Dak Prescott threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns, Brett Maher kicked the late field goal and the Dallas Cowboys beat Philadelphia Eagles 40-34 on Saturday.
Gardner Minshew threw two passes for the score and had a TD turn to fill in for an injured Jalen Hurts, but his second interception set up Maher’s flare kick.
Four days after speaking at the memorial service for his college coach, Mike Leach, Mincheo got Philadelphia to within 19 yards of a potential touchdown run in the final seconds, but his desperation passes into the end zone on fourth down and in the 10 were nowhere near. Receiver.
The NFL’s leading Eagles (13-2) had two turnovers in the final five minutes and missed the chance to clinch the NFC’s top seed in a game between two division rivals. Defending NFC East champions Dallas (11-4) kept the faint hopes of catching them alive.
The Eagles’ five-game winning streak was halted. They got off to a strong start when defensive end Josh Sweet caught an ill-advised throw from Prescott and ran 42 yards for a touchdown and took an early 10-0 lead.
CeeDee Lamb’s second TD catch made it 34-34 with 5:49 remaining in the game. Rookie cornerback DaRon Bland took the ball away from Philadelphia’s Quez Watkins for Minshews’ second interception, which led to Mahers’ 48-yard kick for a 37-34 lead.
Minshew threw for 355 yards, completing 24 of 40 passes in his first start of the season.
New York Giants 24-27 Minnesota Vikings
Greg Joseph kicked a 61-yard field goal as time expired, giving Minnesota a 27-24 victory that prevented New York from clinching a playoff spot.
Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns for the Vikings (12-3), including a three-yard throw to Justin Jefferson with three minutes left that was set up by a blocked punt. Jefferson finished with 12 catches for 133 yards, TJ Hockenson had a career-high 13 receptions for 109 yards and the other two.
After Jefferson’s score put the Vikings ahead by eight points, the Giants (8-6-1) tied it up on a Saquon Barclays 27-yard rush to the middle on fourth-and-two and a Daniel Jones two-point pass to Daniel Bellinger.
With no timeouts left, Cousins found Jefferson to complete the third on the bubble screen. Jefferson turned that into a 17-yard gain to set up Joseph’s game-ending punt.
Jones led 30 of 42 for 334 yards and a touchdown to Isaiah Hodgins, but his teammates had trouble holding onto the ball. The Giants got the help they needed with losses to NFC chasers in Detroit and Seattle, but they didn’t cut the deal to secure a Wild spot.
Cincinnati Bengals 22-18 New England Patriots
Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes and forced a late turnover in the red zone by Cincinnati to preserve their victory over New England.
The Bengals (11-4) won their seventh straight game and remained in the driver’s seat for a second straight AFC North title despite a 22-0 halftime lead.
The Patriots had the ball at the Cincinnati 5 with just over a minute to play when Rhamundry Stevenson was hit by Von Bell and fumbled, leading to a Josh Topo fumble recovery. The Bengals punted it four plays later, but the Patriots turned the ball over on downs.
Burrow finished 40 of 52 for 375 yards with two interceptions. Trenton Irwin had two touchdown catches. Tee Higgins had eight catches for 128 yards and a TD.
The Patriots (7-8) entered the Week 1 game outside the AFC Final Playoffs. They lost four out of five.
Mac Jones finished 21 of 33 for 240 yards and two touchdowns. New England had 10 penalties for 82 yards and managed only 285 yards. Nick Faulk missed 2 more points on the day when it was 17F with a wind chill 4F.
Las Vegas Raiders 10-13 Pittsburgh Steelers
Kenny Pickett threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens with 46 seconds remaining, and Pittsburgh honored the memory of the late Franco Harris as they rushed to victory over Las Vegas.
The night Harris’ No. 32 was retired by the Steelers — a Hall of Famer died again Wednesday at the age of 72 — Pittsburgh (7-8) kept its fading playoff hopes alive by pulling off another last-second victory over the Raiders. Las Vegas (6-9) was pushed to the brink of elimination from the postseason.
A day after the 50th anniversary of Harris’s Immaculate Reception victory over the Raiders in the 1972 playoffs, Pickett brilliantly led the Steelers 76 yards in 10 plays, the last of which was throwing over the middle to a wide open Pickens in the end zone.
Pickett completed 26 of 39 for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Pat Freymuth caught seven passes for 66 yards and Nagy Harris had 95 total yards as the Steelers won for the fifth time in seven games.
Derek Carr threw for 174 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions, the last of which was a float down the middle of the field caught by Cam Sutton with 29 seconds remaining. Pittsburgh rookie Conor Heyward ran in for the first time to help the Steelers run out the clock.
The Raiders lost their eighth one-score game of the year and could be eliminated from the playoffs by the end of the week.
Washington Leaders 20-37 San Francisco 49
Brock Purdy threw two more long passes to George Kettle and San Francisco beat Washington for their eighth straight win.
Purdy has continued his impressive play since taking over an injured Jimmy Garoppolo early in Week 13. He has thrown two TD passes in four straight games for the 49ers (11-4) and won all three of his starts. San Francisco continued its chase of Minnesota (12-3) for the second NFC seed.
Taylor Hynecke threw two TD passes for Washington (7-7-1) but also lost a fumble and threw an interception in the fourth quarter. He was replaced after the second giveaway by Carson Wentz.
The Leaders haven’t won in their last three games, but still hold a half-game lead over Seattle and Detroit in the race for last spot in the NFC.
The Niners broke the game open in the third quarter thanks to some big plays from Purdy. They took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove to the go-ahead score when Kittle opened a 34-yard TD run. Kettle scored again later in the quarter on a 33-yard catch and run to make it 21-7.
Wentz, playing for the first time since Week 6, threw a 20-yard TD pass to Curtis Samuel.
Atlanta Falcons 9-17 Baltimore Ravens
Tyler Huntley threw a touchdown pass in the first half, and Baltimore kept Atlanta out of the end zone as they ended up securing a playoff spot.
About half an hour after Baltimore (10-5) nurtured the Falcons, New England lost to Cincinnati to put the Ravens into the playoffs. The Ravens won for the second time in three games without quarterback Lamar Jackson, who suffered a knee injury.
Gus Edwards ran for 99 yards and JK Dobbins rushed for 59 yards in Baltimore. Huntley’s six-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson in the second quarter was the first TD pass by a Ravens wide receiver since Week 3.
Huntley ran for the two-point conversion that put the Ravens up 14-0. Baltimore’s defense has allowed more than 14 points in just one game since the beginning of November.
Atlanta (5-10), coming in a game behind first-place Tampa Bay in the NFC South, has lost four straight games — including the first two to rookie QB Desmond Ridder and six of seven.
Buffalo Bills 35-13 Chicago Bears
Devin Singletary and James Cook ran in touchdown runs in the third quarter, and Buffalo beat Chicago to win the AFC East title.
The Bills (12-3) won their sixth straight game, clinched their third consecutive Division I title, and stayed on track for the top seed in the AFC.
Josh Allen ran for a TD and threw another in the games closing minutes, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Dan Marino for most touchdowns in a player’s first five NFL seasons.
Chicago (3-12) equaled the franchise record with its eighth straight loss. Justin Fields threw for 119 yards and a touchdown, but ran for a season-low 11 yards a week after joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson as the only QBs with 1,000 yards rushing in a season.
The temperature at kickoff was 9 F with a wind chill of minus 12 F – only three degrees warmer than the record low for a Bears home game.
Singletary scored on a 33-yard opening drive in the second half and finished with 106 yards in the game. Cook added 99, including a 27-yarder in the third after a fumble by Bears’ David Montgomery, giving the Bills a 21–10 lead.
Seattle Seahawks 10-24 Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Kansas City shut down offense by Geno Smith and Seattle’s running back.
Travis Kelce had six catches for 113 yards, Toni Cadarius and Jerick McKinnon caught touchdowns as the AFC champions (12-3) remained tied with Buffalo for best record in conferences with two games remaining.
The Chiefs held off the Seahawks (7-8) twice in the fourth, clinched their Pro Bowl in the end zone and guided coach Pete Carroll’s team to their fifth loss in six games along with a near-knockout blow to their playoff hopes. Kansas City has won 16 consecutive regular season games against NFC opponents.
Kenneth Walker III was a bright spot for Seattle, running for 107 yards.
The wind chill was -2 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, and the tarp on the field was frozen when workers tried to remove it three hours before the game. Seattle’s offense was run cold as the Chiefs jumped out to a 17-0 lead.
Detroit Lions 23-37 Carolina Panthers
D’Onta Foreman ran for 165 yards and a touchdown, Chuba Hubbard added 125 yards rushing and Carolina had a franchise record 320 yards on the ground to beat Detroit and keep the NFC South title hopes alive.
Sam Darnold completed 15 of 22 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score to improve to 3-1 as Carolina’s starting QB. Raheem Blackshear and DJ Moore also scored for the Panthers, who amassed a team record 570 yards of offense in the coldest game ever at Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers had seven runs longer than 20 yards against a Lions defense that had only allowed 84 rushing yards per game over the past five weeks. Furman and Hubbard each exceeded 100 yards rushing in the first half as the Panthers built a 24-7 lead.
Carolina (6-9) can clinch its first division title since 2015 with wins in Tampa Bay and New Orleans.
Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes to third string tight end Shane Zylstra for the Lions. Detroit (7-8) has won six of its previous seven games to move into playoff contention.
Houston Texans 19-14 Tennessee Titans
Davis Mills threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cox with 2:52 left, and Houston pulled off a nine-game lead by defeating Tennessee in a game delayed by power issues.
Kickoff was delayed by an hour in a joint agreement between the Titans, the NFL, and local emergency management officials after the power outage. Even with the delay, it was the coldest home game in Titans history with a temperature of 20F on kickoff and a wind chill of 6F.
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo had two of the Texans’ four sacks by halftime, and Houston (2-12-1) also forced three resignations.
Quarterback Christian Harris intercepted rookie Malik Willis at the Houston 41 with 1:33 left, and Texas safety Jalen Peter caught Willis’ final pass in the end zone for the win.
Houston trailed 14-10 in the third quarter but held Tennessee scoreless from there.
The Titans (7-8) snapped a four-game lead atop the AFC South, falling to a tie with Jacksonville. Henry ran for 126 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown.
New Orleans Saints 17-10 Cleveland Browns
Alvin Kamara and Taisum Hill each ran for touchdown runs, and New Orleans eliminated Cleveland from the playoffs.
The Saints (6-9) were 0-6 in away games this season before they beat the Browns (6-9) in the coldest game in New Orleans history. It was 6 degrees at kick-off.
Deshaun Watson led Cleveland to the Saints 15 in the final minute, but was sacked in fourth place, 19 seconds behind Carl Granderson.
Kamara scored on a four-yard run late in the third quarter—set up by Daniel Sorensen’s interception of Watson and a 36-yard return—as the Saints overcame a 10-0 deficit. New Orleans trailed Tampa Bay by one game in weak NFC South.
Watson was rushing for 12 yards but struggled to pass in the roaring conditions (15 of 31 for 135 yards) and has fallen to 2-2 as a starter since returning from an 11-game suspension due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
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