. Texans: This game was controversial due to the dirty cheap shot by Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair on Trevor Lawrence in the third quarter, which led to two brawls in the aftermath. Al-Shaair was ejected from the game, along with Jags cornerback Jarrian Jones, and Lawrence was carted off the field with a concussion, and Mac Jones replaced him. Jaguars tight end Evan Engram was also flagged for the fight, but was not ejected from the game. The Jags attempted a comeback after being down 23-6 in the fourth, and Mac Jones cut the deficit down to 23-20 with two passing touchdowns. The Texans were able to chew out the last of the clock in the final drive to seal the victory over the Jags.
Titans vs. Commanders: Jayden Daniels tossed four touchdowns in the game with a rushing touchdown, as he’s the third rookie quarterback in NFL history with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in consecutive games joining Charlie Conerly (1948 New York Giants) and Kent Nix (1967 Steelers), in a 42-19 rout of the Titans.
Bucs vs. Panthers: Chase McLaughlin kicked a 51-yard game-tying field goal as time expired in regulation to force the game into overtime, and then he kicked the game winning field goal in overtime as the Bucs beat the Panthers 26-23 in overtime.
Eagles vs. Ravens: The Baltimore Ravens kicking woes continued as Justin Tucker missed two field goals and a PAT, and after his 50-yard field goal in the second quarter, they did not score until the final seconds of the game, as it was already too late at that point. Saquon Barkley had a crucial 25-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that pretty much sealed the victory for the Eagles along with the Eagles defense, as they won 24-19 over the Ravens.
49ers vs. Bills: It was a snowy night in Western New York as the Buffalo Bills faced the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night football, with a chance to clinch the AFC East, and to be the first NFL team to officially punch their ticket into the playoffs. The Bills dominated the 49ers the entire game, as Josh Allen became the first NFL QB in history to have a passing, rushing, and receiving touchdown all in the same game. He’s also the seventh player in the Super Bowl era, and the first since 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey did it in 2022. The receiving touchdown was on a pass play to Amari Cooper who was wrapped up by three 49ers defenders, Cooper decided to pitch back to Allen, and then he scampered for a touchdown, getting credit with a touchdown reception, although he was not credited with a reception. James Cook scored on a 65-yard career long rushing touchdown in the first quarter. With the 35-10 victory, the Bills secured their fifth straight AFC East title, the longest in Bills history, and became the NFL’s eighth team and the first team since the 2009 Indianapolis Colts to clinch the division with five games remaining. Allen scored his 247th total touchdown, which passed Jim Kelly’s franchise record for most total touchdowns in Bills history.
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