In a game to watch for the NFL playoff race, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers struck a big blow with a 34-20 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Baker Mayfield found his ease at Lambeau Field with four touchdown passes, including a 52-yarder to David Moore.
This victory greatly helps the Bucs who want to stay at the top of the National South division thanks to their 7-7 record. Green Bay for its part falls to 6-8 and sees the last place giving it access to the playoffs temporarily elude it.
Mayfield also spotted Mike Evans, Rachaad White and Ko Kieft for majors. The quarterback completed the game with 381 passing yards and 22 completions in 28 attempts.
Chris Godwin stood out for the Buccaneers even though he didn’t score a touchdown. He had 155 yards on 10 catches.
For the Packers, Jordan Love threw a touchdown pass to Jayden Reed and another to Tucker Kraft. Love recorded 284 yards through the air.
The Bucs will face the Jacksonville Jaguars next week, while the Packers will face the Carolina Panthers.
Flacco continues to get the job done
Joe Flacco rushed for 374 yards and led the Cleveland Browns to a 20-17 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Dustin Hopkins capped an unanswered 13-point fourth-quarter drive by the Browns with the game-changing 34-yard field goal.
Flacco had his share of problems with three interceptions, but he delivered when the situation called for it. He notably connected with Amari Cooper for a 51-yard touchdown to tie the game 17-17 with just over three minutes remaining.
The Browns (9-5) received the ball with 1 minute 50 seconds left in the game. The 38-year-old quarterback twice joined his tight end David Njoku to cross 65 yards. Hopkins followed with the game-winning field goal.
The Bears still almost struck a big blow on the last play of the match. Justin Fields threw a desperation pass that was knocked back to his receiver Darnell Mooney in the end zone. The latter was unable to grab the ball which ended up in the hands of marauder D’Anthony Bell for the interception.
In the defeat, Tremaine Edmunds scored a touchdown after a 45-yard interception return.
Fields completed the game with 166 yards through the air.
Chiefs put distractions behind them
The Kansas City Chiefs recovered from the strong emotions surrounding last Sunday’s loss and bounced back with a 27-17 victory over the New England Patriots.
Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a lot to do with KC’s ninth victory in 14 games.
The reigning Super Bowl champions avoided losing three consecutive games for the first time since 2017.
According to ESPN, the Chiefs now have a 95% chance of winning the American West division again. It would be their eighth crown in a row.
Mahomes was effective against the Patriots, completing 27 of his 37 pass attempts for 305 yards, as well as two touchdown passes.
Rashee Rice has been his favorite target; the latter completed his afternoon of work with nine catches for 91 yards and a major.
Jerick McKinnon also threw a touchdown pass on a play at the goal gate for the Patriots (3-11), who still have only one home win this season in eight outings.
For the Pats, Bailey Zappe completed 23 of his 29 passes, but only garnered 180 yards through the air.
Tight end Hunter Henry caught seven balls for 66 yards and a touchdown.
New England’s ground game was almost non-existent, as Ezekiel Elliott was held to 21 yards on 10 carries.
This duel between Andy Reid and Bill Belichick marked the first time in NFL history that two head coaches with 250 or more victories on their record faced each other.
On Saturday, Reid learned that he will have to pay a $100,000 fine for openly criticizing the work of officials on the sidelines of the Week 14 game, a 20-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Mahomes, for his part, had to pay $50,000, also for having made known his dissatisfaction with the decisions made by the referees.
The Saints keep pace with the Bucs
Even in bad shape, Derek Carr did what was necessary, amassing 218 yards through the air and throwing three touchdown passes to lead the New Orleans Saints to a victory, 24 to 6 against the New York Giants.
Carr was on the Saints’ roster (7-7) despite dealing with multiple injuries since Week 13.
The veteran quarterback suffered only one sack in the game for a loss of nine yards.
By returning to the .500 mark with this second success in a row, New Orleans maintains the pace of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their division rivals who have the same record, but currently have the tiebreaker.
The Bucs achieved their third victory by defeating the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Alvin Kamara rushed for 110 yards in the Saints’ win, including 44 on five receptions.
Giants (5-9) quarterback Tommy DeVito had a complicated afternoon. He had seven sacks for a total loss of 57 yards.
DeVito had 177 air yards, including 63 to Darius Slayton.
Disaster for the Falcons
The Carolina Panthers were able to score a second victory this season in a match that will not go down in history ahead of the Atlanta Falcons. The match ended with a score of 9 to 7.
Carolina escaped with the victory following a field goal at the end of the game by Eddy Pineiro, his third of the clash. Cordarrelle Patterson scored the only touchdown of the game for the Falcons. It was in the second quarter.
Even though he was limited to 167 yards on 18 completions, Bryce Young did not have an interception in this game. Adam Thielen was the Panthers’ most productive receiver with 43 yards on four catches.
Chuba Hubbard had 87 rushing yards on 22 carries.
For the Falcons, Desmond Ridder had problems with 12 completed passes in 20 attempts. He threw for 152 yards and had one interception.
This defeat hurts the Falcons who are struggling with their South division rivals in the National. They are 6-8. Carolina is far behind in the standings with two wins against 12 losses.
Victory by one foot for the Texans
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn was perfect with his foot and gave the Houston Texans victory over the Tennessee Titans 19-16 in overtime.
Fairbairn’s fourth field goal of the game from 54 yards sealed the outcome of the game. He also made field goals of 23, 27 and 53 yards.
The Texans overcame a 13-point deficit to get their eighth victory in 14 games this season.
Houston managed to escape with the victory despite the absence of several key players, including quarterback CJ Stroud as well as wide receiver Nico Collins, right tackle George Fant and two starters on the defensive line. Stroud has not practiced this season, being placed in the concussion protocol.
In the victory, Texans quarterback Case Keenum, who was making his first start since Week 17 of the 2021 season with Cleveland, completed 23 of his 36 passes for gains of 229 yards. He completed a three-yard touchdown pass to Noah Brown, but was the victim of an Elijah Molden interception that was returned 44 yards in the first quarter for a major.
Titans quarterback Will Levis was unable to complete a pass for a major and was intercepted once by Steven Nelson. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 199 yards in gains. However, he was the author of his team’s only major on a one-yard run in the first quarter. He injured his leg during overtime.
Levis was injured during the encounter. At first glance, it doesn’t seem serious. We should have more details at the beginning of the week on the nature or seriousness of this injury.
Devin Singletary had 121 yards rushing and nearly ended the game with a 34-yard touchdown run. However, his play was called back by a penalty, which was followed by the field goal which made the difference.
This defeat ensures that Titans coach Mike Vrabel will experience a second straight season below the .500 mark in six campaigns.
2023-12-17 20:37:00
#Summary #p.m #games #NFL #including #Buccaneers #Packers
