Vikings edge Giants on 61-yard field goal; Panthers rout Lions
Greg Joseph kicked a career-long 61-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Minnesota Vikings a 27-24 victory that prevented the New York Giants from clinching a playoff spot on Saturday.
T.J. Hockenson had a career-high 13 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns from Kirk Cousins, who threw for a third score to Justin Jefferson with 3 minutes to go that was set up by a blocked punt and gave the Vikings (12-3) an eight-point lead.
Saquon Barkley’s 27yard rush right up the middle on fourth-and-2 for the Giants (8-6-1) with 2:01 left and the ensuing 2-point conversion pass from Daniel Jones to Daniel Bellinger tied it up.
But despite a 7-yard sack by safety Landon Collins at the Minnesota 41 that forced the Vikings to burn their final timeout with 19 seconds on the clock, Cousins found Jefferson for yet another clutch third-down completion on a bubble screen. And the NFL’s leading receiver had room to take it all the way before being tripped after a 17-yard gain.
Cousins spiked the ball, and on came Joseph for the on-target kick that had plenty of distance to spare to send the Vikings into a familiar sideline frenzy after yet another tense victory.
Panthers 37, Lions 23: D’Onta Foreman ran for a career-high 165 yards and a touchdown, Chuba Hubbard added 125 yards rushing and host Carolina racked up a franchise record 320 yards on the ground to beat Detroit and keep its 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 D.J. Moore also scored for the Panthers, who amassed a teamrecord 570 yards of offense in the coldest game ever played at Bank of America Stadium.The Panthers had seven runs of longer than 20 yards against a Lions defense that had allowed just 84 yards rushing per game over the past five weeks. Foreman and Hubbard both 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 at Tampa Bay and New Orleans. Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes to tight end Shane Zylstra for the Lions.
Chiefs 24, Seahawks 10: Seattle twice drove into Kansas City territory in the third quarter, twice went for it on fourth down while trying to dig out of a 17-3 hole and twice came up short on the frigid field inside Arrowhead Stadium. That about sums up the Seahawks offense these days. Geno Smith struggled to deal with the Chiefs pass rush, his wide receiver group missing injured Tyler Lockett struggled to make plays, and the Seahawks didn’t reach the end zone until a mostly meaningless touchdown in the closing minutes of a 24-10 loss that just about knocks Seattle out of the playoff hunt with two games left in the regular season. It was the fifth loss in six games for a Seahawks team that was a surprising 6-3 after beating Arizona on Nov. 6. The downfall of the Seahawks over the past six weeks largely can be attributed to the downfall of their offense, where a series of injuries to their running backs — and now a broken hand for Lockett — have kept Smith from having much help.
Ravens 17, Falcons 9:
Tyler Huntley threw a first-half touchdown pass, and the Baltimore defense kept the Atlanta Falcons out of the end zone in a 17-9 victory that ended up assuring a playoff spot for the visiting Ravens. About a half-hour after Baltimore took care of the Falcons, New England lost to Cincinnati to put the Ravens in the playoffs. The Ravens won for the second time in three games without quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has been out with a knee injury. Gus Edwards ran for 99 yards and J.K. Dobbins rushed for 59 for Baltimore. Atlanta has lost four straight, including rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder’s first two starts.
Saints 17, Browns 10:
Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill each had touchdown runs and New Orleans went outside and handled Cleveland’s arctic-like cold in a win over the Browns. Cleveland was officially eliminated from the playoffs. The Saints came in 0-6 in outdoor games this season before rallying to beat the Browns in the coldest game in New Orleans history. Quarterback Deshaun Watson drove Cleveland to the Saints’ 15 in the final minute, but he was sacked on fourth down with 19 seconds left.
Texans 19, Titans 14:
Davis Mills threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks with 2:52 left, and host Houston snapped a nine-game skid by beating sliding Tennessee. Kickoff was delayed by an hour in a joint agreement by the Titans, the NFL and local emergency management officials after rolling power blackouts. This was the coldest home game in Titans history. The Texans weren’t bothered much by their coldest game this season. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo had two of the Texans’ four sacks by halftime. Houston also forced three turnovers, the last to end the game.