The Buffalo Bills overturned a half-time deficit to defeat the Chicago Bills 35-13 on Saturday and clinch the AFC East title.
The freezing conditions in Chicago gave this the feel of a home game for the Bills, but they were far from comfortable early on and threatened to blow their lead in the race for home-field advantage in the AFC.
Josh Allen responded to Justin Fields' opening touchdown drive by leading Buffalo down the field and completing a 19-yard TD pass to Gabe Davis.
But the Bills missed the PAT, and the only score for the remainder of the half was a successful Bears field goal, giving Chicago a 10-6 lead through two quarters.
The hopes of the Bears – and the Bills' AFC rivals – were quickly dashed in the second half, however, as Devin Singletary dashed in from 33 yards and then James Cook followed him from 27 yards for a second score in double-quick time either side of a Chicago fumble.
An unconvincing Allen display, which included two interceptions and a recovered fumble, kept the Bears in contention, yet they could not capitalise.
And the Bills QB finished in more familiar fashion with a rushing score and a TD pass to Dawson Knox in the closing stages as Buffalo took another step towards the first seed.
Bills feel the heat in AFC
The pressure had been on the Bills because there never appeared any possibility of the Kansas City Chiefs not defeating the stumbling Seattle Seahawks. A 24-10 victory was Patrick Mahomes' first against the Seahawks, meaning the Indianapolis Colts are the only team he has now played but not beaten.
The Cincinnati Bengals also remain in contention at the top of the AFC after a dominant first half against the New England Patriots. Joe Burrow completed 28 passes – a season high for any QB in any half – for 284 yards and three touchdowns before half-time, meaning the Bengals could just about withstand a second-half pick six in a 22-18 win.
The Patriots' defeat meant the Baltimore Ravens clinched their playoff berth with a 17-9 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons.
Another manic Minnesota finish
Having claimed a record-breaking comeback win last week, the Minnesota Vikings had to hold off a rally from the New York Giants, who tied the game late on. However, a 40-yard field goal from Greg Joseph had defeated the Colts, and he topped that effort with a 61-yard conversion as time expired for a 27-24 Vikings victory.
The Detroit Lions, Minnesota's NFC North rivals, saw their three-game winning run ended by the Carolina Panthers. Both the Panthers and the New Orleans Saints improved to 6-9, firmly in contention in the miserable NFC South.
'I know I'm going to be a Cowboy' - Parsons confident over Dallas stay
Micah Parsons is confident he will remain with the Dallas Cowboys but is currently more focused on winning than signing a lucrative extension.
The Cowboys have already signed Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to new deals, with Parsons next in line to be given a new contract.
He is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract, with Dallas already exercising their $21million fifth-year option on his deal.
The former Defensive Rookie of the Year could land a deal that makes him the NFL's richest defensive player.
However, Parsons is in no hurry to put pen to paper as he knows his future lies in Texas.
"I know I'm going to be a Cowboy," he said on Monday on his 'The Edge with Micah Parsons' podcast. "There's nothing like Cowboy Nation. I think the love is very mutual.
"As for me, I'm just focused on winning games. I want to win those big games. I want to win those playoff games, get to the Super Bowl. For me, the contract is not really what I'm worried about."
Prescott and the Cowboys agreed to a four-year deal worth $240m hours before they opened the season with a win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, while Lamb signed his four-year, $136m contract two weeks earlier, making him the second-highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Parsons was happy to see his team-mates commit their future to the club, in particular heaping praise on Prescott's influence.
"We're happy it gets done because now, it puts a lot of talk to the side," Parsons added. "We're like, 'Man, we got our quarterback now.'
"We can really just focus, like Dak said, on winning games. ... So, having our guys, CeeDee Lamb and Dak done, it means the world to us.
"Dak is that guy, no BS. He deserves everything that he [gets]. He never cheated the game, he comes in every day with a positive attitude, great work ethic, and he's always first one in, last one out. Consistently being the best person/player you could possibly be.
"He never cheats the game, and that's the most important part. So, when a guy like that gets his money, you say he earned every single dollar. I could not be more happy for him."
The Cowboys will play their first NFL home game of the season against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Cousins 'rusty' not injured despite struggling in Falcons loss
Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons made a disappointing start to the NFL season with a defeat, but coach Raheem Morris says he was not hindered by injury.
The quarterback struggled in an 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, playing his first game since suffering a torn Achilles in week 8 last season.
Against the Steelers, he was 16-of-26 for 155 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions overall. In the second half, Cousins had just 19 passing yards, the lowest total of his career.
The 36-year-old did not play in pre-season, but Morris believes his performance likely came from "some rust from not playing for so long".
"I feel like Kirk is healthy," Morris said on Monday. "He's been healthy since he's been here.
"With Kirk being here, we've been doing the same thing since he's been here, and that's how we've planned on playing and we've played that way throughout."
Many thought new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's play-calling was designed to protect Cousins after his lengthy lay-off, though it did not pay off as the Steelers' defense dominated much of the game.
"We played, I thought, winning football in two phases of the game, and we didn't play winning football in our offensive phase of the game," Morris added.
"The plan was to go out there and win the football game, but it exposed some things inside for us.
"We want to get better. But we got to play better at the [quarterback] position, we got to play better around him."
The Falcons’ next game is against the Philadelphia Eagles.
'No excuses' - Rodgers disappointed on Jets return
Aaron Rodgers says there are "no excuses" for the New York Jets after mistakes saw them fall to a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in their NFL opener.
Rodgers, making his first appearance since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the Jets' first game of 2023, struggled for much of his return.
He was held to just 167 yards on 13-of-21 passes and had an interception that led to one of five field goals for San Francisco, though he did throw one touchdown pass to Allen Lazard in the third quarter.
The 40-year-old was less than impressed with his first start in 20 months and is already looking for improvements.
"That's an excuse [none of the starters playing in pre-season]. I'm not going to use that," Rodgers said. "I don't think we should. We expect greatness when we step on the field.
"This is a tough opener for us, travel-wise and schedule-wise, but no excuses. We have to play better, and I have to play better, and we'll bounce back."
Rodgers became just the 22nd quarterback in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to play after his 40th birthday, and despite the disappointing result, he was pleased to be back out on the field.
"It felt great," he added. "A lot of gratitude just to be back in pads. So many people helped me get to this spot.
"I'm really thankful for my surgeon, my loved ones, my friends, the staff and the training staff to help me get back. Obviously, I wanted to take a shot and feel the physicality of it.
"Once I threw a couple of balls and took a shot, it felt good."
The 49ers played without star running back Christian McCaffrey, who was ruled out shortly before kick-off due to a calf and Achilles injury.
Jordan Mason stepped up in his absence, playing a starring role for the Super Bowl runners-up as he finished with a career-high 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown.
"I thought he runs like he always does," coach Kyle Shanahan said.
"When you get him the ball, he breaks tackles, usually gets more than we block for. When we had the good lanes, he always hit them, and we got a bunch."
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