📰 Table Of Contents
Cowboys @ Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles secured the NFC East title with a 41-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. As a result, Philly will have at least one home game in the playoffs while the Washington Commanders will have to play all of their matchups on the road as a Wild Card team.
With Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts still dealing with a concussion, former Pittsburgh Steeler Kenny Pickett got the nod to make the start for the Eagles. He had a respectable game with 146 total yards and two total touchdowns. His two second-quarter touchdowns put the Eagles on top 24-7 at halftime.
Sadly, Pickett left the game with an injury and was replaced by sixth-round pick Tanner McKee. He promptly threw his first career touchdown to A.J. Brown to go ahead 34-7.
Philly running back Saquon Barkley had 167 rushing yards. With that performance, he became the ninth running back of all time to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. If Barkley has 101 rushing yards in his next game, he will break the single-season rushing yards record set by Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson in 1984.
The Eagles’ defense was lights-out, finishing the day with a sack, two interceptions (including one pick-six), and two fumble recoveries.
Philadelphia can still theoretically clinch the number-one seed in the NFC. The Eagles can clinch the conference’s best record with:
- Eagles Win Week 18
- Vikings Lose Week 17, Win Week 18
- Lions Lose Week 17 & Week 18
Panthers @ Buccaneers
The Buccaneers kept their playoff aspirations afloat with a convincing 48-14 victory over the Panthers. Now, they’ll root heavily for the Washington Commanders as they get set to take on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football.
If Atlanta loses to Washington, then the team’s Week 18 face-off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be for the NFC South divisional crown. However, if the Falcons win tonight, Tampa Bay will need to beat Atlanta in Week 18 and get some help from either the Cowboys or the Panthers to clinch the NFC South Championship.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield continued his impressive 2024-25 campaign by throwing for 359 yards and five touchdowns. He connected with wideout Mike Evans for 97 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Evans now has 11 TD catches this year, giving him six seasons with 10+ receiving touchdowns, tied for the fifth-most in NFL history.
MIKE EVANS DOING MIKE EVANS THINGS
📺: #CARvsTB on CBS pic.twitter.com/oSrf3iKnN5
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) December 29, 2024
Carolina wide receiver Adam Thielen showed that age is just a number by making five catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown catch cut the Bucs’ lead to 27-14 at halftime.
With 5:30 to go in the third quarter, a Johnny Hekker punt was blocked and returned 23 yards for a touchdown to put this one out of reach. Tampa would get one more touchdown though, to bring the score to 48-14.
Jets @ Bills
The Buffalo Bills manhandled the New York Jets 40-14 to improve to 13-3 on the year. The win gives the Bills the AFC’s second-best record, meaning they will only play home games until the AFC Championship Game (should they make it that far).
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen scored a rushing TD on the first drive of the game to take a 7-0 lead, tying running back Thurman Thomas’ franchise record for most career rushing TDs with 65.
The Bills defense bombarded the Jets, holding Gang Green to 14 points while recording four sacks, a safety, a fumble recovery, and two interceptions. That was the first time in Aaron Rodgers’ 20-year career that he was sacked for a safety. His two interceptions brought his total to 10 on the year.
James Cook scored his 15th touchdown of the campaign. If he gets two more rushing TDs this year, he will break O.J. Simpson’s single-season franchise record for most rushing touchdowns.
Colts @ Giants
In what was one of the most exciting matchups of the early slate, the Indianapolis Colts were eliminated from playoff contention after losing to the New York Giants 45-33. This was the first time since 2019 that the Giants have scored 40+ points in a game.
New York quarterback Drew Lock was slinging the ball all over the field, throwing for 309 yards, four passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. This marked the first time since 2014 that a Giants quarterback had thrown for 300+ passing yards and four touchdowns. His seventh completion of the contest was a five-yard touchdown to wideout Wan’dale Robinson, giving the Giants a 21-6 lead late in the second quarter.
Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in this game after hauling in seven receptions for 171 yards and two TDs. His second touchdown grab put the G-Men up 35-26 in the fourth quarter.
Malik Nabers 👌🏻👌🏻x2 #NFLFantasyEsp
— NFL Fantasy en Español (@NFLFantasyEsp) December 29, 2024
Despite throwing for 330 yards and two touchdowns, Colts quarterback Joe Flacco threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, securing the Giants’ first home win of the season and New York’s first victory since October 6th, 2024.
The Giants hurt their draft position with the win by going from the sole owner of the first pick in the NFL Draft to tied with three other teams for the NFL’s worst record, meaning they could possibly end up with the fourth overall selection.
Raiders @ Saints
This game mostly affected the 2025 NFL Draft. With the win 25-10, the Las Vegas Raiders went from having the sixth overall pick in the upcoming draft to potentially picking ninth since they have the same amount of wins as the Jaguars, Jets, Bears, and Panthers.
Vegas rookie tight end Brock Bowers had seven receptions for 77 receiving yards in the game. With that output, Bowers broke the NFL single-season rookie records for most receptions by a player (108) and most receiving yards by a tight end (1,114).
Las Vegas had one of its best possessions of the year in the second quarter, moving the ball 97 yards in nine plays to score a touchdown and reclaim the lead 13-7. Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah, who accounted for 30 yards on the drive, had a career-high 147 total yards in the game.
With their 11th loss, New Orleans is still expected to have the tenth overall pick in the draft because they’re the only team in the league with five wins.
Titans @ Jaguars
This game had huge NFL Draft implications because both these teams were slated to have top-five draft picks before this matchup. However, with the 20-13 win, the Jaguars now fall from the third overall draft spot to the fifth.
Meanwhile, Tennessee moves into a tie with the Giants, Patriots, and Browns for the worst record in the league.
The Jaguars’ Mac Jones ended the day with 196 total yards and two touchdown passes. His second TD catch, which he threw to rookie wideout Brian Thomas Jr., put the Jags ahead 20-10 in the fourth quarter.
Jacksonville forced an incompletion on a 4th and 10 with 14 seconds left in the game to secure the win.
After losing ten of their first 12 games, the Jags have now won two of their last four.
