With 11 weeks down in the NFL, Week 12 presents a number of crucial matchups for sides pushing to secure their spot in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia Eagles (9-1) and Minnesota Vikings (8-2) look set to slug it out for number one spot in the NFC but the picture is far tighter in the AFC, where the 8-2 Kansas City Chiefs lead the way ahead of four sides with a 7-3 record.
Week 12's action includes a number of sides looking to boost their chances of featuring in the postseason, with the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs all having home field advantage.
Stats Perform has taken a look at some of the more interesting numbers ahead of these and other big games on Sunday.
Cincinnati Bengals (6-4) @ Tennessee Titans (7-3)
The Bengals head to Tennessee having scored 37 and 42 points in their last two games, with a total of 79 standing as their most over a two-game span since 2005, and Joe Burrow will be looking to make an impact against an opponent he went touchdown-less against last time out.
In the playoff win against the Titans last season their franchise quarterback did not throw a touchdown pass, with that still the only game which the Bengals have won without Burrow throwing a TD when he has started.
The Titans only really got going in Week 3 this season, boasting a 7-1 record since. That stands as the joint-best across the NFL, tied with Minnesota and Philadelphia – the top two in the NFC, as it stands.
Since Week 4, the Titans have held their opponents to an average of 2.8 yards per rush, the best in the NFL, while the 387 yards rushing allowed in those seven games is the lowest tally by any NFL side in such a span since the 2014 Detroit Lions.
Chicago Bears (3-8) @ New York Jets (6-4)
The Bears have won five straight in matchups against the Jets but travel to New York on the back of a three-game losing streak, each of which has been decided by three or fewer points – the first time in franchise history they have experienced such a run.
Chicago will come up against Mike White as the starting QB for the Jets, who have benched Zach Wilson after last week's horror show against the New England Patriots, where they scored just three points despite not turning the ball over in the game.
White last started in Week 10 of last season, while his four games in 2021 saw him throw an interception on 6.1 per cent of his passes, the highest mark of quarterbacks across the NFL last season with at least 100 passing attempts.
Sunday's matchup will see two vastly different teams on the ground, with the Bears rushing for 54 first downs since Week 8, 15 more than the next-closest team over that span, while the Jets have rushed for just 13 first downs in the same period – the lowest total across the NFL.
Las Vegas Raiders (3-7) @ Seattle Seahawks (6-4)
The Raiders head to Seattle having lost their last five road games against the Seahawks, tied for their longest active losing streak on the road against a single opponent – also losing five straight at Green Bay.
Las Vegas have had no more than one takeaway and no more than one giveaway in nine straight games, the longest streak by any NFL side in the Super Bowl era, but come up against a formidable force in rookie Tariq Woolen.
Woolen has five of the Seahawks' seven interceptions in this season (71.4 per cent) and is on course to shatter the NFL rookie record for the highest percentage of a team's interceptions, which is currently held by Washington's Dan Sandifer, who had 13 of 24 in 1948 (54.2 per cent).
Quarterback Geno Smith has completed at least 64 per cent of his passes in all 10 games so far this season, tying him with Steve Young (1992), Drew Brees (2011) and Kyler Murray (2021) for the longest streak to start an NFL season.
Los Angeles Rams (3-7) @ Kansas City Chiefs (8-2)
The Rams head to Kansas City on the back of a four-game losing streak, tied with the 1999 Broncos and 2002 Patriots for the third-longest losing streak by a defending Super Bowl champion – behind only the 1987 Giants and 2009 Steelers (five straight losses).
In the past eight games, the Rams have just a single takeaway, which stands as the lowest by any side over an eight-game span in the Super Bowl era.
The Chiefs have a devastating record against the Rams, having scored 246 points (41 per game) over their last six games against Los Angeles, the second most by any NFL team over a six-game span against an opponent since the 1970 merger.
Having fought back from behind to beat the Chargers last time out, the Chiefs have now won six in a row when trailing at halftime, dating back to last season, the longest streak by any NFL team (regular and postseason) since the 49ers won seven such games in a row from 1989-90.
Elsewhere…
All 10 of the Denver Broncos' games this season have been decided by single digits. If that happens again against the Carolina Panthers, they will tie the second-longest such streak to begin any NFL season, trailing only the 2015 Ravens (12 games).
Green Bay head to Philadelphia having won six of their last eight matchups against the Eagles. They had won just five of their previous 17 prior to that.
The 49ers host the Saints having recorded at least one sack in 37 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL and the longest streak for San Francisco in the Super Bowl era.
The Falcons travel to Washington with six wins in their last seven against the Commanders. Atlanta have scored at least 24 points in nine straight games against Washington – the franchise's longest streak against any opponent in team history.
NFL: Chiefs stay perfect with OT win over Bucs
Kareem Hunt finished the game's lone overtime drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that kept the Kansas City Chiefs unbeaten with Monday's 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hunt powered into the end zone to conclude the 10-play, 70-yard series that gave Kansas City (8-0) its 14th consecutive victory, including play-off games, dating back to last season. The veteran running back finished the night with a season-high 106 rushing yards on 27 carries.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, including two to DeAndre Hopkins in the wide receiver's first home game as a Chief, to help the defending Super Bowl champions stay perfect despite the Buccaneers forcing overtime on Baker Mayfield's 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Tampa Bay (4-5) opted to kick the extra point instead of attempting a potential game-winning two-point conversion, however, and never got the ball back again after losing the coin toss to begin overtime.
The Bucs trailed 10-7 at half-time following Mahomes' 1-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins late in the second quarter, but scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to move ahead.
After Mayfield found Cade Otton for an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the period for a 14-10 lead, Tampa Bay's defence forced a three-and-out to help set up Chase McLaughlin's 47-yard field goal with 5:50 left in the third.
The Chiefs stormed back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, however. Mahomes capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown delivery to Samaje Perine to tie the game at 17-17, then later hit Hopkins for a go-ahead 5-yard strike with 4:17 remaining in regulation.
Kansas City's next possession stalled, though, to give Mayfield enough time to orchestrate a 10-play, 71-yard sequence that ended in Miller's tying touchdown grab.
Mayfield finished 23 of 31 with 200 yards and two touchdowns. Otton led the Bucs with 77 receiving yards on eight catches, while Rachaad White had a rushing touchdown for Tampa in the first half.
The Chiefs received 14 catches for 100 yards from Travis Kelce and 86 yards on eight receptions from Hopkins, playing his second game since being acquired by Kansas CIty from the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 24.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined following an MRI, and reported Monday from multiple media outlets.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined Monday following an MRI.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
