Panthers 37, Lions 23: The Lions needed to win this game to have a good shot at the playoffs, but they didn’t play with any urgency. From the first play of the game, the Panthers’ ground attack gashed the Lions up and down the field. The Panthers finished with 320 yards rushing, 240 in the first half alone. The Panthers went into the half with a 24-7 lead, and that was enough of a cushion to stave off the Lions’ comeback attempt.
Vikings 27, Giants 24: The Vikings have once again come out on top in a game decided by one possession, extending their record to 11-0 in those games. This time, kicker Greg Joseph had to clear his career long by a few yards, nailing a 61-yarder as the clock wound down to zeros. Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 71 percent of his passes, leaning heavily on Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones had just his second 300-yard passing game, but one costly second-half interception inside the Vikings’ 35-yard line was the difference between a win and a loss.
Saints 17, Browns 10: This game was played in 5-degree weather, yet the team used to playing in a dome, the Saints, came out victorious. Thanks largely to the conditions, it was a big Taysom Hill game. Hill had nine carries for 56 yards and a score, and he was on the field as a decoy during a handful of other plays. The Browns, traditionally a good running team, didn’t have much success running the ball, earning fewer than 4 yards per carry and struggling to prop up an abysmal passing game.
Texans 19, Titans 14: It’s impressive that the Titans strung together seven wins with a makeshift roster, but now injuries have fully caught up to them. With rookie quarterback Malik Willis playing in place of the injured Ryan Tannehill, the Titans’ offense had little to offer outside of Derrick Henry’s 126 yards on 23 carries. Willis threw two interceptions and took four sacks, more than enough mistakes to give the Texans chances to win. Davis Mills, though not very effective himself, did just enough with the short fields to get the Texans just their second win of the year, both of which have come in the division.
Cowboys 40, Eagles 34: There’s a case to be made that Jalen Hurts would have won this game if he had been able to play, but it’s not as if the Eagles collapsed and died with their backup quarterback, Gardner Minshew. The Eagles offense scored 27 points, thanks in part to Minshew’s willingness to feed his skill players, and their defense scored a pick-six on the Cowboys’ first drive. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys went nuclear after that opening drive blunder, however, and proved too explosive for the Eagles defense.
49ers 37, Commanders 20: Brock Purdy isn’t perfect, but he will uncork the ball to the 49ers’ handful of elite skill players. Kyle Shanahan usually makes that pretty easy to do, too, just as he did in this one. Tight end George Kittle had himself a day, scoring one touchdown on a deep post and another on a 33-yard catch and run. The 49ers pass rush got after Taylor Heinicke to the point where he was pressured into a fourth-down misfire for an interception that got him benched in favor of Carson Wentz.
