EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Drake Maye threw a career-high five touchdown passes before getting the rest of the game off in the third quarter, New England scored a TD on its first six drives and the Patriots finished the regular season undefeated on the road by dominating the New York Jets 42-10 on Sunday.
Rhamondre Stevenson had a TD run and catch for the Patriots (13-3), who moved closer to winning the AFC East title for the first time since 2019. They’ll do so if Buffalo loses or ties against Philadelphia later in the day.
Maye was 19 of 21 for 256 yards and a 157.0 quarterback rating with TD tosses to Stevenson, Stefon Diggs, Austin Hooper, Hunter Henry and Efton Chism III before being lifted by coach Mike Vrabel for Joshua Dobbs with 5:31 left in the third quarter. Maye joined Tom Brady (11 times) and Drew Bledsoe (twice) as the only New England quarterbacks to reach 4,000 yards passing in a season.
“We showed up, we started fast, and just didn’t stop from there.”
Drake Maye spoke with @Kristina_Pink after the @Patriots went a perfect 8-0 on the road this season pic.twitter.com/eRtT3psM24
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 28, 2025
Dobbs’ first drive ended the Patriots’ touchdown run, with New England settling for a field goal on its seventh possession — but Andy Borregales clanked the 41-yard attempt off the right upright.
It didn’t matter much by then, though, as the Patriots cruised to their eighth 13-win season in team history. Only San Francisco has more with 11.
In a road game that looked and sounded more like a Patriots home game with all the red, white and blue-clad fans who made the trek down to MetLife Stadium, New England finished 8-0 away from Gillette Stadium. It’s the third time in franchise history the Patriots had no regular-season road losses. Only San Francisco (1984, 1989 and 1990) has also gone undefeated on the road in three seasons since 1970.
Meanwhile, it was another embarrassing showing in the home finale for the lowly Jets (3-13), who have lost four in a row and have two straight seasons with multiple losing streaks of at least four games. New York became the fifth team in NFL history to lose four straight by 23 or more points in one season, and the first since the 1972 Patriots.
Undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook made his third consecutive start and went 19 of 33 for 152 yards and an interception.
Breece Hall had 111 yards rushing, including a 59-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter, to give him his first 1,000-yard season.
Seahawks 27, Panthers 10
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Zach Charbonnet ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks turned two third-quarter Carolina turnovers into TDs to beat the Panthers 27-10 on Sunday and close in on the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Sam Darnold threw an interception in the end zone but finished 18 of 27 for 147 yards with a touchdown for the Seahawks, who can wrap up the NFC West title and the top seed if the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams both lose or tie.
Jaxson Smith-Njigba added nine catches for 72 yards as Seattle (13-3) won its sixth straight.
The Panthers (8-8) had a chance to win the NFC South because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 20-17 at Miami on Sunday. Now the Panthers will need to win at Tampa Bay next weekend to win their first division title since 2015 and snap a seven-year playoff drought.
Bryce Young was limited to 54 yards on 14-of-24 passing and threw an interception for the inconsistent Panthers, who followed up a win with a loss for the fifth straight time. Young ran for 30 yards and accounted for Carolina’s only touchdown with a 10-yard scamper.
Carolina was limited to 139 yards of offense.
After an ugly first half that ended in a 3-3 tie, the Seahawks took control in the third quarter thanks to their defense.
DeMarcus Lawrence recovered a fumble by Chuba Hubbard deep in Carolina territory and Charbonnet cashed in with a 2-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing possession, Young’s pass to a Tetairoa McMillan was intercepted by Julian Love, leading to Darnold’s 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner.
The Panthers, who were held to 72 yards in the first three quarters, responded with a 13-play, 69-yard drive. Young scored on a 10-yard run to cut Seattle’s lead to 17-10.
The Panthers’ defense appeared ready to get off the field on Seattle’s next possession, but two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn was flagged for grabbing Smith-Njigba’s facemask on a third-down reception on third-and-21, more than 15 yards behind the first-down marker.
That gave Seattle a first down and the Seahawks cashed in with Jason Myers’ 30-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game with eight minutes remaining.
Seattle sacked Young twice on the ensuing possession to get the ball back, and Charbonnet sealed it with his second TD run.
Dolphins 20, Buccaneers 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard toss for his first career score, and the Miami Dolphins beat the slumping Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-17 on Sunday.
The Bucs (7-9) remained one game behind the Carolina Panthers (8-8) in the NFC South after the Panthers’ 27-10 loss to Seattle on Sunday. The Buccaneers would still clinch their fifth consecutive division title and sixth straight playoff berth by beating Carolina in next week’s regular-season finale.
But Tampa Bay has lost four straight games, seven of its last eight and has barely looked like a playoff team during that stretch. The Buccaneers’ last four losses have all been by one possession.
Despite three turnovers and being outgained 145-53 on the ground Sunday, Tampa Bay pulled within three after a three-play, 91-yard drive that Baker Mayfield capped with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 54 seconds left.
A busted coverage by the Dolphins defense led to a 59-yard reception by Chris Godwin that set up the score, but Miami recovered the ensuring onside kick to end Tampa Bay’s comeback attempt.
Mayfield completed 33 of 44 passes for 346 yards with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Godwin on the game’s opening drive. The former No. 1 pick has thrown an interception in each game of the Buccaneers’ losing streak, including two on Sunday. The first was an underthrow to receiver Jalen McMillan that was picked off by rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr.
The second came as the Buccaneers were driving down the field midway through the fourth, trailing by 10. Mayfield, one play after somehow escaping a sack attempt by Quinton Bell and completing an 11-yard pass to Evans, threw a red-zone interception to safety Ashtyn Davis.
After the Buccaneers forced a Dolphins punt, linebacker Bradley Chubb stripped Mayfield on a sack, which Bell recovered.
Ewers completed 14 of 22 passes in his second career start for the Dolphins (7-9), who have already been eliminated from the playoffs. Rookie receiver Theo Wease Jr. took Ewers’ first TD pass 63 yards into the end zone, and tight end Greg Dulcich caught an 11-yard scoring pass.
Running back De’Von Achane had 18 carries for 83 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry against Tampa Bay’s seventh-ranked run defense.
The Buccaneers took an early lead on a 16-play touchdown drive on their first possession of the game but gave up 17 straight points before Chase McLaughlin’s 33-yard field goal cut the deficit to seven points in the fourth.
McLaughlin had connected on 11 straight field goals from 55-plus yards entering Sunday but had a 55-yard attempt blocked late in the second.
Ewers led the Dolphins back down the field to set up Riley Patterson’s 33-yard kick that pushed the score to 20-10.
Jaguars 23, Colts 17
INDIANAPOLIS — Trevor Lawrence ran for two scores, Cam Little kicked a tiebreaking 42-yard field goal with 6:58 left, and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 on Sunday, moving within one victory of their first AFC South title since 2022.
The Jags (12-4) won their seventh straight game one day after two-time defending division champ Houston beat the Los Angeles Chargers to remain in contention for the title. The Texans’ victory also eliminated the Colts from playoff contention.
Jacksonville’s Liam Coen became the first coach in NFL history to take over a four-win team and win 12 games the next season.
Lawrence went 23 of 37 for 263 yards, though his streak of consecutive games with at least 225 yards passing, two TDs and a passer rating over 100 ended at four. He did not have a touchdown pass and he threw his first interception in five weeks.
The Jags kept 44-year-old Colts quarterback Philip Rivers winless in three games since he returned to the league following a five-year retirement.
Indy (8-8) has lost six straight and seven of eight to become the sixth team since 1970 — and the first since the 1995 Oakland Raiders — to miss the postseason after starting 7-1.
Rivers was 16 of 28 for 135 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His pick set up Jacksonville’s go-ahead score.
The fourth-oldest quarterback to start an NFL game relied on his wisdom to put Jacksonville in an early hole.
Rivers guided the Colts to a field goal after Ashton Dulin’s 53-yard kickoff return to start the game. Then he took advantage of Travis Etienne’s fumble on a botched a hook-and-lateral play by leading the Colts on a time-consuming drive that Jonathan Taylor capped with a 3-yard TD run to give Indy a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Lawrence answered with a 4-yard TD run and again with a nifty 6-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter to give Jacksonville a 14-10 lead.
Dulin’s second long return, a 56-yarder, set up Rivers’ 5-yard TD pass to Mo Alie-Cox that gave Indy a 17-14 lead with 5:58 left in the third.
Little tied it with 34-yard field goal, broke the tie with his 42-yarder and extended the margin with a late 53-yarder before the Jags sealed it by intercepting Riley Leonard’s final heave into the end zone.
Saints 34, Titans 26
NASHVILLE — Tyler Shough threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Austin Jr. with 6:22 left to put New Orleans Saints ahead to stay as they rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 34-26 Sunday.
Shough improved to 5-3 as a starter, helping the Saints (6-10) win their fourth straight. He outplayed Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, in this NFL’s third game between starting rookie quarterbacks this season. Shough was 22 of 27 for a career-best 333 yards and two touchdowns with a 142.7 passer rating.
Audric Estime added a 32-yard TD run with 3:44 left as New Orleans dominated the second half. The Saints both outscored the Titans 24-6 and outgained them 331-152 after halftime.
Chase Young had 1 1/2 of the Saints’ four sacks and also stripped Ward and returned the fumble 33 yards for a touchdown. Charlie Smyth kicked a pair of field goals. Young got a half-sack with 5:16 left to force the Titans in a three-and-out.
The Titans (3-13) now go into the 2026 season trying to string together consecutive wins. That’s something this franchise hasn’t done since Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 of the 2022 season. They are 1-8 at home this season.
Ward threw for 251 yards and two TDs.
He tried to rally the Titans and nearly had an amazing play until replay assistance turned his 17-yard toss while falling down on fourth-and-10 to a sack by Cam Jordan with 2 minutes left. The defense gave Ward another chance with 1:37 left and one timeout.
The rookie got the Titans to the Saints 43. Ward fumbled under pressure by Jordan trying to get a final pass off as time expired.
Joey Slye also kicked four field goals, and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons had one of two sacks for the Titans, giving him a career-high 10 this season.
Shough started the comeback with a 19-yard TD pass to open the third quarter.