Cam Ward threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, and the Tennessee Titans snapped an 11-game home run by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 26-9 on Sunday.
The Titans (3-12) improved to 1-7 at home this season with their first win at Nissan Stadium since Nov. 3, 2024. The skid matched their worst series since moving to Tennessee in 1997.
With two games remaining, the Chiefs (6-9) were assured of their first loss since 2012 — their last season without Andy Reid as their coach. Kansas City has lost four straight, its longest skid since 2017, and six of seven.
A week after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending torn ACL, his backup, Gardner Minshew, exited the game with a knee injury early in the second quarter.
Ward posted his highest passer rating of the season at 122.3, beating Marcus Mariota for the most yards passing by a franchise rookie. He helped the Giants to a season-high 377 yards of offense against a Chiefs defense that came in as the eighth-most stingy in the NFL in yards allowed.
The rookie threw a shovel pass to Chig Okonkwo that traveled seven yards to put the Giants ahead to stay late in the first half. Ward also found fellow rookie Chimere Dike for a 1-yard TD in the third quarter.
Minnesota Vikings 16-13 New York Giants
JJ McCarthy ran for a touchdown before leaving with a right-handed injury, and backup quarterback Max Brosmer helped the Minnesota Vikings win their third straight game, beating the New York Giants 16-13 on Sunday in a game of teams eliminated from contention in the playoffs.
McCarthy was hit on a strip-sack by Brian Burns in the final minute of the first half, when it looked like the Vikings (7-8) were going to let the clock run out. Instead, Burns forced McCarthy to fumble with a crush and Tyler Nobin returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.
Brosmer led a go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Will Reichard kicking a 30-yard field goal. The rookie completed 7 of 9 passes for 52 yards in his fourth NFL appearance and first since throwing four interceptions on Nov. 30 in a 26-0 loss at Seattle.
Before he got hurt, McCarthy completed 9 of 14 passes for 108 yards and had a pick 6 negated by an offsides penalty on Abdul Carter. After sitting out his entire rookie year with a torn meniscus in his right knee, the 2024 No. 10 prospect missed time this season with a concussion and a sprained right ankle.
The Giants (2-13) lost their ninth straight game and fifth since Mike Kafka took over as interim coach when Brian Daboll was fired on Nov. 10. They haven’t won since October 9th.
Los Angeles Chargers 34-17 Dallas Cowboys
Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and the Los Angeles Chargers moved closer to the playoffs with a 34-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
The Chargers’ fourth straight win later in the day gave them a chance to clinch their second postseason berth in two seasons under coach Jim Harbaugh. Los Angeles (11-4) will either lose or draw against Indianapolis or Houston.
Dak Prescott caught TD passes on his first two drives, but couldn’t find the end zone again for Dallas, which was eliminated from the playoffs for the second straight year with Philadelphia’s NFC East win at Washington on Saturday.
The Cowboys (6-8-1) have lost three straight games since a three-game winning streak put them above .500 for the only time in coach Brian Schottenheimer’s first season.
In his third full game with his badly damaged (left) hand protected, Herbert led the Chargers to touchdowns on all three drives in the first half. Omarion Hampton scored on a five-yard run in the second half.
Buffalo Bills 23-20 Cleveland Browns
James Cook rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, Josh Allen played through a foot injury and the Buffalo Bills moved closer to a playoff berth with a 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Ty Johnson also had a quick score for the Bills (11-4), who have won four straight and five of six.
Allen played the second half despite suffering an injury to his right foot during the second quarter.
The reigning NFL MVP was favoring the foot after being sacked by Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Alex Wright for a 22-yard loss in front of Buffalo’s one-yard line with 60 seconds remaining in the first half. The half-sack gave Garrett his 22nd of the season. He needs one more sack in the final two games for the Browns (3-12) to pass Michael Strahan and TJ Watt for the single-season mark.
Allen was 12 of 19 for 130 yards and also rushed for 17 yards on seven carries.
New York Jets 6-29 New Orleans Saints
Chris Olave caught touchdown passes from Tyler Shaw and Taysom Hill, Charlie Smith tied a Saints team record with five field goals, and New Orleans extended its winning streak to three with a 29-6 win over the reeling New York Jets on Sunday.
Cameron Jordan had two sacks for New Orleans (5-10), giving him 130 for his career and moving the 15th-year defensive end two behind Hall of Famer Ricky Jackson for 17th in NFL history. Jordan, now with a team-high 8 1/2 sacks this season, has had at least eight sacks in nine seasons.
Shough, who was drafted 40th overall last spring, passed for 308 yards to surpass 300 yards for the first time while improving to 4-3 as a starter. Hill accounted for 116 yards with 42 rushing, 36 receiving and a 38-yard scoring pass to Olave in the final minutes.
Undrafted rookie Brady Cook made his second start for the Jets (3-12), who have lost three straight games and five of six.
Cook has been sacked eight times. He lost a fumble when former quarterback Nathan Shepard flattened it and defensive end Chase Young recovered it, leading to Smith’s 50-yard field goal. Cook was also intercepted by rookie Jonas Sanker on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter, leading to Smith’s final 39-yard field goal.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-23 Carolina Panthers
Bryce Young threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns, Lathan Ransom intercepted Baker Mayfield with 42 seconds left, and the Carolina Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on Sunday to take first place in the NFC South.
The Panthers (8-7) can clinch the division title next Sunday with a win over Seattle and a loss to the Buccaneers (7-8) against Miami. However, if both teams win or lose, the Panthers will need to beat Tampa Bay again on the road in Week 18 to claim their first division title since 2015.
Tetairoa McMillan had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers bounced back with a big win after a potentially devastating loss to the last-place New Orleans Saints.
Ransom made a critical mistake in that defeat with a late hit on Saints QB Tyler Shough that led to New Orleans’ game-winning field goal.
But with the Bucs driving for the game-tying field goal — or the go-ahead touchdown — there was a miscommunication on a second-and-9 pass between Mayfield and Mike Evans at the Carolina 42 and Ransom got an easy pick for the win.
Cincinnati Bengals 45-21 Miami Dolphins
Joe Burrow rebounded from his first shutout to score 309 yards and four touchdowns as the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Miami Dolphins 45-21 on Sunday.
Both Miami (6-9) and Cincinnati (5-10) were eliminated from contention in the playoffs last week, but both teams insisted they remain motivated for the final three games of the season.
And it looked that way in the first half. Cincinnati led 17-14 at halftime before opening the game with 28 points off four straight Dolphins turnovers.
Burrow tore up Miami’s defense, completing 25 of 32 throws with a 146.5 passer rating before being replaced by veteran Joe Flacco early in the fourth quarter. Two of Burrow’s touchdown passes went to running back Chase Brown, from 9 and 5 yards. Brown, who finished with 66 yards rushing and 43 yards receiving, also had a 12-yard run. All of Brown’s goals came on third down, making him the first player this season to score three points in a single quarter.
Ja’Marr Chase caught nine passes for 109 yards.