Seahawks 31, Cardinals 21: Two drives defined this game and, in a greater sense, the Seahawks’ season. Nearly midway through the third quarter, Geno Smith threw a pick-6 to Arizona linebacker Zaven Collins, giving the Cardinals a 14-10 lead. Smith immediately battled back by leading a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown march on the next series, a testament to the Seahawks’ resilience.
Buccaneers 16, Rams 13: After earning just 4.3 yards a pop on his passing attempts before the final possession, Brady looked like his old self while going 5 of 6 for 54 yards and a touchdown on a game-winning drive that began with 44 seconds remaining. The Bucs got some help from a defensive pass-interference penalty that set up Cade Otton’s 1-yard touchdown reception. Neither offense looked good for most of the game, plagued by the offensive line and rushing issues they have both suffered, but with his 280 yards on Sunday, Brady became the first quarterback in N.F.L. history to reach 100,000 career passing yards over both the regular season and the playoffs.
Dolphins 35, Bears 32: Tua Tagovailoa was automatic for most of the game. Aside from an underthrown go ball that could have put the game away for good in the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa was ripping off 10-, 15- and 20-yard gains at will as Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle roamed free over the middle. But Bears quarterback Justin Fields was electric on the ground, handling 15 carries for 178 yards (including a 61-yard touchdown) through both scrambling and designed runs.
Chargers 20, Falcons 17: Run defense almost cost the Chargers another game as Atlanta’s rushers combined for 201 yards, but the Falcons couldn’t help Falconing. Leading 17-14 in the third quarter, Atlanta missed a 50-yard field goal, returning the ball to the Chargers to close the game out with two field-goal drives of their own for the win.
Vikings 20, Commanders 17: Vikings Coach Kevin O’Connell put together a beautiful opening script for a nine-play scoring drive topped off by an outrageous toe-tap catch from Justin Jefferson. Those were the only 7 points Minnesota would score until the fourth quarter. Dalvin Cook (17 carries, 47 yards) struggled to get going against a fierce front seven and, as a result, the Vikings couldn’t get into as many effective play-action pass looks as they would have liked. Luckily for them, Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke didn’t have enough juice to punish the Vikings. Kicker Greg Joseph connected on the go-ahead 28-yard field goal with 12 seconds left.
Lions 15, Packers, 9: Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions, constantly giving the Lions extra chances to score despite Jared Goff’s paltry 5.3 yards per attempt (and an interception of his own). Rodgers’s miscues — he threw one pick off Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes’s helmet and underthrew a pass on a trick play intended for left tackle David Bakhtiari — will haunt him as much as the Packers’ 3-6 record.
Jets 20, Bills 17: To beat Josh Allen, a defense has to be able to get to him with four rushers and keep numbers in coverage. Few teams are equipped to do just that, but the Jets, who sacked Allen five times, were on Sunday. Zach Wilson (18 of 25 passing for 154 yards and no interceptions) played one of the cleanest games of his young career and the run game hammered away at a Bills front missing the star linebacker Matt Milano.