The Philadelphia Eagles became the first team to book their play-off spot while Tom Brady’s homecoming was ruined by an unheralded rookie.
The Eagles hammered the New York Giants 48-22 while Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dominated 35-7 when he returned to his boyhood team the San Francisco 49ers.
Detroit’s big victory over the 10-win Minnesota Vikings was an eye-popping performance, while the Dallas Cowboys left it late to avoid a huge upset against the Houston Texans.
As play-off places are being decided during the final stretch of the season, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills maintained their winning streaks, while the Kansas City Chiefs got back in the win column after losing last week with a 14th consecutive victory over the Denver Broncos.
Rookie QB Purdy runs riot as Brady beaten again
Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy was making his first career start after season-ending injuries to both of San Francisco’s top two starters.
But the man chosen last in the NFL Draft produced a magical three-touchdown performance to signal he could be the right man for the job of leading the 49ers in their Super Bowl challenge.
With the best defence in the league, and a varied attack, the Niners have now won six in a row after Purdy basically had the game wrapped up at half-time by throwing two touchdown passes and running in a score himself.
Brady was intercepted twice on a miserable second away game at the team he supported when growing up nearby.
But it was a magical experience for Purdy, who not only beat the seven-time Super Bowl champion, but now looks like the starter with one of the favourites to go all the way this season.
“It was surreal just standing there like, man, that’s Tom Brady,” admitted Purdy.
“For him to have respect for what I did, it was pretty cool. I’m not going to lie.
“Being a little kid, watching that guy kill it throughout all these years in Super Bowls, to be able to give him a high five at the end was pretty cool.”
Brady’s Buccaneers still top the NFC South, but their lead was cut by the Carolina Panthers after their 30-24 win at the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks play the 49ers on Thursday, with San Francisco having the chance to win their division.
Eagles clinch play-off spot but Vikings must wait
The Philadelphia Eagles powered into the play-offs with a fine divisional win over the New York Giants that showcased both facets of their attack – rushing for 253 yards and four TDs on the ground while adding two more passing scores.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts continued his MVP form with two TD throws and a rushing score himself.
He became the first QB to score 10 rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons as the Eagles improved their league-best record to 12-1 with a 26-point winning margin, and they are now well on the way to finishing top of the NFC.
Minnesota could have followed Philadelphia into the play-offs, but a surging Detroit Lions beat the Vikings 34-23 for a fifth win in six, their best run in six years, to keep them hanging around in the wildcard standings.
At 10-3 the Vikings are still near certainties for the play-offs, but the Lions, who have scored 25 points in five straight games for the first time since 1954, are now 6-7 and powering into contention for what would be a surprise play-off spot after they started the season 1-6.
Joining Minnesota on 10-3 in the NFC standings are the Dallas Cowboys, who needed a late Ezekiel Elliott touchdown inside the final minute to beat Houston 27-23 and avoid a huge upset to the one-win Texans.
AFC big guns keep on winning
The Buffalo Bills are the current top seeds in the AFC after their defence stood up with a muscular performance in a 20-12 victory over the New York Jets, whose quarterback Mike White was twice knocked out of the game with rib problems and left the stadium in an ambulance for precautionary checks.
White was sacked four times and Buffalo forced two turnovers as they avenged an earlier loss to New York that preceded their four-game winning run, which has moved them to 10-3 and top spot in the AFC East.
Buffalo sit above Kansas City, who are also now 10-3, thanks to a win over the Chiefs earlier this season, and they could be on a collision course after more Patrick Mahomes magic saw them beat the Denver Broncos 34-28.
The Chiefs led 27-0 in the second quarter but expensively purchased QB Russell Wilson finally showed some sort for form with a 21-point burst in just three-and-a-half minutes before he left the game with a suspected concussion.
The Baltimore Ravens are just behind in the standings as 9-4 AFC North leaders after a battling win over Pittsburgh, but they lost back-up QB Tyler Huntley to concussion and had to lean on running back JK Dobbins to grind out a tough 16-14 victory.
Baltimore hold a tiebreaker over the Cincinnati Bengals – who also moved to 9-4 by beating their Ohio rivals the Cleveland Browns 23-10 for a fifth win on the bounce, and this race will go down to the wire as the Bengals and Ravens meet in the final game of the season.
Justin Herbert was impressive yet again as he led a depleted Los Angeles Chargers side to a 23-17 win over the Miami Dolphins, while Trevor Lawrence also stood out with a 368-yard, three-touchdown display for the Jacksonville Jaguars in their 36-22 win over the Tennessee Titans.
On Monday, the New England Patriots kept themselves in the race for a play-off place with a 27-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, who lost quarterback Kyler Murray to injury on their opening drive.
Murray was visibly upset as he was taken off the field with a knee injury after his right leg had buckled underneath him without any contact. The 25-year-old will have a scan on Tuesday to confirm the extent of the injury.
“It doesn’t look good,” said Kliff Kingsbury, coach of the Cardinals, who are now 4-9 following the defeat. “But we’ll know more in the morning.
“It’s tough, no doubt. You see teams go through it every week but you lose your starter on the third play of the game, non-contact, it’s just tough to watch.”
