Perhaps the NFC East will not be clinched by a team with a losing record, after all.
The Eagles and the Cowboys will face each other next week with identical 7-7 records, playing for first place in the division after each of the longtime rivals posted a much-needed victory on Sunday.
Carson Wentz threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, including a 4-yard flip to Greg Ward with 32 seconds remaining to atone for a fumble earlier in the fourth quarter, as Philadelphia held off Dwayne Haskins and Washington, 37-27, for its second consecutive win following a three-game losing streak.
“I didn’t lose faith or confidence at all. I just wanted one more chance,” Wentz said. “The defense gave that to us, and we got it done.”
Embattled coach Jason Garrett and the Cowboys kept pace in the late Sunday slate, grabbing a 28-7 halftime lead and cruising to a 44-21 win over the Rams (8-6) to halt their three-game losing skid.
Tony Pollard (131 yards) and Ezekiel Elliott (117) combined for three touchdowns as Dallas ran for a season-best 264 yards.
The Eagles and Cowboys have so much to play for this coming week.Getty ImagesLet’s Go To The Video Tape
The Patriots likely will be disciplined by the NFL again for spying on their opponents, according to reports, not that they needed to film the Cincinnati sideline to blow out the one-win Bengals.
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore returned one of Andy Dalton’s four interceptions 64 yards for a touchdown as the Pats (11-3) clinched their 11th consecutive postseason appearance with a 34-13 win over Cincinnati (1-13).
This also marks the 18th career playoff berth for New England coach Bill Belichick, tying Tom Landry for second-most all-time, one behind Don Shula.
“That’s what you play for, you play to keep playing,” Belichick said.
Gilmore and J.C. Jackson each had two picks among five takeaways for the Pats defense, upping their NFL lead to 26.
Tom Brady managed just 128 passing yards — his third game with fewer than 200 in four weeks — but he also became the first player in NFL history with 20 or more touchdown passes in 17 different seasons.
“I’m happy we won,” said Brady, who also moved within one of Peyton Manning’s record of 539 career touchdown passes. “I always wish we’d do better. There’s always things to improve on.”
Remember The Texans
The Texans (9-5) moved closer to their fourth AFC South title in five years by cooling off red-hot Tennessee (8-6) with a 24-21 road win in Nashville.
Carlos Hyde ran for 104 yards and a touchdown — to go over 1,000 rushing yards for the season — and Ka’imi Fairbairn nailed a 29-yard field goal with 3:26 remaining after the Texans had flushed a 14-point lead.
“We had to lock in, and that’s what we did,” said Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson, who posted 243 passing yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. “It came down to that fourth quarter … and it was just something that we definitely didn’t want to let slip out of our hand.”
Ryan Tannehill was 22-for-36 for 279 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for the Titans, who had won six of their previous seven games to forge a tie atop the division. The teams will meet again in the regular-season finale in Houston. The Texans visit Tampa Bay on Saturday, while Tennessee faces New Orleans on Sunday.
“I don’t think we should even think one second about anything other than Tampa Bay, and that should be the whole goal,” Houston coach Bill O’Brien said.
Just Leave, Baby
The Raiders’ second departure from the Bay Area concluded with a crushing 20-16 loss to Gardner Minshew and Jacksonville.
Derek Carr hit Tyrell Williams with a 40-yard TD pass and Daniel Carlson kicked three field goals as the Raiders took a 16-3 lead in their final game at the Coliseum ahead of their move next season to Las Vegas.
But Raiders defensive end Dion Jordan committed a personal foul with a high hit on Minshew with 43 seconds remaining to set up a go-ahead touchdown pass to Chris Conley — his second of the game — with 31 seconds to go.
The Raiders left for Los Angeles in 1982 before returning to Oakland in 1995.
More Bay Area Heartbreak
The other wild finish of the day thrust the NFC playoff picture into upheaval, as two late replay reversals led to one costly last-second defeat for the 49ers.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan’s 5-yard pass to Julio Jones with two seconds remaining was ruled short of the goal line on the field only to be reversed via replay review — as having crossed the plane — to send San Francisco to a 29-22 defeat.
One play earlier, Atlanta tight end Austin Hooper appeared to have caught a touchdown pass, but the play was ruled incomplete after another video review.
The loss, which also featured a Falcons fumble recovery for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff to account for the final margin, dropped San Francisco (11-3) into a first place tie with Seattle in the NFC West. The Seahawks currently are ahead via tiebreakers, dropping the Niners into wild-card position, but the teams are slated to meet in the regular season finale in Week 17. Green Bay also is 11-3 in the NFC, with New Orleans at 10-3 entering its Monday night game against Indianapolis.
Buffalo Stance
Josh Allen connected with tight end Tyler Kroft for a 14-yard touchdown with 7:55 remaining as the Bills (10-4) clinched their second playoff berth in three seasons after missing the postseason the previous 17 years with a 17-10 win Sunday night in Pittsburgh.
Devlin “Duck” Hodges was picked off by Jordan Poyer in the end zone with 1:53 left — and again by Levi Wallace with six seconds to go — as the Steelers (8-6) lost for just the second time in their last nine games.
Bad Beat
This was an all-timer in this category in Washington. The Redskins were trailing the Eagles, 31-27, and they at least figured to cover the 4.5-point spread (some had it at four points and a push) with one second remaining when Dwayne Haskins dropped back for a Hail Mary attempt and was strip-sacked by Avonte Maddox. Nigel Bradham scooped up the fumble and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown as time expired for a 10-point Philadelphia win.
The Hurt Locker
Viking running back Dalvin Cook, the NFC’s second-leading rusher through Week 14, suffered a shoulder injury in Minnesota’s 39-10 win over the Chargers and did not return. Seahawks cornerback Quandre Diggs suffered a sprained ankle for a Seattle defense already without defensive linemen Jadeveon Clowney (illness) and Ziggy Ansah, linebacker Mychal Kendricks and cornerback Shaquill Griffin. The Bears lost Pro Bowl defensive tackle Akiem Hicks. Texans linebacker Bernardrick McKinney and Bengals guard John Miller suffered concussions.
Post Patterns
Seahawks running back Chris Carson ran for 133 yards and quarterback Russell Wilson was 20-for-26 for 286 yards and two touchdowns. … Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey had 87 yards rushing and 88 receiving to become the first player in Carolina history to reach 2,000 yards from scrimmage in a season. He also scored twice for 18 touchdowns, one more than Green Bay’s Jones for the NFL. … Packers running back Aaron Jones ran for two touchdowns for 17 on the season as Green Bay (11-3) took down Chicago, 21-13, in the 200th game between the NFC North rivals. … Redskins running back Adrian Peterson tied Walter Payton for fourth all-time with 110 career rushing touchdowns in Washington’s loss to Philadelphia. He also passed Curtis Martin for fifth on the all-time rushing list with 14,102 yards. … Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 308 of his season-high 458 passing yards in the first half as Tampa Bay evened its record at 7-7 with a 38-17 win over Detroit. Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting added a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown with 5:23 remaining. … Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills added two first-half TD grabs from Watson for Houston. … Lions RB Wes Hills, undrafted out of Slippery Rock and activated Sunday off the practice squad, scored two touchdowns in his NFL debut. … Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 27 of 34 passes for 340 yards in blizzard conditions, including 11 catches for 142 yards by tight end Travis Kelce, who went over the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth consecutive season. … Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock was 18-for-40 for 208 yards and an interception for the 5-9 Broncos, who have dropped nine in a row against Kansas City. … Vikings defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo returned a fumble 56 yards for a touchdown as Minnesota (10-4) forced seven turnovers in a rout of the Chargers. … Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake (137 rushing yards) and scored four touchdowns as Arizona (4-9-1) ended its six-game losing streak with a 38-24 win over Cleveland (6-8). Browns running back Nick Chubb ran for 127 yards for an NFL-leading 1,408 for the season. … Rams running back Todd Gurley had just 18 yards on 10 carries (albeit with one touchdown) in LA’s loss to the Cowboys.
He Said What
“We knew what was in front of us. We dealt ourselves this situation. I don’t think it’s going to take much motivation this week.”
— Eagles coach Doug Pederson after a 37-27 win over Washington set up a first-place meeting with Dallas next Sunday.
Three Stars
1. Jameis Winston, Bucs QB
Winston’s up-and-down season (30 TDs, 24 INTs) trended upward again with 458 passing yards and four touchdown passes in Tampa Bay’s 38-17 win over Detroit.
2. Stephon Gilmore, Patriots CB
Gilmore picked off Andy Dalton twice — for an NFL-high six this season — and returned one 64 yards for a touchdown in New England’s 34-13 win over Cincinnati.
3. Kenyan Drake, Cardinals RB
Gotta love the Drake. The former Alabama back ran for a season-high 137 yards on 22 carries and scored four touchdowns in Arizona’s 38-24 win over Cleveland.
Fantasy Insanity
- We’ve been waiting for Breshad Perriman to break out since he was taken in the first round by the Ravens four seasons ago. After making some waves the past couple of weeks, he came crashing to the forefront with his monster game Sunday. The Bucs receiver caught five passes for 113 yards and three touchdowns (34.6 PPR points). With Mike Evans out for the season and Chris Godwin leaving Sunday with a hamstring injury, have Perriman ready to go against the Texans poor pass defense next week.
- Eagles receiver Greg Ward Jr. had seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown, which is a solid fantasy day (19.1 PPR points). But that isn’t the real news: Ward was the only Eagles receiver to catch a pass.
- The Lions were starting their fifth different RB this season, Wes Hills, against one of the league’s best run defenses in Tampa Bay — which also has one of the worst pass defenses. But it was Hills who scored Detroit’s only two TDs on short runs. Don’t go jumping at the waiver button yet. He had just 21 yards on 10 carries.
— Drew Loftis





