Panthers beat Seahawks with ground game
For all the drama that has surrounded the Carolina Panthers this season, a resiliency among the group has developed and left them unexpectedly in the middle of a playoff race with four games to go.
Sam Darnold threw one touchdown pass, Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear both had rushing TDs, and the Panthers stayed in the thick of the muddled division race with a 30-24 win at the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
“With everything that we've gone through with coaching changes, getting rid of players ... all those different things and to see how those guys respond and came out and played today, it is pretty thrilling and emotional,” interim Panthers coach Steve Wilks said.
Darnold and Carolina built leads of 17-0 and 20-7 to take advantage of a sloppy, unenthusiastic first-half performance by the Seahawks. In the second half, the Panthers simply ran through Seattle's defense and delivered a blow to the Seahawks' hopes of winning the NFC West.
On Thursday night, the Seahawks (7-6) host the 49ers (9-4), who now have a chance to clinch the NFC West with a win.
Carolina (5-8) won for the third time in four games, won away from Charlotte for the first time since Week 10 of last season and pulled even with Atlanta to within one game of division-leading Tampa Bay, which lost to the 49ers on Sunday, in the NFC South.
Hubbard, Blackshear and D'Onta Foreman were a threeheaded trio that Seattle couldn't stop on the ground. Carolina rushed for 223 yards, with 180 coming from those three backs. Foreman and Hubbard both had 74 yards rushing.
Seattle has allowed two of its last three opponents to top 200 yards rushing and five straight opponents have rushed for at least 122 yards.
“We gotta fix this ... because you've seen what happened. And it's been the same thing the past two weeks, and teams see it and they're gonna attack it,” Seattle safety Ryan Neal said.
Eagles 48, Giants 22: Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as NFL-best Philadelphia (12-1) punched a ticket to the playoffs with a road victory over fading New York (75-1).
Hurts threw for 217 yards and hit DaVonta Smith on a 41-yard fourth-down TD strike and A.J. Brown on a 33-yarder as the Eagles scored on their first three possessions. The third-year quarterback also ran for 77 yards, highlighted by a 10-yard TD scamper late in the third quarter.
Miles Sanders ran for 144 yards and scored on runs of 3 and 40 yards as the Eagles handed the Giants their worst loss under first-year coach Brian Daboll. Chiefs 34, Broncos 28: L'Jarius Sneed intercepted Broncos backup quarterback Brett Rypien late in the fourth quarter, Patrick Mahomes atoned for a three-interception day by leading Kansas City on a clock-chewing drive, and the Chiefs held on for a win against host Denver, which lost QB Russell Wilson to a concussion.
The Chiefs (10-3) extended their dominance of Denver (3-10) with their 14th consecutive win over the Broncos, who made a game of it by scoring three touchdowns in a 3½-minute stretch spanning halftime after falling behind 27-0.
Cowboys 27, Texans 23: Ezekiel Elliott scored the go-ahead touchdown with 41 seconds remaining and host Dallas (10-3) rallied to beat hapless Houston (111-1). Tony Pollard scored twice for Dallas, which stayed two games behind Philadelphia in the NFC East.
Lions 34, Vikings 23: Jared Goff threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, leading surging Detroit (6-7) past visiting Minnesota. The Vikings (10-3) needed a win or tie to clinch the division title. Kirk Cousins threw for 425 yards, including a franchise-record 223 to Justin Jefferson on 11 catches. But Dalvin Cook ran for just 23 yards on 15 carries, and Minnesota couldn't stop Goff.
Bills 20, Jets 12: Josh Allen threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score on consecutive possessions and Buffalo (10-3) beat visiting New York(7-6) in wet, chilly and windy conditions.
Allen's 24-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Knox in the closing minute of the second quarter led to Buffalo scoring on four consecutive drives, capped by a pair of field goals by Tyler Bass, including a 49-yarder.
Jaguars 36, Titans 22: Trevor Lawrence threw for a careerhigh 368 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score, and Jacksonville (5-8) won at Tennessee (7-6) for the first time since 2013.
Jacksonville had four sacks and turned four turnovers into 20 points — three for 17 points in the first half. The Jaguars scored 29 straight points and have won two of three, while the Titans have lost three straight for the first time since 2018.
Bengals 23, Browns 10: Joe Burrow shook off a sloppy start to throw two touchdown passes and host Cincinnati (9-4) ended a five-game skid to its Ohio rival.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson was sharper than in his debut with Cleveland (5-8) last week and threw his first touchdown pass in 707 days, a 13-yarder to David Njoku in the third quarter.
Ravens 16, Steelers 14: J.K. Dobbins ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in his return from a knee injury, and visiting Baltimore (9-4) overcame the loss of backup quarterback Tyler Huntley to beat Pittsburgh (5-8). Huntley filled in for injured star Lamar Jackson but entered the concussion protocol in the second half. He was replaced by undrafted rookie Anthony Brown.