Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City and Tua Tagovailoa of Miami led their teams to NFL victories on Sunday, with the Dallas Cowboys clinching a postseason berth before even taking the field.’
Mahomes, the defending champion Chiefs’ two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, completed 27-of-37 throws for 305 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-17 victory over the Patriots, despite two interceptions.
Miami blanked the visiting New York Jets 30-0 despite the absence of NFL receiving yards leader Tyreek Hill, with Raheem Mostert rushing for two scores and Tagovailoa completing 21-of-24 throws for 224 yards and a touchdown.
The Dolphins improved to 10-4 for the first time in 23 years, moving a half-game behind Baltimore for the AFC top seed and a first-round playoff bye, with Kansas City coming in second at 9-5.
With losses by the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers, Dallas clinched a postseason berth for the third consecutive season.
The Cowboys entered a later game at Buffalo trailing San Francisco for the NFC top seed and a first-round playoff bye, chasing their first Super Bowl title since the 1995 season.
In other late-season games, the Baltimore Ravens (10-3) can earn a playoff spot with a win at Jacksonville (8-5) and San Francisco (10-3) can capture the NFC West division title with a win at Arizona (3-10).
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Baker Mayfield led Tampa Bay to a 34-20 victory over Green Bay, completing 22-of-28 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns to keep the Buccaneers (7-7) atop the NFC South division on tiebreakers.
New Orleans tied the Bucs at 7-7 with a 24-6 victory over the New York Giants, with Derek Carr completing 23-of-28 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
Carolina’s Eddy Pineiro converted his third field goal, a 23-yarder on the final play, to bring the Panthers to a 9-7 victory over Atlanta.
Dustin Hopkins’ 34-yard field goal with 32 seconds left gave Cleveland a 20-17 home win over Chicago, maintaining the Browns in first place in the AFC wildcard playoffs at 9-5. Joe Flacco of the Cleveland Browns threw for 374 yards and two touchdowns but also had three interceptions.
Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked his fourth field goal, a 54-yarder on the final play, to earn the Texans a 19-16 overtime victory over Tennessee, keeping the Texans in contention for the AFC playoffs.
