Atlanta def Tampa Bay 29-28
Kirk Cousins led Atlanta to a comeback victory over Tampa, throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns. Kyle Pitts had the best game of his career with 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Bijan Robinson had 175 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown as well. What was truly impressive about this victory for Atlanta is that they still gave full effort even though they are no longer competing for the division or playoff berth.
Tampa blew its opportunity to cement its lead in the division, with a bad come-from-behind loss. Baker Mayfield missed an important third-down pass and the end of the game, which led to Atlanta getting the ball one last time, which led to the score. Bucky Irving had 60 yards rushing, but he missed out on a touchdown when Sean Tucker got the short-yardage call. The player of the game for Tampa was Mike Evans, who had six catches for 132 yards and looked as good as ever, even though this was his first game back from injury.
Washington def New York Giants 29-21
The Commanders ended their 8-game losing streak as Marcus Mariota threw for 211 yards and a touchdown and ran for 43 yards. Bill Croskey-Merritt came in for relief of Chris Rodriguez, who was out and had 96 yards rushing and a touchdown. Terry McLaurin also played very well with 69 yards and a touchdown.
The Giants were probably disappointed that they lost, but their fans certainly weren’t, as they wanted them to get the number one overall draft pick for next year. Jaxson Dart threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 63 yards as well. The player of the game for the Giants was Tyrone Tracy, who had 97 yards from scrimmage, including one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown. This was the best game of the season for Tracy, who certainly deserves more playing time in the future.
Buffalo def New England 35-31
Buffalo rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat New England and stay alive in the AFC East. Josh Allen threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns, but the comeback was helped by the great play of James Cook, who ran for two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass, too. The Bills defense was gashed by the run once again, but they played really inspired defense in the second half to help with the comeback.
New England should have won this game. They rushed the ball 25 times for 246 yards, which is almost 10 yards per carry. TreyVeon Henderson had two touchdowns and 148 yards rushing, and Drake Maye rushed for two touchdowns as well. The big problem was that Maye only threw for 155 yards, and they didn’t get Stefon Diggs involved. When you’re not getting your number one receiver the football, you’re not going to win most times.
Baltimore def Cincinnati 24-0
Lamar Jackson threw two touchdown passes to lead Baltimore to the victory. Derrick Henry also ran for 100 yards, and Zay Flowers had 68 yards receiving and a touchdown. The Ravens defense played inspired football as they sacked Joe Burrow three times and intercepted him twice.
Cincinnati just never looked like it was competing as Burrow made very poor throws at critical times. The best player, as always, was Ja’Marr Chase, who had 10 catches for 132 yards, but no other wide receiver had more than one reception. It just feels like this team needs to move on from Zac Taylor, as they have no chance of competing in this division.
Jacksonville def New York Jets 48-20
There are many outstanding coaches who should get votes for Coach of the Year, and one of those is certainly Liam Coen, who led Jacksonville to its 10th victory of the season. Trevor Lawrence was the star, throwing for five touchdowns and 330 yards and rushing for 51 yards and another touchdown. Travis Etienne caught three passes for 73 yards and had three touchdowns to lead the Jaguars skill players.
Aaron Glenn is hanging on to his job by a thread as the Jets just got demolished once again on the road. UDFA quarterback Brady Cook threw for 176 yards and a touchdown but also had three interceptions. Breece Hall had 12 calories for 23 yards–if you can’t get your best player in space, you’re never going to win any games.
Los Angeles Chargers def Kansas City 16-13
Not only is Kansas City out of the playoff picture for 2025, but they also lost quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a major injury as he tore his ACL. This team needs a reset, especially on the offensive line, as Mahomes was under siege all game long. The running attack had 21 carries for 49 yards, which is never going to win any games in the NFL.
All the credit in the world needs to go to the Chargers, who won an ugly game on the road. In years past, the Chargers would have blown this opportunity, but Jim Harbaugh has the defense playing at a very high level. Justin Herbert threw for 210 yards and a touchdown, and Hampton and Vidal had 27 carries for 94 yards and, more importantly, got the critical yards when needed.
Houston def Arizona 40-20
Houston continued its assault on the rest of the league as it had their sixth straight win at home, convincingly beating Arizona. CJ Stroud threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, including two touchdown passes to Nico Collins. Dalton Schultz had eight receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown, and when Woody Marks got injured, Jawhar Jordan came off the bench and had 15 carries for 101 yards. Marks’ injury is something that needs to be monitored closely, as Jordan could be the waiver wire pickup of the week.
Even though Arizona lost once again their team was viable for Fantasy managers as Jacoby Brissett threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Trey McBride was unstoppable, catching 12 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns, and Michael Wilson had another sensational game with five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. If Arizona can figure out its quarterback play in the offseason, this could be a very dangerous team next season if they improve their defense.
Chicago def Cleveland 31-3
Caleb Williams threw for two touchdowns as the Bears won their 10th game of the season. Williams also threw for 242 yards, and DJ Moore had four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears ran the ball effectively and played excellent defense, suffocating Sanders and Jenkins all game long.
As well as Cleveland played last week, they just couldn’t get anything going offensively against Chicago. Sanders finished with 177 passing yards but had three interceptions and looked like a rookie. Quinshon Judkins had 12 carries for 21 yards and never found any open running room the entire game.
Philadelphia def Las Vegas 31-0
This game was predicted to be a rout before it even started, and it ended up that way. Jalen Hurts had three touchdown passes as the Eagles finally got a win at home. Saquon Barkley ran for 78 yards and a touchdown, and Dallas Goedert had six catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, the Eagles defense sacked Kenny Pickett four times and intercepted him another time, and played outstanding football.
At this point, the season couldn’t end soon enough for Las Vegas. They really need to fire Pete Carroll and start over. Ashton Jeanty had 35 yards rushing and Brock Bowers had 28 yards receiving. When you can’t get two-star players more involved on offense, you’re never going to win.
Seattle def Indianapolis 18-16
This was a very big comeback win for Seattle, who won in the last few seconds on a Jason Myers 56-yard field goal. The biggest problem for Seattle was that they couldn’t find the end zone as Myers had six field goals on the day. Sam Donald finished with 271 yards passing, and JSN had seven catches for 113 yards. The Seattle running game really lacked punch as it had 22 carries for 50 yards, which was 2.3 yards per carry. If this doesn’t improve, Seattle will be an early out in the playoffs.
All the credit in the world needs to go to Philip Rivers, who came out of retirement and almost led Indianapolis to a shocking victory. Rivers threw for 120 yards and a touchdown and led the team to a late fourth-quarter field goal to take the lead with less than a minute left. Right now, the Colts are hanging on for dear life for a playoff spot, and if Rivers continues to play well, they might just make it.
Denver def Green Bay 34-26
This was a monumental loss for Green Bay as Micah Parsons left with an ACL injury. If the Packers don’t have him, it’s going to be very difficult for them to go deep into the playoffs, as he is the key to their defense. Jordan Love played outstanding football, throwing for 276 yards and a touchdown, and also rushing for 29 yards. Josh Jacobs rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass.
Once again, Bo Nix figured out a way to win. Nix threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. RJ Harvey had 65 yards rushing and a touchdown. What makes Denver so difficult to play is that they get so many different guys involved on offense.
San Francisco def Tennessee 37-24
San Francisco returned from the bye week and played really good football as Brock Purdy threw for three touchdowns and finished with 295 yards passing. CMC had 73 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Ricky Pearsall had one of his better games of the season with six catches for 96 yards. George Kittle was also outstanding with eight catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Tennessee is playing better Football under interim head coach Mike McCoy, but it still wasn’t good enough to win on the road. Cam Ward finished with 170 yards and two touchdowns, and Tony Pollard had another good game with 104 yards rushing and a touchdown. The big problem was that Tennessee just couldn’t make any big stops on critical third downs, and their secondary is one of the worst in the league.
New Orleans def Carolina 20-17
If Carolina misses the playoffs, it just might be because of this tough loss. Bryce Young finished with 163 yards passing, and Jalen Coker had four receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown. Carolina played decent football, but they just couldn’t do enough offensively, especially in the passing game. 15 completions for 163 yards is not taking enough shots downfield.
A lot of credit needs to go to Kellen Moore and the Saints, who played very good football even though they have nothing to play for. Tyler Shough finished with 272 yards passing and a touchdown, and also ran for 32 yards. Devin Neal left the game with a hamstring injury, and that’s something to monitor as he might miss time. Chris Olave finished with six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown, as he always seems to do well against Cover 3 defense.
Los Angeles Rams def Detroit 41-34
This was clearly the best game of the weekend as the Rams barely held off Detroit to clinch another playoff berth. Matthew Stafford threw for 368 yards and two touchdowns, and Kyren Williams ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Puka Nacua was outstanding with nine catches for 181 yards, and Colby Parkinson had five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Sadly, Davante Adams left the game with a hamstring injury, and it looks like he will not be back for the rest of the regular season.
Detroit is trying to get a playoff berth, but they made their lives much harder by not being able to close out the Rams after playing a good first half of football. Jared Goff finished with 338 passing yards and three touchdowns, and Amon-Ra St. Brown returned home and had 13 catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Jameson Williams also played great, with seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown. Detroit was surprisingly let down by its running attack, which just couldn’t ever get started. 20 carries for 70 yards is just not up to Detroit’s standards.
Minnesota def Dallas 34-23
It’s taken 14 weeks, but J.J. McCarthy looks like he is starting to figure out how to play quarterback. McCarthy threw for 2 TDs and ran in another to lead Minnesota to the road victory. Jordan Addison led the Vikings with 66 receiving yards, and once again, Justin Jefferson seems like a fantasy afterthought with only two catches for 22 yards. If McCarthy can continue playing well over the next three games, Minnesota will feel way more confident going into the offseason.
It looks like Dallas’ season is done after this loss. Dak Prescott threw for 294 yards but had no TDs in the game. CeeDee Lamb returned to the lineup and played very well, catching six passes for 111 yards. Once again, George Pickens was a non-entity, only catching 3 passes for 33 yards. Dallas will have a huge decision in the off-season as to whether it wants to invest in a player who obviously takes plays and games off.
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