NFL roundup: Hurts leaves injured as Eagles’ win streak ended by Washington
After Jalen Hurts left with a concussion, Jayden Daniels threw five touchdown passes while running at will in the rookie quarterback’s latest masterful performance, and the Washington Commanders ended the Philadelphia Eagles’ winning streak at 10 by rallying to defeat the NFC East leaders 36-33. on Sunday.
Daniels’ heroics culminated in a 57-yard touchdown drive in the final 1:58, with Jamison finding Crowder in the end zone with 6 seconds left. He recovered from throwing an interception on the previous possession to lead the Commanders (10-5) back after they fell behind by 14 points seven minutes into the game and trailed by 14 entering the fourth quarter.
They are now on the cusp of making the playoffs after handing Philadelphia (12-3) its first loss since September 29. The Eagles played the vast majority of the game without Hurts and failed to clinch the division and one of the conference’s top two seeds, despite Saquon Barkley racking up 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone.
Daniels was the main reason for that, beating the Eagles a month after losing to them on the road. He was 24 of 39 for 258 yards with a pair of TDs to Crowder and Olamide Zaccheaus and one to Terry McLaurin — and Daniels was Washington’s leading rusher with 81 yards on nine carries.
That was enough to prevent Brian Robinson Jr. lost two fumbles in the first half and that Dyami Brown again early in the third quarter and that Marshon Lattimore was flagged three times for pass interference.
The commanders also found a solution for Barkley, who was held to 41 yards after the first. Philadelphia’s offense stagnated when Hurts dropped to backup Kenny Pickett, who threw an interception to Frankie Luvu in his first meaningful NFL action in more than a year.
Luvu tied the score on Hurts, knocking Philadelphia’s starting QB out of the game after just a few minutes. Hurts’ head also bounced off the ground at the end of his previous run, and he was ruled out after two trips to the sideline medical tent and the concussion that followed.
Hurts’ status is a question that will linger for the Eagles in their final two games of the regular season as the Super Bowl contenders face a lengthy playoff run. Pickett was 14 of 24 for 143 yards in relief, throwing a touchdown pass to AJ Brown and the interception.
New York Giants 7-34 Atlanta Falcons
Michael Penix Jr won his debut as Atlanta’s starting quarterback, thanks in large part to a defense that returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns, and the Falcons boosted their playoff hopes by beating the hapless New York Giants to their franchise-record 10th consecutive season to deliver, 34-7. on Sunday.
Jessie Bates and Matthew Judon each had a pick-six to lift Atlanta (8-7) to its second straight win after a four-game losing streak threatened its postseason hopes. The Falcons entered the week one game behind Tampa Bay in the NFC South and held the tiebreaker lead over the Buccaneers, who played in Dallas on Sunday night.
Penix, the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, got his first NFL start against the Giants (2-13) after the Falcons decided to bench turnover-prone Kirk Cousins just nine months after he had signed him to a four-year, $180.m contract that included $100 million in guaranteed money.
The left-handed rookie wasn’t overwhelmed by the moment, completing 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards — numbers that would have been better if not for at least three dropped passes, one of which Kyle Pitts bounced right into the hands of a rookie. York defenseman for Penix’s lone interception.
The defense made things even easier for the new starter, throttling a New York team that was struggling to get anything going, with Drew Lock returning as the starting QB after missing the week before with a heel injury.
Detroit Lions 34-17 Chicago Bears
Jared Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and the Detroit Lions remained atop the NFC on Sunday with their franchise-record 13th win, 34-17 over the Chicago Bears.
Jameson Williams had a career-high 143 yards on five catches, including an 82-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 109 yards and a score, and Detroit (13-2) broke a tie with the 1991 and 2023 teams for most wins in franchise history. The Lions also set a single-season record with 493 points.
The Lions took control early against the Bears (4-11), and they even extended their dominance by running a trick play that deliberately tripped Goff as he fell back. As Detroit players chanted “Fumble!” shouting and Gibbs pretending to dive for the ball, Goff threw to Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown, making the score 34-14.
It was exactly the kind of performance Detroit was looking for after a 48-42 loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. That ended a franchise-best winning streak after 11 games and left the Lions tied atop the conference with Philadelphia and NFC North rival Minnesota.
Caleb Williams threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns after a series of shaky performances for the Bears, who lost their ninth in a row and drew more boos from their frustrated fans.
Los Angeles thrashes 19-9 New York Jets
Matthew Stafford threw an 11-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee early in the fourth quarter after Aaron Rodgers and the Los Angeles Rams defeated the New York Jets 19-9 on Sunday for their fourth straight victory.
The Rams (9-6), who have won five of six, kept their spot atop the NFC West standings with the win after a slow start against the Jets (4-11) on a day when it was a frigid 23F (minus – 5C) at kick-off.
But Los Angeles’ defense, which struggled against Rodgers and New York’s offense for most of the game, came up with momentum that changed the game.
With the game tied at 9 early in the fourth quarter, Kam Curl sacked Rodgers on a blitz and forced a fumble that Jared Verse recovered at the Jets 21.
Three plays later, Stafford found Higbee — who was making his season debut after missing the first 14 games with a knee injury — for an 11-yard touchdown that made it 16-9.
Cleveland Browns 6-24 Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes, including one when he fell to the grass, and the Cincinnati Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive with a 24-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The Bengals (7-8) need to win their final two games and get some help to reach the postseason.
Burrow passed for three or more TDs for the seventh consecutive game, finishing 23 of 30 for 252 yards. Ja’Marr Chase had six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown in time for Cincinnati to reach 1,510 yards this season and break his own franchise record of 1,455 yards set in 2021.
Myles Garrett, who said this week that the Browns franchise should focus on winning and not rebuilding, recorded the 100th sack of his career in the second quarter.
With Dorian Thompson-Robinson replacing Jameis Winston at quarterback, Cleveland (3-12) missed some opportunities in the red zone.
Tennessee Titans 30-38 Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor bounced back from perhaps the most embarrassing moment of his career by rushing for 218 yards and scoring three times, including runs of 65 and 70 yards on Sunday, to lead the Indianapolis Colts past the Tennessee Titans 38-30 .
Indy rushed for a franchise-record 335 yards, while Taylor posted the second-highest single-game rushing total in the league this season and also in his five-year career. The three rushing scores were his most since he scored four touchdowns against Buffalo in 2021.
Taylor’s big day came a week after he dropped the ball short of the goal line and bounced the ball out of bounds for a touchback following a crushing loss to Denver.
This time, Taylor made sure that didn’t happen again this week by holding the ball all the way into the end zone. Indy (7-8) won its fourth straight AFC South series.
Tennessee (3-12) lost its fourth in a row on a miserable day on what had been a pretty stingy defense. The Titans allowed their most yards rushing since moving from Houston to Nashville in the late 1990s, and it was the second time in four games that an opponent surpassed the 200-yard mark.