The Philadelphia Eagles became the first team to book their play-off spot on Sunday as Tom Brady’s return was marred by an unheralded rookie.
The Eagles beat the New York Giants 48-22 and Brady returned to his boyhood team, the San Francisco 49ers, to see his Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominate 35-7.
Detroit’s big win over the Minnesota Vikings’ 10 win streak was a stunning performance, while the Dallas Cowboys left it late to avoid a huge upset loss to the Houston Texans.
As we enter the final stretch of the season where play-off berths are decided, the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills have maintained their winning streaks, while the Kansas City Chiefs have returned to the victories after losing last week with a 14th straight win over the Denver Broncos.
Rookie QB Prudy goes wild as Brady is beaten again
Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy was making his first career start after season-ending injuries against San Francisco’s top two starters.
But the man last chosen in the NFL Draft produced a magical three-touchdown performance to signal he could be the perfect man to lead the 49ers in their Super Bowl challenge.
With the best defense in the league and a varied offense, the Niners have now won six straight after Purdy all but finished the game at halftime by throwing two touchdown passes and scoring himself.
Brady was intercepted twice in a miserable second away game at the team he supported when growing up nearby.
But it was a magical experience for Purdy, who not only beat the seven-time Super Bowl champion but now looks like the starter with one of the favorites to go all the way this season.
“It was surreal to stand there like, man, it’s Tom Brady,” Purdy admitted.
“For him to have respect for what I did was pretty cool. I’m not going to lie.
“Being a little kid, watching this guy kill him for all those years at the Super Bowl, being able to give him a high five at the end was pretty cool.”
The Brady Buccaneers still lead the NFC South, but their lead was cut by the Carolina Panthers after their 30-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks will face the 49ers on Thursday, with San Francisco having the chance to win their division.
Electric Eagles clinch play-off berth but Vikings have to wait
The Philadelphia Eagles headed into the play-offs with a fine division win over the New York Giants that showcased both sides of their offense – rushing for 253 yards and four rushing touchdowns while adding two more passing scores .
Quarterback Jalen Hurts continued his MVP form with two TD throws and a rushing score himself – becoming the first QB to score 10 rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons as the Eagles improved on their best record of the league at 12-1, with a margin of victory of 26 points, and are now on track to finish top of the NFC.
Minnesota could have followed Philadelphia into the play-offs, but the surging Detroit Lions beat the Vikings 34-23 for a fifth win in six, their best streak in six years, to keep them in the wildcard standings.
At 10-3, the Vikings are still close to playoff certainty, but the Lions, who have scored 25 points in five straight games for the first time since 1954, are now 6-7 and in contention for what would be a surprise play-off spot after starting the season 1-6.
Joining Minnesota at 10-3 in the NFC standings are the Dallas Cowboys, who needed a late touchdown from Ezekiel Elliott in the last minute to beat Houston 27-23 and avoid a huge loss to the one-win Texans.
AFC big guns keep winning as race for top spot intensifies
The Buffalo Bills are the current top seeds in the AFC after their defense rose with a muscular performance in a 20-12 victory over the New York Jets, whose quarterback Mike White was eliminated in twice in the match with rib problems and left the stadium. in an ambulance for precautionary checks.
White was sacked four times and Buffalo forced two turnovers as they avenged an earlier loss to New York that preceded their four-game winning streak, which propelled them to 10-3 and first place in the AFC East.
Buffalo sits above Kansas City, who are also now 10-3, thanks to a win over the Chiefs earlier this season, and they could be on a collision course against after more magic from Patrick Mahomes has them. seen beating the Denver Broncos 34-28.
The Chiefs led 27-0 in the second quarter, but big-buy QB Russell Wilson finally showed some sort of form with a flurry of 21 points in just three and a half minutes before leaving the game with a concussion presumed cerebral.
The Baltimore Ravens are just behind in the standings as the AFC North 9-4 leaders after a fightback win over Pittsburgh, but they lost quarterback Tyler Huntley to a concussion and had to struggle. pressing running back JK Dobbins to secure a tough 16-14 victory.
Baltimore holds a tiebreaker over the Cincinnati Bengals – who also moved to 9-4 by beating Ohio rivals the Cleveland Browns 23-10 for a fifth rebound win, and this run will go down on the wire as the Bengals and Ravens face off. in the last game of the season.
Justin Herbert was once again impressive as he led a depleted Los Angeles Chargers team to a 23-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins, while Trevor Lawrence also stood out with a display of 368 yards and three touchdowns for the Jacksonville Jaguars in their 36- 22 win over the Tennessee Titans.
