The Pittsburgh Steelers thwarted Indianapolis’ last-gasp scoring bid on Monday to squeeze out a 24-17 NFL victory over the Colts.
The Steelers seized the lead with 9:55 to play on Benny Snell’s two-yard touchdown plunge
Indianapolis quarterback Matt Ryan put the Colts in scoring position on their final drive. But dubious clock management by Indianapolis proved costly.
With 24 seconds remaining, Ryan’s pass to Parris Campbell was broken up by Minkah Fitzpatrick and Pittsburgh had the win.
Snell had 12 carries for a season-high 62 yards after coming on in the third quarter for Najee Harris, who was ruled out at halftime with an abdominal injury.
Harris had 10 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown that put Pittsburgh up 13-0 in the first half.
Pittsburgh’s rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett completed 20 of 28 passes for 174 yards and no turnovers to notch his first victory on the road.
It was also the 24-year-old’s first fourth-quarter comeback.
George Pickens caught three passes for 57 yards, including Pickett’s pass for a two-point conversion on Snell’s TD.
Matthew Wright booted three field goals for the Steelers, who led 16-3 at halftime but saw the Colts mount a third-quarter comeback and take a 17-16 lead into the fourth.
The Philadelphia Eagles returned to winning ways with a thrilling 17-16 NFL late comeback win at the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
But another of the league’s form teams, the Minnesota Vikings, suffered a crushing 40-3 defeat at home to a rampant Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles, whose perfect start to the season ended after eight games with a defeat to Washington last week, were staring at the prospect of another loss as they began the fourth quarter 14-3 down.
But quarterback Jalen Hurts found Quez Watkins with a 22-yard touchdown pass and, after a Colts field goal, Philadelphia (9-1) snatched victory with 1:20 to go, as Hurts rushed in for an eight-yard touchdown.
Hurts ended with 190 passing yards, 86 rushing yards and the two touchdowns
“That was a great win, it wasn’t what you draw up but in this league it rarely is,” said Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who was offensive coordinator with the Colts before joining Philadelphia.
“You keep seeing it, when we need a drive, when need some points, we can always lean on our offensive line and Jalen is always special with the ball in his hands,” he said.
The Vikings went into the day tied with the Eagles for best record in the league at 8-1, the meeting with the Cowboys billed as a clash of two of the best teams in the NFC.
But it was an utterly one-sided encounter.
Dallas, quickly putting aside the disappointment of last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, scored points on each of their first seven drives.
“We just played a complete game, offense, defense. We knew we had to respond after last week and this was big for us,” said quarterback Dak Prescott, who threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns to the outstanding Tony Pollard.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott also rushed for two touchdowns while Pollard rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries and also gained 109 yards on six receptions, using his running power to burst from deep to great effect.
The combination of Elliott and Pollard proved too much for Minnesota.
“They are dynamic, when we have them both out there, the defense doesn’t know what is coming at them,” Prescott said.
The 37-point margin was the biggest the Cowboys have enjoyed in 54 years.
The loss also saw Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins snap a streak of 39 consecutive games with a touchdown — the fourth best record since the NFL-AFL merger.
The Kansas City Chiefs improved to 8-2 with a 30-27 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers led with 1:46 remaining, but Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes piloted a six-play, 75-yard drive capped by a four-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce that made it 30-27.
It was Kelce’s third TD catch of the night and the Chargers’ bid to claw back ended when Chiefs defender Nick Fulton intercepted a pass by Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert.
The Buffalo Bills, forced to move their home game with the Cleveland Browns to Detroit due to a snow storm, left Motor City with a 31-23 win.
Browns quarterback Jacoby Brisett threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns but three field goals in the fourth quarter were enough to secure the win for the Bills, who had lost their previous two games.
Patterson return record
Image of Cordarrelle Patterson, from Wikipedia.
Atlanta running back Cordarrelle Patterson set an NFL record with his ninth kick return touchdown, breaking the old mark he shared with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington.
Patterson raced up the middle of the field for a 103-yard touchdown in the second quarter in the Falcons’ 27-24 triumph over Chicago.
It was his seventh touchdown return of more than 100 yards, with no one else in NFL history managing more than three, and his first kick return touchdown since 2020.
Kendall Fuller returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown and Curtis Samuel scored on a 10-yard run to spark Washington’s 23-10 victory at Houston, the Commanders’ fifth triumph in six games.
The Cincinnati Bengals kept themselves in contention in the AFC North moving to 6-4 with a 37-30 win over divisional rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dak Prescott threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns to spark the Dallas Cowboys over NFL-best Philadelphia 40-34 on Saturday, keeping the Eagles from clinching a top playoff seeding.
The Cowboys’ defensive unit forced four turnovers and seized command late in a deadlocked game to stun the visiting Eagles (13-2).
“This was a huge game, not only beating one of the best teams in the league, but the way we did it,” Prescott said. “We can use this and continue to build.”
The victory kept Dallas Cowboys, 11-4 in the NFC East division title hunt and Minnesota, 12-3, moved closer in the fight for the NFC top seed and a first-round playoff bye.
The Baltimore Ravens clinched a playoff berth on a day when eight games were played in sub-freezing temperatures, the most in any NFL gameday in 26 years, while the New York Giants missed a chance to clinch a post-season spot on a last-play loss at Minnesota.
Prescott completed 27 of 35 passes and kept his poise after having an early interception returned for a touchdown.
“It was just about moving on,” said Prescott. “All I did is just keep my head down and keep playing. I focused in and we were able to come out with this one.”
In the last minutes, Dallas Cowboys’ defender DaRon Bland intercepted a Gardner Minshew pass and Anthony Barr recovered a fumble by Philadelphia’s Miles Sanders to set up Brett Maher field goals of 48 and 26 yards for the decisive points.
“They gave us chance after chance,” Prescott said. “With those four turnovers, they gave us short field position and we were able to capitalize on some. When they do that, we’re a tough team to beat.”
The Cowboys stopped Philadelphia’s final drive on downs at the Dallas 20 with 14 seconds remaining.
“I said if we want to be a championship team, a championship defense, this is for our lives,” Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker Micah Parsons said. “In that last six minutes, we were able to get them stops and get the win.”
Buffalo clinched a third consecutive AFC East division title and stayed ahead of Kansas City in the fight for the AFC playoff top seeding with a 35-13 victory at Chicago.
Josh Allen threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, Devin Singletary ran for 106 yards and a touchdown and James Cook rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown for the Bills (12-3).
Kansas City (12-3) stayed on Buffalo’s heels with a 24-10 home triumph over Seattle. Patrick Mahomes threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another touchdown for the Chiefs.
At Baltimore, Tyler Huntley capped a 13-play, 70-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass and ran for a two-point conversion for the decisive points in the Ravens’ 17-9 victory over Atlanta.
The Ravens (10-5) clinched a playoff berth when the New England Patriots lost to visiting Cincinnati 22-18.
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns for Cincinnati (11-4), which stayed a game ahead of Baltimore in the AFC North.
Vikings edge Giants
Philadelphia, Minnesota, Dallas, San Francisco, Kansas City, Buffalo and Cincinnati had already secured playoff spots.
Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens with 46 seconds remaining to give the host Steelers a 13-10 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Steelers paid tribute to former running back Franco Harris, who died earlier this week at age 72, only days before the 50th anniversary of his “Immaculate Reception” playoff touchdown catch against the Raiders.
The outcome means the Los Angeles Chargers can clinch an AFC wildcard playoff spot with a victory Monday at Indianapolis.
Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns and Greg Joseph kicked a career-longest 61-yard field goal on the final play to give the Vikings a 27-24 victory over the Giants.
The Giants, 8-6-1, moved to the brink of clinching a playoff berth with Seattle’s defeat at Kansas City and Detroit’s 37-23 loss at Carolina.
New York’s hopes were also aided by Washington’s 37-20 loss at San Francisco.
Tennessee’s playoff hopes suffered a blow with a 19-14 home loss to Houston (2-12-1). The Titans (7-8) had a fifth consecutive loss to slide level with Jacksonville for the AFC South lead.
The Los Angeles Chargers are headed back to the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2018 after a 20-3 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday.
The Chargers clinched an AFC wild card berth, aided by defeats for the New York Jets, New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders earlier in the week.
It will be their first post-season appearance under head coach Brandon Staley and with star quarterback Justin Herbert, who was drafted sixth overall in 2020.
Statement made about the Chargers
“It means a lot for our team,” Herbert said of a Chargers side that lost a string of key contributors to injury this season.
“We’ve been through so much this year and for the guys to battle and keep fighting the way they have, it’s been great to see,” he added in a post-game interview with ESPN.
Herbert completed 25 of 31 passes for 235 yards, with one interception.
Austin Ekeler ran for two touchdowns and Cameron Dicker kicked two field goals for the Chargers, with Herbert admitting that offensively there is “a lot of room for improvement.
“We can get better,” he said. “Just left a lot out there. But I thought the story of the day was the defense. They’ve done such a great job battling all year and they made plays when they needed to most.”
While the Chargers may have been less than electrifying offensively, the Colts were worse.
Nine days after their historic collapse against the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts gained just 173 yards, their only points coming from a field goal by Chase McLaughlin.
Quarterback Nick Foles, standing in for Matt Ryan, connected on 17 of 29 passes for 143 yards with three interceptions. He was sacked seven times.
With games against the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos remaining in the regular season, the Chargers improved to 9-6.
They welcomed safety Derwin James back to their starting lineup after a two-game injury absence, but James was ejected in the first half for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Colts receiver Ashton Dullin.
Both were examined for head injuries, Dullin departing the contest with a concussion.
Jalen Hurts threw four touchdown passes, three of them to A.J. Brown, as the NFL’s only unbeaten team, the Philadelphia Eagles, crushed the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-13 on Sunday.
Hurt’s Inspiration
Impressive Hurts cast aside any lingering doubts about his ability, completing 19 of 28 passes for 285 yards, and the Steelers had no answer to his connection with Brown, who had six receptions for 156 yards as the Eagles moved to 7-0.
“It’s a testament to the receivers we have, the protection we had all day,” Hurts said. “It’s a testament to the work we put in as a team. No man is an island. You’ve got to draw your strength from others.”
The three Hurts-to-Brown touchdowns came in the first half to give the Eagles a 21-0 lead at the half and the win was secured thanks to a 34-yard pass from Hurts to Zach Pascal in the third quarter and an 11-yard touchdown run from Miles Sanders in the fourth.
“We just want to be great,” Brown said of his connection with Hurts. “He knows what I want to accomplish and I know what he wants to accomplish. We’re just having fun and playing for one another.”
It’s only the second time in franchise history that the Eagles have opened the season 7-0 and the first since the 2004 season.
“There isn’t any time to celebrate,” Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave said. “We’re glad we’re 7-0 but there’s a whole lot more to accomplish.”
The Minnesota Vikings improved to 6-1 with a 34-26 victory over the Arizona Cardinals while running back Tony Pollard rushed for three touchdowns as the Dallas Cowboys rose to 6-2 by beating the Chicago Bears 49-29.
A pair of third-quarter touchdowns gave the Vikings an 11-point lead over the Cardinals.
Arizona reduced the deficit to 28-26 after Kyler Murray found Rondale Moore with a 34-yard touchdown pass and Matt Prater added a field goal, but Kirk Cousins wrapped up the win with a 5-yard pass to K.J Osborn.
Dallas running back Pollard starred with a career-best effort, rushing for 131 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns.
Buffalo improved to 6-1 by defeating the visiting Green Bay Packers 27-17 as Josh Allen threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns.
The Packers fell to 3-5 despite Aaron Rodgers throwing for 203 yards and two touchdowns and Aaron Jones rushing for 143 yards.
McCaffrey hits treble
San Francisco routed the reigning NFL champion Los Angeles Rams 31-14 as 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, in only his second game since arriving in a deal with Carolina, delivered an epic effort.
McCaffrey became the first NFL player since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005, and only the fourth since 1970, to throw and run for a touchdown and catch a touchdown pass in the same game with a 34-yard touchdown toss to Brandon Aiyuk, a 9-yard scoring grab from Jimmy Garoppolo and a 1-yard touchdown run.
Derrick Henry ran 32 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns to give Tennessee a 17-10 triumph at Houston. It was his sixth career 200-yard rushing performance, matching the NFL record shared by O.J. Simpson and Adrian Peterson.
South Korean-born Younghoe Koo kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime to give Atlanta a 37-34 home victory over Carolina while Geno Smith threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns to lead Seattle over the visiting New York Giants 27-13, dropping New York to 6-2.
Taylor Heinicke’s 1-yard touchdown run and a conversion kick with 22 seconds remaining gave Washington a 17-16 victory at Indianapolis.
Nick Folk kicked five field goals for New England in the Patriots’ 22-17 triumph at the New York Jets while Andy Dalton threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns in New Orleans’ 24-0 home victory over Las Vegas.
Tua Tagovailoa’s third touchdown pass, an 11-yarder to Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds remaining, gave Miami a 31-27 victory at Detroit while Latavius Murray’s late 2-yard touchdown gave Denver a 21-17 victory over Jacksonville at London.
The Cleveland Browns thumped the Cincinnati Bengals 32-13 on Monday, snapping a four-game NFL skid and halting their Ohio neighbor’s two-game winning streak.
Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett ran for a touchdown and completed 17 of 22 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown to propel Cleveland.
Brissett connected with Amari Cooper for a TD and Nick Chubb rushed for 101 yards and two TDs.
Cleveland’s defense, led by Myles Garrett, stepped up as well, forcing two turnovers and holding Cincinnati scoreless in the first half.
It was a tough night for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who was without his top target with receiver Ja’Marr Chase sidelined by a hip injury.
Cleveland sacked Burrow five times, intercepted him once and forced a fumble.
Burrow finished the night with 232 yards off 25 passes with two TDS.
After a scoreless first half, Chubb ran for a three-yard TD and a two-point conversion to put the Browns up five minutes before halftime.
Cade York added a field goal before the break, and Brissett added a three-yard touchdown run and the scoring toss to Cooper in the third.
The Bengals got on the board in the fourth with Burrow’s 13-yard scoring pass to Tyler Boyd, but Chubb added an 11-yard touchdown run before Burrow connected with Tee Higgins to cap the scoring.
Burrow fell to 0-4 against the Browns. Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski, meanwhile, improved to 5-0 against the Bengals.
