Raiders 27, Chargers 20: It may be too late for the Raiders (5-7) to eke into the postseason, but the late-season effort has been a black and silver lining. Running back Josh Jacobs played through a calf injury to gain 144 yards and score a touchdown, while receiver Davante Adams added two receiving scores and now has at least 100 yards in four of his last five games. On the other end, Justin Herbert’s heroics weren’t enough to overcome a useless run game and battered offensive line. The Chargers’ offensive line was so bad that Jerry Tillery, whom the Chargers cut earlier this season, registered two hits on Herbert.
Steelers 19, Falcons 16: The Steelers and the Falcons each leaned on their rushing attacks (Pittsburgh out-ran Atlanta, 154 to 146 yards), relegating their quarterbacks to throwing mostly short passes and taking a handful of play-action shots. The rookie tight end Connor Heyward pulled in the Steelers’ only touchdown pass and his brother, defensive tackle Cameron, had the game’s only sack as the teams combined for seven field goals.
Packers 28, Bears 19: Justin Fields scored the Bears’ first touchdown on a 56-yard tear through the middle of the Packers’ defense, and Chicago got out to a 16-3 second-quarter lead after a David Montgomery rushing score. But Fields threw interceptions on back-to-back fourth-quarter drives, including a backbreaker on a pass he tried to jam in to Equanimeous St. Brown that Jaire Alexander stole away. The Packers capitalized on Christian Watson’s two touchdowns and the Bears were eliminated from the postseason.
Lions 40, Jaguars 14: Detroit can normally rely on its dominant rushing attack to at least be competitive, but against Jacksonville’s sketchy defense Jared Goff went 31 of 41 for 340 yards and two touchdowns. He compiled a significant portion of that line by feeding the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown (11 catches, 114 yards, two touchdowns). Detroit keeps its N.F.C. wild-card hopes alive.
Vikings 27, Jets 22: For three quarters, the Vikings held the Jets to 12 points, all on field goals, thanks in large part to a hefty amount of pressure on Mike White, who completed just over half of his 57 attempts and threw two interceptions. White came alive in the fourth quarter, leading a touchdown drive that brought the Jets within 5 points with under seven minutes remaining. Alas, on the next possession, Braxton Berrios dropped a would-be touchdown pass from the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal, and then White was intercepted on a last-ditch effort with 14 seconds left.
Commanders 20, Giants 20 (OT): The Giants chipped away on the ground and the Commanders plodded through the air before both teams’ reluctant offenses stalled out in overtime. Giants kicker Graham Gano missed a 58-yard attempt as time expired to seal the draw.
Eagles 35, Titans 10: Derrick Henry got stuffed early, largely a product of the Eagles’ defense selling out to stop him and surrendering a few shot plays to Ryan Tannehill in the process. Philadelphia built a 21-10 halftime lead and gained 386 air yards to Tennessee’s 122, as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for 221 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
