Christian Benford returned a fourth-quarter interception for a touchdown as the Buffalo Bills kept pace in the playoff chase by rallying from a late 10-point deficit in the snow for a 39-34 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Orchard Park, N.Y.
Down 28-25 with less than six minutes remaining, Benford scored when he blitzed off the edge, made a leaping pick of Joe Burrow’s lob and dashed 63 yards for the Bills’ first lead at 32-28. AJ Epenesa picked off Burrow’s next throw, and Josh Allen hit Jackson Hawes on fourth down for a 3-yard score to lift Buffalo (9-4) to its fifth win in the past seven games.
Allen completed 22 of 28 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed nine times for 78 yards, including a 40-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
Burrow completed 25 of 36 passes for 284 yards with four scores and two interceptions for the Bengals (4-9), who lost ground in its AFC North playoff push. Chase Brown scored a pair of TDs, and Tee Higgins had six catches for 92 yards and two TDs.
Texans 20, Chiefs 10
Dare Ogunbowale scored a tiebreaking touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, and Houston claimed a hard-fought road win over Kansas City.
Ogunbowale rumbled 5 yards to snap a 10-all deadlock before the Texans (8-5) converted an Azeez Al-Shaair interception of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes into a 28-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal with 30 seconds left. Houston extended its winning streak to five while Kansas City (6-7) was eliminated from AFC West contention, snapping its streak of nine consecutive division titles.
Mahomes passed for 160 yards but completed only 14 of 33 attempts — a career-low percentage (42.4%) in a single game — and threw three interceptions. C.J. Stroud was 14 of 31 for 203 yards and one TD for the Texans.
Steelers 27, Ravens 22
Aaron Rodgers passed for 284 yards and a touchdown as Pittsburgh took sole possession of the AFC North lead while defeating host Baltimore for the ninth time in the past 11 regular-season meetings.
Rodgers completed 23 of 34 passes while wearing a soft cast to protect his broken left wrist. He and Kenneth Gainwell each rushed for a touchdown and Jaylen Warren had a scoring reception for the Steelers (7-6).
The Ravens (6-7) lost their second straight contest following a five-game winning streak. Isaiah Likely caught a touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson, who threw for 219 yards, but Likely also was ruled to have dropped what would have been a go-ahead scoring catch with 2:43 remaining.
Packers 28, Bears 21
Jordan Love threw for three touchdowns and Green Bay’s Keisean Nixon intercepted Caleb Williams in the end zone with 22 seconds left to preserve the win that lifted host Green Bay ahead of Chicago in the NFC North race.
Josh Jacobs rushed 20 times for 86 yards for the Packers (9-3-1), which included the go-ahead 2-yard touchdown run with 3:32 to play. Love completed 17 of 25 for 234 yards and one interception while Christian Watson caught four passes for 89 yards and two scores.
Williams hit 19 of 35 passes for 186 yards and 1-yard touchdown strikes to Kyle Loveland and Olamide Zaccheaus as the Bears (9-4) transformed a 14-3 halftime deficit into a 21-21 tie. D’Andre Swift rushed for 63 yards while Luther Burden caught four passes for 67 yards.
Rams 45, Cardinals 17
Matthew Stafford threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns as Los Angeles reclaimed the top spot in the NFC standings with a thorough win over Arizona in Glendale, Ariz.
Puka Nacua made seven catches for 167 yards and two scores while Blake Corum rushed for 128 yards and two scores for the Rams (10-3), who reeled off 35 straight points to break a 10-10 tie. Kyren Williams added 84 rushing yards and a touchdown while Colby Parkinson snagged Stafford’s other scoring strike.
Jacoby Brissett completed 25 of 44 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Cardinals (3-10), who dropped their fifth straight game. Michael Wilson collected 11 catches for 142 yards and two scores while Trey McBride made five catches to increase his NFL-leading total to 93.
Seahawks 37, Falcons 9
Sam Darnold threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns and Jaxon Smith-Njigba had seven catches for 92 yards and two scores as Seattle cruised past host Atlanta.
The Seahawks (10-3) scored the game’s first touchdown on the opening kickoff after halftime, which Rashid Shaheed returned 100 yards for a touchdown. Seattle went on to outscore the Falcons 31-3 in the second half.
Kirk Cousins completed just 15 of 30 passes for 162 yards and two interceptions. Bijan Robinson rushed for 86 yards for reeling Atlanta (4-9), which secured its eighth straight losing season.
Titans 31, Browns 29
Cam Ward threw two touchdown passes and Tony Pollard ran for two touchdowns as Tennessee ended a seven-game losing streak by beating host Cleveland.
The Titans kept the Browns out of the end zone in the second half until Cleveland tallied two touchdowns in the waning minutes — and followed both with failed two-point conversion attempts — to create drama between a pair of struggling teams.
Ward was 14-for-28 for 117 yards and threw an early interception and Pollard rushed for 161 yards on 25 carries as Tennessee (2-11) won despite managing only 292 yards of total offense. Shedeur Sanders threw for three touchdowns and ran for another for the Browns (3-10). He was 23-for-42 for 364 yards in the air with an interception. Harold Fannin II had 114 receiving yards on eight catches.
Vikings 31, Commanders 0
JJ McCarthy passed for three touchdowns as host Minnesota became the first team since the 1992 Denver Broncos to follow up a shutout defeat with a shutout victory.
Josh Oliver had two TD receptions and T.J. Hockenson caught the other for the Vikings (5-8), who snapped a four-game losing streak and avenged last week’s 26-0 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks.
Jayden Daniels was injured while defending his own interception for the Commanders (3-10), who lost their eighth straight. Isaiah Rodgers blocked Daniels with a hard shove that sent him to the turf, where he landed on the left elbow that dislocated earlier in the season and caused him to miss the last three games.
Jaguars 36, Colts 19
Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdowns, and Travis Etienne rushed for two scores to lead Jacksonville to the commanding victory over visiting Indianapolis in a matchup of the top two teams in the AFC South.
Lawrence completed 17 of 30 passes for 244 yards. Etienne carried the ball 20 times for 74 yards for the Jaguars (9-4), who won their fourth straight game to move into sole possession of first place.
The Colts (8-5) lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to an Achilles injury late in the first quarter. Riley Leonard entered and finished 18-of-29 passing for 145 yards and an interception with a rushing touchdown for Indianapolis, which lost its third straight game and fourth in the last five. The Colts have lost their last 11 games at Jacksonville.
Dolphins 34, Jets 10
Jaylen Wright came in for the injury De’Von Achane and rushed for a career-high 107 yards and one score as Miami breezed to the AFC East victory over New York in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Dolphins (6-7), who won their fourth in a row, jumped to a 21-0 first-quarter lead as Tua Tagovailoa hit Jaylen Waddle for a 3-yard score, Achane rushed for a 13-yard touchdown and Wright added a 2-yard jaunt. Achane rushed seven times for 92 yards while Tagovailoa completed 13 of 21 for 127 yards.
The Jets (3-10), eliminated from postseason consideration for the 15th year in a row, got their only touchdown on a 78-yard punt return by rookie Isaiah Williams. Tyrod Taylor (1 of 4, 6 yards, 1 INT) left in the first quarter with a groin injury, which forced undrafted rookie Brady Cook to make his NFL debut. He hit 14 of 30 passes for 167 yards, but he tossed two interceptions and suffered six sacks.
Saints 24, Buccaneers 20
Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough had two of New Orleans’ three rushing touchdowns as the visiting Saints defeated Tampa Bay.
Shough passed for just 144 yards, but he rushed for 55 and fellow rookie Devin Neal contributed the third touchdown and 70 rushing yards on a rain-soaked field.
Baker Mayfield passed for 122 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Buccaneers (7-6), who dropped into a tie with idle Carolina for first place in the NFC South.
Broncos 24, Raiders 17
Bo Nix completed 31 of 38 passes and ran for a touchdown to lead Denver past host Las Vegas for its 10th consecutive win.
Nix threw for 212 yards, while RJ Harvey added 75 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 17 carries for the Broncos (11-2), who controlled the ball for over 39 minutes.
Geno Smith of the Raiders (2-11) completed 13 of 21 passes for 116 yards but left the game late in the third quarter with a right shoulder injury. Kenny Pickett came on in relief of Smith and completed 8 of 11 passes for 97 yards, including an impressive touchdown to wide receiver Shedrick Jackson. Devin White registered a career-best 19 tackles for Las Vegas, which lost its seventh straight contest.
–Field Level Media
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