Falcoln flashback
Brady leads another rally over Atlanta, this time for Buccaneers
ATLANTA— TomBrady did it again to the Atlanta Falcons.
This time, he didn't even need overtime.
Rallying Tampa Bay from a pair of 17-point deficits, Brady recreated his Super Bowl miracle by leading the Buccaneers on five straight scoring drives in the second half for a 31-27 victory in Sunday over the stunned Falcons.
The stakes weren't nearly as high and the deficit wasn't quite as daunting, but Brady's latest blow to Atlanta took the Bucs (9-5) to the brink of their first playoff berth since 2007.
It sure didn't look that way when Atlanta raced to 17-0 by halftime, or when the Falcons (4-10) restored their margin to 24-7 after Brady finally guided the Bucs to a touchdownon the first possession of the second half.
Turns out, the 43-yearold was just getting warmed up.
He certainly had plenty of experience to fall backon when it came to breaking Atlanta's heart.
In the 2017 Super Bowl, Brady famously led the greatest comeback in championship game history, rallying New England from a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to a 34-28 overtime victory that secured his fifth of six titles with the Patriots.
Chiefs 32, Saints 29: Patrick Mahomes had his full repertoire of side-arm throws, basketball- style push passes and underhanded flips on display while passing for 254 yards and three touchdowns, and the Kansas City Chiefs extended their winning streak to nine gameswith a victory over the New Orleans Saints.
The Kansas City defense did its part to spoil Drew Brees' return from rib fractures and a punctured lung that had kept the recordsetting passer out four games.
While Brees passed for 234yardsandthreeTDs, he completed less than half of his passes and was intercepted for just the fourth time this season.
Dolphins 22, Patriots 12:
Undrafted rookie Salvon Ahmed and veteran Matt Breida combined for 208 yards rushing to lead the Miami Dolphins to a victory over the New England Patriots, who were eliminated from playoff contention, ending their NFLrecord run of 11 consecutive postseason appearances.
The Dolphins entered the game last in the league in yards per carry, and Ahmed became their first 100-yard rusher since 2018, totaling 122 yards and scoring a 2-point conversion on a trick play.
Breida added 86 yards and the Dolphins totaled a season-high250against the Patriots, who were gashed for more than 150 on the ground for the fifth time this year.
The Dolphins (9-5) bolstered their wild- card chances and are assured of a winning record for only the second time since 2008.
The Patriots (6-8) will finish at .500 or worse for the first time since 2000, the year they drafted Tom Brady. They fall one year short of matching the Dallas Cowboys' NFL record of 20 consecutive winning seasons.
Buffalo clinched the AFC East title with a win Saturday.
Seahawks 20, Washing
ton 15: RussellWilson and the Seahawks built a big lead, and Seattle's suddenly opportunistic defense held on to beatWashington and clinch a playoff spot.
Wilson threw for a touchdown, Carlos Hyde ran 50 yards for a score, and the Seahawks (10-4) picked off Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins twice. Shaquill Griffin and D.J. Reed each had an interception as the league's worst passing defense played strong until the fourth quarter.
Colts 27, Texans 20: Philip Rivers threw a late, tiebreaking touchdown to Zach Pascal and Indianapolis' defense recovered a fumble in the end zone with 19 seconds left to seal a victory overHouston.
Indy (10-4) has won three straight to retain a shareof theAFCSouth lead with Tennessee, winners over Detroit. Houston (410) has lost three straight and five of six in this series.
The Colts won this one in similar fashion to the teams' meeting two weeks ago.
TheTexanshada chance to win that one in the final minute but Indy jumped on a bad snap to quarterback DeshaunWatson inside the red zone.
This time, Pascal caught a pass in the flat, turned up the field and stretched his arms across the goal line while hitting the pylon to give Indy a 27-20 lead with 1:47 to go.
Rivers was 22 of 28 with 228 yards and two scores. Jonathan Taylor had 16 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Watsonwas 33 of 41 with 373 yards and two touchdowns. Coutee had five catches for 53 yards and one score before the fumble, andDavid Johnson had 11 receptions for 106 yards.
Titans 46, Lions 25: Ryan Tannehill ran for two touchdowns and threw three more, and Derrick Henryranfor 147yards and a score to move Tennessee closer to clinching its third playoff berth in four seasons as it routed Detroit.
The Titans (10-4) did their part with their second straight victory and fourth in five games to stay atop theAFCSouth. With Indianapolis beating Houston 27-20, the Titans still hold the tiebreaker in the division over the Colts with two games remaining. The Lions (5-9) lost their second straight after winning their first game under interim coach Darrell Bevell even with quarterback Matthew Stafford shaking off a rib injury to start.
Stafford threw for 252 yards and a TD before being pulled for Chase Daniel after Tennessee went up 39-18 with 9:00 left.
Ravens 40, Jaguars 14:
Baltimore built a 26-point halftime lead against helpless Jacksonville and rolled to a victory that boosted their playoff chances and extended the Jaguars' losing streak to 13 games.
Lamar Jackson threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score to carry the Ravens (9-5) to their third straightwin following a three-game skid. Hopeful of reaching the postseason for the third year in a row, Baltimore is among several AFC teams vying for three wild-card spots.
Cowboys 41, 49ers 33:
Tony Pollard ran for two touchdowns with Ezekiel Elliott sidelined by an injury for the first time in the two-time rushing champion's career, and Dallas beat San Francisco.
Four of the seven Dallas scores were set up by turnovers from the 49ers (5-9), who guaranteed themselves becoming the second Super Bowl runner-up in the past 13 seasons to finish with a losing record the next year.
The Cowboys (5-9) kept faint playoff hopes alive in a matchup of longtime rivals with a rich playoff history that was moved out of prime time with both teams starting the day in last place in their divisions.
Jets 23, Rams 20: Sam Darnold passed for 207 yards and the New York Jets finally earned the first victory of their miserable season, holding onfor awin that erased the possibility of the third winless 16game season in NFL history.
Frank Gore rushed for an early touchdown and made a decisive thirddown reception with 2:05 left for the Jets (1-13), who also ended the longest losing streak in franchise history with a strong start and a gritty finish at SoFi Stadium.
Embattled coach Adam Gase got his first win of the year only after New York blew most of a 17-point lead in the second half.
Cardinals 33, Eagles 26:
Kyler Murray threw for a career-high 406 yards, DeAndre Hopkins had 169 yards receiving and a stellar touchdown catch, and the Arizona Cardinals improved their position in the playoff race by beating the Philadelphia Eagles 33-26 on Sunday.
Arizona (8-6) won its second straight game as it tries to make the postseason for the first time since 2015. The Cardinals are in third place in their division behind the Rams and Seahawks andwould currently be the No. 7 and final seed in theNFC playoffs.
TheEagles (4-9-1) trailed 16-0 in the first quarter but rallied to tie the game at 26 in the third quarter after quarterback Jalen Hurts ran for a 7-yard touchdown.
Hurts, making his second career start, completed 24 of 44 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns.