NFL Week 16: Lions hold off late Vikings rally to clinch division title
The Detroit Lions clinched their first division title in 30 years, using two rushing touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs and 106 receiving yards and a third-quarter go-ahead score by Amon-Ra St. Brown to overtake the injury-ravaged Minnesota Vikings 30-24 on Sunday in Minneapolis.
Ifeatu Melifonwu picked off a Nick Mullens pass at the five-yard line with 49 seconds left for Detroit’s fourth interception of the game, an off-target pass to an open Justin Jefferson three plays after his leaping grab in double coverage on third and 27 kept the last-minute drive alive.
Jared Goff passed for 257 yards without a turnover and David Montgomery had a rushing touchdown for the Lions (11-4) in another prolific performance by one of the NFL’s most potent offenses.
Detroit secured a home playoff game for the first time in 22 seasons at Ford Field, where an NFC North champions banner will soon hang. The last one was for winning the NFC Central in 1993.
Mullens threw for two scores, a diving 26-yard catch by Jefferson with 29 seconds left in the first half and a six-yard toss to K.J. Osborn that gave the Vikings a 21-17 lead early in the third quarter one play after a 47-yard heave to Osborn.
But like the week before in an overtime loss at Cincinnati, the turnovers weighed heavily on the outcome. Kerby Joseph’s first of two picks gave the Lions the ball at the Minnesota 33 in the second quarter, and they reached the end zone in three plays.
Goff was sharp in a redemptive game for him against Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, whose schemes had given him plenty of trouble in previous matchups with New England and Miami when Goff was with the Rams, including Super Bowl 53.
Jefferson played at home for the first time since Oct. 8, when he hurt his hamstring and sat out seven games, but the Vikings have had their depth tested more than ever. Wide receiver Jordan Addison (ankle, second quarter), tight end T.J. Hockenson (knee, third quarter), cornerback Mekhi Blackmon (shoulder, third quarter) and edge rusher D.J. Wonnum (knee, fourth quarter) left because of injuries.
Patriots 26, Broncos 23
Chad Ryland made a career-long 56-yard field goal with 2 seconds left, and New England delivered a near-fatal blow to Denver’s playoff hopes.
The Patriots (4-11) scored a pair of touchdowns in a 6-second span of the third quarter, then fended off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Broncos (7-8).
Ryland’s kick capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive that began with 58 seconds left after the Broncos went three-and-out. Denver had tied it up with a pair of long touchdown drives and two-point conversions on its previous two possessions.
Ryland came in as the worst full-time starting kicker in the league in field-goal percentage at 65% (13 of 20), and the rookie missed from 47 yards late in the first half on Sunday night. He also missed an extra point in the third quarter.
The Broncos were 7½-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, making the Patriots the fourth underdog to win at Empower Field at Mile High in coach Sean Payton’s first season. This latest upset left the Broncos with just a 6% chance of ending their eight-year playoff drought, according to the NFL’s calculations.
Bill Belichick improved to 11-10 against the Broncos during his 24-year tenure in New England, denying Denver the status as the only opponent with a winning record against him during his time with the Patriots.
Dolphins 22, Cowboys 20
Jason Sanders kicked his fifth field goal of the game, a 29-yarder as time expired, and the Miami Dolphins secured a playoff berth.
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 293 yards and a touchdown for the AFC East-leading Dolphins (11-4), who beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season. He connected with Tyreek Hill twice on the decisive drive, which covered 64 yards and took the final 3:27 off the clock.
Hill, who leads the NFL in receiving yards, had nine catches for 99 yards after missing last week’s victory over the New York Jets with an ankle injury.
Dak Prescott went 20 of 32 for 253 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (10-5), who have already clinched a playoff spot but fell a half-game behind Philadelphia in the NFC East.
Prescott put the Dallas in front 20-19 with an 8-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Brandin Cooks in the corner of the end zone. But the Cowboys were haunted by their red-zone struggles earlier in the game, including a fumble by Prescott on first-and-goal from inside the 1 on Dallas’ first possession.
Sanders’ first field goal was a career-long 57-yarder in the first quarter. He added kicks of 52, 54 and 35 yards to help the Dolphins take a 19-10 lead late in the third.
Packers 33, Panthers 30
Jordan Love threw for two touchdowns, ran for one and made two big completions to set up Anders Carlson’s 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds left, and visiting Green Bay survived a fourth-quarter rally by Carolina to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Love threw touchdown passes of 21 yards to rookie Dontayvion Wicks and five yards to Romeo Dobbs and scored on a quarterback sneak as the Packers ended a two-game losing streak. Aaron Jones became the first Packers player this season to exceed 100 yards rushing or receiving in a game, rushing for 127 yards in 21 carries.
The Packers (7-8) remain one game behind the Seahawks and Rams in the NFC wild-card race.
Bryce Young threw for a career-high 312 yards with two touchdown passes to DJ Chark for the Panthers (2-13), who failed to build on the momentum of last week’s 9-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Panthers trailed by 14 in the fourth quarter when Young threw an 11-yard pass to Chark on a slant route to make it 30-22 with 7:14 remaining. Young appeared to scramble for the two-point conversion, but the Panthers were called for holding and Eddy Pineiro missed his second extra-point attempt of the game.
After a defensive stand, the Panthers got the ball back and Young found Chark again in the right corner of the end zone for a diving 10-yard touchdown. Raheem Blackshear then tied the score at 30, scoring on a pitchout for the two-point conversion.
But Love came through for the Packers. He completed a 36-yard strike on third and four to Dobbs, who hauled in a catch near the sideline that Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino said on television should have been overturned.
With Giff Smith as interim coach for his first game, the Chargers gave the Bills all they could handle before Buffalo kicked a field goal in the final seconds.
Love, who finished 17-of-28 passing for 219 yards, followed with a 20-yard completion to rookie tight end Tucker Kraft to reach the Carolina 13, setting up Carlson’s kick.
Carolina had one last chance. Young completed a 22-yard pass to Chark on the sideline to stop the clock and then threw over the middle to Adam Thielen for 22 yards. But the Panthers, without any timeouts, were unable to spike the ball before time expired.
Seahawks 20, Titans 17
Geno Smith threw his second touchdown pass of the fourth quarter on a five-yarder to Colby Parkinson with 57 seconds left at Nashville and the Seahawks kept their playoff hopes alive with their second straight victory.
The Seahawks (8-7) still need to win out and get some help to clinch their second playoff berth in three seasons.
They started slowly after beating Philadelphia on Monday night and traveling cross country for the early kickoff. Smith, who sat out the last two games because of a groin injury, gave the Seahawks their first lead at 13-10 when he found DK Metcalf in the left corner for an 11-yard touchdown with 12:10 left.
Derrick Henry put Tennessee back up 17-13 with a two-yard touchdown run with 3:21 left. Smith responded by driving the Seahawks 75 yards over 14 plays for the win.
Tennessee (5-10), eliminated from the playoffs last week, had a final chance, but Boye Mafe led Seattle with two sacks, including one to start the Titans’ last drive. Ryan Tannehill hit Colton Dowell for a three-yard pass as the rookie ran out of bounds. Officials kept the clock going, and the final seconds ticked off without another play.
Henry threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Chig Okonkwo early in the second quarter. The Titans outgained Seattle 287-273.
Falcons 29, Colts 10
Taylor Heinicke provided the turnover-free leadership at quarterback Atlanta has sought all season, passing for 229 yards and a touchdown to lead the Falcons to the home victory.
The Falcons (7-8) benched Desmond Ridder this week for the second time this season following two straight losses, providing an opportunity for Heinicke to boost the team’s fading playoff hopes.
Heinicke delivered, completing 23 of 33 passes, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts. Tyler Allgeier added a 31-yard touchdown run. The Falcons’ 29 points set a season high and they recorded six sacks, including 1 1/2 by Campbell.
The Colts (8-7) had won five of six to move into a first-place tie in the AFC South but struggled on offense after opening the game with a long drive capped by Jonathan Taylor’s one-yard scoring run.
Younghoe Koo kicked five field goals. With the scored tied at 7-7, Koo had a 49-yard attempt hit the right upright in the second quarter, but an offsides penalty against the Colts led to a 23-yarder by Koo for the lead.
Buccaneers 30, Jaguars 12
Baker Mayfield threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns, and NFC South-leading Tampa Bay won its fourth straight while extending visiting Jacksonville’s skid to four games.
Mayfield threw a pair of TD passes as the Buccaneers (8-7) built a 20-0 halftime lead. In both cases, the Bucs cashed in after intercepting Trevor Lawrence, who struggled after spending the past week in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Lawrence threw a second-half TD pass to Calvin Ridley before spending the fourth quarter on the bench with what the Jaguars announced was a shoulder injury.
The Bucs are alone atop their division, one game ahead of New Orleans and Atlanta.
The Jaguars (8-7) remained in a first-place tie atop the AFC South with Indianapolis and Houston because both rivals also lost on Sunday.
Bears 27, Cardinals 16
Justin Fields threw for a touchdown and ran for a score in the win at Chicago. Tight end Cole Kmet caught four passes for a career-high 107 yards despite missing the second half because of a knee injury.
Khalil Herbert ran for a season-high 112 yards and a touchdown, and the Bears (6-9) bounced back after a late collapse at Cleveland a week earlier.
Chicago scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the first half to take a 21-0 lead and held on from there.
Kyler Murray threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinals (3-12).
Browns 36, Texans 22
Amari Cooper set a franchise record with 265 yards receiving while scoring two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to move Cleveland closer to a playoff berth with the win at Houston.
Cooper’s performance moved him atop the Browns’ record book ahead of Josh Gordon, who had 261 yards receiving against Jacksonville on Dec. 1, 2013. He has 1,250 yards receiving this season, making him the first receiver in team history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
The Browns can’t clinch a playoff spot this week, but at 10-5 they’re all but guaranteed to secure just their second postseason appearance since 2002. It’s the third time since 1999 that they’ve reached double-digit wins, doing so in 2007 and 2020.
Joe Flacco threw for 368 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in his fourth start for the Browns, who built a 22-7 halftime lead and cruised to their third straight victory. Cooper had touchdown catches of 75 and seven yards and set up Cleveland’s first score with a 53-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage.
Houston’s wild-card playoff hopes took a blow as the Texans fell to 8-7 on a day when Case Keenum threw for just 62 yards with two interceptions in his second start in place of star rookie C.J. Stroud, who remained out because of a concussion. Keenum was replaced by Davis Mills late in the third quarter.
Jets 30, Commanders 28
Greg Zuerlein kicked a 54-yard field goal with five seconds left, rescuing New York after it blew a 20-point lead in the third quarter at East Rutherford, N.J.
Jacoby Brissett replaced the benched Sam Howell in the third quarter and led the Commanders on three straight touchdown drives, including Antonio Gibson’s one-yard run that put Washington ahead 28-27 with 4:52 remaining.
After the Jets (6-9) held Brissett and the Commanders to a three-and-out series, they got the ball back with 1:41 remaining. Trevor Siemian marched New York into field-goal range and Zuerlein booted the game-winner.
It was the second win in eight games for the Jets, and it came hours after owner Woody Johnson told the New York Post he was bringing back coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas next year.
Siemian finished 27-of-49 passing for 217 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first start in place of the injured Zach Wilson. Breece Hall ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 96 yards in the home finale for New York.
Brissett was 10-of-13 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown in relief of Howell, who was benched for the second straight game. Howell completed six of 22 for 56 yards and two interceptions with a 1.7 rating for the Commanders (4-11), who have dropped six straight.
Chris Rodriguez had two touchdown runs for Washington, who looked to be out of it early before Brissett helped lead an impressive comeback.
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