The Buffalo Bills have kept their postseason hopes alive with a nail-biting 20-17 win against the Kansas City Chiefs, but it wasn’t without plenty of late controversy.
The Chiefs appeared to have scored one of the touchdowns of the season when star tight end Travis Kelce passed the ball across the field to Kadarius Toney, who ran it 25 yards into the end zone.
Unfortunately for the raucous Arrowhead Stadium crowd, a flag was thrown on the play for offsides against the Chiefs when Toney unbelievably lined up inside the neutral zone, instead of at or behind the line of scrimmage.
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If Toney was standing where he was meant to be, the Chiefs would have hit the lead with just over a minute to go. However, the Bills held their nerve defensively and forced a Kansas City turnover-on-downs to win the game.
The coach-killing play is just one of the many faux pas from Toney and the rest of the Chiefs receiving group this season.
Whether it was the lack of help from his receivers, the generally mild-mannered Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes let his frustration boil over on the sideline.
Mahomes appeared to direct his anger at the referees in the above clip, and quotes from Mahomes and Kansas City’s head coach Andy Reid post-game shed some light on why the star quarterback was so incensed.
It was the Chiefs’ second-straight loss which sees them drop to 8-5, and only one win ahead of the Denver Broncos in the AFC West race.
The Bills (7-6) meanwhile, have managed to stay in the hunt but it won’t get any easier for them next week when they take on the red-hot Dallas Cowboys.
NFC LEADER DETHRONED
Philadelphia has dropped all the way into the fifth seed in the NFC after losing a second straight game to another contender, this time Dallas, 33-13.
The Cowboys burst out of the blocks and led by MVP contender Dak Prescott (271 yards, two touchdowns) proved much too good for last year’s conference champions.
The Eagles didn’t even score an offensive touchdown, getting all of their points from two field goals and a 42-yard fumble return when they were already trailing 24-6 just after halftime.
Having won 10 of their first 11 games, but only three of them by more than a touchdown (against the Bucs, Rams and Dolphins), it’s clear Jalen Hurts’ side isn’t reaching the heights of last season.
They could still win the NFC East but currently trail Dallas on division winning percentage, having won three of four games while the Cowboys have won four of five, while they would currently have the edge in conference winning percentage (6-2 in the NFC vs Dallas’ 7-3).
If they earn the fifth seed they’ll get to thrash the woeful NFC South champion but would then be forced on the road for the rest of the playoffs.
INJURY SCARE FOR RETURNING SUPERSTAR AS QB BLASTED
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson copped a huge hit when attempting to catch what has been labelled a ‘hospital pass’ from his QB Josh Dobbs.
Dobbs threw a ball over the middle to an open Jefferson, who made a leaping catch just as Raiders safety Marcus Epps contacted the WR in the chest with brutal force.
The hit was clean, but many believed it was a pass Dobbs should not have thrown as it put his WR in danger.
Jefferson would be ruled out for the game with a chest injury and taken to a local hospital for observation.
For Vikings fans (and Jefferson fantasy football owners), the injury felt like a cruel blow as it was the superstar’s first game back after two months on the sideline with a hamstring injury.
Unfortunately, Jefferson wasn’t the only big-name injury in Week 14 with quarterbacks C.J Stroud and Justin Herbert forced out of their games early.
Stroud and the Texans were struggling against a stout New York Jets defence when the stud rookie suffered a concussion late in the game.
He’ll enter the concussion protocol and could be in doubt for next week’s must-win game against the Titans.
WR Nico Collins will also be in a race against the clock to play next week after suffering a calf injury in the second quarter against the Jets.
Meanwhile, L.A Chargers QB Justin Herbert was ruled out of the game against the Denver Broncos with a finger injury.
RAVENS TAKE FIRST PLACE AFTER WILD OT WIN
Credit to the Baltimore Ravens. They just find a way.
Against the Rams, QB Lamar Jackson (386 total yards, 3TDs) shined, as did WR Odell Beckham Jr. (4 catches, 97 yards, TD) against his former side. However, it was a relative unknown who stole the show in the end.
Tylan Wallace, a third year wide receiver, entered the Ravens clash against the Rams without ever having returned a punt in the NFL.
He was needed in that role though due to an injury to regular returner Devin Duvernay.
At 31-31 in overtime and the Rams punting it away on fourth down, Wallace sat deep in his own territory awaiting the ball.
After catching it at the 25-yard line and then breaking a tackle at the 30, Wallace found space down the left sideline and streaked away.
Game over.
The win moved the Ravens to 10-3 and they’ll go into next week with the best record in the conference.
FATHER TIME NOT COMING FOR JOE JUST YET
Three weeks ago, Joe Flacco was watching NFL games on a Sunday afternoon at his mother’s house.
Despite being 38 and not played since the end of the 2022-2023 season, the Super Bowl winning quarterback had yet to retire from the game, believing he had something to offer a team.
Flacco’s prayers were answered by the Cleveland Browns on November 20, who signed the veteran onto the practice squad after starting QB Deshaun Watson was ruled out for the season.
Since, he has started two games for the Browns, going 1-1. Against the Jaguars, Flacco threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Importantly, the Browns are firmly in the playoff hunt with an 8-5 record and get to control their own destiny from here.
MALIGNED QB JUSTIFIES A-ROD’S FAITH
A reluctant Zach Wilson apparently is an effective Zach Wilson.
The Jets quarterback, who reportedly was reluctant to take back the starting job this week, led the Jets to a surprising 30-6 victory over the Texans on a rainy Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Wilson played a strong game outside of a third-quarter fumble. He looked decisive and elusive and completed 27 of 36 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Jets and moves their record to 5-8 with four games left in the season.
The Jets offense scored three touchdowns for the first time all season.
The Jets switched back to Wilson after two weeks of Tim Boyle.
The Athletic reported that Wilson was reluctant to start, something he denied.
Whatever happened, Wilson looked like a different quarterback Sunday than we’ve seen for most of his career.
He moved well to escape the pass rush and did not hesitate when making passes.
It was the third 300-yard passing game of his career, the first one with no interceptions.
NFL SCORES WEEK 14
Panthers 6 @ Saints 28
Rams 31 @ Ravesn 37
Colts 14 @ Bengals 34
Jaguars 27 @ Browns 31
Lions 13 @ Bears 28
Bucs 29 @ Falcons 25
Texans 6 @ Jets 30
Seahawaks 16 @ 49ers 28
Bills 20 @ Chiefs 17
Vikings 3 @ Raiders 0
Broncos 24 @ Chargers 7
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