LANDOVER, Md. — After Jalen Hurts left with a concussion, Jayden Daniels threw five touchdown passes while running at will in the rookie quarterback’s latest masterful performance, and the Washington Commanders ended the Philadelphia Eagles winning streak at 10 by rallying to defeat the NFC East leaders 36-33 on Sunday.
Daniels’ heroics culminated with a 57-yard touchdown drive in the final 1:58, finding Jamison Crowder in the end zone with 6 seconds left. He bounced back from throwing an interception on the previous possession and led the Commanders (10-5) back after they fell behind by 14 points seven minutes into the game and trailed by 14 going into the fourth quarter.
They are now on the verge of making the playoffs after handing Philadelphia (12-3) its first loss since Sept. 29. The Eagles played without Hurts for the vast majority of the game and failed to clinch the division and one of the conference’s top two seeds despite Saquon Barkley running for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone.
Daniels was the primary reason for that, beating the Eagles a month after losing to them on the road. He was 24 of 39 for 258 yards with a pair of TDs to Crowder and Olamide Zaccheaus and one to Terry McLaurin — and Daniels was Washington’s leading rusher with 81 yards on nine carries.
CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes, including one as he was falling to the turf, and the Cincinnati Bengals kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 24-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The Bengals (7-8) need to win their last two games and get some help to reach the postseason.
Burrow passed for three or more TDs for the seventh consecutive game and finished 23 of 30 for 252 yards. Ja’Marr Chase had six catches for 97 yards and a garbage-time touchdown for Cincinnati to reach 1,510 yards this season and break his own franchise record of 1,455 yards set in 2021.
Myles Garrett, who said this week the Browns franchise should be focused on winning and not rebuilding, recorded the 100th sack of his career in the second quarter.
With Dorian Thompson-Robinson replacing Jameis Winston at quarterback, Cleveland (3-12) missed some chances in the red zone.
ATLANTA — Michael Penix Jr. won his debut as Atlanta’s starting quarterback, thanks largely to a defence that returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns, and the Falcons bolstered their playoff hopes by handing the hapless New York Giants their franchise-record 10th straight loss, 34-7 on Sunday.
Jessie Bates and Matthew Judon each had a pick-six to carry Atlanta (8-7) to its second straight win after a four-game losing streak put its post-season hopes in jeopardy. The Falcons came into the week a game behind Tampa Bay in the NFC South and are holding the tiebreaker edge over the Buccaneers, who are playing Sunday night in Dallas.
Penix, the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, got his first NFL start against the Giants (2-13) after the Falcons decided to bench turnover-prone Kirk Cousins.
The left-handed rookie was not overwhelmed by the moment, completing 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards — numbers that would’ve been better if not for at least three dropped passes, one of which Kyle Pitts bobbled right into the hands of a New York defender for Penix’s lone interception.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Matthew Stafford threw a go-ahead 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee early in the fourth quarter after a turnover by Aaron Rodgers and the Los Angeles Rams beat the New York Jets 19-9 on Sunday for their fourth consecutive victory.
The Rams (9-6), who have won five of six, maintained their spot atop the NFC West standings with the victory after a slow start against the Jets (4-11) on a day when it was a frosty 23 degrees (minus-5 Celsius) at kickoff.
But Los Angeles’ defence, which struggled most of the game against Rodgers and New York’s offence, came up with a momentum-turning play.
With the game tied at 9 early in the fourth quarter, Kam Curl sacked Rodgers on a blitz and forced a fumble that Jared Verse recovered at the Jets 21.
Three plays later, Stafford found Higbee — making his season debut after missing the first 14 games with a knee injury — for a go-ahead 11-yard touchdown that made it 16-9.
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