Lawrence of Jacksonville bids to join the royalty
Confetti from an NFL weekend.
Jacksonville 40, Dallas 34 (OT)
— Since the AFC is basically a Green Room for future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Trevor Lawrence won’ t be All-Pro in the foreseeable future. But the NFL sophomore from Clemson is showing why he was the first-overall pick. Lawrence brought the Jaguars back from 17 points down, appeared to fumble away their chances, then got them within range of Riley Patterson’s game-tying field goal. A 52-yard pick-six, which first bounced off Dallas’ Noah Brown into the hands of Rayshawn Jenkins, clinched it for the Jaguars (6-8), suddenly a game out of first place in the AFC South.
— Jacksonville trailed 27-10 in the third quarter. It alos trailed the Raiders by 17 points and won. Over the past six weeks Lawrence has completed 71 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns and one pick, including three scores to Zay Jones vs. Dallas.
— The Cowboys (10-4) scored one touchdown on their final eight possessions and fell three games behind the Eagles, who come to Dallas Sunday in a game that is quickly losing its urgency.
Cincinnati 34, Tampa Bay 23
— For the first time in 90 opportunities, a team quarterbacked by Tom Brady couldn’t hold a 17-point lead. And Brady was directly accountable, with two fumbles and two interceptions. Three of those turnovers set up the Bengals at the 31, 19, and 39 yard lines, and they converted them all into touchdowns.
— The Bucs seem bent on giving up their NFC South lead but the others won’t allow it. They are 6-8 with a one-game lead over Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans. Their final game is in Atlanta, a team that has never beaten Brady, but would happily inflict some irony.
— The Bengals (10-4) now have a one-game AFC North lead over Baltimore, whom they play in the finale. Their defense survived the loss of Trey Hendrickson, with emerging linebacker Logan Wilson participating in 15 tackles and getting a sack and two quarterback hits.
L.A. Chargers 17, Tennessee 14
— The Chargers (8-6) rose above the playoff line, thanks to Justin Herbert’s deft handling of the final drive. With no time outs and :48 left, he hit his first three passes and set up Cameron Dicker’s 43-yard field goal, after the Titans had driven 74 yards to tie it.
— Tennessee held the Chargers to only three plays that went over 15 yards, and Derrick Henry returned to his 100-yard ways (21 for 104). It wasn’t enough to prevent a fourth consecuive loss and a slide to 7-7, but the Titans still lead the AFC South by a game over Jacksonville.
— It was an example of Herbert shaking off bad stuff, like two interceptions and three sacks, and his rating was only 68.8. Talking about upcoming schedules, in a league where the Texans can take Kansas City into overtime, is sheer folly, but the Chargers finish out at Indianapolis, then the Rams at SoFi Stadium, then at Denver.
Las Vegas 30, New England 24
— Like Brady, Bill Belichick is in danger of missing the playoffs in the most outrageous fashion. With the game tied and overtime looming, Rhamondre Stevenon gained 23 yards. Instead of going down and accepting OT, he lateraled the ball to Jakobi Meyers, who got into the Stanford Band spirit of the thing by turning back toward his own goal and trying to flip it to a teammate. Instead he threw a strike to the Raiders’ Chandler Jones, who fought off his own bemusement and score a 48-yard, game-winning touchdown.
— The Patriots are 7-7 and teetering. They play Cincinnati and Miami at home and finish the season at a Buffalo squad motivated to clinch home-field in the playoffs. They allowed Las Vegas to tie it up a touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Keelan Cole with :32 left in the fourth quarter, after Stevenson had sprinted 34 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
— Having dodged what would have been their eighth one-score loss of the season, the Raiders improved to 6-8. Their final two are against San Francisco and Kansas City. What slim hopes they have got a boost when tight end Darren Waller returned and caught a TD pass. He had not played since Week 4.
San Francisco 21, Seattle 13
— The Seahawks had 13 third-down situations. Their average to-go yardage was 10 yards. Their first three such situations required gains of 13, 12 and 18. So they did well to convert four of them against a San Francisco defense that continues to plunder. The 49ers have allowed six TD drives in their past six games.
— Brock Purdy continues to steer the ship. The final man drafted in 2022 is 33 for 47 in his two starts, with four touchdowns (two to George Kittle last Thursday) and no interceptions.
— San Francisco (10-4) thus won the NFC West but trails the Vikings in the race for the No. 2 playoff spot. Seattle faded to 7-7 and is a half-game out of the playoff picture with a trip to Kansas City upcoming.
Buffalo 32, Miami 29
— Nothing is more fun than snowy football, particularly when you’re thousands of miles away from it, and this one had all kinds of delicious goofiness. Josh Allen was again the difference, throwing four touchdowns and going 25 for 40 in the mess, and posting a 100-plus QB rating for the eighth time. In the end he drove Buffalo 86 yards to a game-winning field goal, as he converted two third-downs and picked up another on a pass interference call.
— Miami led 29-21 with eight minutes left and got big games from Jaylen Waddle ( 67-yard touchdown) and Tyreek Hill (nine catches). But the Bills answered, as Allen sprinted right and somehow threw back to Dawson Knox for a TD, and then Allen went over the top for a 2-point conversion, the officials ruling he scored before the ball was knocked out.
— Buffalo still has the top seed in the AFC at 11-3, but that will be endangered in two weeks with a trip to Cincinnati. Miami is 8-6 and still above the line, with a potential win-and-you’re-in season finale against the Jets at home. The Dolphins had several positives in this one, rushing for 188 yards, but a 1-for-3 performance in the red zone was critical.