NFL results and highlights: Saquon Barkley passes 2,000 yards as Philadelphia Eagles beat Dallas Cowboys to win division title

29 December 2024, 17:48 | Updated: 30 December 2024, 12:41

Saquon Barkley closed in on Eric Dickerson's all-time NFL rushing record, the Indianapolis Colts suffered a devastating defeat to the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills crushed Aaron Rodgers' New York Jets on the penultimate Sunday of the regular season...

Dallas Cowboys 7-41 Philadelphia Eagles

Barkley rushed for 167 yards to top 2,000 on the season, backup quarterback Kenny Pickett ran and threw for scores before departing with injured ribs, and the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East title by routing the Dallas Cowboys 41-7.

Barkley has 2,005 yards and needs 101 in next week's regular-season finale to top Eric Dickerson and his 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.

The Eagles (13-3) led 24-7 in the third quarter when Pickett was drilled by defensive end Micah Parsons, ending his first start in place of the concussed Jalen Hurts. Tanner McKee, a career third-stringer, entered the game and the Eagles finished the drive with a field goal.

McKee later threw two touchdown passes, a 20-yarder to A.J. Brown and a 25-yarder to DeVonta Smith, in front of a roaring crowd delighted to watch the Eagles dominate their fiercest rival to wrap up the division title and at least the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

Hurts was injured in last week's loss at Washington and remains in the NFL's concussion protocol - he didn't practice all week - which opened the door for Pickett to start.

Green Bay Packers 25-27 Minnesota Vikings

Sam Darnold threw for a career-best 377 yards, to go with three touchdowns and one interception, as the Minnesota Vikings held off a late Green Bay Packers rally to earn a crucial 27-25 victory.

Justin Jefferson had eight catches for 92 yards, while Jalen Nailor, Jordan Addison and Cam Akers all snagged touchdown receptions as Minnesota (14-2) earned a ninth win in a row.

Green Bay (11-5) rallied with back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull within two. Emanuel Wilson scored on a five-yard run to cut the Packers' deficit to 27-18 with little more than six minutes to go, before Jordan Love found Malik Heath just before the two-minute warning.

The Vikings crucially got the ball on the ensuing kickoff and never gave it back, with Darnold securing the win with a completion to Akers to move the chains on third down and allow them to run out the rest of the clock.

Minnesota's nine-game winning streak matches its third longest in franchise history. It's also the Vikings' longest stretch of success since 1975, when they won 10 straight.

They now head into a final-week showdown with the Lions in Detroit with both the NFC North division title on the line and the No 1 seed in the NFC - and the first-round bye and home field advantage that comes with it.

New York Jets 14-40 Buffalo Bills

Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC's No. 2 seed with a 40-14 rout of the unravelling New York Jets.

The Bills put the game away by capitalising on two Jets turnovers and scoring three touchdowns over a 5:01 span in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Buffalo's defense forced three takeaways overall and sacked Aaron Rodgers four times, including a two-yard loss for a safety in the second quarter.

Allen had a short and efficient outing, finishing 16 of 27 for 182 yards with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper and a 14-yarder to Keon Coleman before giving way to backup Mitchell Trubisky with Buffalo leading 33-0 through three quarters.

Trubisky piled on by completing a 69-yard touchdown pass to practice squad call-up Tyrell Shavers 2:23 into the fourth quarter.

Allen's two-touchdown passing outing was the 64th of his career to match Peyton Manning for the third most in a player's first seven NFL seasons. Patrick Mahomes holds the record with 67 two-touchdown outings in that span, followed by Dan Marino's 65.

Allen also became the NFL's first player with five consecutive 40-touchdown seasons, while his one-yard score was the 65th rushing touchdown of his career, matching the team record held by Thurman Thomas.

Indianapolis Colts 33-45 New York Giants

The New York Giants snapped a franchise-record 10-game losing streak and ended the Indianapolis Colts' slim playoff hopes as Drew Lock threw four touchdown passes and ran for another in a 45-33 victory.

New York earned its first home win of the season and it no longer has control of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

Lock sandwiched touchdown passes of 31 and 59 yards to Malik Nabers around touchdown passes of 32 yards to Darius Slayton and five yards to Wan'Dale Robinson in leading the Giants (3-13) to their first win since beating Seattle on October 6.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette had a 100-yard return on the second-half kickoff on a day the league's worst offense set a season high for points.

Jonathan Taylor scored on runs of three and 26 yards for Indianapolis (7-9), while Joe Flacco, subbing for the injured Anthony Richardson, threw touchdown passes of 13 yards to Alec Pierce and seven yards to Michael Pittman, the last bringing the Colts within 35-33 with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Lock, who finished 17 of 23 for 309 yards, iced the game by leading a nine-play, 70-yard drive that he capped with a five-yard run. Nabers finished with seven catches for a career-high 171 yards.

Las Vegas Raiders 25-10 New Orleans Saints

Aidan O'Connell passed for two touchdowns, tight end Brock Bowers broke two rookie NFL records, and the Las Vegas Raiders won for just the fourth time this season as they beat the New Orleans Saints 25-10.

Bowers' seven catches for 77 yards gave him 108 receptions for 1,144 yards this season, eclipsing Mike Ditka's 1961 rookie tight end mark of 1,067 yards receiving and Puka Nacua's 2023 mark of 105 catches by a rookie at any position.

Bowers also surpassed Darren Waller's franchise mark of 107 receptions in a season, which had stood since 2020. Ameer Abdullah rushed for 115 yards for the Raiders (4-12) - the journeyman running back's first 100-yard game in his 10 NFL seasons.

O'Connell finished with 242 yards passing, including a three-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers and an 18-yarder to Tre Tucker.

Daniel Carlson kicked four field goals - his longest from 54 yards - for the Raiders, who didn't look fazed by flight delays on Saturday that got them into their hotel after midnight, less than 12 hours before kickoff.

Spencer Rattle, playing in place of the injured Derek Carr completed 20 of 36 passes for 218 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

Carolina Panthers 14-48 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers keep their division and playoff hopes alive with a 48-14 rout of the Carolina Panthers.

Tampa Bay's fifth win in the past six weeks nudged the first-place Bucs (9-7) a half-game ahead of Atlanta for the best record in the NFC South, with the Falcons set to play on the road later on Sunday night at Washington.

Atlanta holds the tiebreaker in the division race and can end Tampa Bay's three-year reign as NFC South champions by beating the Commanders and winning again next week at home against the last-place Panthers (4-12).

Mayfield threw touchdown passes of two and one yards to Mike Evans, and Tampa Bay produced points on five straight first-half possessions to build a 27-7 lead. Jalen McMillan scored on receptions of 10 and 16 yards, linebacker J.J. Russell returned a blocked punt for a third-quarter touchdown and rookie Bucky Irving had another big game against Carolina with 120 yards rushing on 20 carries and four receptions for 77 yards.

Irving went over 1,000 yards for the season (1,033) despite primarily being used as a backup to Rachaad White. The fourth-round draft pick ran for 152 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against the NFL's 32nd-ranked run defense in Tampa Bay's 26-23 overtime win at Carolina on December 1.

Miami Dolphins 20-3 Cleveland Browns

Tyler Huntley scrambled for a touchdown and threw for one in relief of starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as the Miami Dolphins stayed in the AFC wild card playoff race with a 20-3 win over the Cleveland Browns.

With Tagovailoa sidelined by a hip injury, Huntley did enough to keep the Dolphins (8-8) alive with one game left, against the New York Jets to close out the regular season. If they win, and the Denver Broncos lose to the Kansas City Chiefs, they secure a postseason berth.

Tagovailoa's status for next week is unclear, but Huntley showed he can get the job done if necessary. He finished 22 of 26 for 225 yards against Cleveland, who the 26-year-old was with during training camp before being released in August.

The Browns (3-13) dropped their fifth straight game and finish 2-6 on the year at home. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 24 of 47 passes for only 170 yards, throwing an interception and also losing a fumble. He was also flagged three times for intentional grounding.

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett celebrated his 29th birthday with a pair of sacks that sees lasst season's defensive player of the year move to 14 on the season, making him the first player in NFL history to get that many four years in a row.

Tennessee Titans 13-20 Jacksonville Jaguars

Mac Jones threw two touchdown passes, including one to standout rookie Brian Thomas Jr., as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 20-13 in the rain to sweep the season series for the fourth time in 30 years.

Jones completed 15 of 22 passes for 174 yards, with most of them going to Thomas, who had seven receptions for 91 yards.

The first-round draft pick's 11-yard touchdown catch with 7:05 remaining gave him his eighth game with at least 60 yards and a score, tying him with Hall of Famer Randy Moss for the most by a rookie in NFL history.

Thomas, who has five touchdown catches in his past four games, also became the fifth player in Jaguars history with double-digit touchdown receptions in a single season. He joined Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, Marcedes Lewis and Reggie Williams.

The Titans (3-13) improved their position for the 2025 NFL draft - a potential chance to land a franchise quarterback - and secured last place in the AFC South.

Jacksonville looked as if it might make it a blowout, but coach Doug Pederson's team settled for field goals while building a 13-0 lead early. The Titans got back in it with an 85-yard drive to start the second half, which ended with Mason Rudolph's eight-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Nick Vannett.

(c) Sky Sports 2024: NFL results and highlights: Saquon Barkley passes 2,000 yards as Philadelphia Eagles beat Dallas Cowboys to win division title