Jayden Daniels connected with Zach Ertz for his third touchdown pass of the game in overtime, putting the Washington Commanders into the playoffs by beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-3 on Sunday night in a back-and-forth prime-time showdown between heavily drafted rookies. 24 quarterbacks defeated.

Daniels ran for a season-high 127 yards, completed 24 of 36 passes for 227 yards and had two TD passes to Ertz and another to Olamide Zaccheaus to make the playoffs in his rookie year.

In his final comeback performance in a season full of them, the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft overcame an interception and a 10-point halftime deficit to lead the winning drive in overtime with the two-yard pass Ertz was crowned.

The Commanders (11-5) could move up to the sixth seed in the NFC and set up a wild-card round game at Tampa Bay or the Los Angeles Rams if they win their regular-season finale in Dallas next weekend. Otherwise, they would be seventh and visit division rival Philadelphia unless Green Bay loses to Chicago.

The Falcons (8-8) lost control of their chances of winning the NFC South and securing a home playoff game. To even qualify, they now have to beat Carolina and the Buccaneers have to lose to New Orleans.

Green Bay Packers 25-27 Minnesota Vikings

Sam Darnold added another success to his career-changing season, rushing for a personal best of 377 yards and three touchdowns as the Vikings beat the Packers 27-25 on Sunday for their ninth straight victory, putting them one win ahead of the NFCs gave top seed for the playoffs.

Darnold beat Jalen Nailor, Jordan Addison and Cam Akers for points and increased his passing touchdown total to 35, the fourth-highest in NFL history by a player in his debut season for a team.

The Vikings (14-2) had a showdown in Detroit last week for the NFC North title and the first-round game plus home-field advantage that comes with the best record in the conference.

Jordan Love’s only touchdown pass for the Packers (11-5) came with 2:18 left, a 3-yard toss to Malik Heath that cut their deficit to two points and reignited the “Go Pack Go!” . Chants from the green-clad fans mixed in with the purple ones in another classic edition of this divisional rivalry.

Although the Packers once again took a huge lead from a tenuous gap against Minnesota this season after a 31-29 loss in Green Bay on September 29th that started with a 28-0 deficit, the Packers lost to the top three Teams that are a worrisome 0-5 in the NFC. They were also defeated by the Lions and lost their opening game in Brazil against the Eagles.

Dallas Cowboys 7-41 Philadelphia Eagles

Saquon Barkley rushed for 167 yards, topping 2,000 on the season, backup quarterback Kenny Pickett ran and threw for scores before leaving with injured ribs, and the Eagles secured the NFC East title on Sunday by sweeping the Cowboys defeated 41-7.

Barkley has 2,005 yards and needs 101 in next week’s largely meaningless regular-season finale to surpass Eric Dickerson and his 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.

The Eagles (13-3) led 24-7 in the third quarter when Pickett was drilled by defensive end Micah Parsons and made his first start in place of the stricken Jalen Hurt. Tanner McKee, a career third-string striker, entered the game and the Eagles ended the drive with a field goal.

McKee later threw two TD passes, a 20-yarder to AJ Brown and a 25-yarder to DeVonta Smith, in front of a cheering crowd that rejoiced as the Eagles dominated their fiercest rival and secured the division title and at least the No. 2 seed secured seeds in NFC.

Hurts was injured in last week’s loss at Washington and remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol — he hasn’t practiced all week — which opened the door for Pickett to start.

Pickett, acquired from Pittsburgh in the offseason, played with extra protection under his jersey after suffering a rib injury while playing against the Commanders.

Carolina Panthers 14-48 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns to help the Buccaneers keep their division and playoff hopes alive with a 48-14 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

Tampa Bay’s fifth win in the last six weeks gave the first-place Bucs (9-7) a half-game lead over Atlanta and the best record in the NFC South, with the Falcons playing later on Sunday night in Washington will play away.

Atlanta is in the tiebreaker in the division race and can end Tampa Bay’s three-year reign as NFC South champions by defeating the Commanders and winning again next week at home against the last-place Panthers (4-12).

Mayfield threw TD passes of 2 and 1 yards to Mike Evans, and Tampa Bay scored five straight possessions in the first half to build a 27-7 lead. Jalen McMillan scored on receptions of 10 and 16 yards, linebacker JJ Russell returned a blocked punt for a TD in the third quarter and rookie Bucky Irving had another big game against Carolina with 120 yards rushing on 20 carries and four receptions for 77 yards.

Irving managed more than 1,000 yards (1,033) this season despite being used primarily as a backup to Rachaad White. The fourth-round draft pick ran for 152 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against the NFL’s 32nd-ranked run defense in Tampa Bay’s 26-23 overtime win at Carolina on Dec. 1.

Tennessee Titans 13-20 Jacksonville Jaguars

Mac Jones threw two touchdown passes, including one to rookie standout Brian Thomas Jr., and the Jaguars beat the Titans 20-13 in the rain on Sunday to win the season for the fourth time in 30 years.

Jones completed 15 of 22 passes for 174 yards, most of which went to Thomas. The first-round draft pick out of LSU finished with seven receptions for 91 yards. His 11-yard TD catch with 7:05 left gave him his eighth game with at least 60 yards and a score, tying Hall of Famer Randy Moss for the most by a rookie in NFL history.

Thomas, who has five touchdown catches in his last four games, also becomes the fifth player in Jaguars history with double-digit touchdown catches in a single season. He joined Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, Marcedes Lewis and Reggie Williams.

The Titans (3-13) improved their position for the 2025 NFL Draft – a potential chance to land a franchise quarterback – and secured the final spot in the AFC South. The Jaguars (4-12) secured third place in the division.

New York Jets 14-40 Buffalo Bills

Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and the Bills secured the AFC’s No. 2 seed with a 40-14 win over the disjointed and undisciplined Jets on Sunday.

The Bills won the game by capitalizing on two Jets turnovers in the final minutes of the third quarter and scoring three touchdowns over a 5:01 span. Buffalo’s defense forced a total of three takeaways and sacked Aaron Rodgers four times, including a two-yard loss to a safety in the second quarter.

Allen had a short and efficient outing, finishing 16 of 27 for 182 yards with a 30-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper and a 14-yarder to Keon Coleman before giving way to backup Mitchell Trubisky, with Buffalo over three quarters led 33-0. And Trubisky continued, completing a 69-yard touchdown pass to Tyrell Shavers with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Las Vegas Raiders 25-10 New Orleans Saints

Aidan O’Connell passed for two touchdowns, tight end Brock Bowers broke two rookie NFL records and the Raiders won 25-10 over the struggling Saints on Sunday for the fourth time this season.

Bowers’ seven catches for 77 yards gave him 108 catches for 1,144 yards this season, surpassing Mike Ditka’s 1961 rookie tight end mark of 1,067 yards and Puka Nacua’s 2023 mark of 105 catches by a rookie at any position. Bowers also surpassed Darren Waller’s franchise mark of 107 receptions in a season, which had stood since 2020.

Ameer Abdullah ran for 115 yards for the Raiders (4-12) – the journeyman running back’s first 100-yard game in his 10 NFL seasons.

O’Connell finished the game with 242 yards passing, including a three-yard TD pass to Jakobi Meyers and an 18-yarder to Tre Tucker.

Daniel Carlson kicked four field goals – his longest from 54 yards – for the Raiders, who didn’t seem fazed by Saturday’s flight delays that got them to their hotel after midnight, less than 12 hours before kickoff.

Indianapolis Colts 33-45 New York Giants

The hapless Giants ended a record-setting 10-game losing streak on Sunday and ended the Colts’ slim playoff hopes as Drew Lock threw four touchdown passes and caught another in a 45-33 victory.

New York earned its first home win of the season and no longer has control of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

Lock sandwich touchdown passes of 31 and 59 yards to Malik Nabers and TD passes of 32 yards to Darius Slayton and 5 yards to Wan’Dale Robinson led the Giants (3-13) to their first win since beating Seattle on October 6th.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette had a 100-yard return in the second half on a day when the league’s worst offense set a season high for points.

Jonathan Taylor scored on runs of 3 and 26 yards for Indianapolis (7-9), while Joe Flacco, coming in for the injured Anthony Richardson, threw touchdown passes of 13 yards to Alec Pierce and 7 yards to Michael Pittman The last brought the Colts within 35-33 with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Lock, who finished 17 of 23 for 309 yards, capped the game by leading a nine-play, 70-yard drive that he capped with a five-yard run.

Miami Dolphins 20-3 Cleveland Browns

Tyler Huntley scrambled for a touchdown and threw one while starting for Tua Tagovailoa, and the Dolphins stayed in the playoff race, heading into their season finale with a 20-3 victory over the Browns on Sunday.

With Tagovailoa sidelined with a hip injury, Huntley did enough to keep the Dolphins (8-8) alive with one game left.

Miami must win at the New York Jets next weekend and hope the Denver Broncos lose at home to Kansas City to secure a wild card spot. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and many of the Chiefs’ top-seeded starters are expected to take a break.

Tagovailoa’s status for next week is unclear, but Huntley has shown he can get the job done when needed.

He finished 22 of 26 for 225 yards and had no turnovers in his fourth start this season. The 26-year-old was in training camp with Cleveland before being released in August.

The Browns (3-13) lost their fifth straight game and finished 2-6 at home. They have improved their draft position for 2025, when they will likely be looking for a quarterback.