Dec 23, 2018 6 min read

Jake Elliott kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Houston Texans 32-30 Sunday to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (8-7) need a win at Washington (7-8) next week and for Minnesota (8-6-1) to lose or tie or Seattle (8-6) to lose twice or lose once and tie to get a wild-card berth.

The Texans (10-5) missed an opportunity to clinch the AFC South and also allowed New England (10-5) to take control of the No. 2 seed. The Texans would secure the division title with a victory against Jacksonville next week. They’d get a first-round bye with a win and if the Patriots lose or tie.

Filling in for the injured Carson Wentz for the second straight week, Nick Foles again played like the Super Bowl MVP who led Philadelphia to a victory over New England.

Foles threw for a franchise-record 471 yards and four touchdowns.

Deshaun Watson had two TD passes and ran for two scores.

Watson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Vyncint Smith with 2:04 remaining as Houston rallied from a 13-point deficit.

But Foles brought Philadelphia back into position for the win.

Foles was injured on a late hit by Jadeveon Clowney while completing a 19-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery to the Texans 30 on third-and-10. Nate Sudfeld came in and threw an incomplete pass, but Foles returned on the next play. His 20-yard pass to Zach Ertz on third-and-10 put Philadelphia at the Houston 35.

The Eagles ran the clock down and Elliott made the kick to make up for missing an extra point earlier in the quarter.

Watson threw a 14-yard TD to DeAndre Hopkins to cut the deficit to 29-23 with 4:48 left and the Texans got the ball back at their 20 after a three-and-out.

New England 24, Buffalo 12: The Patriots earned their 10th straight AFC East title with Sony Michel running for 116 yards and a touchdown.

With the Eagles win over the Texans, the Patriots are back in the No. 2 spot in the AFC. A Patriots win over the Jets next week would give New England a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Dallas 27, Tampa Bay 20: The Cowboys wrapped up the NFC East title when Dak Prescott accounted for two touchdowns and Jaylon Smith returned a fumble 69 yards for a score.

Smith’s long return came after a scrambling Jameis Winston lost the ball on a blind-side sack by Randy Gregory, who also recovered a fumble to set up a touchdown for a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.

Indianapolis 28, N.Y Giants 27: Andrew Luck hooked up with Chester Rogers for a 1-yard TD pass with 55 seconds left to give the Colts their only lead of the game.

Indy (9-6) has won eight of nine to keep itself in the playoff hunt heading into the regular-season finale at Tennessee. The Colts, who won their last six home games after starting 0-2, would win the AFC South with a victory over the Titans and a loss by the Houston Texans. Indianapolis would also earn a wild card if it beats Tennessee and Baltimore loses.

Minnesota 27, Detroit 9: Kirk Cousins threw a 44-yard Hail Mary to Kyle Rudolph as time expired in the first half to put the Vikings ahead, moving a step closer to playing in the postseason.

The Vikings could have clinched a spot in the playoffs with a win and losses by Washington and Philadelphia this weekend. The Redskins lost to Tennessee on Saturday, and shortly after Minnesota walked into its locker room at Ford Field, the Eagles beat Houston on a game-ending field goal.

Jacksonville 17, Miami 7: Blake Bortles came off the bench late in the third quarter with the score tied and provided a spark, helping the Jaguars eliminate the Dolphins from the AFC playoff race.

Bortles took the Jaguars 51 yards for a short field goal and 10-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. On the next series, Telvin Smith Sr. intercepted Ryan Tannehill’s pass and scored on a 33-yard return.

Green Bay 44, N.Y. Jets 38, OT: Aaron Rodgers threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams with 6:23 left in overtime. The victory was the Packers’ first on the road this season – snapping a nine-game skid away from Lambeau Field dating to last season – and it prevented them from becoming the first Green Bay squad since 1958 to go an entire season without a win away from home.

And this one was all on Rodgers, who was masterful in the fourth quarter and the overtime period for the Packers (6-8-1). He threw for 442 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for two scores.

Atlanta 24, Carolina 10: Matt Ryan threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns, and the Falcons handed the Panthers their seventh straight loss.

Ryan found Calvin Ridley for a 75-yard touchdown strike on the first play of the second half for the go-ahead score. He also connected with Mohamed Sanu on a crossing route for a 44-yard score and threw a 1-yard TD pass to Julio Jones in the back of the end zone.

L.A. Rams 31, Arizona 9: C.J. Anderson, playing five days after he was signed by Los Angeles, rushed for 167 yards – one shy of his career high – and the Rams bounced back from a pair of losses to beat the fading Arizona Cardinals 31-9.

Anderson, playing in place of injured Todd Gurley, had a 4-yard touchdown run and other runs of 46 and 27 yards as the Rams rushed for 269 yards, most allowed by Arizona on the ground this season. Larry Fitzgerald threw his first career TD pass for the Cardinals.

Chicago 14, San Francisco 9: Mitchell Trubisky threw one touchdown pass, Jordan Howard ran for another score and the Chicago Bears survived a fight and a late fumble to earn their eighth win in nine games, 14-9 over the San Francisco 49ers.

Danny Trevathan made a key interception in the fourth quarter and Chicago’s stout defense kept the 49ers out of the end zone to clinch at least the third seed in the NFC playoffs.