By Paul HighamBBC Sport
Last updated on .From the section American Football
| Dates: 7 September 2023 – 7 January 2024 |
| BBC coverage: Listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website every Sunday. |
The Kansas City Chiefs were furious with a late penalty that saw them lose to the Buffalo Bills, while the San Francisco 49ers rolled on with a fifth win in a row in week 14 of the NFL.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was incensed as the Super Bowl champions saw a late touchdown ruled out by the referees to slip to a fourth defeat in six.
The Philadelphia Eagles are also struggling after falling to consecutive defeats when being well beaten by the Dallas Cowboys, while the Baltimore Ravens grabbed a dramatic walk-off victory over the Los Angeles Rams in overtime.
There were more exciting finishes as teams start to line up for play-off places, but not so much in Las Vegas as just a single field goal inside the final two minutes saw the Minnesota Vikings beat the Raiders in the lowest scoring game for 16 years.
Late penalty ‘tough to swallow’ as Chiefs lose again
Travis Kelce’s moment of magic looked to have won the game for the Chiefs after he caught a Mahomes pass then offloaded it to Kadarius Toney to score with just a minute left, but a penalty flag saw the touchdown ruled out.
Toney himself was penalised for standing offside before the ball was snapped, and that left Arrowhead Stadium flat as the Bills held on for an intense, hard-fought 20-17 victory, inspired again by Josh Allen, that keeps their play-off hopes alive.
Offensive offside is still a rare call by officials even if there have been 11 penalties for it this season compared with just three over the previous two years, and it left a usually calm Mahomes incensed on the sideline and in his post-match interviews.
“Loss for words, man, it’s tough to swallow,” said Mahomes. “I’ve played seven years and never had offensive offside called. Another game, we’re talking about the refs. It’s not what we want for the NFL. It’s not what we want for football.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid added: “It’s a bit embarrassing in the National Football League for that to take place. I’ve been in the league for a long time, haven’t had one like that.”
It was Toney’s mistake though and added to yet more drops from Chiefs receivers as Kansas City lost consecutive games for the first time in two years to slip to 8-5. The AFC top seed is slipping away from the Chiefs, making it more likely Mahomes will face a play-off game on the road for the first time in his career.
San Francisco strike the front in three-way NFC title race
The 49ers sit on top of the NFC standings after beating the Seattle Seahawks 28-16 for a fifth win in a row – including emphatic victories over Dallas and Philadelphia which give them the edge with all three now on 10-3 records.
San Francisco’s attack looks the most dynamic and complete in the NFL right now, with Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel equally as dangerous as runners or receivers.
Samuel had 150 total yards and scored a rushing and receiving touchdown, McCaffrey ran for 145 yards and Brandon Aiyuk added 126 in the air as quarterback Brock Purdy had a career-best 368 yards passing.
The Eagles are still struggling after again being outplayed in a comprehensive 33-13 defeat in Dallas that saw the Cowboys go above them in the NFC East and cheer up their head coach Mike McCarthy – who had emergency appendix surgery on Wednesday but was back on the sideline on Sunday.
Dak Prescott continued his side’s red-hot scoring form as these two old rivals will now go toe-to-toe for what could be crucial play-off seedings – but it seems likely now that the NFC route to the Super Bowl will run through San Francisco.
Ravens stun Rams with overtime walk-off win
The Ravens top the AFC standings, but only thanks to back-up punt returner Tylan Wallace taking a kick in overtime all the way for a touchdown to finally see off the Rams 37-31 in Baltimore.
Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Lamar Jackson traded late touchdowns before the Rams forced overtime in an exciting contest with a Lucas Havrisik field goal – but Wallace produced a magnificent twisting 76-yard run to send the Ravens to 10-3.
In his first game returning punts, Wallace became just the fourth player to score a walk-off touchdown return in overtime – but the second this season after Xavier Gipson did it for the New York Jets in week one.
Crowded play-off picture & lowest scoring game for 16 years
Trevor Lawrence threw three interceptions as the Jacksonville Jaguars lost 31-27 in Cleveland as former Super Bowl winner Joe Flacco threw three touchdowns to put the Browns in the top wildcard spot in the AFC at 8-5.
Despite successive defeats, the Jags still top the AFC South after the Indianapolis Colts lost 34-14 at the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans were beaten 30-6 by a rejuvenated Zach Wilson and the New York Jets.
The Denver Broncos joined the group of six teams jostling for position on 7-6 with a comfortable 24-7 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
It’s a good job the Detroit Lions have a healthy NFC North lead after they suffered a shock 28-13 loss at the Chicago Bears, while a quirk of the NFL play-off system means the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 29-25 win over the Atlanta Falcons puts them in the fourth seed spot as division leaders despite their 6-7 record.
The New Orleans Saints were 28-6 winners over the Carolina Panthers while the Minnesota Vikings beat the Las Vegas Raiders 3-0 in the lowest scoring game since 2007 – with only a Greg Joseph field goal preventing the first 0-0 since 1943.
