The Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans escaped Sunday’s early window with come-from-behind wins led by backup quarterbacks.
Joe Flacco led the Browns to 13 unanswered fourth-quarter points to beat the Chicago Bears at home and stay one game ahead of all other contenders in the AFC wild-card race.
Houston used a Kaimi Fairburn field goal in overtime to beat the Tennessee Titans. The Keenum-led win allowed the Texans to join the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts at 8-6.
The comeback win seemed even more important in the afternoon window in the wild-card picture as the Buffalo Bills won their second straight game, 8-6.
Buffalo sits at the bottom of the list of 8-6 teams, and may be better off chasing the AFC East title than praying for a handful of underdogs.
Regardless, the Bills are still in serious playoff contention, something few wild card hopefuls can say after the Week 15 loss.
The Atlanta Falcons’ loss to the Carolina Panthers brought some clarity to the NFC wild card race. That result left three teams tied at 7-7 in the wild-card hunt before the Seattle Seahawks clash with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Philadelphia will need a win to take advantage of Buffalo’s home win over the Cowboys to regain a spot in the NFC East.
Section leaders
1. Baltimore (10-3)
2. Miami (10-4)
3. Kansas City (9-5)
4. Jacksonville (8-5)
Wild-card competition
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)
Thanks to Flacco’s fourth-quarter heroics, Cleveland maintained a one-game lead in the wild-card race.
In the final frame, Flacco led the Browns with three field goals, two of which were field goals and another of which was a long touchdown to Amari Cooper.
The Browns can feel more secure in their playoff spot next week with a win over the Houston Texans.
Cleveland already has wins over the Bengals and Colts, so if it drops back into wild-card contention, it will be in a safe spot.
The Bengals’ win over the Vikings and the Colts’ win over the Steelers on Saturday clinched the other two wild card spots.
Cincinnati has a head-to-head win over the Colts since Week 14, which puts them in 6th place.
Indianapolis’ Week 2 win over the Texans was the difference between being in the playoff field and now out of it.
Buffalo at least kept pace with the rest of the team with an 8-6 win over Dallas, but the Ravens will need plenty of help next week to climb into a playoff spot with a win over the Texans.
The Bills lost to the Bengals and have a worse conference record than the Colts and Texans. They need to 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.
If Miami heads into Week 18 one game ahead of the odds, Buffalo can still win the AFC East.
Miami needs a Baltimore loss at Jacksonville to clinch first place in the AFC in Week 15.
A Ravens win would keep them one game ahead of the Dolphins for the week.
Regardless of the result against the Ravens, Jacksonville will be the No. 4 seed at the end of Sunday night.
Section leaders
1. San Francisco (11-3)
2. Philadelphia (10-3)
3. Detroit (10-4)
4. Tampa Bay (7-7)
Wild-card competition
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 in Sunday’s opening window.
Baker Mayfield and the Bucs won at Lambeau Field to stay in first place in the NFC South and earn a blowout win over a wild-card opponent.
The Bucs are tied with the New Orleans Saints at 7-7, but are ahead thanks to a Week 4 win.
Tampa Bay and New Orleans meet again in Week 17, and if the Bucs take the division lead, they’ll move ahead of the Packers and Minnesota Vikings thanks to back-to-back wins.
The Saints are now in line to get their own crucial faceoff win when they visit the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
New Orleans beat the New York Giants to move to 7-7, as did the Rams with a win over the Washington Chiefs.
The Rams are currently ahead of the Saints in that they have the superior conference record.
The Seahawks have a chance to join the seven-game winning streak with a win at home to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
However, the Eagles need that win to move one game ahead of the Cowboys in the NFC East. Dallas can jump back and forth with an Eagles loss.
The San Francisco 49ers end Week 15 atop the NFC with either a one-game lead over Dallas or a head-to-head matchup in Philadelphia.