Two thirds of the season are over, basically. The good teams are separating from the bad teams. The playoffs are coming into focus.
Focus, if you will, on the following snapshots for each of the games played on the 12th Sunday of the 2024 regular season.
Chiefs 30, Panthers 27.
The Chiefs reached 10-1 for the fourth time in franchise history. Kansas City has won 10 games or more for 10 straight seasons.
Along the way, the Chiefs have become the first team in NFL history to win eight of the first 11 games by seven points or fewer.
With three touchdown passes on Sunday, quarterback Patrick Mahomes tied Len Dawson with 237, the most in franchise history.
The Panthers played well, but a loss is a loss and it was yet another loss for a team that has had many of them in recent years.
Vikings 30, Bears 27.
The Vikings blew a 27-16 lead in the final minute of regulation before finding a way to win in overtime. They’re now 9-2 — which has them sandwiched between 10-1 Detroit and 8-3 Green Bay.
Chicago tied the game by scoring 11 points in the final 22 seconds. However, the Bears went nowhere on the opening drive of the extra period.
The Bears have lost five in a row, with three of them coming on the final play of the game.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has a career-high 21 touchdown passes. With the Bears taking receiver Justin Jefferson away (two catches, 27 yards), Jordan Addison had a career day, with nine catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. Running back Aaron Jones rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown, and tight end T.J. Hockenson had his first 100-yard game since returning from a torn ACL.
Titans 32, Texans 27.
The Titans got their first road win since November 2022 (it was a Thursday night at Green Bay) — and quarterback Will Levis got his first NFC South win ever, against five losses.
Levis is the first quarterback to win a game despite throwing a pick-six and being sacked eight or more times since Mark Brunell in 2001.
Houston has lost four of six after starting 5-1. They still lead the Colts by two games, plus the tiebreaker, with only six games to play. But Houston doesn’t look like a team that is built to win in the postseason.
Lions 24, Colts 6.
The Lions have won nine in a row, and they’ve won 10 or more for the first time in franchise history.
Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are the first running back teammates to have 10 or more rushing touchdowns each in consecutive seasons.
The Colts have lost four of five games. It was their first game without a touchdown since 2022.
Dolphins 34, Patriots 15.
Miami has won three in a row, with an average output of 30.3 points per game. They trail the Broncos by 1.5 games for the No. 7 seed in the AFC.
Tua Tagovailoa has 11 touchdown passes and one interception in five games since returning from a concussion. He’s now 7-0 in his career against the Patriots.
The loss ensures that the Patriots will have a third straight losing season. That’s the first time it’s happened since the Patriots had five straight losing seasons from 1989 through 1993.
The Dolphins will go for their fourth straight win on Thanksgiving night, at Green Bay. If Miami can pull it off, maybe they can still pull an inside straight to a playoff berth.
Buccaneers 30, Giants 7.
The Bucs emerged from the bye and ended a four-game losing streak, sending the Giants to their sixth straight loss with an embarrassing outcome at home.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield distributed the ball to 11 different players, and four different Buccaneers scored touchdowns.
The Giants are a hot mess, with multiple players calling the team “soft” and/or questioning effort. Last month, co-owner John Mara said he’s not anticipating making any major changes after the season ends. Sunday’s loss could be enough to get him to revisit his anticipation.
Cowboys 34, Commanders 26.
Dallas ended a five-game losing streak while running its road record to 4-2. (The Cowboys are 0-5 at home.)
Receiver CeeDee Lamb set an NFL record by catching four or more passes in 44 straight games.
The Commander have lost three in a row; in the fourth quarter, they gave up 24 points. Kicker Austin Seibert missed a field goal and two extra points, including one that would have tied the game with 27 with 21 seconds left.
Broncos 29, Raiders 19.
After starting 0-2, the Broncos have won seven of 10, strengthening their grip on a playoff spot. In the last 10 games, rookie quarterback Bo Nix has had 20 total touchdowns against only two interceptions.
The Raiders have the longest active losing streak in the NFL, with seven in a row. Quarterback Gardner Minshew has been lost for the rest of the season, with a broken collarbone.
Las Vegas is the third team in league history to trail by 10 or more points in each of the first 11 games of a season, joining the 1972 Patriots and 1986 Colts.
Packers 38, 49ers 10.
The Packers obliterated a San Francisco team that was simply missing too many key players due to injury. The win was Jordan Love’s first game of the season without an interception.
For the 49ers, the 28-point margin marks the worst loss since 2018. “We all got embarrassed.” coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game.
Green Bay, despite being 8-3, is in third place in the NFC North. The Packers’ three losses have come against teams with a total of five losses — the Lions (one), the Vikings (two), and the Eagles (two).
Seahawks 16, Cardinals 6.
Seattle pulled even with Arizona atop the NFC West, snapping Arizona’s four-game winning streak.
The Cardinals failed to score a touchdown for the first time this year.
Next week, the Seahawks have a very winnable game at the Jets; the Cardinals will have their hands full at Minnesota.
Eagles 37, Rams 20.
Running back Saquon Barkley has forced his way into the MVP conversation, with 255 rushing yards and more than 300 from scrimmage and two touchdowns. He’s on pace to break the single-season rushing record.
Receiver A.J. Brown caught six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles.
The Rams held tough at first, but they were eventually overpowered at home, where they had to use the silent count due to the abundance of Eagles fans.
The Rams, now 5-6, are tied with the 49ers for the basement of the division.
