Kick-off during the night from Sunday to Monday 2:20 a.m.
Minnesota Vikings (7-8) – Green Bay Packers (7-8)
Summary to come
Kick-off Sunday at 10 p.m.
Kansas City Chiefs (9-6) – Cincinnati Bengals (8-7)
Seattle Seahawks (8-7) – Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7)
Summary to come
Denver Broncos (7-8) – Los Angeles Chargers (5-10)
Summary to come
Kick-off Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens (13-3) – Miami Dolphins (11-5) : 56-19
Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) – Arizona Cardinals (4-12) : 31-35
Widely favored, the Eagles sank against the Cardinals. Arizona simply did not punt in this game, and was able to come back after being 15 points behind. Kyler Murray (25/32, 232 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) holds a benchmark victory, helped by James Conner (133 yards, 2 TD) on his 31.
Philadelphia lost big, since Nick Sirianni’s men are no longer at the top of the division. The offense and Jalen Hurts (18/23, 167 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) were good, but it was the defense that completely failed, conceding 449 yards in total.
However, it was the Eagles who were ahead at halftime, leading 21-6 thanks in particular to a double from Julio Jones (34 yards, 2 TD) and a pick six from Sydney Brown. Arizona then fails to materialize and Philly seems in control.
That’s when Kyler Murray and James Conner will explode the Eagles defense, which had no response to the Cards’ short game. Jonathan Gannon made a successful comeback, managing to take the lead with less than a minute to go. It’s a symbolic victory for Arizona, but it’s far from negligible.
New York Giants (5-11) – Los Angeles Rams (9-7) : 25-26
In the race for a place in the playoffs, the Rams probably did not expect such adversity from a long-eliminated Giants team. Uninhibited, the New Yorkers put up a tough fight until the end.
If Matt Stafford (24/34, 317 yards, 1 TD, 2 int) threw more interceptions than touchdowns, helping the locals stay in the match, the Rams were able to count on their two revelations of the season. Author of a hat-trick, Kyren Williams (20 races, 87 yards, 3 TDs) carried out his attack and converted the opportunities. Still beyond 100 yards, Puka Nacua races (5 rec, 118 yards) towards the yards record for a rookie. But Unable to make the break and giving in too often, Los Angeles made life complicated and left the Giants hoping. Again. And even.
Like an uninhibited Tyrod Taylor (27/41, 319 yards, 1 TD, 1 int – 6 races, 40 yards)), New York seized every opportunity. Taking advantage of the Rams’ repeated punts at the end of the game, Gunner Olszewski returned a punt for 94 yards. Despite the missed 2-point conversion, the enormous work of the defense offers one last possession to Taylor and his attack. A 54-yard attempt for the returning Mason Crosby, too far, and the Rams escape by miracle.
Chicago Bears (7-9) – Atlanta Falcons (7-9) : 37-17
Under the Chicago snow, the Falcons, unaccustomed to such conditions, were no match for the locals. The Bears, led by DJ Moore (9 receptions, 159 yards, 1 TD) as brilliant as ever and a highly efficient ground game, produced one of their best offensive performances of the season and won their 4th victory in 5 matches.
Very quickly in the leg, the Bears started perfectly with two touchdowns in their first two series. Never worried, they confirm the progress seen in recent weeks on both sides of the ball, and which tends to confirm the rumors about the retention of coach Matt Eberflus at the head of the team in 2024.
Unlike a diligent and efficient Justin Fields (20/32, 268 yards, 1 TD, 11 races, 45 yards, 1 TD) for Chicago, Tyler Heinicke had a terrible evening. Intercepted 3 times, barely 1 third of passes completed, his statistics are even greatly inflated by a long distance touchdown from Tyler Allgeier at the start of the 2nd quarter. Atlanta, which had the opportunity to get back to the top of its division, will have to hope for a miracle next week to clinch its division.
Buffalo Bills (10-6) – New England Patriots (4-12) : 27-21
There was no shortage of opportunities for the Bills. Efficiency, much more. New England offered four balls to Buffalo, but Josh Allen (15/30, 169 yards, 1 int – 11 carries, 44 yards, 2 TDs) and his teammates never really managed to get away.
Buffalo took a 27-14 lead early in the third quarter on a rushing touchdown by Allen. But the Patriots came back at the start of the last period thanks to a touchdown from Ezekiel Elliott (14 races, 39 yards, 1 TD) (27-21). Bill Belichick’s men even followed up with a defensive stop to recover the lead and give themselves a chance to win. But the series produced nothing, and the Bills ate up the last five minutes of the clock.
The first half was marked by three interceptions thrown by Bailey Zappe (16/26, 209 yards, 3 ints). While his team had opened the score on the opening kick, the New England pitcher started to water. Enough to allow Buffalo to come back with a field goal and a touchdown after the first two, then directly with a touchdown from Rasul Douglas on the return from the third (20-7). Zappe ended up getting his head out of the water with a touchdown on the ground (20-14) and his defense helped him by intercepting Allen. Ultimately, Buffalo still ended up making the difference in the second part of the match, even if it wasn’t particularly fierce.
Buffalo is one win away from the playoffs.
Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7) – Carolina Panthers (2-14) : 26-0
Trevor Lawrence wasn’t there, but the Jaguars didn’t need him to overcome the weak Panthers. With CJ Beathard (17/24, 178 yards), Jacksonville only scored three field goals in the first half (9-0). It was Travis Etienne (16 races, 2 TDs) who finally found the end zone at the start of the third quarter, with a superb 62-yard run.
Another kick and another touchdown from Etienne finished spinning the scoreboard.
An easy victory for the Floridians against a Carolina team completely unable to advance. Bryce Young (19/32, 112 yards, 1 int) and his teammates only gained 124 in the entire game. They only converted once on 13 third down attempts and they never set foot in the red zone. A disaster which allows Carolina to secure last place in the league… and to offer the first choice of the Draft to the Bears, who had recovered the selection in the exchange which sent Bryce Young to the Panthers.
The Jaguars maintain the lead in the AFC South.
Houston Texans (9-7) – Tennessee Titans (5-11) : 26-3
Rather quiet return for CJ Stroud (24/32, 213 yards, 1 TD). The rookie led his attack effectively, with points on his first three possessions, including a touchdown thrown to Brevin Jordan. The defense also made its contribution when Sheldon Rankins covered a fumble from Will Levis (2/6, 16 yards) to score a touchdown.
Worse for the Titans, Levis went out with a foot injury following this action. At halftime, the Texans led 20-3. And Ryan Tannehill (16/20, 168 yards) is not really going to wake up Tennessee.
Houston calmly managed the second half and its lead until the final whistle. Here is Stoud and his teammates one victory away from the final stages.
Indianapolis Colts (9-7) – Las Vegas Raiders (7-9) : 23-20
The Raiders are officially eliminated from the playoff race, but they fought until the end. Aidan O’Connell (30/47, 299 yards, 2 TDs) found Davante Adams (13 rec, 126 yards, 2 TDs) 43 seconds from the end to come back three lengths. But the onside kick was covered by Indianapolis. Trailing 14-3 at the break, the Las Vegas players had already seen Adams restart them at the start of the third quarter. But they eventually ran out of time.
Indianapolis wins thanks to its best start. Jonathan Taylor scored on the first offensive. Gardner Minshew (15/23, 224 yards, 1 TD) found Alec Pierce for a nice 58-yard reception before the break (14-3).
But upon returning from the locker room, it was a breakdown, or almost, for an attack unable to find the end zone. Indianapolis even took advantage of the Raiders’ indiscipline. A penalty saved the Colts after they had just missed a field goal at 20-13. Vegas would have left with a chance to tie. Instead, the kick was hit again, five yards closer, and successful. This gives the final margin in favor of Shane Steichen’s team, which remains in the race for the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8) – New Orleans Saints (8-8) : 13-23
In this NFC South duel, Tampa Bay missed the opportunity to win the division. With their backs against the wall and without confidence before the match, the Saints stopped the confident Buccaneers in spectacular fashion.
Derek Carr (24/32, 197 yards, 2 TD) had perhaps his best game of the season, and was able to carry this team despite the injury exit of Alvin Kamara (49 yards) during the match. Juwan Johnson (90 yards, 1 TD) and Taysom Hill (31 yards, 1 TD) took care of the air for a victory that keeps the Saints in the playoff race. The Saints led 17-0 at halftime, and Tampa Bay was never able to respond.
Accident match for Tampa Bay, like a Baker Mayfield (22/33, 309 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT) from bad days. The three losses of balls weighed down the Florida players, and only the “garbage time” allowed the stats to be improved. Despite everything, the Buccaneers still have their destiny in hand, since a victory in the last week gives them the division.
Washington Commanders (4-11) – San Francisco 49ers (11-4) : 10-27
San Francisco had a perfect evening, with the victory and obtaining the number 1 seed for the playoffs. If the match was not necessarily the expected demonstration, Kyle Shanahan’s men did the job.
Brock Purdy (22/28, 230 yards, 2 TD) got his head back upright, helped by a resplendent Brandon Aiyuk (114 yards, 1 TD). The defense was opportunistic, causing three turnovers.
Washington held on for a half (13-10 at the break), driven by a great collective performance, but the group sank in the second act like Sam Howell (169 yards, 1 TD, 2INT). The 49ers only conceded 78 yards in the second half, and Elijah Mitchell managed the ground game (80 yards, 1 TD). If San Francisco can advance calmly in the playoffs, Washington is looking more than ever towards the top 10 of the draft.
2023-12-31 22:09:47
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