The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first NFC South title since 2007 on Sunday when Tom Brady threw for 232 yards and a touchdown and Antonio Brown made a grand return to the NFL in a 32-6 rout of the Carolina Panthers.
In his first game since Oct. 13, Brown saw a prominent role on offense with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sidelined by injuries, catching 10 passes for 101 yards while being targeted 15 times by Brady.
Ronald Jones carried 20 times for 65 yards and a touchdown filling in for the injured Leonard Fournette. Tampa Bay also got big offensive contributions from unheralded players Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Cyril Grayson. Vaughn broke two tackles and rambled for a 55-yard first quarter touchdown. Grayson, a COVID-19 replacement player, hauled in a 62-yard reception to set up Brady’s only TD pass, a 4-yarder to Cameron Brate.
The Bucs (11-4) put up 391 yards on offense, and on defense, had seven sacks and limited the Panthers to two field goals.
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Carolina (5-10) went with a dual-quarterback approach, starting Cam Newton (7 of 13 for 61 yards and ran for 42 yards) and finishing with Sam Darnold, who went 15 of 33 for 190 yards.
RAMS 30, VIKINGS 23
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brandon Powell returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to lift Los Angeles into the playoffs in its win over Minnesota.
The victory also sent the Rams’ NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals into the postseason.
Sony Michel rushed for a season-high 131 yards and a score for the Rams (11-4), while Matt Gay made three field goals, and the Aaron Donald-led defense did its part, keeping the Vikings out of the end zone on two first-half trips inside the 10-yard line.
Matthew Stafford had his first three-interception game since Sept. 10, 2018, when he was picked off four times for Detroit against the New York Jets.
For the Vikings (7-8), Kirk Cousins had 315 yards on 27-for-38 passing with a touchdown to K.J. Osborn with 8:21 remaining that cut the lead to 27-20. But his interception in the end zone in the first quarter loomed large all afternoon.
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BILLS 33, PATRIOTS 21
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and Buffalo hung on to beat New England to vault the Bills back into first place in the AFC East title race.
Buffalo (9-6) now holds tiebreakers over the Patriots and Dolphins, and is in the driver’s seat to win its second straight division title. Allen finished 30 of 47 passes for 314 yards, and he also rushed 12 times for 64 yards.
Isaiah McKenzie stepped up in place of Bills receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis, who were both on the reserve/COVID-19 list, notching a career-high 11 catches, 125 yards and a touchdown.
The Patriots (9-6) saw rookie quarterback Mac Jones struggling to find openings against the Bills’ top-ranked defense. He went 14 of 32 for 145 yards and two interceptions.
EAGLES 34, GIANTS 10
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts threw a touchdown to lineman Lane Johnson, linebacker Alex Singleton returned an interception for a score and Philadelphia continued its late-season playoff push with a win over New York.
The Eagles (8-7) have won six of eight after opening the season losing five of seven and moved into the seventh playoff spot in the NFC. They could clinch a playoff berth with a win and some help next week.
Hurts shook off a dismal first half and threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns to push the Eagles over .500 for the first time since they won the season opener. Philadelphia scored 31 points in the second half.
Quarterback Jake Fromm got the start with the Giants (4-11) left with little options after Daniel Jones was shut down for the season because of a sprained neck. Fromm went 6 of 17 for 25 yards and one interception before he was pulled for Mike Glennon late in the third.
BENGALS 41, RAVENS 21
CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow threw for a franchise-record 525 yards and four touchdowns, and Cincinnati took sole possession of first place in the AFC North by beating a COVID-depleted Baltimore team.
Burrow, the second-year QB who broke Boomer Esiason’s team record of 522 yards, was 37 of 46 and threw two touchdown passes to Tee Higgins and one each to Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon as the Bengals (9-6) swept the Ravens for the first time since 2015.
Tee Higgins had 12 receptions for a career-high 194 yards. Ja’Marr Chase caught seven for 125 yards, and Boyd had three catches for 85 yards.
Josh Johnson, who was signed as a free agent, started at quarterback for the Ravens (8-7). His 4-yard pass to Rashod Bateman put Baltimore up 10-7 in the first quarter, and he finished 28 for 40 for 304 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception. Tight end Mark Andrews had eight catches for 125 yards and a TD.
FALCONS 20, LIONS 16
ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Ryan threw a tiebreaking 12-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Hurst early in the fourth quarter Atlanta held on late to beat Detroit — and preserve its slim playoff hopes.
Foye Oluokun’s interception of Lions fill-in quarterback Tim Boyle’s pass at the Atlanta 1 with 33 seconds remaining preserved the win. It was the first interception of the game for Boyle, who made his second career start as Jared Goff remained on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Atlanta wide receiver Russell Gage’s lost fumble with 2:18 remaining set up the Lions’ last possession at the Atlanta 37. The fumble was forced by Jalen Reeves-Maybin and recovered by Dean Marlowe.
The Falcons (7-8) began the day knowing they had to win their final three regular-season games to protect hopes of making the playoffs. Ryan’s 19-yard pass to rookie Kyle Pitts set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Without Goff, Detroit (2-12-1) couldn’t maintain momentum gained by last week’s surprising 30-12 win over Arizona. The Lions were called for six offside penalties.
JETS 26, JAGUARS 21
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to outduel Trevor Lawrence, and short-handed New York used a goal-line stand at the end of the game to hold on and beat Jacksonville.
It was the fourth matchup of rookie quarterbacks taken with the first two picks in the draft — and the No. 2 selection came out on top. Barely.
After Eddy Pineiro’s 20-yard field goal gave the Jets (4-11) a five-point lead with 1:47 remaining, Lawrence and the Jaguars (2-13) got the ball back. A 26-yard run by Lawrence got the ball to the 5, and he followed with a 4-yard pass to Marvin Jones. Lawrence spiked the ball to stop the clock to make it fourth-and-the-game.
But Lawrence’s pass to Jones fell incomplete — and the Jaguars were called for an illegal shift that the Jets declined, turning the ball over on downs.
Wilson set a Jets record for a quarterback with 91 yards rushing, highlighted by a 52-yard score — the longest run by a QB in franchise history. He was 14 of 22 for 102 yards passing, including a TD pass to offensive lineman Conor McDermott. Braxton Berrios returned a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown, and Michael Carter ran for 118 yards on 16 carries for New York.
TEXANS 41, CHARGERS 29
HOUSTON (AP) — Rex Burkhead ran for a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns, and Houston took advantage of three turnovers to beat Los Angeles. Both teams were missing more than a dozen players because COVID-19 protocols.
The playoff chances for the Chargers (8-7), who entered in second place in the AFC West, took a serious blow with the loss to the lowly, if recently improved, Texans. Houston (4-11) had 16 players on the COVID-19 list but managed to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
Burkhead had TD runs of 25 yards and 1 yard as the Texans, who entered the game ranked last in the NFL in yards rushing, ran for a season-high 189 yards. Rookie Davis Mills threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns.
The Chargers’ Justin Herbert threw for 336 yards with garbage-time touchdown and two interceptions. Justin Jackson ran for 64 yards and two touchdowns and had 98 yards.
