NFL Week 16: Lions secure 1st division title since 1993 with win over Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS — The Detroit Lions clinched their first division title in 30 years, using two rushing touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs and 106 receiving yards and a third-quarter go-ahead score by Amon-Ra St. Brown to overtake the injury-ravaged Minnesota Vikings 30-24 on Sunday.

Ifeatu Melifonwu picked off Minnesota’s Nick Mullens at the 5-yard line on an off-target pass to an open Justin Jefferson with 49 seconds left to seal the win. Mullens was picked off four times.

Jared Goff passed for 257 yards without a turnover and David Montgomery had a rushing touchdown for the Lions (11-4). Detroit secured a home playoff game for the first time in 22 seasons at Ford Field, where an NFC North champions banner will soon hang. The last one was for winning the NFC Central in 1993.

Safe to say it has been a while since the Lions have won a division title ???? pic.twitter.com/kBe4E0U9TO

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 25, 2023

Mullens threw for two scores, a diving 26-yard catch by Jefferson with 29 seconds left in the first half and a 6-yard toss to K.J. Osborn that gave the Vikings (7-8) a 21-17 lead early in the third quarter one play after a 47-yard heave to Osborn.

Seahawks 20, Titans 17

NASHVILLE — Geno Smith threw his second touchdown pass of the fourth quarter, a 5-yarder to Colby Parkinson with 57 seconds left, and Seattle beat Tennessee to remain in playoff contention.

The Seahawks (8-7) have won two straight but still need to win out and get some help to clinch their second playoff berth in three seasons. The Titans (5-10) lost consecutive games for the third time this season.

Smith, who missed the past two games with an injured groin, gave the Seahawks their first lead at 13-10 when he found DK Metcalf in the left corner for an 11-yard TD with 12:10 left.

Derrick Henry put Tennessee back up 17-13 with a 2-yard TD run with 3:21 left.

Smith responded by driving the Seahawks 75 yards over 14 plays for the decisive score.

Falcons 29, Colts 10

ATLANTA — Taylor Heinicke provided turnover-free leadership at quarterback, passing for 229 yards and a touchdown to lead Atlanta past Indianapolis.

The Falcons (7-8) benched Desmond Ridder this week for the second time this season following two straight losses. Heinicke delivered, completing 23 of 33 passes, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts. Tyler Allgeier added a 31-yard touchdown run. The Falcons set a season high in scoring.

The Colts (8-7), who had won five of six, struggled offensively after opening the game with a long drive capped by Jonathan Taylor’s 1-yard scoring run. Gardner Minshew for 201 yards and was intercepted by Jessie Bates in the fourth quarter.

Younghoe Koo kicked five field goals for Atlanta.

Packers 33, Panthers 30

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jordan Love threw for two touchdowns, ran for one and made two big completions to set up Anders Carlson’s 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds left, and Green Bay survived a fourth-quarter rally by Carolina.

Love threw touchdown passes of 21 yards to rookie Dontayvion Wicks and 5 yards to Romeo Dobbs and scored on a quarterback sneak as the Packers snapped a two-game losing streak. Aaron Jones became the first Packers player this season to exceed 100 yards rushing or receiving in a game, rushing for 127 yards on 21 carries.

The Packers (7-8) remain one game behind the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC wild-card race.

Bryce Young threw for a career-high 312 yards with two touchdown passes to DJ Chark for the Panthers (2-13). Carolina trailed 30-16 in the fourth quarter before rallying to tie the game, but Love came through for Green Bay in the closing minutes.

Jets 33, Commanders 30

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Greg Zuerlein kicked a 54-yard field goal with 5 seconds left, and New York beat Washington after blowing a 20-point, third-quarter lead.

Jacoby Brissett replaced the benched Sam Howell in the third quarter and led the Commanders on three straight touchdown drives, including Antonio Gibson’s 1-yard run that put Washington ahead 28-27 with 4:52 remaining.

The Jets (6-9) got the ball back with 1:41 remaining, and Trevor Siemian marched New York into range for Zuerlein’s kick. It was the second win in eight games for the Jets.

Siemian finished 27 of 49 for 217 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception in his first start in place of the injured Zach Wilson. Breece Hall ran for 95 yards and two TDs and caught 12 passes for 96 yards.

Brissett was 10 of 13 for 100 yards and a touchdown in relief of Howell, who was benched for the second straight game. Howell was 6 of 22 for 56 yards and two interceptions with a 1.7 rating for the Commanders (4-11), who have dropped six straight.

Buccaneers 30, Jaguars 12

TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns to help the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Trevor Lawrence and the reeling Jacksonville Jaguars 30-12 for their fourth straight victory on Sunday.

The Jaguars (8-7) lost their fourth game in a row, this time with Lawrence starting but struggling to find a rhythm after spending the past week in the NFL’s concussion protocol. The third-year quarterback threw a second-half TD pass to Calvin Ridley before spending the fourth quarter on the bench with what the Jaguars announced was a shoulder injury.

A week after having a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in a road win at Green Bay, Mayfield threw a pair of TDs to Mike Evans in building a 20-0 halftime lead. In both cases, the Bucs cashed in on interceptions Lawrence tossed on two of Jacksonville’s first three possessions.

Evans finished with seven receptions for 86 yards. The touchdown catches were his 12th and 13th of the season, and the 10th-year pro joined Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (8), Terrell Owens (7), Marvin Harrison (6) and Randy Moss (6) as the only players in NFL history to have at least 12 TD receptions in five different seasons.

The victory, combined with New Orleans’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams last Thursday night, left the first-place Bucs (8-7) alone atop the NFC South with two weeks left in the regular season. The Saints (7-8) visit Raymond James Stadium next Sunday.

Despite losing four straight, the Jaguars remain tied for first place in the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, who also lost on Sunday.

Devin White and Antoine Winfield Jr. had the interceptions that led to Mayfield’s scoring passes to Evans. Rookie Yaya Diaby sacked Lawrence early in the third quarter, forcing a third turnover by the quarterback to set up Rachaad White’s 2-yard TD run that put the Bucs up 27-0.

The Jaguars believe Lawrence, who has not missed a game in his three-year career, sustained a head injury while scrambling up the middle on the team’s final drive during the previous week’s 23-7 loss to Baltimore.

The No. 1 overall pick from the 2021 draft practiced for the first time all week on Friday. He was cleared to play by team doctors and the league’s independent neurological consultant before traveling with the team to Tampa on Saturday.

Lawrence finished 17 of 29 passing for 211 yards, including a 18-yard TD throw to Ridley late in the third quarter. In addition to three turnovers, he was sacked three times.

Backup C.J. Beathard played the fourth quarter and had a 1-yard TD pass to Ridley in the closing minutes.

Bears 27, Cardinals 16

CHICAGO — Justin Fields threw for a touchdown and ran for another score, and the Chicago Bears beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-16 on Sunday night.

Tight end Cole Kmet caught four passes for a career-high 107 yards despite missing the second half because of a knee injury.

Khalil Herbert ran for a season-high 112 yards and a touchdown, and the Bears (6-9) got the bounce-back win they were seeking coming off a late collapse at Cleveland a week earlier.

Chicago scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the first half to go up 21-0 against Arizona (3-12). The Bears hung on after blowing a 10-point lead in a 20-17 loss to the Browns, though things got tight in the closing minutes.

The Cardinals cut it to 24-16 with 6:37 remaining on Kyler Murray’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Greg Dortch, though the 2-point conversion pass was incomplete. Chicago’s Cairo Santos kicked a 29-yard field goal with just over a minute to play.

The Bears finished with 420 yards, including 250 rushing after being held to 88 against Cleveland.

Fields completed 15 of 27 passes for 170 yards after throwing for 166 the previous week. He added 97 yards rushing.

Fields scored from the 3 on Chicago’s second possession and threw a 1-yard TD to Marcedes Lewis in the second quarter that made it 21-0. He also had the longest run by a Bears player this season when he broke off a 39-yarder to the 14 in the fourth, only to be intercepted by Starling Thomas V in the end zone on the next play.

Kmet needed just two quarters to surpass his previous high of 87 yards in a loss at Pittsburgh in 2021. He helped set up the game’s first TD with a diving 53-yard catch, and his 29-yarder on the next drive led to Fields’ TD pass to Lewis.

Herbert ran for an 11-yard score early in the second quarter.

Murray threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns in his sixth game since his return from a torn ACL in 2022 that caused him to miss roughly 11 months.

James Conner caught five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 45, and the Cardinals finished with 93 yards rushing after racking up 234 in a blowout loss to San Francisco.

Dolphins 22, Cowboys 20

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jason Sanders kicked his fifth field goal of the game, a 29-yarder as time expired, and the Miami Dolphins secured a playoff berth with a 22-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Tua Tagovailoa threw for 293 yards and a touchdown for the AFC East-leading Dolphins (11-4), who beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season. He connected with Tyreek Hill twice on the decisive drive, which covered 64 yards and took the final 3:27 off the clock.

Hill, who leads the NFL in receiving yards, had nine catches for 99 yards after missing last week’s victory over the New York Jets with an ankle injury.

Dak Prescott went 20 of 32 for 253 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (10-5), who have already clinched a playoff spot but fell a half-game behind Philadelphia in the NFC East.

Prescott put the Dallas in front 20-19 with an 8-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Brandin Cooks in the corner of the end zone. But the Cowboys were haunted by their red-zone struggles earlier in the game, including a fumble by Prescott on first-and-goal from inside the 1 on Dallas’ first possession.

Sanders’ first field goal was a career-long 57-yarder in the first quarter. He added kicks of 52, 54 and 35 yards to help the Dolphins take a 19-10 lead late in the third.

Prescott rallied the Cowboys with some dynamic playmaking. On the go-ahead drive, he completed a pass to Michael Gallup as Miami linebacker Duke Riley was pulling him to the ground at the 21.

After Miami safety DeShon Elliott was flagged for defensive holding in the end zone on fourth-and-goal, Prescott got the ball to Cooks, who hauled in the ball over over All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

CeeDee Lamb caught six passes for 118 yards for the Cowboys, including a 49-yard score in the first quarter.

Raheem Mostert scored his NFL-leading 21st touchdown of the season on a grab from Tagovailoa just before halftime. The 31-year-old, who was undrafted out of Purdue in 2015 and bounced around the league earlier in his career, had 46 yards rushing Sunday to put him over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He’s the Dolphins’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Jay Ajayi in 2016.

The Cowboys drove 78 yards in 15 plays on their first possession, but a bad exchange between Prescott and running back Hunter Luepke resulted in a fumble that the Dolphins recovered at their 1.

Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio opted to not have Ramsey shadow Lamb, and it initially looked like the dynamic fourth-year receiver would make him pay for it. Lamb torched the rest of Miami’s secondary early for 93 yards on four catches in the first quarter.

Prescott hit Lamb on a crossing route that went 22 yards on the Cowboys’ second possession. A few plays later, Lamb beat second-year cornerback Kader Kohou in the slot for a catch-and-run touchdown that put Dallas ahead 7-3.

After giving up more than 150 yards on Dallas’ first two drives, Miami’s defense settled in. Fangio dialed up more pressures, and it worked. The Dolphins sacked Prescott four times, which gave them a franchise-best 50 on the season and forced four straight Cowboys punts.

Dallas got back into the red zone early in the fourth quarter, but Miami’s defense held and the Cowboys settled for a field goal to get within 19-13.