NFL run-in: Raiders stun Patriots as Jones stumbles sideways on bizarre final play | NFL

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Defensive end Chandler Jones grabbed an odd and unnecessary lateral by New England’s Jacoby Myers from the air on the final play and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown, giving the Las Vegas Raiders a 30-24 victory over the Patriots on Sunday.

With the game tied at 24 players, the Patriots decided to run a series of pitches in a last-ditch effort to avoid overtime. Ramondry Stephenson tipped the ball to Myers, who pushed it across the field and into the arms of Jones, who had nothing but an open field in front of him.

The wild end saved the Raiders (6-8), who led 17-3 at halftime before allowing the Patriots (7-7) to score 21 straight points. Las Vegas scored twice in the last 32 seconds and seriously damaged New England’s game hopes.

Stevenson, who attended high school in Las Vegas, had 19 carries for 172 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown with 3:43 left and seemed to put the game away.

But the Raiders answered at the last minute. Derek Carr found Keenan Cole in the left corner of the end zone for 30 yards. Cole’s left foot came off near the boundary, but the play was upheld on review.

Then came the insane final play that will surely lead to questions about the strategy of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who lost to his longtime assistant, Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.

New England fell one game from their last AFC playoff game, and their last three games were all against postseason opponents.

Carr completed 20 of 38 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns. Josh Jacobs rushed for 93 yards on 22 carries as the Raiders ended a six-game losing streak to the Patriots that dates back to 20.

Dallas Cowboys 34-40 Jacksonville Jaguars (OT)

Rayshawn Jenkins intercepted a curling Dak Prescott pass and returned it 52 yards for the touchdown that gave the Jacksonville Jaguars a 40-34 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in overtime Sunday.

Noah Brown failed to secure Prescott’s low putt, and Jenkins grabbed a shoelace no-touch the other way to end Jacksonville’s 20-game slide against NFC teams. It’s an NFL record.

Prescott sat on the court as the Jaguars celebrated one of their improbable victories in franchise history. The Cowboys (10-4) ended a five-game winning streak.

The stunner prevented Dallas from securing a playoff spot. Meanwhile, Jacksonville (6-8) could hold ground against Tennessee in the AFC Southern Conference.

Jacksonville won the lottery in overtime and had a chance to win it with Trevor Lawrence, who threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns. But the Jaguars went three-and-out, giving the Cowboys a chance to win after squandering a 27-10 lead.

Philadelphia Eagles 25-20 Chicago Bears

Jalen Hurts tied a career-high by running for three touchdowns, and the Philadelphia Eagles edged the struggling Chicago Bears 25-20 on Sunday.

The Eagles (13-1), with the best record in the NFL, made enough plays to come away with a stronger-than-expected win.

Chicago’s Justin Fields rushed for 95 yards to reach exactly 1,000 on the season, joining Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson as the only running backs to rush for 1,000 or more. He also set a franchise single-season rushing record for a QB. But the Bears (3-11) lost their seventh straight game—their worst skid since they lost eight straight in 2002 to match a franchise record.

Pains are also nearing history as an impulse booster. He has 13 rushing touchdowns, one short of the NFL record for a QB, set by Cam Newton during his rookie year in 2011.

Hurts finished with 61 rushing yards and has 747 this season. He also threw for 315 yards, completing 22 of 37 passes with two interceptions.

Kansas City Chiefs 30-24 Houston Texans (OT)

Jerrick McKinnon caught a 26-yard touchdown run in overtime and the Kansas City Chiefs caught three touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes in a 30-24 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday and claimed their seventh straight AFC West title.

The Chiefs (11-3) got the ball first in overtime but had to punt it wide after Mahomes was sacked by Blake Cashman on third down. Texas quarterback Davis Mills fumbled a scramble on Houston’s first game, and it was recovered by Kansas City’s Willie Jay at the Texas 26.

McKinnon, who also had a TD reception, rushed into the end zone on the next play.

Houston (1-12-1) tied the game at 24 on a 29-yard field goal with about five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs had a chance to win it in regulation, but Harrison Butker’s 51-yard attempt was wide right.

Kansas City overcame two consecutive runs and 102 penalty yards to claim their seventh win in eight games.

Detroit Lions 20-17 New York Jets

Jared Goff threw the go-ahead 51-yard touchdown pass to Brock Wright on fourth-and-1 with 1:49 remaining, and the Detroit Lions held on for a 20-17 win over Zack Wilson and the New York Jets on Sunday.

After coming off the two-minute warning, Goff looked to his left and found Wright wide open, the tight end charging into the end zone. The Lions went wild on the field and on the sidelines, astounding the Jets and their fans.

But Wilson—who had an up and down running back as the starting quarterback—and the Jets had another chance to tie or win.

New York Jets quarterback Zack Wilson (2) threw the ball as Detroit Lions linebacker James Houston (59) trailed during the second half Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Photo: Vincent Carchita/USA Today Sports

On fourth down and the game from the Jets 40, Wilson rolled to his right and completed a 20-yard pass to Elijah Moore for first. Robert Saleh then called a timeout with one second remaining.

The Jets (7-7) sent Greg Zuerlin on a potential 58-yard field goal, but his kick went wide left – sending the Lions (7-7) to their third straight win and sixth in their past seven games.

Pittsburgh Steelers 24-16 Carolina Panthers

Mitch Trubisky threw for 179 yards and engineered three long drives for a touchdown as the Pittsburgh Steelers held off Carolina 24-16 on Sunday, slamming the Panthers’ playoff hopes into a big blow.

Trubisky, who replaced starter Kenny Pickett, ran to one yard and played a no-spin football. Nagy Harris carried 24 times for 86 yards and a touchdown, and Jaylen Warren added a 2-yard TD run for Pittsburgh (6-8), which has won three of its last four.

The Panthers (5-9) entered the weekend in control of their playoff destiny, needing four wins in four games to win the lowly NFC South.

But Carolina, the running back team first, couldn’t get anything to work on the ground.

The Panthers averaged 191.6 yards in their five wins this season, but managed just 21 yards on 16 carries as the Steelers stacked the box and Sam Darnold dared them to beat them.

Atlanta Falcons 18-21 New Orleans Saints

Andy Dalton and Taisum Hill combined to throw three touchdown passes. The New Orleans Saints beat Atlanta 21-18 Sunday in the debut of Falcons rookie Desmond Ridder.

Joanne Johnson had a career-high 67 yards receiving and managed 2 passes from Dalton. Hill, a utility player who lines up mostly at tight end, threw his second touchdown pass of the season on a 73-yard touchdown with rookie receiver Rashid Shaheed.

New Orleans (5-9) mathematically survived a lean NFC South—a division in which every team entered Week 15 with a losing record.

Atlanta (5-9) was down with just a field goal and threatening to score with less than three minutes left in the game when Ryder Drake London kicked over the middle for a first down on fourth-and-five. But safety Justin Evans kicked the ball out of London’s hold, and linebacker Bradley Roby picked it up from the air to give New Orleans the ball on their own 39.

Arizona Cardinals 15-24 Denver Broncos

Backup quarterback Brett Rypien overcame relentless pressure from an Arizona defense led by JJ Watt, Justin Simmons had two interceptions, and the Denver Broncos stopped the Cardinals 24-15 on Sunday.

The game featured two backup QBs, but Arizona lost Colt McCoy to a concussion early in the third quarter after he was hit on a diving first. McCoy was intercepted once and his replacement, Trace McSorley, threw two more options.

Rypien was sacked seven times, including three times by Watt, but directed three scoring attempts in the second period to help the Broncos (4-10) snap a five-game losing streak.

Latavius ​​Murray ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, Marlon Mack also had a rushing TD, and Rypien threw a short pass to Eric Tomlinson as Denver turned a 9-3 deficit into a 24-9 lead.

Claimed by Russell Wilson, who was suspended for safety reasons after concussion protocol was cleared, Rypien had 197 yards and one interception. McCoy took over for Kyler Murray, who would miss the season with a torn ACL. McCoy was 13 of 21 for 78 yards and was picked off by Simmons late in the first quarter.

Tennessee Titans 14-17 Los Angeles Chargers

Cameron Decker kicked a 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining, and the Los Angeles Chargers boosted their playoff hopes with a 17-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The Titans appeared to force overtime when Ryan Tannehill scored on a 1-yard QB sneak with 48 seconds remaining, but then the Chargers went 52 yards in six plays. Mike Williams had the key play on the drive with a 35-yard reception between two Tennessee fullbacks at the Titans’ 20-yard line.

Justin Herbert kicked the ball with 15 seconds left, then Los Angeles trailed on a penalty and an incomplete pass. Decker came up with his third game-winner of the season and his second with the Chargers.

Herbert had his third consecutive 300-yard game. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 313 yards but only caught a third touchdown in 46 career games.

Cincinnati Bengals 34-23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Joe Burrow threw four plays in the second half and the Cincinnati Bengals rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-23 for their sixth straight victory on Sunday.

The Bengals (10-4) held on to first in the AFC North, with Tre Flowers intercepting Brady to set up one touchdown and sacking seven-time Super Bowl champion Logan Wilson for forcing a fumble that led to another TD.

The first-place Bucs (6-8) missed an opportunity to take a two-game lead over Carolina, Atlanta, and New Orleans, who remain 5-9 division title contenders in the unfortunate NFC South despite making sure to finish with lost records.

Boro started Cincinnati’s comeback after trailing 17-0 with a field goal last 1:39 of the first half. He threw scoring passes of five yards to Ty Higgins, three yards to Tyler Boyd, eight yards to Ja’Marr Chase and 12 yards to Mitchell Wilcox.

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