Bills put on a show for a beloved teammate
Confetti from an NFL weekend.
Buffalo 35, New England 23
— As Damar Hamlin watched and texted from his Cincinnati hospital bed, the Bills (13-3) emptied their emotions for their home crowd. Nyheim Hines returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, prompting an “OMFG” tweet from Hamlin, and the Bills took it from there.
— Hines also had a 101-yard kickoff return and became the first man to have two of those touchdowns since the Jets’ Leon Washington 12 seasons ago. His second one, in the third quarter, gave Buffalo a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, on a day when the Bills intercepted three of Mac Jones’ passes. It was Buffalo’s fourth consecutive win over New England, after a 7-game losing streak in the AFC East rivalry.
— Jones also threw three touchdown passes for the Pats, who would have made the playoffs had they won. They are 25-22 since Tom Brady left, with one playoff appearance in three seasons.
Miami 11, N.Y. Jets 6
— In a game with no touchdowns or starting quarterbacks, the Dolphins did little to justify last year’s NFL decision to give each conference an extra playoff team. But Jason Sanders drilled a 50-yard field goal with :18 left to wrap up Miami’s 9-8
season and set up a near-impossible playoff date at Buffalo.
— Skylar Thompson, the Kansas State alum, was able to handle his possessions without turning the ball over to Joe Flacco and the Jets. He hit 20 for 32 for 152 yards, and now we wait for Tua Tagovailoa to either heal from his concussion or sit out again. His injuries contributed to Miami’s streaky season: Win three, lose three, win five, lose five, and finally subdue the Jets (7—10).
— No Jets’ runner had a 100-yard game after Breese Hall went out in Week 7, and the Jets didn’t score a touchdown in their past three games. Their best player Sunday was Quinnen Williams, who sacked Flacco once and had three tackles for loss.
Seattle 19, L.A. Rams 16 (OT)
— The Seahawks owe the Lions several laurels and hearty handshakes after Sunday. This win eliminated Detroit, which then enabled Seattle’s path to the playoffs by knocking off Green Bay. It was the Seahawks’ 10th trip to the playoffs in 13 years with Pete Carroll coaching, although it could be a brief stopover since Saturday’s wild-card game is against the 49ers.
— Quandre Diggs acrobatically picked off Baker Mayfield’s pass to Van Jefferson in overtime, which set up the winning field goal from Jason Myers after an attempt at the end of regulation kissed the upright and bounced away. Rookie Kenneth Walker was, again, a good barometer, rushing 29 times for 114 yards. They are 4-2 when he carries it 20-plus times, and 9-8 overall.
— Sean McVay reportedly is thinking seriously about leaving the Rams, less than a year after they won the Super Bowl. They finished 5-12, worst record ever for a defending NFL champion. Jared Goff, the quarterback who the Rams traded to Detroit for Matthew Stafford, is playing confidently with the support of coaches and management, and Stafford, Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp couldn’t finish the season in L.A. And the first round draft choice the Rams gave Detroit for Stafford will be No. 6 in the order.
Detroit 20, Green Bay 16
— The Lions knew they were out of the playoffs when they kicked off, but they parlayed their defense and some nervy calls by coach Dan Campbell to clinch a winning record (9-8) for the first time since 2017. They converted two fourth downs on their final drive, using a gadget play on the second one with Amon-Ra St. Brown throwing to DeAndre Swift, and that denied Aaron Rodgers one last shot.
— Kirby Joseph’s interception set up Detroit’s clock-killing drive. Jamaal Williams’ second touhdown put the Lions ahead, which got easier when Green Bay rookie Quay Walker shoved a Detroit trainer who was attending to Swift. Walker was ejected, and the call set the Lions up on the Green Bay four-yard-line.
— The Packers had won four consecutive games to get into the pole position for the 7th playoff spot. They finished 8-9 after they had won 13 games in each of Matt LaFleur’s first three coaching seasons.
Jacksonville 20, Tennessee 16
— After riding a hot six weeks by Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars dragged him across the finish line Saturday to win the AFC South. Josh Allen went 41 yards with a fumble that Rayshawn Jenkins caused when he sacked Joshua Dobbs, giving Jacksonville its first lead with 2:51 left. Lawrence was shaky throughout, and Jacksoville had only three net yards in the fourth quarter until it was time for the victory formation.
— The Jaguars were 3-14 last year but improved to 9-8 with new coach Doug Pederson and a squadron of useful free agents. This was a defensive win, with four sacks, two takeaways and 13 hits on Dobbs, who had been on Detroit’s practice squad for most of this season. The Titans had the ball for 36:22 but their longest play was 21 yards. They were once 6-4 but lost their final seven games.
— Christian Kirk, one of the best free agent buys in the league, caught Lawrence’s only TD pass and had six grabs for 99 yards. Jacksonville opens the playoffs by playing host to San Diego, a team the Jaguars pounded 38-10 in Week 3.
Kansas City 31, Las Vegas 13
— The Chiefs, 14-3, weren’t far away from 17-0. They lost to the Colts by three, the Bills by four and the Bengals by four, and in this game they got touchdowns from Ronald Jones, Isiah Pacheco and Kadarius Toney, none of whom were with the Chiefs last season.
— Jerick McKinnon emerged from Kansas City’s weapons cache to open the scoring, as Patrick Mahomes found him for a two-yard touchdown. McKinnon has touchdowns in each of the Chiefs’ past six games, and has scored eight in that span. The Chiefs also fooled around and had fun with a “snow huddle” that they’d
invented during practice, and Andy Reid went along. But Mahomes’ touchdown pass, off a fleaflicker, was nullified by holding.
— Raiders coach Josh McDaniels finished a 6-11 season and is 17-28 in his career. Other proteges of Bill Belichick have proven the hollowness of “coaching trees.” Eric Mangini was 33-47 in his two jobs, and Matt Patricia was 13-29-1 in three years with Detroit. The Raiders have basically fired quarterback Derek Carr and must decide if Jarrett Stidham is a proper replacement, and their two sacks on Saturday were their first in four weeks.