Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes before leaving with an ankle injury, Xavier Worthy ran for a score and, for once, the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t have to sweat out the final minutes in their victory over the mistake-prone Cleveland Browns. Mahomes connected for TDs in the first half with Juju Smith-Schuster and Noah Gray as the Chiefs (13-1) built a 21-0 lead. The defending Super Bowl champions have 10 wins by seven points or less, with six coming on the game’s final play. Mahomes left in the fourth quarter with a left ankle injury and was replaced by Carson Wentz. The Browns (3-11) had six turnovers. Jameis Winston threw three more interceptions.
After the game, Mahomes said X-rays on the injury were negative. He said he would have lobbied harder to stay in the game if the Browns had gotten within one score.
“We’ll get into the rehab part, the treatment part and try to get back on a short week,” said Mahomes, noting the Chiefs will play again on Saturday – the second of three games in 11 days. “With all the adrenaline from the game, it’s hard to tell now [if I can play]. Usually, it’s the day after when you get a good sense of it.”
Lamar Jackson tied his career high by throwing five touchdown passes in a near-perfect performance that led the Baltimore Ravens (9-5) to victory over the New York Giants (2-12). The Giants tied a franchise record with their ninth straight loss and fell to 0-8 at MetLife Stadium this season. Coming off a bye week, the win moved the Ravens moved closer to a playoff berth. Jackson finished 21 of 25 for 290 yards and had a quarterback rating of 154.6, just short of the NFL maximum of 158.3. He threw two TD passes to Rashod Bateman.
Jalen Hurts threw touchdown passes to AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith to mute scrutiny of the Eagles’ offense, and Philadelphia won a franchise-record 10th straight game over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Eagles running back Saquon Barkey’s chase of the NFL season rushing record was slowed when he ran for just 65 yards on 19 carries. The Eagles were denied a shot at clinching the NFC East when Washington beat New Orleans earlier in the day. AFC North-leading Pittsburgh lost for the second time in nine games but clinched a playoff spot thanks to losses by Miami and Indianapolis. Hurts also had a rushing TD on a tush push.
Nico Collins had two touchdown receptions and Houston’s defense forced four turnovers, highlighted by two fourth-quarter interceptions by Derek Stingley, to help the Texans to a win over the Miami Dolphins (6-8). It was the second straight victory for the Texans (9-5), who clinched the AFC South title for a second straight season with the Colts’ loss later in the day. Collins had a six-yard TD reception in the second quarter and his second six-yard scoring grab made it 20-6 in the third. That score was set up by a 35-yard run by Dare Ogunbowale on a fake punt.
The Denver Broncos overcame Bo Nix’s first three-interception game of his rookie season by collecting five takeaways that propelled them to a win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Broncos strenghened their bid for a wild-card berth at 9-5. This is the first time they’ve been four games above .500 since starting the 2016 season 4-0. The Colts fell to 6-8 and saw their playoff hopes dim. Among the Broncos’ takeaways was Nik Bonitto’s touchdown when he foiled a trick play by cutting off the receiver’s throwback to QB Anthony Richardson and racing 50 yards for the score.
Jayden Daniels threw two first-half touchdown passes to Terry McLaurin, and the Washington Commanders (9-5) narrowly held off a rally by Spencer Rattler and the Saints, winning when New Orleans (5-9) failed on a two-point conversion with no time left. Daniels, returning to play in Louisiana a year after winning the Heisman Trophy with LSU, completed 25 of 31 passes for 226 yards. He also ran for 66 yards. But Washington couldn’t put New Orleans away after building a 17-0 third-quarter lead. Rattler led four scoring drives in relief of fill-in starter Jake Haener. But he couldn’t complete the winning two-pointer to tight end Juwan Johnson.
Joe Burrow threw for 271 yards with three touchdowns for the franchise record with 36 this season and the Cincinnati Bengals (6-8) improved their faint playoff hopes by thumping the Tennessee Titans (3-11) in a sloppy game. The Bengals earned the 400th regular-season win in franchise history. They still need to win out to extend their streak of winning seasons to four straight no matter where they wind up in the AFC playoff chase. The Bengals turned six turnovers into 24 straight points capped by a 39-yard pick-six in the third. Cincinnati also had four turnovers for the NFL’s first 10-turnover game since 2007.
Davante Adams caught nine passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns all in the second half and the New York Jets (4-10) rallied to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11) to end a four-game skid. Adams hauled in a 71-yard TD pass with 3:24 remaining and a 41-yarder that set up Breece Hall’s one-yard plunge with 1:05 to play. In between, he made a circus catch along the sideline for a first down. It was vintage Adams, who became the 12th player in NFL history with 100 receiving touchdowns. And vintage Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 289 yards and three scores as the Jets topped 30 points for the first time this season.
Cooper Rush threw for 214 yards and a career-high three touchdown passes, Dallas forced four Bryce Young turnovers and sacked the second-year quarterback six times and the Cowboys defeated the Carolina Panthers for their third win in the past four games. CeeDee Lamb had nine catches for 116 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown reception and Rico Dowdle ran for a career high 149 yards on 25 carries to become the first undrafted running back to surpass 100 yards rushing in three straight games since Houston’s Arian Foster. Young fumbled twice and threw two interceptions to fall to 4-21 as an NFL starter.
James Conner ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns, offensive lineman Jonah Williams added the first score of his NFL career and the 7-7 Arizona Cardinals used a stellar defensive performance to beat the New England Patriots. The win kept the Cardinals on the fringe of the playoff hunt and snapped a three-game losing streak. New England (3-11) have lost four straight. The 312lbs Williams scored when he fell on a ball that was fumbled into the end zone, giving the Cardinals a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
Josh Allen strengthened his MVP case in yet another high-scoring thriller for the Buffalo Bills, Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers r
FULL BOX SCOREEric Edholm's takeaways:Ravens offense caught fire after two early stall-outs. Lamar Jackson fumbl
Justin Edmonds/Getty ImagesKansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered an ankle injury on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns and was forced out of
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