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The AFC East is not settled.

Behind two rushing touchdowns from MVP candidate Drake Maye, the New England Patriots sprinted out to a 21-0 lead over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday with a chance to clinch the division. But Josh Allen led the Bills on five consecutive touchdown drives to overcome a poor defensive effort and spark Buffalo to a stunning, 35-31 win.

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The win snapped a 10-game win streak for the Patriots, who were in position to clinch the AFC East with a win. Instead, the Patriots drop to 11-3 and ceded ground in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs to the Denver Broncos. And the Bills improve to 10-4 to remain in the race for the division.

It added up to a stunning collapse for a Patriots team that looked well on its way to celebrating its first division title since the Tom Brady era. Instead, they’re left to parse a collapse that allowed the Bills to score 28 second-half points.

Buffalo’s furious comeback

Buffalo looked down and out after three first-half possessions produced 29 yards, two three-and-outs, three punts and a 21-0 hole. But Buffalo scored a touchdown on its final possession of the first half and went into halftime with a 24-7 deficit.

Then Allen and the Bills ran roughshod in the second half. Buffalo scored touchdowns on its first two possessions of the third quarter, and its defense came up with an interception of Maye with New England’s lead whittled down to 24-21.

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From there, Allen delivered again, this time with a touchdown pass to Dawson Knox to give the Bills their first lead of the game at 28-24 early in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots responded with a quick-hit touchdown to retake the lead just 14 seconds later. But the Bills responded again with their fifth consecutive touchdown drive, this time with a James Cook run to retake the lead at 35-31.

Maye eventually had a chance to fortify his MVP case and clinch the division with the ball back in the final 2:43. But Buffalo’s defense forced a turnover on downs to regain possession for its offense and secure the victory when Maye’s pass on fourth-and-5 fell incomplete.

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Patriots, Drake Maye miss big opportunity

With Allen fresh off his first MVP award, the Bills entered the season as clear favorites to win the division and compete for the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory. But a porous defense that ranks 28th against the run opened the door for the Patriots to contend.

And through 13 games, the Patriots burst through that door to take control of the division behind a breakout season from Maye, who’s emerged in a two-way race with Matthew Stafford for MVP. Sunday provided the Patriots with a chance for an AFC East coronation and an MVP moment for Maye.

Instead, they’re left to fight down the stretch of the season with three games to play and the division and No. 1 seed in the AFC up for grabs.

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Maye started strong with this third and fourth touchdown runs of the season to stake New England to a 14-0 lead. Then rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson broke free for a 52-yard run for the third Patriots touchdown of the day.

Then New England’s offense went cold. The next three possessions produced a field goal, a punt and an interception by Maye on a deep downfield throw on third down. The interception was essentially an arm punt, but it set the Bills up for their go-ahead touchdown.

Henderson put the Patriots up once more at 31-28 with another big run, this time for 65 yards on the first play of a possession. But New England’s defense failed to keep the Bills out of the end zone for a fifth straight possession.

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Maye finished the day without a touchdown throw. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 155 yards with 1 interception in addition to 43 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Allen countered by completing 19 of 28 passes for 193 yards with 3 touchdowns and no turnovers. Cook ran for 107 yards and tallied 3 total touchdowns.

The MVP for Maye and the No. 1 seed for the Patriots are still very much in play. But they’ll need to close strong in three remaining games against the Ravens, Dolphins and Jets to secure either outcome. And they’ll need to fight off the Bills for the AFC East in the process.

 

How many times over the last eight seasons have the Chiefs escaped doom? How many brilliant Patrick Mahomes throws, clutch Travis Kelce catches, devious Andy Reid schemes have frustrated the rest of the NFL when the Chiefs seemed beaten? Kansas City, which has reached the AFC championship the last seven years, always seemed to have some extra dose of magic that the rest of the league couldn’t access.

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On Sunday against the Chargers, the magic finally ran out, in the most painful and wrenching of ways. Kansas City lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 16-13 as Mahomes suffered a left knee injury that knocked him out of the game … and possibly much longer. At the same time, a combination of results around the league meant that Kansas City was eliminated from the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“It didn’t look good,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid conceded about Mahomes’ injury after the game. He added that Mahomes will have an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.

Mahomes tweeted, presumably about the injury and maybe the Chiefs’ season, a couple hours after the game ended and before an official update was provided:

The Chiefs don’t have much experience playing with their backs against the wall … largely because for the entirety of the Patrick Mahomes era, they’ve never really had their backs anywhere close to the wall. The Chargers, meanwhile, don’t have much experience playing meaningful December football, in part because they’ve spent most of the last decade looking up at the Chiefs in the AFC West.

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Sunday’s Chargers-Chiefs game thus represented an inflection point in the AFC West, as the once-powerful faded and the once-downtrodden stepped up.

The Chiefs arrived at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday morning staring right at a possibility they hadn’t faced since Patrick Mahomes was a freshman at Texas Tech in 2014: postseason elimination in the regular season. The Chiefs still had a hand in their fate; a victory Sunday would have staved off elimination for another week.

But according to NFL Playoff Scenarios, a Chiefs loss (or tie) would set in motion a series of elimination possibilities — 37, to be exact, which included a combination of Buffalo, Jacksonville, Houston and Indianapolis wins. And when Houston and Jacksonville posted massive leads in their games, the Buffalo-New England game took on massive importance even as Kansas City struggled to create any kind of offensive momentum.

Mahomes did all he could early on to bolster the Chiefs. This year has represented both a career low in completion percentage and a career high in rushing yardage for Mahomes, two stats that together show just how beleaguered and injury-ridden this team is in 2025. Mahomes’ 12-yard scramble on the Chiefs’ first drive put Kansas City ahead 7-0:

A field-goal kicking contest ensued right up until the final five seconds of the first half, when Justin Herbert found Keandre Lambert-Smith for his first career touchdown with 5 seconds left to close to within 13-10.

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The bone-chilling game, with a temperature of 15 degrees at kickoff, ground forward, with injuries claiming players from both sides. And then, at almost the exact moment that Los Angeles took a 16-13 lead on Cameron Dicker’s third field goal, the Bills erased the last of a 21-point New England lead in Foxborough. Suddenly the possibility of elimination became very real indeed, and the huddled fans in Arrowhead grew extremely nervous.

Given chance after chance to tap into the old magic, Kansas City came up short again and again. After Mahomes’ first-quarter touchdown, the Chiefs couldn’t get any serious movement going, and when Mahomes threw a red zone interception early in the fourth — at roughly the same time the Bills again retook the lead in Foxboro for good — hard reality set in.

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With 5:20 remaining, the Chiefs took possession down 16-13, and in the course of the drive, the Bills put the finishing touches on their comeback win. Combined with the Houston and Jacksonville wins, that meant Kansas City had absolutely no more margin for error — win or be eliminated.

And then matters turned from grim to hopeless for Kansas City.

On the first play after the two-minute warning, Mahomes hyperextended his already injured left knee. That meant Gardner Minshew, who hadn’t thrown a pass all season, had to come in and guide Kansas City through the last two minutes. Minshew got the Chiefs into field goal range, but threw an interception to close out the game and the Chiefs’ playoff hopes.

The Chiefs close out the season with road games against Tennessee and Las Vegas around a final home date against Denver. The Chargers will go on the road to face Dallas and then at home against Houston before wrapping up the year in Denver against the Broncos.

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Mahomes’ injury remains a matter of concern; no information was available during the game. As he lay on the grass in pain, his teammates knelt nearby in solidarity.

Mahomes was last seen being helped into the locker room, apparently unable to put weight on his leg as Minshew attempted a comeback.

There’s no more appropriate image to represent the painful end to the Chiefs’ magnificent run.

Los Angeles Chargers safety Tony Jefferson apologized for flipping off Kansas City Chiefs fans at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday afternoon, a gesture that is sure to lead to a fine from the league in the coming days.

Jefferson was ejected early in the fourth quarter of the Chargers’ 16-13 win over the Chiefs after a hard helmet-to-helmet hit on Tyquan Thornton. That left Thornton down on the ground needing medical assistance while players from both teams swarmed in the middle for a brief altercation. Plenty of Chiefs players confronted Jefferson over the big hit, and it took a minute for everyone to be separated.

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Jefferson was thrown out for the hit itself, not the incident that followed.

Then, as Jefferson started walking off the field, he flipped Chiefs fans off.

“I apologize for that. I’m classier than that, I was just caught up in the moment,” Jefferson said, via ESPN’s Kris Rhim. “Emotions get high. I won’t sit here and act like I’m a perfect man. I messed up when I did that. I have kids at home, and there’s kids out there watching the game too.”

As for the hit itself, Jefferson said he was just “trying to make a football play.”

“It was like a bang-bang moment, he said. “You have to go with what the officials called in the moment.”

The Chargers were up by three points at the time, and held on to pick up the win with one final stop after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes went down with a knee injury. Jefferson finished with five total tackles. The 33-year-old is up to 37 total tackles and four interceptions so far this season, his second with the Chargers.

The Chargers have now won three straight and sit at 10-4 on the year with three games left in the regular season. They still trail the Denver Broncos in the AFC West race, but they are on pace to make the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons. The Chiefs fell to 6-8 with the loss and were officially eliminated from the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

There’s no doubt about it, we are in the thick of it. Due to the congested nature of December’s packed soccer schedule, the title races and storylines from Europe’s biggest leagues remain extremely competitive.

The biggest talking point was Real Madrid’s victory over Alaves, which essentially strengthened Xabi Alonso’s job security. Elsewhere, Aston Villa continue to rack up victories in a very competitive Premier League season, Robin van Persie is sticking to his guns with a struggling Feyenoord while Frank Lampard has found solace in a surging Coventry City.

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Here are my biggest takeaways from this weekend’s action.

Barcelona extends La Liga lead, Real Madrid eases pressure

Hansi Flick’s side added more pressure to Xabi Alonso and Real Madrid this weekend with a 2-0 victory over Osasuna and it was thanks to the Brazilian Raphinha, who scored a brace to lead the way at the top of the table. It was Barça’s fifth straight win in all competitions as it continues to improve since losing to Chelsea last month in the Champions League.

Before Real Madrid’s fixture against Alaves on Sunday, the Catalan side led the table on 43 points, seven more than Madrid. And on Sunday in that game, Los Blancos knew they had to deliver after losing to Manchester City on Wednesday and only winning twice from their last eight matches.

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Kylian Mbappé, back from injury, opened the scoring making it his 70th goal for the club since arriving in the summer of 2024. This season? He’s matched Harry Kane with 21 goal contributions — the most out of Europe’s top five leagues. But Madrid continued to struggle throughout the game by playing a disconnected performance and in the 68th minute, the home side made Xabi Alonso’s side pay with a goal from Carlos Vicente.

The final 20 minutes proved to be anxious for Madrid fans but Rodrygo, who scored the opener against Man City, netted once again thanks to a great assist from his Brazilian teammate Vinicius Jr.

In the end, Madrid earned the three points and finally a victory after a period of struggle for Xabi Alonso. Los Merengues are now four points behind Barcelona but the issues of adaptation for his system remain.

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Aston Villa continues to disrupt status quo in Premier League title race

After Arsenal’s escape Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Wolves thanks to a dramatic ending where a 94th-minute own goal from Yerson Mosquera saved Mikel Arteta’s side, Manchester City kept on the Gunners’ trail with a 3-0 rout of Crystal Palace on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s team now has 34 points in the table and remain two points behind the league leaders.

But right behind both is another countryman in Unai Emery as Aston Villa’s 3-2 victory over West Ham sealed another three points for the Villans thus making it 33 points after 16 league matches. The club didn’t even play particularly well against the Hammers and had to come back twice from behind, but this is the resiliency that you see with Villa these days, and the continuous pursuit for wins. Having Morgan Rogers certainly helps as his brace led the charge toward the victory. The winner was a beautiful thunderbolt:

Villa remains one victory away from Arsenal but most notably, the win against West Ham gave the side its ninth straight victory in all competitions and sixth straight in the Premier League, which is a club record.

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So the question remains? Is Villa in a title race?

“We are not feeling under pressure. We are feeling ambitious and we try to challenge in Europe and in the Premier League,” Emery told Sky Sports after the game. “Enjoy each match, try to prepare, then rest. The players must feel comfortable doing it. This is the process we are doing. Now it is Manchester United [next Sunday].”

Whether people want to argue over the fact that Villa can legitimately compete for the title is not something that particularly interests Emery as his entire message to the team is clear: prepare, compete, rest and repeat. Everything else is just noise.

One thing is for certain, Emery continues to create a well-oiled machine with Aston Villa and title race or not, they are a fantastic unit under the Basque tactician.

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Robin Van Persie defiant in Feyenoord’s loss to Ajax 

De Klassieker, the heated rivalry between Amsterdam’s Ajax and Rotterdam’s Feyenoord, was played Sunday and despite the fact that both teams are trailing PSV in the Eredivisie by quite a margin, there was no shortage of importance as they tried to win bragging rights and a chance to close the gap on the league leaders.

Ajax won 2-0 meaning that it was Feyenoord’s seventh loss from its last 10 matches. The club’s manager, the legendary striker Robin van Persie, stated after the game that he was not changing his mindset nor the philosophy of his team.

“I don’t really care what other people think about this. I also put pressure on myself. I say we want to be champions,” he said after the loss. “If you’re nine points behind PSV, you know they’ll come back at you. But I’m not running away from that. I never did as a player either.”

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Frank Lampard has found a home in Coventry City

The former England midfielder has gone through some tough times as a manager, including spells at his former club Chelsea and Everton, but with Coventry City, it seems that he has found a home.

After beating Bristol City on Saturday, the Sky Blues confirmed their five-point lead at the top of the Championship as well as the club’s seventh straight win at home.

“Absolutely not our best performance but sometimes in the endurance test of a season, you look at all the games, your comfortable wins, the games where you have to fight and dig in for the win,” Lampard said to BBC Radio CWR. “Games that give you challenges like that [but you] keep a clean sheet, get a goal and we showed a lot of spirit in the team.”

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So far, this relationship between club, manager and community continues to shine as Lampard looks to lead Coventry to make its Premier League return after 25 years.

  

The Chicago Bears had very little issue shutting down Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon.

The Bears rolled to a dominant 31-3 win at Soldier Field behind a strong outing from Caleb Williams. The Chicago now sits at 10-4 on the year after winning six of the last seven, and is very much on pace to make its first playoff appearance since 2020.

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Sanders struggled to get much of anything going for the Browns on Sunday. He went just 18-of-35 for 177 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. Two of those interceptions came in the third quarter and allowed the Bears to break the game wide open. The first pick came after D’Marco Jackson actually tipped a Sanders pass up in the air and then caught it himself deep in Cleveland territory.

While that’s not necessarily Sanders’ fault, it was in stark contrast to what Williams pulled off with DJ Moore just one play later.

Sanders threw another interception on their next drive while trying to get a deep pass to Jerry Jeudy in the end zone. It looked like an accurate throw but bounced off the hands of Jeudy and into the arms of Jaylon Johnson in coverage.

The Bears turned that into a touchdown, too, thanks to a 17-yard run from D’Andre Swift just nine plays later.

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Sanders threw one final interception in the loss, this time midway through the fourth quarter. He tried to lob up a ball to Harold Fannin Jr. but just left it completely short — which allowed C.J. Gardner-Johnson to come up with the easy pick.

That led to a Bears field goal, and eventually, the 28-point win.

To his credit, Sanders did get the Browns into scoring position on their final drive of the game. He completed eight passes — and only 18 on the day — and got them inside the 10-yard line. But the Bears sacked him twice to force the turnover and end the game.

Williams went 17 of 28 for 242 yards with two touchdowns in the win for Chicago. Swift had 98 yards and two scores on 18 carries, and Moore had two touchdowns and 69 yards on four catches. Sanders was the Browns’ leading rusher, too, with 24 yards on two carries. Quinshon Judkins had 21 yards on 12 carries. Isaiah Bond had 89 yards on two catches.

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The Browns, who have now lost three straight, will host the Buffalo Bills next weekend.

Myles Garrett closes in on sack record

The lone bright spot for the Browns? Myles Garrett is now just one sack shy of the NFL’s single-season record. Garrett recorded 1.5 sacks on Sunday, giving him 21.5 on the season.

He needs one sack over the next three games to tie Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt for the record. Strahan set the record in 2002, when the NFL played a 16-game schedule. Watt tied him in 2021, playing in 15 of Pittsburgh’s 17 games that season.

What do the Browns do at QB moving forward?

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski already said that Sanders will start for the team for the rest of the season. Sunday’s loss dropped them to 3-11, and they’ve already been eliminated from playoff contention for a second straight year. Keeping Sanders in there and getting him experience as a starting quarterback can only help him as a player, and the team doesn’t have much to lose at this point.

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But the Browns will have a quarterback question to answer yet again in the coming months, and there’s no clear answer.

While Sanders hasn’t been great — Sunday’s loss at Soldier Field was a good example of that — he has shown solid flashes. He threw for three touchdowns and more than 360 yards in last week’s game against the Tennessee Titans, for example, though the Browns still lost. But there are plenty of bad mistakes that he’s made while showing a lack of consistency. And, perhaps more importantly, the Browns aren’t winning games.

The Browns could turn back to Deshaun Watson, who was designated to return to practice earlier this month after tearing his Achilles twice. He’s not played this season, and likely won’t. But Watson, who the Browns gave a fully guaranteed $230 million contract, was an elite quarterback in the past before the injuries and an 11-game suspension. If he can bounce back and have a late-career resurgence, it’s easy to see a world where he’s the Browns’ quarterback for the next few years, at a minimum.

Or, the Browns could simply go in a new direction and opt to select a quarterback again in the NFL Draft in April. At 3-11, the Browns are projected to have a very high draft pick once again. There are plenty of options for them in this next draft class, too.

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Regardless of what route they take, it’s clear that Sanders hasn’t done enough yet to prove he’s the future with the Browns. Unless something changes drastically over the next three weeks, the quarterback issue in Cleveland will be spilling over into next season.

Sanders, at least publicly, isn’t trying to think too hard about his job security.

“Do you know what league we’re in?” Sanders said, via 92.3 The Fan. “You can lose your job at any point in time … I don’t play or live in fear. Whatever situation I’m in, I’m in. Whatever happens, it happens. I live each moment and try to live each day to the fullest, so never live in worry or fear.”

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Kevin O’Connor is joined by Amin Elhassan to recap the San Antonio Spurs ending the Oklahoma City Thunder’s winning streak in their electric NBA Cup semifinal victory. They break down Victor Wembanyama’s immediate defensive impact and the Spurs’ formula for success against OKC. Should the Spurs be aggressive with trades or stick with their young roster?

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Next, the duo breaks down the keys to the New York Knicks’ NBA Cup semifinal win over the Orlando Magic. They discuss Jalen Brunson’s showstopping 40-piece, why Paolo Banchero isn’t fitting in with the Magic and whether Jamahl Mosley is the best fit for the Magic’s head coaching role. Are we overthinking the New York Knicks?Plus, they give their final picks for who will win the NBA Cup Finals. Who does Wemby defend? Can KAT pull Wemby out of the paint? How will the NBA Cup MVP title impact the legacy of the greats?

Later, Chris Haynes joins the show, giving the latest news, including potential landing spots for Giannis, what moves the Warriors need to make and whether the Clippers should trade James Harden or Kawhi Leonard?

(1:31) Spurs beat Thunder in NBA Cup semis
(16:40) Should Spurs or Thunder trade for Giannis?
(27:39) Knicks beat Magic in NBA Cup semis
(42:04) NBA Cup Final preview
(53:32) Giannis trade rumors with Chris Haynes
(1:08:14) What is Trae Young’s future with Atlanta?
(1:12:07) Should Mavericks make a trade?
(1:19:46) Will Clippers trade Kawhi Leonard or James Harden?

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

The Kansas City Chiefs’ postseason hopes are done, and so is Patrick Mahomes’ season.

Mahomes suffered an injury to his left knee in the final two minutes of Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and the injury will keep Mahomes out for the remainder of the year.

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The Chiefs announced after Sunday’s game that Mahomes had suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, and said they are exploring surgical options. Further specifics on his recovery, or a timeline for his return, are not yet known.

Mahomes, who had been dealing with injury concerns related to the knee all season, apparently hyperextended the knee as he attempted to lead the Chiefs to a late comeback win. He would lay on the turf at Arrowhead Stadium for several minutes as teammates knelt nearby, and then was helped to the locker room.

Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew entered the game having thrown no passes all season, and quickly threw a game-ending interception.

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Afterward, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said the injury “didn’t look good.” With the loss to the Chargers eliminating the Chiefs from the playoffs for the first time since 2014, there was no pressing need to bring Mahomes back this season, regardless of the extent of the injury.

Mahomes addressed the injury in a social media post on Sunday afternoon, and vowed to return.

The Chiefs struggled all season long with injuries, and Mahomes himself was far from his MVP-winning, Super Bowl-level best. His 63.1 completion percentage was the lowest of his career as a starter. His 22 touchdowns are the fewest of his career, albeit with three games still to play. The 2025 season also marked his worst in Passer Rating and second-worst in Quarterback Rating of his career.

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Mahomes is in the sixth year of a 10-year, $450 million contract. He last won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award in 2022, and placed in the top 10 the last two seasons. Under Mahomes’ leadership, the Chiefs had reached the AFC championship in all seven of his years as a starter, playing in five Super Bowls and winning three.

But Sunday’s loss, the team’s third straight, officially knocked them out of the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Minshew will presumably lead the Chiefs the rest of the way this season, but it’s unclear who will start in Mahomes’ place next fall assuming he’s still recovering from his upcoming surgery.

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While Mahomes’ NFL career is far from over, the dominant stretch the Chiefs have been on over the last near-decade has now come to an end.

Colby Parkinson and the Los Angeles Rams picked up a controversial touchdown on Sunday afternoon to help spark a huge surge in the second half of their 41-34 win over the Detroit Lions.

The win secured a playoff spot for the Rams.

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Parkinson, late in the third quarter at SoFi Stadium, hauled in a deep 26-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with Lions safety Daniel Thomas right on him. Parkinson caught the ball over his left shoulder and went down seemingly just shy of the goal line. His knee was clearly down around the 1-yard line, and his body was fully short of the goal line at that point, though both he and Thomas spilled into the end zone.

Thomas immediately jumped up and tried to plead for an incomplete pass, but the official standing at the pylon felt differently.

The play was ruled a touchdown in the moment, and then was upheld after a replay review — which determined that Parkinson did in fact break the plane for the touchdown.

The touchdown was Parkinson’s fifth of the season. It put the Rams up 27-24 at the time.

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The Rams quickly pushed their lead to double digits, at 34-24, after forcing a quick three-and-out. Stafford then led the Rams on a two-play drive that lasted less than a minute before Blake Corum broke open an 11-yard touchdown run on their next time out. That marked 20 unanswered points for the Rams, who entered halftime down by a touchdown.

Parkinson finished the game with 75 yards and two touchdowns on five catches.

His second score — an 11-yard touchdown without any doubt — kept the Lions at bay late in the fourth quarter and secured their win. He’s now up to six touchdowns in the Rams’ last six games.

Jared Goff went 25-of-41 for 338 yards with three touchdowns for the Lions. Jahmyr Gibbs had 38 yards on 13 carries, and Amon-Ra St. Brown had 163 yards and two scores on 13 catches. The Lions fell to 8-6 with the loss, which has them in third in the NFC North standings.

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Stafford went 24-38 for 368 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the win. Kyren Williams had 78 yards and two scores on 15 carries, and Puka Nacua had 181 yards on nine catches.

The Rams now sit at 11-3 on the season, good for the best record in the NFC. They hold a narrow lead in the NFC West race, with three games left in the regular season.

If you felt some extra tension this week, I understand. The fantasy football playoffs are like that. And the day you get eliminated is the most painful day of all. No matter what fantasy mishaps I encounter in September or October, I always feel I can overcome it. I’ll make a trade, I’ll find the right pickup, I’ll make better decisions when we get deeper into the season.

But time is no longer your ally this late in the year. You either answer the call or you go home.

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With that all in mind, let’s see who dunked and who got dunked on in Week 15.

Early window delivers huge fantasy booms

The Bills defeated the Patriots, 35-31, in one of the signature games of the day, and the game had plenty of fantasy hits. It’s interesting how these teams mirror each other now. Josh Allen (24.52 fantasy points) and Drake Maye (21.5 fantasy points) are MVP-candidate quarterbacks asked to carry an offense that doesn’t have an alpha receiver. Both quarterbacks are helped by stars in the backfield, James Cook (three total touchdowns, 30.1 points) and TreVeyon Henderson (14-148-2, 29.1 points). And both QBs have to outscore a leaky defense on the other side.

Sunday’s game followed that script precisely — except in one regard.

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Normally, you’d expect Allen to run aggressively while Maye would add a little something on the ground; that script was flipped Sunday. Allen’s three touchdowns all came through the air, while Maye’s two early scores were improvised runs. The important thing is that both players have multiple ways to get to that juicy fantasy score. It’s like in poker, always leave yourself as many outs as possible.

Henderson finished with 16 touches against nine for Rhamondre Stevenson, a ratio the Patriots probably like. Not that Stevenson was bad with his chances (77 total yards), but Henderson is the home-run hitter. Look for more extra bases to come, up against the Ravens and Jets the next two weeks.

Cook’s 22-107-2 rushing log was especially impressive against a New England front seven that’s stuffed the run most of the year. But Allen and Cook were the only right answers in the Buffalo offense on this day. Khalil Shakir snagged all of his targets, but a 5-65-0 line won’t cut it on the playoffs. Two of Allen’s touchdowns went to Dawson Knox (3-37-2), not preferred fantasy pick Dalton Kincaid (3-34-0). Allen rarely looked to his secondary wide receivers after Shakir, with good reason. Look for Allen and Cook to keep lugging the mail against the Browns and Eagles the next two weeks.

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Trevor Lawrence was seen as a future MVP when he was drafted four years ago, and his career has been more bust than boom. But he was an unmistakable hero in Week 15, piling up six touchdowns and 44.3 fantasy points as the Jaguars rolled over the Jets. Lawrence threw for 330 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 51 yards and another score. The 40-point club is fairly rare, and Lawrence is the fifth member this year. He joins Jonathan Taylor (Week 10, 48.10 points), Allen (41.68 points, Week 11), Jahmyr Gibbs (49.9 points, Week 12) and Kyle Pitts (40.10 points, TNF in Week 15).

Like Pitts, it was hard to see this game coming, and it’s likely possible Lawrence was on your bench Sunday. Although Lawrence is rostered in 63% of Yahoo leagues, he was started in just 29% of leagues for the playoffs. Maybe you had better options, or maybe you were on a bye week. And surely a bunch of Lawrence teams didn’t make the fantasy playoffs. But after a game like this, we need to at least reevaluate the current team landscape. It’s possible Lawrence is finally putting it together and this just puts a period on the sentence.

Consider that he’s beaten his fantasy projection in nine of his last 10 games. He has multiple touchdown passes in four straight games, and he is a fairly consistent scrambler. And now that the Jaguars have the offense they want — Jakobi Meyers is fitting in nicely, Brian Thomas Jr. is healthy and producing again, Parker Washington has also healed up — Lawrence is ready to spread his wings. Perhaps it just took some time to acclimate to a new offensive scheme. Still, they don’t hand out 40-point games at the airport. You had to be a little surprised watching the Jags go off to this extent.

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And it was also shocking that Travis Etienne Jr. — whom I expected to run all over the Jets — turned a four-target day into a three-touchdown afternoon. Etienne had three career touchdown receptions before Sunday.

For all this Jacksonville sunshine, we’ll have to be measured when we consider them at the Broncos next week. The Jaguars travel to Indianapolis in Week 17.

Looking at Some Other Booms

Do you ever notice how every Arizona game is always the same? It’s been the duplicate script since Jacoby Brissett took over for Kyler Murray. The Cardinals fall behind by multiple scores, then put up a bunch of points and yards in garbage time. I don’t mean this as some slight — Brissett is a professional quarterback and he’s helping his pass-catchers. It’s actually a glorious thing. Week 15 followed the playbook. The Texans rolled up a 30-7 lead late in the third period, and settled for a 40-20 win. Brissett did his thing — three touchdown passes, 249 yards. Trey McBride (12-134-2) continues to just annihilate the rest of the tight end board, and Michael Wilson (5-54-1) was useful despite tight coverage. Look for the Cardinals to keep playing the hits against the Falcons and Bengals.

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The Houston side of things had plenty of hits — C.J. Stroud threw for 260 yards and three scores, while Nico Collins (3-85-2) and Dalton Schultz (8-76-1) spread their wings. Woody Marks was probably looking at a big game before suffering an ankle injury. At least he snuck a short touchdown in the first half, picking up a wayward snap around the goal line and turning it into six points. Unknown Jawhar Jordan looked good after Marks left (15-101-0) and deserves waiver consideration moving forward. The Texans play the Raiders (lovely) and the Chargers (tricky) in the next two weeks.

Looking at Some of the Busts

Joe Burrow talked all week about not having any fun, and it sure didn’t look fun in the shutout loss at Baltimore. The Bengals managed a scant 4.2 yards per play and finished with 298 yards of offense. At least Burrow focused on Ja’Marr Chase (10-132-0, 16 targets) and Chase Brown (7-37-0, seven targets) when he threw the ball, so Chase and Brown had passable days (Brown also ran for 53 yards). But after having a whiff of Cincinnati optimism on Thanksgiving night, it’s evaporated now. No idea what version of this offense shows up in Miami next week.

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The Kansas City season had a jagged end, with a loss to the Chargers and a Patrick Mahomes knee injury in the fourth quarter. And the worst fear would come to pass — Mahomes is lost for the season with a torn ACL, and the Chiefs are eliminated from playoff contention. Mahomes did run for a touchdown but he threw for just 189 yards and no scores, hounded by an underrated Chargers defense (five sacks, one interception). At least 14 of the completions went to Travis Kelce (7-70-0) and Rashee Rice (7-51-0). Xavier Worthy was dinged up, which enabled Tyquan Thornton to make two late catches (2-47-0). I always wonder why the Chiefs don’t use Thornton more. Maybe he’ll get something going with Gardner Minshew down the stretch, if you play in an especially deep league.

The Chargers got their gutsy win but their offense didn’t have any fantasy winners. Omarion Hampton (15-61-0) and Kimani Vidal (12-33-0) both ran the ball plenty, and had one catch each. No touchdowns. Los Angeles tried to keep Justin Herbert out of harm’s way, though he was still sacked four times. Herbert finished with 210 passing yards and one touchdown, to fantasy unknown KeAndre Lambert-Smith. The Chargers will look to keep winning ugly against the Cowboys and Texans.

When Joe Burrow decided to be honest about his feelings with the media this past week, a black cloud moved in over the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s not going away anytime soon.

Burrow had a strange media conference on his 29th birthday, wondering aloud what he’s playing for if he’s not having fun, which launched everyone into amateur psychologist mode. Did he mean he wanted to be traded? Is he going to pull a Barry Sanders/Calvin Johnson/Andrew Luck and walk away? Is he just tired of losing? Maybe he was just having a bad day, who knows, but it opened everyone’s eyes to the reality that the Bengals haven’t done enough around their quarterback.

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They were officially eliminated from the playoffs Sunday. Cincinnati will miss the postseason for the third straight season in Burrow’s prime, which is inconceivable and unforgivable. Injuries to Burrow have played a big part in that, but the Bengals’ incompetence in protecting him is a larger part of the injuries. And a terrible defense has little to do with Burrow missing games.

Sunday’s 24-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, which dropped the Bengals to 4-10 this season, is going to only increase the speculation. Burrow didn’t look anything like himself. The Bengals scored 32 points on the Ravens just a couple weeks ago, but did very little Sunday. Burrow was stuck on 71 yards in the first half against a suspect Ravens defense that he picked apart on Thanksgiving. On the final play of the first half, the Bengals wanted a Hail Mary, but Burrow held the ball and took a sack without ever getting the throw off.

With the Bengals being shut out in the fourth quarter, Burrow blindly threw an interception under extreme pressure near the end zone that was intercepted by Kyle Van Noy and then handed off to safety Alohi Gilman for a pick 6 that covered 95 yards.

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One of the NFL’s best quarterbacks just looked … off. His 58.2 passer rating was the second-worst in his career. It’s hard to not connect that terrible performance with his comments and mood from a few days earlier.

“If I’m being honest, I’ve never been in a situation with him where I’ve had to uplift him, but going forward I might need to because he does it for me,” star receiver Ja’Marr Chase said, via Mike Petraglia of the Jungle Roar Pod. “You never know what he might be going through. I might need to start doing that.”

Burrow’s postgame media conference didn’t offer much more insight into what is going on with him. He said the initial comments made Wednesday wasn’t an indictment of the Bengals or wanting out.

“My comments had nothing to do with Cincinnati, my comments had everything to do with me and my mindset, and football,” Burrow said.

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He took blame for Sunday’s loss, saying he played poorly and adding: “There’s not a team in the NFL that would have won the game today if I was the quarterback.”

We don’t know what’s going on with Burrow, but it doesn’t take a hundred think-pieces on his mental state to see that what Cincinnati is with him right now isn’t good enough. The Bengals are 17-15 in his starts over the past three seasons with no playoff appearances. They went from a Super Bowl contender to turning him into the modern Archie Manning, a great quarterback who’s getting beat up in an untenable situation.

Whether Burrow meant to or not, his answer started a referendum on the Bengals’ entire franchise near the end of a lost season. Bengals ownership has never been known for problem solving, but it definitely has a problem on its hands now. The answers to what will put Burrow in a situation to win and perhaps be a little more chipper have to come quickly. And it all won’t be easy to fix, with a quarterback and two star receivers making a ton of money but huge issues needing addressed on the offensive line and defense.

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The Bengals also have to wonder if head coach Zac Taylor is still the answer after another disappointing season. While it looked like they were going through the motions Sunday, that’s practically been their entire season, just usually with a few more points on the scoreboard.

After the game, Chase told reporters when asked if he would support offseason changes: “If I had a say-so, it would probably be something.” It’s rare to hear a player be that blunt on the subject of major changes.

A different result Sunday could have helped smooth over the narrative. If Burrow played like he did against the Ravens the first time and Cincinnati won, it would have seemed like a midweek talking point and maybe it would have died down. Then the Bengals could have felt better about everything. Now they have to wonder if what the miserable performance we saw from Burrow on Sunday was a manifestation of his dejected state that he described a few days earlier. If so, that’s not a mess Cincinnati can easily clean up.

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Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 15 of the NFL season:

WINNERS

The under-the-radar 12-2 Broncos: It’s hard to have the NFL’s best record in mid-December and not have much buzz.

The Denver Broncos just keep winning games. They were expected by many to lose at home to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday but Denver won 34-26. An offense that has been criticized did just fine against the Packers’ strong defense, though two touchdowns came after Micah Parsons left the game with what is feared to be a torn ACL.

Denver hasn’t lost since Week 3. The Broncos have a fantastic defense, a great head coach in Sean Payton and an offense that put up 391 yards and 34 points on the Packers. There’s still a race between the Broncos and Patriots for the No. 1 seed, but the Patriots’ loss Sunday gives the Broncos a one-game lead with three games to go. Perhaps if the Broncos get the No. 1 seed, they’ll start to get widespread attention as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Or maybe not. It hasn’t happened yet.

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Seahawks, though nobody liked it: The Seattle Seahawks ruined a pretty good story.

Philip Rivers, who at 44 years old was coaxed out of retirement by the Indianapolis Colts this past week after a season-ending injury to Daniel Jones, was about to lead the Colts to a win at Seattle. The Colts kicked a field goal in the final minute to take a 16-15 lead. But Seattle got a good kickoff return, Sam Darnold completed a couple of passes and Jason Myers kicked his sixth field goal of the game to give Seattle the lead. Rivers’ deep pass after that was picked off and the Seahawks held on to the 18-16 win.

It wasn’t pretty. Seattle probably shouldn’t have needed a desperate final drive against a team starting a quarterback who hadn’t played in the NFL since the 2020 season and was coaching high school football less than a week ago. Seattle’s offense was bad, never scoring a touchdown, though it was a great effort by Indianapolis’ defense.

The Seahawks won to set up a great matchup against the Rams for first place in the NFC West on Thursday night. It wasn’t the story everyone was rooting for though.

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Brock Purdy: Some quarterbacks had huge games Sunday, and Purdy had to feel good about his performance.

Purdy threw three touchdown passes as the San Francisco 49ers won their fourth game in a row, beating the Tennessee Titans 37-24. The 49ers are 10-4 and have an inside track at a playoff spot despite dealing with numerous injuries this season, which is why Kyle Shanahan should be getting more consideration for NFL Coach of the Year.

Purdy was one of those injured stars. When he was out, there was wild speculation that perhaps Mac Jones (who played well in Purdy’s absence) should replace him as the starter. That was never going to happen and Purdy showed why Sunday. He is excellent at getting the ball to San Francisco’s playmakers. Jauan Jennings scored twice and George Kittle also had a TD.

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The Titans aren’t a great defense but the 49ers can move it on anyone. Having Purdy back and healthy will make them a tough out in the playoffs.

Josh Allen, MVP?: The formula for MVP voting for most of this century is that the award comes from a quarterback from a No. 1 seed, or at least a division winner. The last time MVP was won by a quarterback whose team didn’t win the division was 2008. But nobody is playing better than Allen.

The good news for Allen is the Buffalo Bills aren’t out of the running to win the AFC East. Not yet, after Buffalo came all the way back from a 21-0 deficit to beat the New England Patriots 35-31. The 10-4 Bills are one game behind the 11-3 Patriots for the division lead. Allen had three passing touchdowns and dragged his team back into the game. What looked like an MVP statement for Drake Maye early in the game became a good argument for Allen to win the award again.

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The Bills are flawed, as they showed digging that 21-0 hole early in the game. But as long as they have Allen playing like a superhero, they’re capable of special things like their comeback Sunday.

C.J. Stroud: We know by now that the Houston Texans have the best defense in the NFL. They also have a third-year quarterback who not long ago had what might have been the greatest rookie season for a quarterback in NFL history.

Stroud has stalled since then, though that’s not all his fault. The Texans’ offensive infrastructure around him has been lacking. But Stroud looked really good Sunday in a 40-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He started with a pass that hit Nico Collins in stride for a 57-yard touchdown, and kept it rolling from there. Stroud had 260 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a stellar game.

The Texans’ defense alone might be enough to launch them to an AFC South title and perhaps a deep playoff run. If Stroud can play like he did Sunday, and elevate an offense that is flawed around him, Houston will be even more dangerous.

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Trevor Lawrence: Like the Texans and Stroud, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ ceiling raises if Trevor Lawrence plays like he did Sunday.

Lawrence had one of the best games of his career in a 48-20 win over the New York Jets. He had six total touchdowns for the first time in his career. He had 330 yards and five touchdowns passing and added a rushing score. The Jets looked checked out from the opening kickoff, but it was still a strong day for Lawrence.

He’s been up and down throughout his career, and his first season under new head coach Liam Coen has had some uneven and frustrating moments, but he had been playing better lately. And he was phenomenal Sunday. Maybe that’s a sign that he’s finally clicking in Coen’s scheme.

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The Jaguars might need to win out to hold off the Texans for the division title. If Lawrence can play anywhere near the level he hit against the Jets, maybe Jacksonville can run the table.

Terry McLaurin: It hasn’t been an easy season for McLaurin. Right after his high-profile contract dispute ended, he has dealt with injuries and not a lot of production. But he’s wildly popular in the Washington Commanders’ franchise, and it was good to see him operate as the closer Sunday.

McLaurin had a 51-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants that helped put away a 29-21 win. Washington’s defense got one final stop in the final minute to clinch the victory. The loss pushed the 2-12 Giants closer to locking up the first overall pick of the NFL Draft for the first time since 1965.

The Commanders have had a miserable season and McLaurin’s big play doesn’t change that all too much. But it was a nice highlight to feel good about.

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LOSERS

Lions’ defense: Even if Detroit rallies to win its final three games and make the playoffs, it’s hard to believe that it can make a long postseason run.

It’s not because of the offense, which was fine again Sunday against the Rams. Detroit’s defense, riddled with injuries for a second straight season, will just have trouble keeping the Lions in games.

Matthew Stafford made his pitch for his MVP candidacy against his former team, throwing for 368 yards with a pair of touchdowns. It’s not like Detroit offered much resistance against him. The Rams won 41-34 to stay in a first-place tie with the Seahawks, who they face Thursday night in Seattle.

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The Lions should win when they score 34 points, even if it’s against Stafford. But their defense doesn’t look like it’s close to championship quality this season.

Lathan Ransom: Ransom is a rookie safety for the Carolina Panthers. He’s an aggressive player, and he’s still learning.

But on Sunday, his rookie mistake cost the Panthers dearly.

The Panthers blew a 17-7 lead against the New Orleans Saints, when they had a great opportunity to pull a game ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South. The game was tied 17-17 with the Saints driving in the final minute when Ransom gave the Saints a gift.

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With a few seconds left, Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough ran a draw up the middle and slid down, and Ransom blasted him as he was well into his slide. That was an easy penalty and made a field goal of about 62 yards into a 47-yard try. That was much easier for kicker Charlie Smyth, who hit it right down the middle with two second left to lift the Saints to a 20-17 win.

Ransom wasn’t the only reason the Panthers lost. They had plenty of chances to put the game away after taking the lead. But it was a regrettable penalty at the worst time, and a costly lesson for the rookie.

The Chiefs and their lost season: The Kansas City Chiefs were already having a bad season, and then late in a 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, it got a lot worse.

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Patrick Mahomes went down late in the fourth quarter, and was holding his left knee. Gardner Minshew came in the game, which was close at that point with the Chiefs driving for a potential game-tying field goal. But the game itself wasn’t on anyone’s mind at that point, with the franchise quarterback in serious pain and being helped back to the locker room. The Chiefs announced after the game that Mahomes suffered a season-ending torn ACL.

Minshew threw an interception that ended the game and mathematically eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention. If that was the worst news Kansas City had Sunday, it would have still been a rough day. Now the Chiefs have a much bigger problem.

Las Vegas Raiders: The speculation over Pete Carroll might be shifting from whether he’ll be one-and-done to whether he’ll even make it to the end of the season.

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The Raiders are the NFL’s most unserious franchise. The Philadelphia Eagles, who have looked like a shell of themselves, looked great again Sunday. That’s what happens when you face the Raiders, who did almost nothing on offense. Kenny Pickett started in place of the injured Geno Smith at quarterback, and Vegas’ defense wasn’t much better. Philadelphia won 31-0 and it seemed like an even bigger blowout than that. Las Vegas has lost 12 of 13 games since Week 1, and the only win came at home against the Titans. The Raiders are an embarrassment.

Carroll was brought in to quickly elevate the Raiders’ level, and it has somehow gotten far worse. It’s hard to see how it would be all that much better next season.

Shedeur Sanders: Every game this season shouldn’t be a judgment on Sanders’ ability to stick in the NFL, but for some it will be. He draws attention like no fifth-round rookie ever has.

Sunday wasn’t a good day for Sanders or the Cleveland Browns. The Chicago Bears, in frigid cold, shut down the Browns’ offense and got an easy 31-3 win, setting up a massive NFC North showdown next Saturday night against the Packers. Sanders played poorly. He was 18-of-35 passing for 177 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. His interception to linebacker D’Marco Jackson over the middle led to DJ Moore’s second touchdown and the Bears’ 21-3 lead at that point effectively put the game on ice.

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That poor game doesn’t mean Sanders can’t be a good NFL starter, just like last week’s 364-yard game didn’t prove he was the unquestioned answer at quarterback for 2026 and beyond. It’s an evaluation process and the Browns are far from done with it. That’s why they named Sanders the starter for the rest of the season.

That won’t slow down the overreactions. Sanders struggled Sunday, and now his critics have a week to do their victory laps.