INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for their third touchdown of the game with 31 seconds remaining, and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied past the Los Angeles Chargers 30-27 on Sunday night to stay atop the AFC.
Mahomes hit Kelce on a short crossing route that Kelce took to the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown, concluding a six-play, 75-yard drive that took just 1:15. The Chargers had pulled ahead 27-23 on Justin Herbert’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:46 left.
Herbert and the Chargers had one final chance, but Nick Bolton intercepted a deflected pass to seal it for the Chiefs (8-2), who swept the season series from Los Angeles (5-5) and took a three-game lead in the AFC West.
With a one-game lead over four teams in the conference, Kansas City is in position to claim home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Mahomes completed 20 of 34 passes for 329 yards without two of his top receivers. He still had Kelce, who had six catches for 115 yards. Chiefs rookie Isiah Pacheco rushed for a career-high 107 yards.
Herbert went 23 of 30 for 280 yards and two touchdowns, both to Palmer, who had eight receptions for 106 yards.
COWBOYS 40, VIKINGS 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Tony Pollard had two touchdown catches and a career-high 189 yards from scrimmage, and Dallas sacked Kirk Cousins a career-most seven times while ending Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak.
Dak Prescott was flawless at quarterback, Ezekiel Elliott rushed for two scores in his return from injury and Brett Maher made four field goals — including a 60-yarder to end the first half. The Cowboys (7-3) didn’t punt until their eighth possession, and the defense was just as good.
Micah Parsons and Dorance Armstrong had two sacks apiece in the fifth-largest loss ever for the Vikings — and the biggest road win in Cowboys history.
The Vikings (8-2) have been the king of the comebacks in an NFL season featuring the smallest average winning margin in 90 years, none more remarkable than last week at Buffalo when they turned a 17-point deficit late in the third quarter into an overtime victory.
But the Cowboys carried out a near-perfect game plan with stunning ease. Dallas gained 108 yards on the ground in the first half. Pollard, the Cowboys’ most dangerous weapon on offense all year, finished with six catches for 109 yards and 15 rushes for 80 yards.
Dallas held Justin Jefferson to 33 yards on three catches. Cousins went 12 of 23 for 105 yards and a lost fumble that Parsons forced with a blind-side sack.
PATRIOTS 10, JETS 3
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Marcus Jones returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown with 5 seconds remaining and the New England Patriots stunned the New York Jets 10-3 on Sunday.
The rookie’s score was the first TD on a punt return in the NFL this season and broke a stalemate on a day when both offenses struggled to move the ball.
It was the third straight win for the Patriots (6-4) and their 14th straight over New York. They also denied the Jets (6-4) a chance to move into first place in the AFC East this late in the season for the first time since 2010. Instead, New York dropped into last place.
The Jets haven’t won in Foxborough since the 2010 playoffs when they knocked out the Patriots in the divisional round.
The Patriots moved the ball well at times, with Mac Jones completing 23 of 27 passes for 246 yards. But they were 4 of 15 on third down and had only one field goal — with Nick Folk missing two attempts — despite getting inside the Jets 30 three times.
New York sacked Jones six times, but managed just 103 yards of offense. Zach Wilson was 9 of 22 for 77 yards, and Braden Mann punted 10 times.
BILLS 31, BROWNS 23
DETROIT — Josh Allen threw a go-ahead, 5-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs late in the first half, and Buffalo beat Cleveland after the NFL moved the Bills’ home game to Detroit due to several feet of snow blanketing western New York.
The Bills (7-3) avoided blowing a third straight halftime lead by scoring on all five of their possessions in the second half and doing a better job protecting the ball.
Cleveland (3-7) rallied within eight points, setting up an onside kick in the final seconds that the Browns failed to recover.
The Bills scored a second-half touchdown for the first time in four games on Devin Singletary’s 5-yard run. They also stopped Jacoby Brissett’s sneak on fourth-and-1 from the Buffalo 27 and blocked a field goal in the third quarter while building a 22-10 lead.
Brissett finished 28 of 41 for 324 yards — two shy of his career high — and a season-high three touchdowns.
Allen was 18 of 27 for 197 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers after throwing six interceptions over the past three games.
EAGLES 17, COLTS 16
INDIANAPOLIS — Jalen Hurts ran for an 8-yard touchdown with 1:20 remaining and Philadelphia rallied past Indianapolis.
Coming off their first loss of the season, the Eagles (9-1) trailed 13-3 in the fourth quarter. Hurts threw for a touchdown early in the period to get Philly within three.
The third-year quarterback was 18 of 25 with 190 yards through the air and rushed 16 times for 86 yards as the Eagles won their seventh straight road game.
Indianapolis (4-6-1) never trailed until Hurts’ scoring run. Interim coach Jeff Saturday evened his record at 1-1 since taking over for the fired Frank Reich.
Indy had a chance for a game-winning drive, but it stalled before the Colts could get to midfield and they turned it over on downs.
The Colts drove 75 yards on their opening drive and went ahead on Jonathan Taylor’s 1-yard TD run. But Indy could only manage three field goals after that.
LIONS 31, GIANTS 18
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jamaal Williams ran for a career-high three touchdowns and Detroit stunned New York.
The Lions (4-6) posted consecutive roads wins and their first three-game winning streak since November 2017. Until last week, Detroit had not won a road game under second-year coach Dan Campbell.
Williams ran for a 4-yard TD and two 1-yard scores and the Lions’ much-maligned run defense shut down NFL leading rusher Saquon Barkley and forced three turnovers on a cold, blustery day.
Rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble to help set up 14 points. Jared Goff and the Lions’ offense didn’t have a turnover for the second straight game.
The mistake-prone Giants (7-3) got 3-yard touchdown runs by Daniel Jones and Matt Breida. Jones also threw a meaningless late TD to Richie James but also was intercepted twice, his first picks since Week 3. He went 27 of 44 for 341 yards.
Goff finished 17 of 26 for 165 yards with Amon-Ra St. Brown catching seven passes for 76 yards. The Lions had 163 yards rushing led by Justin Jackson (66) and Williams (64). Barkley finished with 22 yards on 15 carries.
RAIDERS 22, BRONCOS 16, OT
DENVER — Derek Carr hit a wide-open Davante Adams with a 35-yard touchdown pass on the third play of overtime, powering Las Vegas past Denver.
The Raiders (3-7) never led in regulation but sent the game into OT when Daniel Carlson kicked a 25-yard field goal with 16 seconds left after a crucial blunder by Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson.
The Broncos (3-7) were clinging to a 16-13 lead at the 2-minute warning but Wilson rolled right on third-and-10 from his own 34 and instead of sliding to burn more time, he pulled up and fired out of bounds. That saved crucial seconds for the Raiders.
Carr drove them 71 yards, hitting running back Josh Jacobs for 43 yards to the Denver 7 to set up Carlson’s game-tying kick. Jacobs finished with 109 yards rushing and 51 receiving.
In overtime, Carr hit Foster Moreau for 33 yards over the middle to the Denver 35. From there, Adams confused the Denver defense and was all alone for the game-winner, which gave him 141 yards and two TDs on seven catches. Carr finished 23 of 37 for 307 yards.
The Broncos scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the first time after Wilson, but their offense didn’t do much after that.
FALCONS 27, BEARS 24
ATLANTA — Younghoe Koo made a tiebreaking 53-yard field goal with less than two minutes to play and Atlanta overcame another impressive game from Chicago’s Justin Fields.
Marcus Mariota ran and threw for touchdowns for Atlanta (5-6), which pulled within one-half game of NFC-leading Tampa Bay on the Buccaneers’ bye week.
Fields ran for 85 yards with a touchdown, but the Bears (3-8) suffered their fourth consecutive loss and sixth of seven.
Fields’ pass for running back David Montgomery was intercepted by Falcons safety Jaylinn Hawkins with 1:07 remaining. A 26-yard run by rookie Tyler Allgeier allowed the Falcons, who rushed for 149 yards, to wind down the clock.
Atlanta running back Cordarrelle Patterson set the NFL record with his ninth career kickoff return for a touchdown. His 103-yard return in the second quarter broke a tie with Joshua Cribbs and Leon Washington.
Patterson’s lost fumble after a 19-yard run set up Fields’ 4-yard scoring run that gave Chicago a 17-7 lead. Patterson responded with his record-breaking return.
RAVENS 13, PANTHERS 3
BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and Baltimore forced three late Carolina turnovers.
Justin Tucker kicked two field goals, including a tiebreaking 37-yarder with 8:27 remaining. Then Marcus Peters forced a fumble by Shi Smith, giving the Ravens the ball at the Carolina 31. Baltimore (7-3) took advantage of a short field, finally reaching the end zone on Jackson’s run with 7:16 to play.
Marlon Humphrey, who recovered Smith’s fumble, later added an interception. Jason Pierre-Paul also picked off a pass in the final minute. It was the 12th straight game Baltimore forced at least one turnover.
The AFC North-leading Ravens won their fourth straight. Jackson threw for 209 yards with an interception and Demarcus Robinson caught nine passes for 128 yards, but that was about all that was working for either team offensively on a chilly, windy day.
Baker Mayfield threw for 196 yards for the Panthers (3-8). D’Onta Foreman was held to 24 yards on 11 carries.
BENGALS 37, STEELERS 30
PITTSBURGH — Joe Burrow threw four touchdown passes, three to backup running back Samaje Perine, and Cincinnati rallied past Pittsburgh.
The Bengals (6-4) won for the fourth time in five games by relying heavily on Perine, who thrived with starter Joe Mixon missing the second half after going into the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Burrow completed 24 of 39 passes for 355 yards and became the third-fastest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career yards passing. Perine ran for 30 yards and caught four passes for 52 yards. Cincinnati has won four of five against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh (3-7) couldn’t hold a 20-17 lead in the second half. Rookie Kenny Pickett passed for 265 yards and a touchdown and Najee Harris ran for 90 yards and two scores, but the NFL’s second-lowest scoring offense was ineffective after halftime.
Pittsburgh’s defensive front threw its hands up to tip passes or disrupt Burrow’s timing. Levi Wallace intercepted a pass on a deflection and T.J. Watt made an otherworldly snare in the third quarter.
The Bengals countered by having Burrow start looking deep, and he led an eight-play, 93-yard drive that ended with Perine dragging Wallace across the goal line for a 6-yard score that made it 34-23 with 4:35 remaining.
SAINTS 27, RAMS 20
NEW ORLEANS — Andy Dalton passed for three touchdowns, Matthew Stafford left the field to be evaluated for a concussion in the second half New Orleans beat reeling Los Angeles.
Stafford’s departure from the game came two days after he’d been cleared to return from the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Stafford was effective in the first half, after which the Rams led 14-10, and he left the game having completed 11 of 18 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including a 62-yarder to Tutu Atwell.
He was replaced by Bryce Perkins, who led the Rams to a field goal on his first series, but struggled thereafter. The defending champion Rams (3-7) have lost four straight.
Dalton’s performance validated a decision by the Saints (4-7) to stick with him after the club’s worst offensive performances of the season during a two-game skid. He completed 21 of 25 passes for 260 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown pass deep down the middle of the field to Chris Olave to make it 24-14 late in the third quarter.
Dalton also threw TD passes to Jarvis Landry and Juwan Johnson.
COMMANDERS 23, TEXANS 10
HOUSTON — Taylor Heinicke threw for 191 yards, Kendall Fuller returned an interception for a touchdown, and Washington rolled past Houston.
Heinicke, who started a fifth straight game for the injured Carson Wentz, had another solid performance to help the Commanders (6-5) build on last week’s victory over Philadelphia and win their fifth of six.
Davis Mills threw two interceptions and Houston mustered a season-low 148 yards of offense as the Texans (1-8-1) lost their fifth straight and remained the NFL’s only one-win team.
Washington led 20-0 at halftime behind Fuller’s pick-6, a TD run by Curtis Samuel and a historically bad first half by Houston’s offense.
The Texans were outgained 246-5 in the first half, their fewest net yards in a half franchise history, passing the 8 they managed in the first half of a 40-0 loss to the Bills last season.
It was the fewest yards by a team in a half since the Raiders had minus-12 in a win over the Broncos in 2015.