Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and the Los Angeles Chargers closed in on a playoff spot with a 34-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
The Chargers’ fourth consecutive victory gave them a chance later in the day to clinch their second postseason berth in two seasons under coach Jim Harbaugh. LA (11-4) would be in with a loss or tie by either Indianapolis or Houston.
Dak Prescott had TD passes on his first two drives but couldn’t find the end zone again for Dallas, which was eliminated from the playoffs for the second year in a row with Philadelphia’s NFC East-clinching victory at Washington on Saturday.
The Cowboys (6-8-1) have lost three in a row since a three-game winning streak that put them over .500 for the only time in coach Brian Schottenheimer’s first season.
In his third full game with his broken non-throwing (left) hand heavily protected, Herbert led the Chargers to touchdowns on all three drives in the first half. Omarion Hampton scored on a 5-yard run in the second half.
A 23-yard TD toss to Quentin Johnston, who played college football a few miles from the home of the Cowboys at TCU, was followed by 25-yarder to Ladd McConkey before Herbert’s 1-yard plunge on a modified version of the tush push. Johnston had four catches for 104 yards.
Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ move to the coaching booth from the sideline didn’t help Dallas’ beleaguered defense. Herbert was 23 of 29 — a season-high 79% — for 300 yards and the Chargers finished with 452 total yards, another season best. They didn’t reach 300 yards in the first two full games with Herbert’s left hand heavily wrapped.
Los Angeles punted on the first possession of the second half and was facing third-and-7 on the next drive when Herbert escaped Kenneth Murray’s grasp in the backfield and sprinted 33 yards, leading to Cameron Dicker’s 27-yard field goal for a 27-17 lead with 9 minutes remaining.
Prescott’s first TD pass was a 5-yarder to Ryan Flournoy, who had another TD wiped out by a holding penalty before exiting with a knee injury and not returning.
George Pickens scored on a 38-yard catch when Prescott hit him in stride in the end zone. Pickens had seven yards on 130 catches coming off two sub-par games that led to criticisms about his playing style.
Titans 26, Chiefs 9
NASHVILLE — Cam Ward threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, and the Tennessee Titans snapped an 11-game home skid by beating the Kansas City Chiefs 26-9 on Sunday.
The Titans (3-12) improved to 1-7 at home this season with their first win at Nissan Stadium since Nov. 3, 2024. The skid matched the franchise’s worst since moving to Tennessee in 1997.
With two games left, the Chiefs (6-9) are assured of their first losing record since 2012 — their most recent season without Andy Reid as their coach. Kansas City has lost four straight, its longest skid since 2017, and six of seven.
A week after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending torn ACL, his backup, Gardner Minshew, was knocked out of the game with a knee injury early in the second quarter.
Ward posted his highest passer rating of this season at 122.3, and he overtook Marcus Mariota for the most yards passing by a rookie for the franchise. He helped the Titans roll up a season-high 377 yards of offense against a Chiefs defense that came in as the NFL’s eighth-stingiest in yards allowed.
The rookie threw a shovel pass to Chig Okonkwo that went 7 yards to put the Titans ahead to stay late in the first half. Ward also found fellow rookie Chimere Dike for a 1-yard TD in the third quarter.
Tony Pollard ran for 102 yards, giving him three straight 100-yard rushing games for the first time in his career. Tyjae Spears added a 4-yard rushing TD, and Joey Slye had a 27-yard field goal for the final margin.
Three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons tackled Kareem Hunt in the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 lead early in the second quarter. Simmons also batted down a pair of passes. The Titans finished with four sacks.
The battered Chiefs came in with Mahomes on injured reserve along with right tackle Jawaan Taylor. They also declared nine players out Friday, including five starters, led by wide receiver Rashee Rice, left tackle Jaylon Moore and cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Minshew made his first start of the season. After he got hurt, the Chiefs turned to Chris Oladokun, just signed to the roster from the practice squad, to play in his second career game.
Oladokun handed off on his first five snaps. Then he connected with Travis Kelce for his first NFL completion, and Oladokun drove the Chiefs to a trio of field goals by Harrison Butker.
Vikings 16, Giants 13
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — J.J. McCarthy ran for a touchdown before leaving with an injury to his right, throwing hand, and backup quarterback Max Brosmer helped the Minnesota Vikings win their third game in a row, beating the New York Giants 16-13 on Sunday in a matchup of teams eliminated from playoff contention.
McCarthy was injured on a strip sack by Brian Burns in the final minute of the first half, when it appeared the Vikings (7-8) were going to let the clock run out. Instead, Burns forced McCarthy to fumble with a crushing hit and Tyler Nubin returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.
Brosmer led a go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Will Reichard making a 30-yard field goal. The rookie completed 7 of 9 passes for 52 yards in his fourth NFL appearance and first since throwing four interceptions Nov. 30 in a 26-0 loss at Seattle.
Before getting hurt, McCarthy completed 9 of 14 passes for 108 yards and had a would-be pick-6 negated by an offside penalty on Abdul Carter. After having his entire rookie year wiped out by a torn meniscus in his right knee, the 2024 No. 10 pick has missed time this season because of a concussion and a sprained right ankle.
The Giants (2-13) lost their ninth consecutive game and fifth since Mike Kafka took over as interim coach when Brian Daboll was fired on Nov. 10. They have not won since Oct. 9.
Rookie QB Jaxson Dart did not attempt a pass until 1:44 left in the second quarter and finished 7 of 13 for 33 yards and his fifth career interception, which came when his throw bounced off Theo Johnson’s hands and into Byron Murphy’s. Dart was sacked five times, including by Andrew Van Ginkel on fourth and 3 with two minutes left.
Ben Saul made two field goals in his debut, and New York’s only TD was Nubin’s scoop and score. The offense’s longest play was 18 yards, and Darius Slayton’s drop late elicited boos from some of the fans who remained in the stands at the Meadowlands.
Panthers 23, Buccaneers 20
CHARLOTTE — Bryce Young threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns, Lathan Ransom intercepted Baker Mayfield with 42 seconds left and the Carolina Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on Sunday to take over first place in the NFC South.
The Panthers (8-7) can wrap up with the division title next Sunday with a win over Seattle and a Buccaneers (7-8) loss to Miami. However, if both teams win or both teams lose, the Panthers would need to beat Tampa Bay again on the road in Week 18 to claim their first division title since 2015.
Tetairoa McMillan had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers once again bounced back with a huge win after a potentially devastating loss to the last-place New Orleans Saints.
The @Panthers control the NFC South heading into Week 17 ???? pic.twitter.com/hBIsmDUI83
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 21, 2025
Ransom had a huge mistake in that defeat with a late hit on Saints QB Tyler Shough that led to New Orleans’ winning field goal.
But with the Bucs driving for a tying field goal — or a go-ahead touchdown — there was a miscommunication on a second-and-9 pass play between Mayfield and Mike Evans at the Carolina 42 and Ransom got an easy pick to seal the win.
Mayfield came into the game 4-0 against Carolina since being cut by the Panthers in 2022.
But the No. 1 pick in 2018 completed just 18 of 26 passes for 145 yards with one TD pass to Evans on the game’s opening drive as the struggling Bucs lost their third straight game.
With the game tied at 20 midway through the fourth quarter, Emeka Egbuka hauled in his first catch of the game, a 40-yard reception down the middle of the field, to get the Bucs to midfield. But the Panthers forced a Bucs punt, giving Young the ball back with 4:46 left at the Panthers 27.
On a third and 4, Young found Jalen Coker along the right sideline for a 34-yard reception to move the Panthers into field goal range. Carolina’s drive stalled and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 48-yard field goal with 2:20 remaining in the game to give Carolina the lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Tampa Bay’s John Bullock was flagged for an unnecessary roughness, forcing Mayfield to start the final drive at his own 10.
But Mayfeld used a 26-yard run and three passes to Evans to reach Carolina territory before the interception.
The Panthers took a 13-10 lead into the locker room at halftime after McMillan hauled in a 22-yard touchdown reception from Young with 7 seconds left in the first half.
The Bucs regained the lead on the opening possession of the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Tucker, but Young answered with perhaps his best play of the season, eluding three pass rushers and buying enough time for Ja’Tavion Sanders to get free in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown reception.
Saints 29, Jets 6
NEW ORLEANS — Chris Olave caught touchdown passes from Tyler Shough and Taysom Hill, Charlie Smyth tied a Saints record with five field goals and New Orleans extended its winning streak to three with a 29-6 victory over the reeling New York Jets on Sunday.
Cameron Jordan had two sacks for New Orleans (5-10), giving him 130 for his career and moving the 15th-year defensive end two ahead of Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson for 17th most in NFL history. Jordan, now with a team-high 8 1/2 sacks this season, has had at least eight sacks in nine seasons.
Shough, drafted 40th overall last spring, passed for 308 yards to eclipse 300 for the first time while improving to 4-3 as a starter. Hill accounted for 116 yards with 42 rushing, 36 receiving and his 38-yard scoring pass to Olave in the final minutes.
Undrafted rookie Brady Cook made his second start with the Jets (3-12), who’ve lost three straight and five of six.
Cook was sacked eight times. He lost a fumble when ex-Jet Nathan Shepherd flattened him and defensive end Chase Young recovered, leading to Smyth’s 50-yard field goal. Cook also was intercepted by rookie safety Jonas Sanker on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter, leading to Smyth’s final field goal from 39 yards.
He finished 22 of 35 for 188 yards.
Both teams struggled to sustain drives in the first half, but did get within field goal range a handful of times.
Jets kicker Nick Folk was good from 29 and 36 yards.
Smyth, a Northern Ireland native playing in his fourth regular-season game, hit from 35, 49 and 36 yards to give the Saints a 9-6 lead. The third field goal was set up by a fake punt in which Hill, the upback, took the snap and gained 2 yards on fourth and 1.
Smyth also attempted a 61-yarder as time ran out in the first half, but pulled it wide left.
The Jets set an NFL record by going without an interception for their 15th consecutive game.