As the NFL playoffs approach, each game takes on more and more importance.
In Week 15, with urgency mounting, select teams were looking for wins to improve their playoff prospects and build momentum heading into January.
The NFC South division battle remains tight, both conferences’ Wild Card races are just getting started, and teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins, both coming off heart-breaking losses, are looking to hit the top gear.
Here’s a look at Sunday’s action.
CHIEFS 27, PATRIOTS 17
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Running back Jerick McKinnon threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and Patrick Mahomes passed for 305 yards and two scores to help Kansas City beat the New England Patriots 27-17 on Sunday in front of Chiefs superfan Taylor Swift.
With the pop star — and a whole bunch of Swifties — in the crowd, the defending Super Bowl champions snapped a two-game losing streak and maintained control of the AFC West race. Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, who is in a relationship with Swift, caught five passes for 28 yards, but also had a potential touchdown bounce off his hands.
Bailey Zappe, making his third straight start in place of benched first-round draft pick Mac Jones, completed 23 of 31 passes for 180 yards for the Patriots. New England (3-11) lost for the sixth time in seven games and remains in contention for one of the top two picks in next year’s NFL draft.
49ERS 45, CARDINALS 29
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Christian McCaffrey scored three touchdowns, Charvarius Ward had two interceptions – including a pick-6 – and the San Francisco 49ers pushed their winning streak to six games with a 45-29 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
San Francisco’s Brock Purdy – making his first NFL start at State Farm Stadium, which is about 45 miles from where he grew up – completed 16 of 25 passes for 242 yards and tied a career-high with four touchdowns. He also shook off a hard hit in the second quarter that caused him to miss a few plays.
During their winning streak, the 49ers (11-3) have won all of their games by at least 12 points. They’ve also won 12 straight against divisional opponents in the NFC West.
RAVENS 23, JAGUARS 7
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass and made the play of the night when he avoided a sack and threw to Isaiah Likely near the goal line, and the Baltimore Ravens clinched a postseason berth with a 23-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday night.
Gus Edwards ran for a touchdown for the Ravens (11-3), who won their fourth in a row and moved a step closer to securing the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
The Jaguars (8-6) lost their third straight — all against AFC North teams — and fell into a tie with Houston and Indianapolis atop the AFC South. Self-inflicted mistakes were a common thread in Jacksonville’s skid.
RAMS 28, COMMANDERS 20
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Matthew Stafford passed for 258 yards and hit Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson for touchdowns, leading the Los Angeles Rams to a 28-20 victory over the freefalling Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Kupp’s eight receptions for 111 yards were highlighted by a 62-yard TD catch right after halftime for the Rams (7-7), who have won four of five to push their way into the playoff picture even in a self-described remodelling season.
Kyren Williams overcame the first two lost fumbles of his two-year NFL career to rush for 152 yards and a touchdown while his Rams slid into one of the three NFC wild-card playoff positions alongside fellow 7-7 teams New Orleans and Minnesota.
The Rams’ defence largely shut down the Commanders (4-10) in the first three quarters before Washington backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett made things interesting in his first significant playing time of the season.
BILLS 31, COWBOYS 10
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — James Cook had a career-best 179 yards rushing and scored twice as Buffalo dominated on the ground, and the Bills beat Dallas 31-10 on Sunday, ending the Cowboys’ five-game winning streak.
Josh Allen threw for just 94 yards for the Bills (8-6), who won consecutive games for the first time since a three-game winning streak ended on Oct. 1. Buffalo gained ground in the AFC playoff race, moving one game ahead of Denver and Pittsburgh.
The Cowboys (10-4) clinched their third playoff berth before kickoff thanks to losses by Green Bay and Atlanta on Sunday and Detroit beating Denver on Saturday. But nothing else went right for Dallas, which fell a game behind NFC-best San Francisco.
The Cowboys, who are 7-0 at home — where they’ve outscored their opponents by a combined 279-108 — dropped to 3-4 on the road, where they’ve been outscored 156-152.
Buffalo rushed for 266 yards, held the ball for 10 minutes more than Dallas and had 28 first downs to the Cowboys’ 14.
BROWNS 20, BEARS 17
CLEVELAND (AP) — Joe Flacco passed for 374 yards and led Cleveland to 13 points in the fourth quarter, including Dustin Hopkins’ go-ahead 34-yard field goal with 32 seconds left, and the Browns withstood a Hail Mary on the final play to beat the Chicago Bears 20-17 on Sunday.
Flacco was intercepted three times but made some brilliant throws in the closing minutes to rally the Browns, including a 51-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 3:08 left that tied it at 17-all.
The Browns (9-5) got the ball back with 1:50 left and the 38-year-old Flacco, who was signed on Nov. 20 and made his third start for Cleveland, completed two passes to tight end David Njoku for 65 yards to set up Hopkins’ kick.
After blowing a 17-7, fourth-quarter lead, the Bears (5-9) nearly pulled off a stunning finish.
With no time left, Chicago quarterback Justin Fields lofted a pass from the 45-yard line to the end zone into a pack of players. Two Browns defenders batted it down, but it went directly to Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who was lying on his back.
The ball bounced in and out of Mooney’s hands and he kicked it into the air, allowing Browns safety D’Anthony Bell to intercept it and avoid catastrophic ending for Cleveland.
DOLPHINS 30, JETS 0
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Raheem Mostert scored two more touchdowns to set Miami’s single-season record with 20, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 224 yards and a score and the Dolphins shut out the New York Jets 30-0 on Sunday without star receiver Tyreek Hill.
Mostert walked into the end zone untouched on a 2-yard run that put AFC East-leading Miami (10-4) ahead 7-0 and gave the ninth-year running back his 17th rushing touchdown of the season — one more than Ricky Williams, who set the record in 2002. The score was also Mostert’s 19th overall, which broke the team record of 18 set by Mark Clayton in 1984.
Tagovailoa was 21 of 24 with an 87.5% completion percentage and a 60-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle. He was replaced by Mike White with 8:32 remaining and the Dolphins up by 30.
A week after Zach Wilson threw for over 300 yards against Houston, the Jets’ third-year quarterback’s day was cut short when he left late in the second quarter with a concussion. New York (5-9) was shut out for the first time since losing 26-0 at Denver in Week 3 of the 2021 season.
TEXANS 19, TITANS 16 (OT)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 54-yard field goal as time expired in overtime and the Houston Texans rallied from a 13-point deficit without C.J. Stroud to beat the Tennessee Titans 19-16 Sunday.
The Texans (8-6) entered the day one spot outside of the AFC’s seven-team playoff field. They kept pace by winning without several key players, including Stroud — their standout rookie quarterback — along with top receiver Nico Collins, right tackle George Fant and a pair of defensive starters out injured.
Case Keenum made his first start since Week 17 of the 2021 season for Cleveland. He filled in for Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick who didn’t practice all week while in the concussion protocol and didn’t travel. Keenum threw for 229 yards and helped Houston outgain the Titans 340-204.
BUCCANEERS 34, PACKERS 20
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Baker Mayfield threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their third straight, 34-20 over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Mayfield went 22 of 28 and threw touchdown passes to Mike Evans, Rachaad White, Ko Kieft and David Moore to help the Buccaneers (7-7) keep pace with New Orleans (7-7) atop the NFC North. Mayfield’s passer rating was a perfect 158.3.
Chris Godwin had 10 catches for 155 yards for the Bucs.
Green Bay (6-8) lost its second straight to deal its playoff hopes a major blow. Jordan Love was 29 of 39 for 284 yards with touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft and Jayden Reed.
SAINTS 24, GIANTS 6
NEW ORLEANS — Derek Carr passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns, New Orleans sacked Tommy DeVito seven times, and the Saints defeated the New York Giants 24-6 on Sunday.
It was one of the more redemptive performances of the season for Carr, who was booed while struggling in recent home games. Not this time as he connected on 23 of 28 passes without a turnover in one of his most efficient outings of his first season with New Orleans (7-7).
And he did it without top receiver Chris Olave, who was scratched because of an ankle injury.
Carr’s scoring passes went for 7 yards to Keith Kirkwood, 24 to Juwan Johnson and 1 to Jimmy Graham, who caught his third scoring pass in three games.
PANTHERS 9, FALCONS 7
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Eddy Pineiro kicked a 23-yard field goal as time expired and the Carolina Panthers defeated Atlanta 9-7 in a steady downpour Sunday, dealing the Falcons’ playoff hopes a huge blow.
Atlanta (6-8) entered the game tied with New Orleans and Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South, but now find themselves needing help to get into the postseason after the Saints and Buccaneers both won to improve to 7-7.
Bryce Young threw for 167 yards in his second NFL win and Chuba Hubbard ran for 87 yards for Carolina (2-12), which snapped a six-game losing streak.
The Falcons led 7-6 and were driving for more points when Desmond Ridder threw into traffic and was intercepted at the Carolina 5 by safety Xavier Woods. Young, who had struggled all afternoon, led the Panthers on a 17-play, 90-yard drive that took all 7:35 off the clock.
On the final drive, interim coach Chris Tabor took a chance when the Panthers reached the Atlanta 2 by having Young take a knee on three straight plays before sending Pineiro on the field with :01 showing on the clock.
-With files from Sportsnet