The Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Buffalo Bills and make the New England Patriots the division winner. The New York Giants win a game that no one wanted to win. ran summarizes the games from Week 17. Four teams are still fighting for the two remaining playoff tickets.
by Oliver Jensen,
Philadelphia Eagles @ Buffalo Bills 13:12
The Philadelphia Eagles won a real thriller against the Buffalo Bills, which was only decided a few seconds before the end of the game. While the Eagles had already secured the division victory in the NFC East, the Bills no longer have a chance of first place in the AFC East due to the defeat. The New England Patriots secured this instead.
The game featured two completely different halves. At first the Eagles seemed to have the game under control. Dallas Goedert caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts (110 yds, 1 TD), then kicker Jake Elliott followed up with two field goals. At halftime, Philadelphia led 13-0.
After halftime, however, Philadelphia’s attack was unable to achieve anything. But the Bills turned things up in the final quarter. Quarterback Josh Allen (262 YDS) ran for two touchdowns. However, because the extra point attempt was blocked after the first touchdown, the Bills wanted to decide the game with a two-point conversion following the second touchdown. But Allen’s pass didn’t arrive, which meant the game was lost.
The reigning Super Bowl champions from Philadelphia have a record of eleven wins and five defeats, the Bills have an 11:5 record.
New York Giants @ Las Vegas Raiders 34:10
The New York Giants won a game that nobody actually wanted to win. The duel between the two weakest teams in the NFL has often been referred to as the “Tank Bowl” because the loser has the best chance of getting the number 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Raiders weakened their team before the game by removing star defensive end Maxx Crosby from the squad for controversial reasons. The Giants’ offense had an easy time with the Raiders. Quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 207 yards and ran into the end zone twice for touchdowns. Devin Singletary got another rushing touchdown.
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith threw for 176 yards and one touchdown pass, but he also had two interceptions. The Giants have a 3:13 record and the Raiders have a 2:14 record.
Vegas would now only have to lose against the Kansas City Chiefs on the last day of the game to finally secure the number 1 pick. But you also have to “get it” in the Chiefs’ current condition.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts 23:17
Oldie quarterback Philip Rivers invited the football team from St. Michael Catholic High School, of which he is now the coach. His ten children and one grandchild were also there to experience the Colts’ last home game. But the support did little for the 44-year-old. The Colts lost their sixth straight game. Rivers threw for 147 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Indianapolis started the game 10-0. The Jaguars almost took the lead right before halftime, but Trevor Lawrence (263 YDS, 1 INT)’s throw into the end zone was intercepted by Germaine Pratt. At halftime the score was 10:7 for the Colts. Midway through the third quarter, Lawrence took matters into his own hands and ran for his second touchdown – 14:10 for the Jaguars.
Rivers responded with a touchdown pass to Mo Alie-Cox and Jacksonville with a field goal. The third quarter ended 17:17. The Jaguars took the lead with two field goals from Cam Little. On the final drive, the Colts only had 18 seconds to turn the game around. The Colts brought junior Riley Leonard into the game to attempt a Hail Mary. But the pass into the end zone was intercepted.
The Jaguars have a record of twelve wins and four defeats, the Colts have an 8-8 record. Indianapolis no longer had a chance of participating in the playoffs anyway.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Miami Dolphins 17:20
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ negative run never ends. The team from Florida, which originally started the season so well, lost its fourth game in a row and suffered its seventh defeat in the last eight games.
The Buccaneers got off to a better start. Chris Godwin caught a touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield (346 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT) to give Tampa Bay a 7-0 lead. But then the Dolphins turned up the heat. Two touchdown passes from Quinn Ewers (172 YDS, 2 TD, 0 INT), a field goal – Miami was already in the lead 17:7.
Four minutes before the end of the game – it was now 20:10 for Miami – the Buccaneers were already at the opponent’s 31-yard line when Mayfield fumbled. This cost Tampa Bay a lot of time. When Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Mike Evans and reduced the deficit to 17:20, the final minute of the game was already underway. The ensuing onside kick failed, so the Dolphins won. Both teams now have a 7:9 record.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can still hope for the playoffs due to the Panthers’ defeat, but to do so they have to win against Carolina on the last day of the game.
New England Patriots @ New York Jets 42:10
The Patriots gave the Jets a rubdown in the division duel. A good three hours after the end of the game, they were able to celebrate the AFC East division victory because the Buffalo Bills lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Quarterback Drake Maye played an almost perfect game, completing 19 of his 21 passes for 256 yards, throwing five touchdown passes and remaining without a turnover. The Patriots have a 13-3 record and the Jets are 3-13.
The game was decided quickly: The first drive ended with a touchdown pass from Maye to Austin Hooper, the second pass with a touchdown run from Rhamondre Stevenson, and the third drive with a touchdown pass from Maye to Stevenson. Only 15:05 minutes had been played when the game was practically decided with a score of 21:0. The halftime score: 34:3 for New England.
The Jets’ only highlight: a 59-yard touchdown run by Breece Hall! However, this had no impact on the course of the game because the deficit was only reduced to 10:42. Jets quarterback Brady Cook threw for 152 yards and had one interception.
Seattle Seahawks @ Carolina Panthers 27:10
The Carolina Panthers missed out on early playoff qualification after losing to the Seattle Seahawks. The Panthers are 8-8 while the Seahawks improve to 13-3 with their sixth straight win.
The first half of the game was dominated by defense. The Seahawks managed 122 total yards, the Panthers only 65 yards. Only the kickers scored points, so the score was 3-3 going into halftime.
The first touchdown of the game came midway through the third quarter when Zach Charbonnet ran into the end zone – 10-3 Seattle. Then things got even worse for the Panthers: quarterback Bryce Young threw an interception. The Seahawks took advantage of the good field position for the next points: touchdown pass from Sam Darnold to AJ Barner – 17:3 for Seattle.
Young reduced the deficit to 10:17 by running into the end zone himself. However, they couldn’t get any closer. When Charbonnet ran for his second touchdown shortly before the end of the game and the Seahawks were ahead 27:10, the game was decided.
Arizona Cardinals @ Cincinnati Bengals 14:37
In the duel between two struggling teams, the Bengals were clearly superior and improved their record to 6-10. The Cardinals suffered their eighth consecutive loss and have a 3-13 record.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow gave an idea of how well the season could have gone without his injury. He completed 24 of his 31 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdown passes were caught by Ja’Marr Chase. Chase Brown was also a success factor with 101 yards and two touchdowns.
Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett had 212 passing yards and two touchdown passes. The running game was not a factor at all with 42 yards.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns 6:13
The Steelers had a great opportunity to secure playoff qualification with a possible fourth win in a row. But this opportunity was surprisingly wasted against the Cleveland Browns, who now have a 4-12 record.
The Browns gave the Steelers a lot of trouble right from the start. First, kicker Andre Szmyt converted a 50-yard field goal, then Harold Fannin Jr. caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shedeur Sanders (186 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT). Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (168 YDS, 0 TD, 0 INT) started the game poorly. Only kicker Chris Boswell scored points with two field goals. At halftime the Browns led 10-6.
After the break, both teams’ offenses were even less successful. 2:16 minutes before the end of the game, the Steelers started a drive at their own 20-yard line, even played the fourth attempt, but did not gain a single yard of space. The Browns extended the lead to 13-6 with a field goal.
But: The Steelers still had 1:40 minutes left. Suddenly Roders played big, led his offense with dream passes all the way to the opposing 7-yard line – and still didn’t get a touchdown. The Steelers lost, have a 9-7 record and are dueling with the Baltimore Ravens for a place in the playoffs on the last day of the game.
New Orleans Saints @ Tennessee Titans 34:26
The New Orleans Saints may have been out of the playoff race for a long time, but they are developing into a little surprise team towards the end of the season. They won their fourth game in a row against the Titans and improved to a 6-10 record.
The Titans’ offense managed exactly twice as many yards (184) in the first half of the game as the Saints’ offense (92). At halftime, Tennessee had a 20-10 lead.
After that, however, the Saints turned the game around. Quarterback Tyler Shough delivered a really strong game with 333 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Titans passer Cam Ward had 251 passing yards and two touchdowns. Tennessee has a 3-13 record after the loss.
