Washington continued a baffling trend of playing brilliantly at home and dreadful on the road with a critical 20-14 victory over the New York Giants at FedEx Field on Sunday. Eli Manning threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to bring the Giants close but he was also intercepted three times.
Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins has cut back on his turnovers as the season has progressed and had his third game in five in which he was not intercepted. The victory put surprising Washington in a first-place tie with the Giants in the NFC East at 5-6, and squashed New York’s hopes of taking a two-game lead in the division.
New Orleans Saints 6-24 Houston Texans
Brian Hoyer not only has revived the Texans, he’s pushed them into playoff contention at 6-5. He led Houston to their third straight victory and fourth in five games with a 24-6 win over New Orleans. Once again, the Saints defense was dreadful as they gave up 362 yards, including 205 passing from Hoyer who had two touchdowns.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12-25 Indianapolis Colts
Matt Hasselbeck continues to defy time. Forced to play much of this season because of injuries to Andrew Luck, the 40-year-old Hasselbeck threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns in Indianapolis’s victory over Tampa Bay. The Colts are now 6-5 and in a battle with the surging Texans for first place in the AFC South.
St Louis Rams 7-31 Cincinnati Bengals
After two straight losses, the Cincinnati Bengals stormed back with a 31-7 victory over the St Louis Rams. Andy Dalton tore apart the Rams defense with 233 passing yards and three touchdowns. Running back Jeremy Hill added 86 yards. Rams quarterback Nick Foles looked overmatched as he was intercepted three times. Cincinnati are now 9-2 and in position for a first round playoff bye.
Minnesota Vikings 20-10 Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta blew a chance to solidify their standing for a wild card spot by playing perhaps their worst game of the season in a 20-3 loss to Minnesota. In a series that summed up the day for Atlanta, the Falcons had a first and goal from the one, were pushed back to the 14 and then quarterback Matt Ryan forced a pass to the end zone that was intercepted. The Vikings who rode 158 rushing yards from Adrian Peterson, are now 8-3 and the surprise leader of the NFC North.
Miami Dolphins 20-38 New York Jets
The Dolphins’ brief midseason revival appears to be collapsing. They lost their second straight game, this time to the Jets who trampled over Miami in a 38-20 win. To understand just how complete this beating was, consider that Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had 277 yards passing, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Jets crawled over .500 to 6-5 while Miami are now 4-7, and seeminly out of wild card contention.
San Diego Chargers 31-25 Jacksonville Jaguars
With their season in a free-fall, the Chargers severely-damaged the Jaguars’ playoff hopes with a win in Jacksonville. Phillip Rivers was 29 for 43 for 300 yards and four touchdowns against no interceptions. The Jaguars moved the ball well against San Diego but several drives fell short and Rivers took advantage of the opportunities. Rivers’ four TDs means he is now tied 11th on the all time list with Vinny Testaverde (275) after moving ahead of Joe Montana (273).
Buffalo Bills 22-30 Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City continued their playoff push with a 30-22 victory over Buffalo. The Chiefs rolled behind 114 rushing yards from Spencer Ware in overcoming an excellent performance from Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor who had 291 yards passing with three touchdowns and receiver Sammy Watkins who had 158 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Oakland Raiders 24-21 Tennessee Titans
Marcus Mariota was intercepted late as he tried to pull Tennessee to a last-second victory over Oakland. Instead, the Titans lost 24-21 at home. The Raiders’ Derek Carr threw for 330 yards and Amari Cooper caught seven passes for 115 yards. Oakland are now 5-6 and a surprise playoff contender.
