Kirk Cousin, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow had monster performances in overtime games. Tank Bigsby and Tyrone Tracy Jr. had big games in relief appearances. Josh Allen had a weak performance for himself while Jayden Daniels continues to roll.
Falcons 36, Buccaneers 30 (OT): Kirk Cousins has a little bit left in the tank, after all. The old man threw for 509 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Falcons’ overtime win. Drake London was his primary beneficiary with 12 catches for 154 yards and a score. Darnell Mooney had a huge game as well, tallying 9 for 105 and 2 touchdowns. Bijan Robinson was criminally underused again with just 61 rushing yards and 3 catches for 16 receiving yards. Baker Mayfield had just 180 passing yards but added 42 rushing yards and 3 passing TDs. Mike Evans caught 5 balls for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns. Chris Godwin added 5 receptions for 64 yards.
Vikings 23, Jets 17: Over in London, the Vikings had a subdued day offensively with Sam Darnold throwing for just 179 yards and a pick. Ty Chandler and Aaron Jones combined for 59 rushing yards. Justin Jefferson caught 6 balls for 92 yards. It was the Vikings defense that bruised and battered old man Aaron Rodgers and recorded a Pick-6. Rodgers was picked off 3 times on the day. The Jets managed just 36 rushing yards. Garrett Wilson had himself a huge day with 13 catches on 23 targets and tallied 101 yards and a touchdown.
Bears 36, Panthers 10: The Bears expressed their appreciation to the Panthers for the haul they got in a trade last year for the right to draft Bryce Young. The Caleb Williams-led Bears pounded the Panthers while Young watched from the bench. Williams threw for 304 yards and 2 scores — both to D.J. Moore, who had 5 catches for 105 yards as well. D’Andre Swift rushed for 73 yards and a score while Roschon Johnson plowed into the end zone for two more scores. Rome Odunze had 5 catches for 40 yards. Chuba Hubbard rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers. Something called a Jalen Coker had 4 catches for 68 yards.
Ravens 41, Bengals 38 (OT): Seems like they forgot how to play defense in the AFC North. Lamar Jackson threw for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns while rushing for 55 yards. Derrick Henry added 92 rushing yards and a score. Zay Flowers caught 7 balls for 111 yards. Charlie Kolar and Rashod Bateman each caught a touchdown while Isaiah Likely added 2. Joe Burrow threw for 392 yards and a whopping 5 scores in the loss. Chase Brown and Zack Moss combined for just 70 rushing yards. Ja’Marr Chase had an eye-popping day with 10 catches for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tee Higgins had a huge day as well with 9 receptions for 83 yards and 2 scores.Â
Dolphins 15, Patriots 10: In the suckathon bowl, the Dolphins kicked four field goals and allowed Alec Ingold to run in a score while beating the lowly Patriots. Rookie Jaylen Wright led the Dolphins rushing attack with 86 yards on 13 carries. Raheem Mostert added 80 yards on 19 carries and little man De’Von Achane tallied just 18 yards on 3 carries. Tyreek Hill caught 6 balls for 69 yards, Jonnu Smith added 5 catches for 62 yards, and Jaylen Waddle caught 4 passes for 46 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson, the only Patriot really worth rostering, had 89 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
Commanders 34, Browns 13: Jayden Daniels had another solid outing in a big win over the Browns. He threw for 238 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 82. Austin Ekeler tallied 67 yards while Jeremy McNichols added 44 yards and a score. Brian Robinson Jr. had just 18 rushing yards but saved his day with 2 rushing touchdowns. Dyami Brown caught a touchdown for the Commanders and Terry McLaurin had 112 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Deshaun Watson had just 125 passing yards and a touchdown on the day. Jerome Ford rushed for 47 yards while D’Onta Foreman added 44. Amari Cooper caught 4 balls for 60 yards and Jordan Akins had 22 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Jaguars 37, Colts 34: In a battle of bad AFC South football, the Jaguars picked up their first win behind 371 yards and 2 scores from Trevor Lawrence. Tank Bigsby rushed for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brian Thomas Jr. continued his rookie tear with 122 yards and a touchdown on 5 receptions. Joe Flacco had 359 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day. Trey Sermon grinded out 38 yards and a touchdown in relief duty for Jonathan Taylor. Alec Pierce caught 3 balls for 134 yards and a touchdown. Mo Alie-Cox and Michael Pittman Jr. each pitched in with a score as well.
Texans 23, Bills 20: The Texans won a possibly crucial tiebreaker when the playoffs roll around with a close victory over the Bills. C.J. Stroud passed for 331 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 27 more. Cam Akers rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown. Stefon Diggs caught 6 balls for 82 yards. Nico Collins caught 2 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Dare Ogunbowale — God bless you — caught 6 passes for 57 yards. Josh Allen threw for just 131 yards and a touchdown in the loss. But he added 54 yards on the ground. James Cook managed to get 82 yards and a touchdown. Keon Coleman had just one catch, a 49-yard touchdown.
Broncos 34, Raiders 18: The Broncos obliterated division-rival Las Vegas. Bo Nix passed for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns while adding another 9 on the ground and a score. Javonte Williams rushed for 61 yards and led the team with 5 catches for 50 yards. Josh Reynolds and Jaleel McLaughlin caught short touchdowns. Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell split time in this one — and neither one is any good. Ameer Abdullah rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown while Alexander Mattison added 38 on the ground and 23 through the air. Brock Bowers led the team with 8 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Cardinals 24, 49ers 23: The banged up 49ers continued to slide, losing their third game of the season. Kyler Murray mustered up just 195 passing yards and a touchdown but added 83 more on the ground, plus another score. James Conner rushed for 86 yards. Michael Wilson caught 5 balls for 78 yards, Trey McBride caught 6 passes for 53 yards, and Marvin Harrison Jr. managed just 2 receptions for 36 yards. Brock Purdy threw for 244 yards and a score but also tossed 2 interceptions. Jordan Mason rushed for 89 yards. Brandon Aiyuk caught 8 balls for 147 yards. George Kittle added 8 receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Packers 24, Rams 19: Jordan Love continued to struggle a bit in his return from injury, tossing a Will Levis-like Pick 6 as he was falling to the ground. But, he also threw for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns. Josh Jacobs rushed for 73 yards and a score. Tucker Kraft caught 4 balls for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jayden Reed caught 4 passes as well for 78 yards. Matthew Stafford threw for 260 yards and a touchdown while Kyren Williams rushed for 102 yards and a score. Jordan Whittington — huh? — caught 7 passes for 89 yards while little Tutu Atwell caught 6 passes for 58 yards. Colby Parkinson pitched in with 7 receptions for 52 yards and Demarcus Robinson had 3 catches for 28 yards and a score.
Giants 29, Seahawks 20: The Giants upset the Seahawks — did I type that right? Yeah, I guess so — behind 129 yards on the ground from rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. Daniel Jones threw for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns. Darius Slayton caught 8 balls for 122 yards and a touchdown. Wan’Dale Robinson also pitched in with 6 catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. Geno Smith threw for 284 yards and a touchdown in the loss. He also rushed for 72 yards. Ken Walker had just 19 yards on the ground, but also caught 7 passes for 57 yards. Tyler Lockett had 4 receptions for 75 yards and DK Metcalf tallied 4 receptions for 55 yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 4 balls for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Cowboys 20, Steelers 17: The Cowboys edged the Steelers in a battle of two of the most storied franchises. Dak Prescott had 352 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, while also tossing 2 picks. Rico Dowdle had 87 rushing yards to lead the way, while also catching 2 balls for 27 yards and a score. Jalen Tolbert caught 7 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Jake Ferguson added 6 receptions for 70 yards. CeeDee Lamb caught only 5 passes for 62 yards. Justin Fields threw for just 131 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss, while also adding 27 yards on the ground. Najee Harris rushed for a pedestrian 42 yards, but caught 2 passes for 35 yards. George Pickens had just 3 receptions for 26 yards. Connor Heyward and Pat Freiermuth each recorded a receiving touchdown.
Chiefs 26, Saints 13: Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards and no scores, with one interception in the Chiefs’ victory over the Saints. Kareem Hunt rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown. Juju Smith-Schuster caught 7 passes for 130 yards to lead the Chiefs. Travis Kelce caught 9 passes for 70 yards. Derek Carr passed for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss. Alvin Kamara had a putrid 26 yards on the ground but also caught 6 passes for 40 receiving yards. Rashid Shaheed had 86 yards and a touchdown on 4 receptions.
