Steelers ding Panthers’ playoff hopes
Mitch Trubisky threw for 179 yards and engineered three long touchdown drives as the Pittsburgh Steelers held on to beat Carolina 24-16 on Sunday, dealing the host Panthers’ playoff hopes a major blow.
Trubisky, filling in for concussed rookie Kenny Pickett, ran for a 1-yard touchdown and played turnover-free football. Najee Harris carried 24 times for 86 yards and a touchdown and Jaylen Warren added a 2-yard TD run for Pittsburgh (6-8), which has won three of its last four.
The Panthers (5-9) entered the weekend in control of their playoff destiny, needing four wins in four games to win the unimpressive NFC South.
But Carolina, a run-first team, couldn’t get anything going on the ground.
The Panthers had averaged 191.6 yards rushing in their five wins this season, but managed just 21 yards on 16 carries as the Steelers stacked the box and dared Sam Darnold to beat them.
Darnold finished 14 of 23 for 225 yards with a 5-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Moore, but was sacked four times, and the Panthers struggled in the red zone.
Eagles 25, Bears 20: Jalen Hurts tied a career high by running for three touchdowns.
Philadelphia (13-1), with the best record in the NFL, made just enough plays to get out of Chicago with a tighter-than-anticipated win.
Chicago’s Justin Fields rushed for 95 yards to reach exactly 1,000 on the season, joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson as the only quarterbacks to rush for 1,000 or more. He also set a franchise single-season rushing record for a QB. But the Bears (3-11) lost their seventh straight game — their worst skid since dropping eight in a row in 2002 to match a franchise record.
Hurts is also closing in on history as a rusher. He has 13 rushing touchdowns, one short of the NFL record for a QB, set by Cam Newton during his rookie year in 2011.
Hurts finished with 61 yards rushing and has 747 this season. He also threw for 315 yards with two interceptions.
Chiefs 30, Texans 24: Jerick Mckinnon had a 26-yard touchdown run in overtime and Kansas City got three touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes to clinch their seventh straight AFC West title.
The host Chiefs (11-3) got the ball first in overtime but had to punt it away after
Mahomes was sacked by Blake Cashman on third down. Texans quarterback Davis Mills fumbled on a scramble on Houston’s first play, and it was recovered by Kansas City’s Willie Gay on the Texans’ 26.
Mckinnon, who also had a TD reception, dashed untouched into the end zone on the next play.
The Chiefs had a chance to win it in regulation, but Harrison Butker’s 51-yard attempt was wide right.
Jaguars 40, Cowboys 34 OT: Rayshawn Jenkins intercepted Dak Prescott’s bobbled pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown that gave Jacksonville a victory over the visiting Dallas in overtime Sunday.
Noah Brown failed to secure Prescott’s low throw, and Jenkins made a shoelace grab and went untouched the other way to end Jacksonville’s record 20-game skid against NFC teams.
Prescott sat on the field as the Jaguars celebrated one of their more improbable wins in franchise history.
The Cowboys (10-4) ended a five-game winning streak.
The stunner prevented Dallas from securing a playoff spot. Jacksonville (6-8), meanwhile, could gain ground on Tennessee in the topsy-turvy AFC South.
Saints 21, Falcons 18: Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill combined to throw three touchdown passes in the debut of Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder.
Juwan Johnson had career-high 67 yards receiving and caught both of Dalton’s scoring passes. Hill threw his second TD pass of the season on a 73-yard connection with rookie Rashid Shaheed.
New Orleans (5-9) remained mathematically alive in the anemic NFC South — a division in which every team entered Week 15 with a losing record.
Atlanta (5-9) was down by just a field goal and threating to score with less than three minutes remaining when Ridder, the former University of Cincinnati star, hit Drake London over the middle for first-down yardage on fourth-and-5. But safety Justin Evans punched the ball from London’s grasp, and cornerback Bradley Robey snagged it out of the air.
Lions 20, Jets 17: Jared Goff threw a go-ahead 51-yard TD pass to Brock Wright on fourth-and-1 with 1:49 left for visiting Detroit.
The Jets (7-7) sent out Greg Zuerlein for a potential tying 58-yard field goal, but his kick went wide left — sending the Lions (7-7) to their third straight win and sixth in their past seven games.