The Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans escaped Sunday’s early afternoon window with come-from-behind victories led by backup quarterbacks.
Joe Flacco guided the Browns to 13 unanswered fourth-quarter points to beat the Chicago Bears at home and remain one game ahead of all the chasers in the AFC wild-card race.
Houston used a game-winning field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn at the end of overtime to defeat the Tennessee Titans. The Case Keenum-led victory allowed the Texans to join the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts at 8-6.
The comeback victories looked even more important in the wild-card picture during the late-afternoon window as the Buffalo Bills won their second straight game to reach 8-6.
Buffalo is mired at the bottom of the list of 8-6 teams, and it may be better off chasing the AFC East title than praying a handful of tiebreakers go in their favor.
Regardless, the Bills are still in serious playoff contention, which is something a handful of wild-card hopefuls can’t say after Week 15 losses.
The Atlanta Falcons’ loss to the Carolina Panthers provided some clarity in the NFC wild-card race. That result left three teams at 7-7 in the wild-card hunt ahead of the Seattle Seahawks’ Monday night clash with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia needs a win to take advantage of the help it received from Buffalo’s home triumph over the Cowboys to regain its foothold atop the NFC East.
Division Leaders
1. Baltimore (10-3)
2. Miami (10-4)
3. Kansas City (9-5)
4. Jacksonville (8-5)
Wild-Card Race
5. Cleveland (9-5)
6. Cincinnati (8-6)
7. Indianapolis (8-6)
8. Houston (8-6)
9. Buffalo (8-6)
10. Pittsburgh (7-7)
11. Denver (7-7)
12. Las Vegas (6-8)
Cleveland retained its one-game lead in the wild-card race thanks to Flacco’s fourth-quarter heroics.
Flacco led the Browns on three scoring drives in the final frame, two of which led to field goals and the other was finished by a long touchdown pass to Amari Cooper.
The Browns can feel even more secure about their playoff position next week with a win over the Houston Texans.
Cleveland already owns wins over the Bengals and Colts, so if it were to drop back down into the wild-card mess, it would be in a safe spot.
The Bengals’ win over the Vikings and the Colts’ triumph over the Steelers on Saturday placed them into the other two wild-card positions.
Cincinnati has a head-to-head win over the Colts from Week 14 that put it in the No. 6 spot.
Indianapolis’ Week 2 win over the Texans is the difference between being in the playoff field and out of it right now.
Buffalo at least kept pace with the other 8-6 teams through its win over Dallas, but it needs a lot of help, starting with a Ravens win over the Texans next week, to climb into a playoff position.
The Bills lost to the Bengals and possess a worse conference record than the Colts and Texans. They must beat the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots in the next two weeks to take advantage of any losses from the teams in front of them.
Buffalo could still win the AFC East if Miami heads into Week 18 one game ahead of the Bills, but that one require one loss in the next two weeks by the Dolphins.
Miami needs a Baltimore loss to Jacksonville to take over first place in the AFC by the end of Week 15.
A Ravens win would keep them one game in front of the Dolphins for another week.
Jacksonville will be the No. 4 seed at the end of Sunday night regardless of its result against the Ravens.
Division Leaders
1. San Francisco (11-3)
2. Philadelphia (10-3)
3. Detroit (10-4)
4. Tampa Bay (7-7)
Wild-Card Race
5. Dallas (10-4)
6. Minnesota (7-7)
7. Los Angeles Rams (7-7)
8. New Orleans (7-7)
9. Seattle (6-7)
10. Atlanta (6-8)
11. Green Bay (6-8)
Tampa Bay was the biggest winner in the NFC during Sunday’s early window.
Baker Mayfield and the Bucs won at Lambeau Field to remain in first place in the NFC South and earn a head-to-head win over a wild-card contender.
The Bucs are tied with the New Orleans Saints at 7-7, but they are in front thanks to a Week 4 victory.
Tampa Bay and New Orleans meet again in Week 17, and if the Bucs were to drop out of the division lead, it would be ahead of the Packers and Minnesota Vikings because of their head-to-head victories.
The Saints are now in line to gain a vital head-to-head win of their own on Thursday night, when they visit the Los Angeles Rams.
New Orleans beat the New York Giants to move to 7-7, as did the Rams with their victory against the Washington Commanders.
The Rams are currently in front of the Saints because of their superior conference record.
The Seahawks have a chance to join the group of seven-win teams with a Monday night home win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, the Eagles need that victory to move one game ahead of the Cowboys for first place in the NFC East. Dallas would jump back ahead with an Eagles loss.
The San Francisco 49ers will finish Week 15 on top of the NFC with either a one-game lead on Dallas, or by way of its head-to-head tiebreaker over Philadelphia.
