Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
JACKSONVILLE - The Houston Texans took care of business against division foe Jacksonville, winning 27-20. Houston (9-5, 4-1 AFC South) keeps pace in the division race while Jacksonville (1-13, 1-4) will be competing for the number one overall pick in the draft.
Frustrated with their season, the Jaguars fired coach Urban Meyer after the game. The breaking point appeared to be when he challenged Houston Coach David Shaw to a bare-chested fist fight to prove his manhood.
Houston meanwhile still needs some help to get in to the playoffs in a very crowded AFC race. They will work to keep pace next week when they host the Los Angeles Chargers.
Green Bay Packers @ Baltimore Ravens
BALTIMORE - The Green Bay Packers erased an early 14 point deficit against the Baltimore Ravens (9-5) and emerged victorious Sunday afternoon. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had arguably the best game of his young career, throwing for 423 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception.
Green Bay (10-4) fell in a hole early after a 80 yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Hollywood Brown followed by a 78 yard Jackson touchdown run. The Packers didn't panic and fought to stay within arms reach all game.
Entering the 4th quarter down 27-21, Tagovailoa orchestrated a long scoring drive capped by a N'Keal Harry touchdown reception, giving Green Bay their first lead of the game. The catch was one of eight for Harry who had a breakout performance with 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Baltimore looked poised to answer and had entered deep into Green Bay territory when Lamar Jackson took off to scramble on 2nd down. Jackson made the first man miss but wasn't ready for the second when Devin Bush leveled him forcing a fumble that safety Damontae Kazee scooped up and took back 77 yards for a touchdown. A late field goal gave the Packers 17 points in the quarter and a 38-27 win.
Receiver Justin Jefferson was also electric catching 6 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns on the day.
The Packers are hoping they are finding their stride as the postseason approaches and will look to stay hot next week when the Cleveland Browns come to town.
Atlanta Falcons @ San Francisco 49ers
SAN FRANCISCO - Heartbreak in the bay as the San Francisco 49ers lost on a last second field goal to the Atlanta Falcons 23-21. What looked to be a heroic comeback after a 4th and goal touchdown pass by Justin Fields to put the Niners (8-6) up 21-20 was quickly spoiled when Matt Ryan led the Falcons down the field with 49 seconds to go.
The loss is the 49ers 4th in a row and is hard to swallow for a team that knows they are a playoff caliber football team.
"We're better than this," Safety Derwin James said. "This is bulls---. We're getting in the playoffs. I won't allow us to fail."
The good new for San Francisco is the NFC playoff race isn't as crowded as the AFC and they are still in the top 7 even after this loss. The bad news is their last three games are against quality football teams; Tennessee, Houston, and the Los Angeles Rams.
New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins
MIAMI - The downward spiral continued for the Miami Dolphins (5-9, 2-3 AFC East) as they dropped their third straight game and essentially were eliminated from postseason contention. The franchise has been reeling ever since GM EP announced his retirement from the league. The Dolphins have been banged up and a shell of their projected selves.
Rumblings are this franchise will hit the reset button this offseason after such a disappointing 2021 campaign.
The Dolphins will head down to New Orleans next week to take on the Saints.
