NFL Game Recaps: Week 18, 2022

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Chiefs 31, Raiders 13

The Chiefs have had issues blowing teams out the entire year, while the Raiders suffered just one loss of more than seven points. Naturally, this would mean that Kansas City would demolish Las Vegas in the season finale.

The Raiders had no answer for Patrick Mahomes, which shouldn’t have shocked anyone. Mahomes was almost perfect in the opening half, completing 14-of-17 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown by intermission. It seemed as though he was on his way to a huge performance, but Mahomes completed only four throws following halftime. The Chiefs went into a conservative shell, but they also struggled to pass protect for Mahomes. The Chiefs scored just seven points in the second half.

While Mahomes’ high level of play in the first half shouldn’t have been surprising to anyone, it wasn’t expected that the Raiders would produce just six points prior to the middle of the fourth quarter, especially after scoring 34 points versus the 49ers’ top-ranked defense last week. The Raiders’ didn’t play poorly when they had possession, but they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. They stalled on a third-and-goal at the Kansas City 2-yard line because they tried a terrible fade into the end zone. Davante Adams later dropped a pass that would have gained him 20 yards. Meanwhile, Jarrett Stidham threw an interception into double coverage to set up a Kansas City score. Stidham then lost a fumble right before halftime to gift the Chiefs a field goal. The Raiders missed out on their own field goal opportunity when an illegal-hands-to-the-face penalty moved the Raiders out of kicking range.

The Raiders didn’t finish too far behind the Chiefs in total yardage (349-279), but the Chiefs were the far more efficient team. This is why they were able to clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC with a large victory.

Mahomes’ final stats were 18-of-26 for 202 yards and a touchdown. This was hardly the performance that would cement his MVP status, but a poor Jalen Hurts game could give the award to Mahomes, who had a touchdown pass to Kadarius Toney wiped out by penalty.

Travis Kelce also posted disappointing numbers, catching six passes for 38 yards. He was tackled at the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. JuJu Smith-Schuster was even worse with two grabs for 25 yards, while Toney (2-18) rushed in a score.

All but one Kansas City touchdown came on the ground. Isiah Pacheco rushed for 64 yards and a score on eight attempts, while Ronald Jones (10-45) also had a touchdown.

Those expecting a Josh Jacobs touchdown were greatly disappointed. Jacobs trampled the Chiefs earlier in the year, but was limited to just 45 yards on 17 carries.

Stidham, as you may have noticed, made a large number of blunders in this game, looking like a shell of the quarterback who shredded the 49ers last week. He went 22-of-36 for 219 yards, one touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble. Stidham ran well – seven scrambles, 50 rushing yards – but he had a potential second pick that was dropped and would have lost a second fumble had a teammate not recovered the ball.

Stidham’s lone touchdown came in garbage time, and it was thrown to Hunter Renfrow, who caught all seven of his passes for 63 yards. He trailed only Adams (5-73), though Adams appeared to suffer a concussion in the fourth quarter. Darren Waller (2-35) nearly caught a touchdown, but had just one foot inbounds.

Jaguars 20, Titans 16

Trevor Lawrence was expected to lead his team into the playoffs with a win over the injury-ravaged Titans, but he just couldn’t do it. Lawrence had several opportunities to establish a lead versus Tennessee, but disappointed at every turn. He missed a wide-open Zay Jones for a touchdown. He fired the ball to Christian Kirk for a potential touchdown, but the throw was late, allowing the defender to break up the pass. Lawrence later overthrew an open Marvin Jones for a big gain.

Lawrence was partly responsible for some hideous three-and-outs in the fourth quarter. The defense was getting stops on the Titans, but Lawrence could do nothing with the opportunities. Thus, his defense had to bail him out. With the Titans up 16-13 and time rapidly ticking off the clock in the fourth quarter, Jacksonville safety Rayshawn Jenkins blitzed off the edge and dislodged the ball out of Joshua Dobbs’ hand before the Tennessee quarterback fired a pass. The fumble was scooped and scored by Josh Allen, giving the Jaguars a 20-16 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Jaguars prevailed, but this was a disappointing result from Lawrence. The second-year quarterback was just 20-of-32 for 212 yards and a touchdown against a defense missing several players. Lawrence had played much better ahead of this game, so it’s unclear why he struggled so much in the clutch.

Conversely, Dobbs was great for a majority of this game, and it seemed as though he would be able to pull the upset for a while. He completed nine passes for a stretch in the second quarter, including a brilliant third-and-9 connection to Austin Hooper. He later fired a 13-yard dart to Robert Woods to convert a third-and-10. Dobbs was 12-of-15 for 114 yards and a touchdown in the opening half, but things fell apart for him after intermission. Not only did he lose the decisive fumble; he heaved an ugly interception and then made a poor decision to check down on fourth-and-long with the game on the line. Still, Dobbs (20-of-29, 179 yards, one touchdown, one interception) played quite well considering the circumstances. Not having his three best offensive linemen in front of him really hurt.

Derrick Henry sorely missed those offensive linemen. He rushed for 109 yards, but it took him 30 carries to get there. He routinely was swarmed in the backfield, and he also had some bad luck because a 36-yard run of his was negated by a hold.

The Jaguars had a much worse time running the ball versus Tennessee’s stalwart front. Travis Etienne mustered only 17 yards on seven carries. He chipped in with two catches for 17 receiving yards.

Thanks to Lawrence’s struggles, only one Jaguar logged more than 29 receiving yards. That was Kirk, who reeled in six of his eight targets for 99 yards and a touchdown. Evan Engram (4-27) and Zay Jones (4-21) disappointed those who used them in DFS.

Tennessee’s lone touchdown was scored by tight end Chig Okonkwo, who caught three balls for 42 yards otherwise. Woods (4-40) was right behind him, while Treylon Burks’ four catches went for only 19 yards.

Bengals 27, Ravens 16

The Bengals were not happy with the NFL’s ruling about the playoff seeding. We knew this from the comments the players made during the week, but this was also apparent when Joe Mixon mocked a coin toss after scoring a touchdown in the opening half. Cincinnati’s defense, meanwhile, played a very spirited performance, forcing three turnovers in the opening half to give the Bengals a 24-7 lead at intermission.

Of course, establishing such a lead wasn’t very difficult, given that the Ravens sat some of their primary starters. Tyler Huntley, J.K. Dobbins and Mark Andrews all were rested, forcing third-string quarterback Anthony Brown into the lineup. Brown was a disaster with two interceptions and a lost fumble, which was recovered by the Bengals in the end zone. In fact, all three of Brown’s give-aways turned into Bengals touchdowns.

The Bengals needed those take-aways because they surprisingly were lethargic offensively. Different players took turns making mistakes. For example, Joe Burrow underthrew Ja’Marr Chase for a potential touchdown. He later overshot Tee Higgins for another possible score. Higgins then dropped a deep pass. And as all of this was happening, Burrow wasn’t getting the best pass protection. None of this mattered, however, because the Ravens spent so much time committing turnovers.

Burrow finished 25-of-42 for 215 yards and a touchdown. He had the most success throwing to Chase despite the early miscue. Chase hauled in eight of his 13 targets for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Elsewhere in the Cincinnati receiving corps, Tyler Boyd was next on the stat sheet with five catches for 51 yards. Higgins, conversely, looked like he hadn’t recovered from what transpired Monday night. He caught just one of his seven targets for seven yards. He took a huge hit in the second half, but didn’t miss much action.

Mixon didn’t find much running room, mustering only 27 yards on 11 carries, though he scored a touchdown. He also caught five passes for 41 receiving yards.

There’s not much to say about the Ravens. They smartly treated this game like it was a preseason affair. Brown played the entire game, going 19-of-44 for 286 yards and the three turnovers mentioned earlier. Kenyan Drake was the leading rusher with 60 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

The one interesting thing about the Ravens was Isaiah Likely’s performance. Likely caught eight of his 13 targets for 103 yards. The player who saw the next-most targets was Demacus Robinson, who snatched just two of those nine balls for 24 yards. He dropped a pair of passes.

Falcons 30, Buccaneers 17

It was unclear how long Tom Brady and the rest of the Buccaneer starters would play in this meaningless game. With Tampa Bay locked into the No. 4 seed, there was no need for Brady to play at all, but he wanted some time in the final week of the season.

Brady was given that time, which was a quarter-and-half. Thanks to a lost Chris Godwin fumble that set up an Atlanta field goal, Brady exited the affair when the game was locked in a 10-10 tie. Brady was accurate in his time on the field, going 13-of-17 for 84 yards and a touchdown. In doing so, Brady broke his own single-season completions record.

It should be noted that Brady and Godwin exited the game at that time. Mike Evans played far less. Evans left with an “illness” of some sort. That would explain why he didn’t receive a single target. Godwin, conversely, caught six balls for 55 yards.

As for the Falcons, they did a great job of compiling stats against a backup defense in garbage time. For instance, Desmond Ridder was just 4-of-9 for 25 yards and a touchdown in the opening half, but finished 19-of-30 for 224 yards and a pair of scores.

Tyler Allgeier also was able to benefit from the Buccaneers not caring in the second half. He had 55 rushing yards by the half, but finished with 135 yards on 24 attempts.

Continuing the trend, Drake London caught only one pass in the opening half, a 26-yarder. He completed the game with six receptions for 120 yards. All of these stats were meaningless for real-life purposes, but congratulations if you used these players in DFS! Speaking of which, if you’re looking for the best DFS content on the Web, sign up for Stokastic for the greatest projections and ownership data. Sign up with this link or use promo code WALTERFOOTBALL for 25% off!

Bills 35, Patriots 23

The Bills were playing with lots of emotion in this game, as Damar Hamlin’s condition had improved so much that he was able to communicate with the team ahead of Week 18. This emotion carried over into the very first seconds of the contest, as Nyheim Hines ran back the opening kickoff return for a touchdown. And if that outburst wasn’t enough, Hines repeated that action when the Bills needed it most, helping Buffalo establish a 21-17 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.

While the special teams sparked the Bills, the offense and defense didn’t perform up to their ability. The offense sputtered more often than not. There was a sequence where Josh Allen overthrew Stefon Diggs for a touchdown, and then Allen heaved an interception in the red zone because he was hit upon releasing the ball. Later in the game, Devin Singletary lost a fumble deep in his own territory to set up a New England field goal that would give it a brief lead before Hines’ second kickoff return touchdown.

Allen, who had just 96 passing yards in the opening half, eventually got his act together. This happened when he hit Stefon Diggs for a 49-yard touchdown bomb. He followed that up with a 42-yard score to John Brown, who made a spectacular catch. Allen, as a consequence, finished with a great stat line: 19-of-31, 254 yards, three touchdowns and the interception.

Defensively, the Bills struggled to stop Mac Jones. In fact, Jones had one of his better performances of the year, save for some late interceptions. Jones went 26-of-40 for 243 yards, three touchdowns and a trio of interceptions, with one being an overthrow in the red zone.

Jones threw primarily to DeVante Parker, who reeled in six of his seven targets for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Jakobi Meyers (3-32) also scored. He saw seven targets as well, but wasn’t as efficient as Parker.

Diggs ended up being the leading receiver in this game after a very slow start. He caught seven of his 10 targets for 104 yards and a touchdown. Gabe Davis saw 10 balls go his way as well, but snatched just three of them for 39 yards. Dawson Knox (2-13) also scored.

The Bills didn’t run as well as the Patriots. Singletary was limited to just 29 yards on seven carries, while James Cook dashed for 45 yards on nine attempts. By contrast, both of New England’s primary runners outgained all the Buffalo backs. Rhamondre Stevenson was given just six carries, but he turned those into 54 yards. He also caught five passes for 28 receiving yards. Damien Harris gained 48 yards on 13 tries.

Vikings 29, Bears 13

During the week, head coach Kevin O’Connell told the media that this game was a chance to “rectify” some of the problems the Vikings have had recently. That was apparent immediately when the Vikings scored a touchdown on their opening possession. Kirk Cousins delivered a 66-yard pass to K.J. Osborn, setting up a short score to Adam Thielen. This allowed the Vikings to establish a 16-6 lead at halftime, an advantage that would have been larger had there not been an asinine decision by the coaching staff to run the ball on a third-and-goal with no timeouts remaining.

The Vikings’ 16-6 halftime lead was enough “rectifying” for O’Connell, as he opted to sit Kirk Cousins and the rest of the starters to begin the third quarter. Nick Mullens was able to hang on to the lead against the Bears, who were able to clinch the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, thanks to Houston’s inexplicable victory over Indianapolis. Go here for my 2023 NFL Mock Draft.

Cousins finished 17-of-20 for 225 yards and a touchdown. It’s a shame he sat the entire second half because he was on pace to hit 450 passing yards against Chicago’s anemic defense.

Despite Cousins’ great first-half performance, Justin Jefferson didn’t do much. He caught four passes for 38 yards. Osborn paced the Vikings in receiving with five catches for 117 yards.

There was a scare for the Vikings in this game when Dalvin Cook went into the medical blue tent with an injury. He turned out to be OK, yet Minnesota foolishly decided to put him back on the field despite Alexander Mattison looked great in relief. Mattison rumbled for 54 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, while Cook gained 37 yards on 11 attempts. Cook also lost a fumble before he got banged up.

As for the Bears, Nathan Peterman and Tim Boyle rotated, as the team smartly tanked for the No. 1 pick. Peterman, shockingly, was not the interception machine everyone remembers. In fact, he didn’t toss a single pick, going 11-of-19 for 114 yards and a touchdown instead. Boyle was the pick master instead, going 2-of-8 for 33 yards and a pair of interceptions. One wasn’t his fault because of a miscommunication.

David Montgomery wasn’t used very much. He was given seven carries, which he turned into 21 yards. Khalil Herbert gained 50 yards on 10 attempts.

Cole Kmet was easily Chicago’s leading receiver with four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Velus Jones caught one pass, a 28-yarder, but he also scored on a 42-yard end-around.

Dolphins 11, Jets 6

The Dolphins needed to win this game to reach the playoffs, but they were tasked with battling the Jets’ defense with their third-string quarterback. I don’t need to tell you that they had severe issues scoring, as Skylar Thompson struggled to keep the chains moving. Thompson was just 4-of-13 on third down, and he also failed once spectacularly on fourth down when he aimlessly wandered out of bounds.

Luckily for the Dolphins, the Jets couldn’t produce anything offensively to take control of the game. Joe Flacco had some nice connections with Garrett Wilson, but the Jets otherwise did nothing. They produced just 187 net yards of offense and 11 first downs.

Eventually, the Dolphins figured out that they could have some offensive success by running the ball. The Jets struggled versus Kenneth Walker last week, and that continued against the two Miami backs. This put the Dolphins in position to put Jason Sanders for the decisive 50-yard field goal, which he drilled. Miami then covered the spread on a safety when the Jets attempted a last-second Stanford Band-type miracle.

Thompson finished 20-of-31 for 152 yards. The Dolphins will not have any sort of chance if he has to start in the playoffs. Perhaps Tua Tagovailoa or Teddy Bridgewater will be ready by next weekend.

Thompson is lucky he was bailed out by the running game. Both Jeff Wilson Jr. and Raheem Mostert picked up big chunks of yardage at a time. Wilson gained 72 yards on 16 carries, while Mostert tallied 71 yards on 11 attempts. Wilson made a huge fourth-and-5 conversion with an 8-yard run. Mostert exited early with an injury.

Thanks to Thompson’s struggles, no Miami receiver logged more than 46 receiving yards. Jaylen Waddle caught all five of his targets for 44 yards, while Tyreek Hill had just two receptions for 23 yards. Hill missed some time in the first half after pulling up lame with an ankle injury, but he was able to return after intermission. He clearly was not 100 percent upon going back to the field.

As for the Jets, Wilson had the only stat line of note. He caught nine of his 17 targets for 89 yards to perhaps seal the Offensive Rookie Player of the Year award. No other Jet logged more than 17 receiving yards.

Flacco was dreadful, as expected, going 18-of-33 for 149 yards. He received no help from the running game, which saw Zonovan Knight muster only 22 yards on 12 carries.

Panthers 10, Saints 7

Both teams were eliminated from the playoffs last week, so motivation was going to be at an all-time low. That’s how this underwhelming game was played, with the only scent of emotion coming from a fight between D’Onta Foreman and Marcus Davenport. Both were ejected after throwing punches.

Otherwise, nothing of note happened in this game. Sam Darnold was the winning quarterback, and yet he completed just five passes. Hilariously, Darnold logged just four passing yards in the opening half. The Saints led at that point, 7-0, but any hint of offense evaporated at intermission, with New Orleans generating just 70 net yards of offense in the second half.

The Panthers, meanwhile, were able to take control in the second half by establishing the run. This was via Foreman’s runs, and after Foreman was ejected, Chuba Hubbard’s runs. Foreman rumbled for 68 yards on 12 carries, while Hubbard dashed for 69 yards on 21 attempts.

Carolina moved into field goal range at the very end, thanks to a Saints missed field goal providing them with good field position. One of Darnold’s five completions helped set up the decisive kick.

The Panthers outgained the Saints on the ground, but Alvin Kamara was the leading rusher in this game. He tallied 107 yards on 23 carries, though only 23 yards came after halftime.

Andy Dalton was the leading passer in this affair, if you couldn’t guess. He went 15-of-25 for 171 yards and a touchdown, while Darnold had a hideous stat line of 5-of-15 for 43 yards and two interceptions. Carolina will need to trade up for a quarterback this April. Check out my 2023 NFL Draft Quarterback Prospect Rankings to see which signal-callers are available for Carolina.

Thanks to Darnold’s incompetence, no Panther accumulated more than 23 receiving yards. In fact, only one Panther (Terrace Marshall, 2-23) caught multiple passes! D.J. Moore was limited to just one reception for 10 yards.

Chris Olave was the only receiver who posted a positive stat line. He caught five passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. Rashid Shaheed was next on the stat sheet with three grabs for 34 yards.

Steelers 28, Browns 14

Of all the teams that had a chance for the No. 7 seed in the AFC, the Steelers had the best performance by far. Their defense dominated Deshaun Watson, forcing him into multiple turnovers. The offense, meanwhile, generated some big plays and clutch third-down conversions in the final quarter. They prevailed by two touchdowns, and for a while, it seemed as though they would claim the seventh seed. However, Miami kicked a game-winning field goal in the final seconds of their game to crush the Steelers’ hopes and dreams.

Kenny Pickett had a poor completion percentage to conclude this game, but he played much better than the stats indicate. Pickett went 13-of-29 for 195 yards and a touchdown, but he converted four third downs on a crucial drive in the fourth quarter when the Steelers were up only six points and trying to drain the clock. Not only did Pickett take plenty of time off the clock; he engineered a touchdown drive to put the game out of reach. It also should be noted that Pickett had to endure some drops from his receivers, including a couple from Diontae Johnson. One of his best plays was when he appeared to be taking a sure sack, yet he got out of a tackle and delivered a pass to Jaylen Warren to convert a third down.

Speaking of Johnson, he was incredibly inefficient in this game, catching just two of his 10 targets for 38 yards. He’s extremely lucky that a lost fumble of his was overturned by replay review. Johnson drew an interference flag, but had a poor performance overall.

Contrary to Johnson, George Pickens had a strong performance with three catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. His score came on a busted coverage by the Browns, who struggled defensively after playing better on this side of the ball since Thanksgiving.

Najee Harris was the best fantasy performer for the Steelers. He rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. He had a chance for a second score, but lost a fumble while leaping into the end zone during the early stages of the game. This came a couple of plays after Harris appeared to score, but Mike Tomlin didn’t challenge for some reason.

Moving on to the Browns, Watson went 19-of-29 for 230 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He made a couple of nice throws and scrambled for 44 yards, but struggled for the most part. The Steelers swarmed him in the pocket, but that doesn’t excuse some of his mistakes. His first interception was a dumb throw into triple coverage, while the second was a late throw over the middle that was way short of a first down on third-and-18. The second interception set up a Steeler touchdown.

Watson’s uneven play ruined a solid Nick Chubb performance. Chubb rushed only 12 times, but tallied 77 yards in the process. He also caught five passes for 45 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Chubb finished second on the team in receiving, trailing only Amari Cooper and his two catches for 51 yards. David Njoku (4-42) caught a touchdown.

Texans 32, Colts 31
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: What a dumb franchise. You’d think the Texans would have learned from the Jets surrendering Trevor Lawrence because of some meaningless wins late in the year, but apparently not.

Back in 2014, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were on track to land the No. 1 pick of the draft going into the last game of the year. The Bucs jumped out to a big lead in the first half of the season finale, but then-head coach Lovie Smith emptied the bench and his team blew its lead to secure the top pick of the draft. This year with the Texans, Smith didn’t empty the bench, but both teams did their best to give this game away. In the end, the Colts were more effective and the Texans blew their shot at getting the No. 1-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Each of these teams had a disappointing season, so what mattered was draft positioning. If the Texans had lost, they would have locked up the No. 1 selection of the 2023 NFL Draft. Houston winning, meanwhile, would give the Chicago Bears the 2023 NFL Draft’s top choice. Missing out on the No. 1 pick is a big loss for Houston because it takes away the organization’s freedom to choose whichever one of the top quarterbacks, whether Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, it would want. Chicago, meanwhile, could trade down with a quarterback-needy team, or the franchise could take a quarterback of its choice and trade away Justin Fields. Houston will now be stuck taking the quarterback who does not end up as the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

By losing, the Colts helped improved their draft positioning, and they need a high pick to help land a franchise quarterback. This loss could help Indianapolis to trading up with Chicago to land its next quarterback. Thus, this may have been a Pyrrhic victory for Houston.

On Houston’s first play from scrimmage, Davis Mills connected with Brandin Cooks for 33 yards. After a few more Mills completions, he fired a bullet to Cooks for an 11-yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, a Colts blocker actually forced a fumble that was recovered by the Texans at the 18. Houston turned that into a field goal. Indianapolis quickly got into Houston territory, with Zach Moss ripping off a 34-yard run. The Texans aided the Colts on the drive by giving up some critical first-down penalties, and Michael Pittman made up for dropping a touchdown by hauling in a short score to make it 10-7 Houston.

In the second quarter, the Texans were driving, but Royce Freeman was stripped of the ball inside the 10-yard line. Julian Blackmon grabbed the loose ball and returned it 34 yards. However on the next play, Sam Ehlinger tried to throw a dump-off to avoid a sack, and he tossed a horrible pass right to Texans edge rusher Jon Greenard. Greenard took off down the field for a 39-yard pick-six that put Houston up 17-7. Ehlinger responded with a nice drive, but once again, he threw an interception. This pass was tipped and picked off in front of the goal line by Christian Kirksey. That kept Houston up by 10 at the half.

The Colts opened the third quarter by hitting two big passes to Parris Campbell to set up a first-and-goal, but the Texans produced a goal-line stand with a fourth-and-goal incompletion. Indianapolis got the ball back and turned the possession into a 15-yard touchdown run from Moss. Houston responded by hitting tight end Teagan Quitoriano for a 52-yard gain, and then Mills found Jordan Akins (4-70-2) for a 19-yard touchdown. At the end of the third quarter, Rodney McCleod jumped a route for an interception, and returned the pick for a 26-yard score. Mills then threw a ball up for grabs, and Rodney Thomas intercepted it. That put the Colts on the move with the Texans up 24-21 entering the fourth quarter.

Early in the final frame, Ehlinger had big completions to Alec Pierce (3-42) and Pittman (3-30-1) that got Indianapolis inside the 10. The Colts then took the lead with a short toss to Mo Allie-Cox. Late in the fourth quarter, Indianapolis drilled a field goal to make it 31-24.

On a fourth-and-long, Mills found Cooks for a gain of 30 yards to the Indianapolis 18-yard line. After a sack made the situation fourth-and-20, Mills threw a Hail Mary that went through the hands of Rodney Thomas and into the chest of Akins for a touchdown. Houston followed that up by going for two, and Mills found Akins open to go up 32-31. The Texans then stopped the Indianapolis offense, which clinched Houston losing the top pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Mills completed 22-of-38 passes for 298 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Dare Ogunbowale ran 11 times for 33 yards.

Cooks caught five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Ehlinger completed 23-of-35 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Moss took 18 carries for 114 yards and a score.

Deon Jackson was the leading receiver for Indianapolis with six catches for 75 yards.

49ers 38, Cardinals 13
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Congratulations to J.J. Watt on a tremendous career. See you in Canton in five years!

The 49ers had a shot at the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win over the Cardinals and a loss from the Eagles, but with Philadelphia winning, San Francisco missed out on a first-round bye. Arizona’s loss could only help its draft positioning, but future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt was playing his final NFL game. Watt needed a sack to hit a big incentive in his contract, and he picked that up in the first quarter. He finished his NFL career with another multi-sack game and showed that he has plenty left in the tank, but he has decided that now is the time to end his prolific career.

In the first minute of the game, the Cardinals hit a trick play with a screen, a throw back to David Blough, and then a deep ball to A.J. Green. Green caught it over two defenders, broke a tackle, and ran into the end zone for a 77-yard score. The 49ers quickly answered with a 21-yard touchdown on a screen pass to Christian McCaffrey. Watt then sacked San Francisco’s Brok Purdy to finish with 11.5 sacks in his final NFL season.

Early in the second quarter, Tashaun Gipson snatched a wounded duck pass from David Blough for an interception that set up the San Francisco offense at the Arizona 18. A few plays later, Elijah Mitchell banged the ball into the end zone to give the 49ers a 14-6 lead. Arizona soon put a nice drive together using Corey Clement, with Clement scoring from a few yards out to make it 14-13.

The 49ers connected with Brandon Aiyuk to get into Arizona territory on a 22-yard gain. To finish the drive, George Kittle (4-29-2) made a finger-tip touchdown catch with just seconds left in the half to give San Francisco a 21-13 lead at the interval.

Watt put together a vintage play in the third quarter, splitting a double team and sacking Purdy, but a big run from Elijah Mitchell negated the lost yards, and Mitchell finished the drive with another scoring run. Blough followed that up with a horrible pass deep down the field, and Gipson intercepted him again. The 49ers turned that into a field goal to go up 31-13. Blough was promptly strip-sacked, and the blowout was on, with Purdy tossing a short touchdown to Kittle to go up 38-13 entering the fourth quarter.

Brock Purdy completed 15-of-20 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns.

Mitchell (5-55-2) and McCaffrey (10-45 rushing, 3-34-1 receiving) split the carries for the 49ers.

Brandon Aiyuk (4-59) was San Francisco’s leading receiver.

Blough completed 14-of-18 passes for 180 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Clement took eight carries for 23 yards and a touchdown.

A.J. Green caught three passes for 91 yards and a score.

Eagles 22, Giants 16

All the Eagles needed to do in order to clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC was beat the Giants’ backups. Given how this game went, Philadelphia should be thankful that it didn’t run into New York’s starters. The Eagles struggled to distance themselves from the reserves, with a late scare coming when the Giants failed to convert an onside kick after drawing to within six.

There was some question about Jalen Hurts’ health after his two-week absence. Hurts definitely did not look 100 percent. He missed some throws he would have easily converted prior to his shoulder injury, though it didn’t help that the Lane Johnson-less offensive line didn’t give him adequate pass protection. Still, Hurts barely completed half of his passes and tossed a horrible interception when he fired the ball late across his body into the end zone.

Hurts finished 20-of-35 for 229 yards and the interception. He was unlucky right before he threw his pick, as an apparent touchdown to DeVonta Smith was wiped off the board because of an ineligible player downfield. The Eagles were right at the goal line, so one has to wonder where that player went downfield. Regardless, Hurts was a major disappointment, not only as a passer, but as a rusher as well. He scrambled nine times for only 13 rushing yards.

Despite Hurts’ struggles, A.J. Brown and Smith posted decent stats. Brown nearly hit the century mark, catching four of his 10 targets for 95 yards. Smith logged seven receptions for 67 yards. Dallas Goedert (6-46) continued to get healthier.

Miles Sanders was also a big disappointment. He was limited to just 33 yards on 13 carries. What’s worse is that he was vultured by Boston Scott (9-54). Kenneth Gainwell (5-35) also outgained him on far fewer carries.

As for the Giants, they went deep into their bench. They didn’t even use their backup quarterback; third-stringer Davis Webb drew the start. Webb went 23-of-40 for 168 yards and a touchdown. That score went to Kenny Golladay (2-30), who showed a rare hint of effort by making a great catch. Webb also scrambled six times for 41 yards and a score on the ground. There was some drama in this game where the cameras noticed that Webb’s parents were sitting several seats away from his girlfriend, but after some investigation, it was revealed that those empty seats were occupied by two people who went to the bathroom or concession stand. This is the sort of game this was.

Golladay finished third on the Giants in receiving. Tight end Lawrence Cager topped the list with eight grabs for 69 yards. The Giants’ leading rusher was Gary Brightwell with 60 yards on 11 carries.

Seahawks 19, Rams 16

If the play of the two quarterbacks is the only thing that’s considered, this did not resemble any sort of playoff qualifier. The Seahawks had a chance to reach the postseason with a win and a Green Bay loss, but Geno Smith looked more than willing to give this game away, and that was apparent immediately when he threw an interception on the first play of the game, as Jalen Ramsey made a great play to undercut the route. This set up a quick Rams field goal.

That interception was far from Smith’s only gaffe. He was extremely fortunate that he didn’t toss a pick-six, as a Rams safety dropped the ball. Smith later heaved his second interception of the afternoon, recklessly throwing into heavy coverage while taking a hit.

All of this should have been enough for the Rams to win, but they had their own quarterbacking issues. Baker Mayfield was atrocious, as he was fortunate that he wasn’t intercepted on several chances. He also fired way behind Van Jefferson to ruin a potential scoring opportunity. Still, the Rams maintained a lead for a good portion of the second half, at least until Smith hit Tyler Lockett with a deep pass to tie the game. The Seahawks then had a shot at the decisive field goal at the very end of regulation, thanks to a long Smith run and a completely bogus personal foul penalty on Ramsey. Jason Myers, however, doinked the ball off the upright, missing from 46.

The Rams lost the coin toss in overtime, but were able to receive possession. Mayfield had Van Jefferson wide open for the game-winning touchdown, but put way too much air under the ball, allowing it to hang forever. This gave the Seahawks a chance for an interception, and that’s exactly what happened. Following a long Kenneth Walker run, Seattle was in position for the game-winning field goal, and Myers connected from 32 yards to potentially put Seattle into the playoffs.

Smith was the better of the two quarterbacks, but only by default. He went 19-of-31 for 213 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He at least completed more than half of his passes, whereas Mayfield was 13-of-26 for 147 yards and an interception. Mayfield had every opportunity to win this game, but he threw it away.

While both passers struggled, each team’s running back thrived. Both Cam Akers and Walker eclipsed the century mark. Walker outgained Akers, 114-104, though Walker had eight more carries (29-21). Akers was better in the passing game, catching three passes for 24 receiving yards, while Walker caught one ball for 10 yards.

The most productive receiver in this game was Lockett, who caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. He was much better than D.K. Metcalf, who was smothered by Ramsey the entire afternoon.

As for the Rams receivers, Jefferson led the way with three grabs for 61 yards, but could have been the hero of the game had Mayfield delivered the ball to him. Tyler Higbee (4-33) was next on the stat sheet.

Redskins 26, Cowboys 6

Mike McCarthy is one of the worst head coaches in the NFL, so he doesn’t recognize when it’s foolish to play starters in meaningless games. McCarthy had a chance to get a bye week, but would have needed both the Eagles and 49ers to lose as two-touchdown favorites. Yet, even when both teams were up by double digits in the second half, McCarthy kept his starters on the field.

The results were disastrous for a team that didn’t suffer injuries. Dak Prescott put together one of the worst performances in his career; the running game couldn’t generate anything of note; and the defense couldn’t get off the field versus a third-string rookie quarterback. Dallas was dominated in a humiliating 26-6 victory.

Addressing each point on its own, Prescott wasn’t even close to completing half of his passes, going 14-of-37 for 128 yards, one touchdown and an interception, which was a pick-six on a telegraphed throw. Prescott wasn’t completely to blame for this performance because some of his receivers weren’t even looking for his passes on occasion, but there’s no defending this ugly showing. Prescott had another potential pick-six that was dropped, and he missed open receivers throughout the afternoon, including CeeDee Lamb for a potential touchdown.

Lamb, at the very least, had a solid performance. He was the only Cowboy who can say that, as he caught five of his seven targets for 52 yards and a touchdown. Dalton Schultz (4-33) was the only other Dallas player with more than 20 receiving yards.

Dallas’ running game produced absolutely nothing despite going up against a Washington defense missing some key personnel. Tony Pollard mustered just 19 yards on seven carries, and yet he looked infinitely superior to Ezekiel Elliott, who mustered just 10 yards on eight carries. Elliott, who dropped a pass, looked like he was running in quicksand. He’s a sunk cost, and the Cowboys should try to unload him on a clueless team that still thinks he has some value.

As for the Cowboys’ defense, it surrendered a couple of deep throws to third-string rookie Slingin’ Sammy Howell, who was making his first NFL start. Howell looked poised in the pocket, save for one play in the red zone when he tossed an interception into triple coverage. Otherwise, Howell looked like a seasoned veteran as he went 11-of-19 for 169 yards, one touchdown and the pick. He also showed off his solid mobility, scrambling five times for 35 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Howell launched 52- and 30-yard bombs to Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. Both posted similar stats. Each caught three passes, with McLaurin edging out Dotson, 74-72. McLaurin, who caught a touchdown, had to be thrilled that Carson Wentz wasn’t throwing the ball to him.

The Cowboys couldn’t stop the run either despite going against Washington’s fourth-string running back. Jaret Patterson dashed for 78 yards on 17 carries.

Broncos 31, Chargers 28

Bye weeks are so precious that teams tend to complain when the NFL schedules theirs too early or too late during the season. Thus, when teams are granted a second bye in the final week of the season, smart coaches take advantage of the opportunity by resting their players.

We learned today that Brandon Staley is not a smart coach. He played most of his starters the entire game. He pulled Justin Herbert at some point in the second half, but kept Keenan Allen on the field the entire time. Staley risked the health of his key players for absolutely no reason – his team was stuck with the No. 5 seed – and he paid the price. Joey Bosa got banged up in the first half, and then Mike Williams suffered a back injury and had to be carted into the locker room. His status for next week is unclear.

What’s remarkable is that the Chargers didn’t even win despite Staley’s dumb antics. The defense allowed some big plays to Russell Wilson, who looked like the quarterback Denver thought it was obtaining when it traded first-round picks for him last offseason. Wilson went 13-of-24 for 283 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on an unlucky deflection. He also scrambled eight times for 18 rushing yards.

Meanwhile, the Chargers’ offense self-destructed with some mistakes. Austin Ekeler lost a fumble to set up a Denver field goal, and DeAndre Carter later lost a fumble while in scoring range. The Chargers scored a touchdown following a Denver muffed punt, which covered the spread, as Chase Daniel found Allen for a touchdown.

Justin Herbert can’t be blamed for this loss, as he was a turnover-free 25-of-37 for 273 yards and two touchdowns. He and Daniel got a great game out of Allen, who caught eight of his 11 targets for 102 yards and two touchdowns.

Allen wasn’t the leading receiver in this game. That was Jerry Jeudy, though he didn’t catch any touchdowns. He hauled in five of his six targets for 154 yards. Courtland Sutton (3-33) was able to find the end zone.

Latavius Murray had no issues gashing the Chargers. He rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He was vultured by Tyler Badie, who caught a 24-yard touchdown.

Ekeler had a disappointing finale compared to Allen. He rushed for only 34 yards on 11 carries, and he caught four passes for 36 receiving yards. As mentioned earlier, he lost a fumble to hurt his already-poor stat line.

Lions 20, Packers 16

The Packers needed to win in order to claim the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs, so they were gift-wrapped a late Christmas present when the Seahawks defeated the Rams earlier in the day. This meant Detroit apparently had nothing to play for in this game, as a result of being eliminated by that Seattle win.

Yet, like a villain in a cartoon, the Lions shouted, “If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!” The Lions found their motivation by being able to defeat the arch-nemesis Packers, so they put forth a spirited performance at frigid Lambeau Field. Jared Goff got off to a slow start, so the defense did a great job of limiting the Packers in field goal range, forcing three kicks in the opening half.

Everything changed after halftime. Goff caught fire, going 10-of-13 for 109 yards following intermission. This includes a bomb to Kalif Raymond, who was tackled at the Green Bay 1-yard line, setting up the first of two Jamaal Williams touchdown runs. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers began playing like he did in London versus the Giants, throwing helpless passes up for grabs. He was lucky that a horrible interception was overturned by penalty, but he then heaved a similar pass that was picked. The Lions put themselves in a fourth-and-short situation, thanks to a nifty play in which Amon-Ra St. Brown made a quick lateral to D’Andre Swift. Dan Campbell went for it instead of kicking the field goal to go up seven, and his aggressiveness paid off, as Goff hit D.J. Chark to move the chains, clinching the upset victory for the Lions.

Rodgers had a disappointing end to a poor season that didn’t include a 300-yard passing game, going 17-of-27 for 205 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was just 8-of-15 for 102 yards following intermission, as it seemed like his troublesome thumb was giving him issues again.

Goff, conversely, improved as the night progressed. He finished 23-of-34 for 224 yards. He had a deep pass to Jameson Williams negated by a hold, so he should have been close to 300 yards in unfavorable conditions.

Both of Detroit’s touchdowns were scored by Williams, who rumbled for 72 yards on 16 carries otherwise. Swift was also a big part of the offense. He had just six carries for 25 yards, but caught all seven of his targets for 61 receiving yards.

The Packers, conversely, didn’t run nearly as well versus Detroit’s stout run defense. Aaron Jones gained 48 yards on 12 carries, but lost a fumble in field goal range. A.J. Dillon was limited to 33 yards on nine attempts.

The top receiver in this game was Christian Watson, who caught five of his six targets for 104 yards. Allen Lazard (4-41) reeled in Rodgers’ sole touchdown, and he also drew a deep interference flag in the early stretches.

Raymond was Detroit’s leading receiver with four catches for 66 yards. St. Brown struggled versus a Green Bay defense that often limits slot receivers. He caught six passes for 49 yards, with one of his receptions being clamped right between his legs.

It’s worth noting that Packers rookie linebacker Quay Walker was ejected for shoving a Lions trainer, who was tending to an injured player. If there was ever a week not to push a trainer, it was this one!

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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