Eagles rally to beat Bills, Chiefs top Raiders
Quarterback Jalen Hurts ran in an overtime touchdown to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 37-34 NFL win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and move them to 10-1 on the season. For the fifth straight game the Eagles – who lost the Super Bowl to Kansas City last season – trailed at the break but rallied to win. The defeat was a bitter blow for the Bills, who after leading 17-7 at the half stayed ahead until the final seconds but fell to 6-6 and face a real fight to make the playoffs. The Eagles fight-back began early in the fourth with DeVonta Smith scoring on a 15-yard pass from Hurts. Olamide Zaccheaus did magnificently to catch a 29-yard pass from Hurts despite double coverage in the end zone. The Bills responded with quarterback Josh Allen zipping a seven yard pass to Gabe Davis in the end zone, making it 31-28 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. The Eagles made hard work of their attempt to get at least within field goal range, suffering two five-yard penalties for false starts, both after early moves from center Jason Kelce. Field goal kicker Jake Elliott was left with a 59-yard attempt in heavy rain and made the kick to force overtime. Allen missed a great opportunity to win the game when Davis got open in the end zone but the Bills quarterback mis-read his movement and his incomplete pass left Tyler Bass to convert a 40-yard field goal. Hurts then led his team down the field on a nine play, 75-yard drive which he completed in superb style, spotting a gap and rushing for the walk-off touchdown. The Chiefs had to rally from an early 14-point deficit for their 31-17 win against the Raiders in Las Vegas, which took them to 8-3. Isiah Pacheco ran for a one yard touchdown and then Patrick Mahomes connected with Justin Watson on a three yard pass as Kansas City went in level at half-time. Another Pacheco touchdown put the Chiefs in front and although the Raiders managed a field goal in response, Kansas City's 10 points in the fourth quarter ensured the victory. The Denver Broncos won their fifth straight game, defeating the Cleveland Browns 29-12. Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson threw for one touchdown and ran in another as Sean Payton's team continued the impressive turnaround in their season after losing five of their first six games. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw for 364 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars stretched their AFC South lead with a nail-biting 24-21 victory over division rivals Houston. The Jags improved to 8-3, avenging a 37-17 home loss to the Texans, who fell to 6-5. Houston's sensational rookie quarterback CJ Stroud threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns – his 3,268 passing yards this season moving him past Justin Herbert (3,224) for most in league history by a rookie in his first 11 games. But the Texans' final drive ended with Matt Ammendola's potential game-tying 58-yard field goal attempt coming up agonisingly short with 34 seconds remaining. Elsewhere, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett threw for a season-high 278 yards and a re-energised Steelers offense totalled 421 yards in a 16-10 victory the short-handed Cincinnati Bengals. The Atlanta Falcons beat New Orleans 24-15 to grab a share of first place alongside the Saints in the lacklustre NFC South. The Steelers, who sacked offensive coordinator Matt Canada this week, gained 400-plus yards on offense for the first time since 2020 as they came out on top against their AFC North rivals. Chris Boswell kicked two of his three field goals in the fourth quarter and Najee Harris ran for a touchdown in the third for the Steelers. Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, making his first start after Joe Burrow was ruled out for the rest of the season with a right wrist injury, connected on 19 of 26 passes with one touchdown and an interception in the red zone. (AFP)