Chiefs clinch AFC West...Bengals roll...Bills pass Pats
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have wrapped up their sixth consecutive AFC West crown and improved to 11-4 with a 36-10 rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Patrick Mahomes threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, with Byron Pringle accounting for two of those scores. Pittsburgh fell to 7-7-1 and further behind the Bengals in the AFC North.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow threw for a franchise-record 525 yards and four touchdowns, and the Cincinnati Bengals took sole possession of first place in the AFC North with a 41-21 win over the depleted Baltimore Ravens. Burrow broke Boomer Esiason's team record of 522 yards. He was 37 of 46 and threw two touchdown passes to Tee Higgins and one each to Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon. The Bengals swept the Ravens for the first time since 2015. Tee Higgins had 12 receptions for a career-high 194 yards. Josh Johnson started at quarterback for the Ravens with Lamar Jackson injured and backup Tyler Huntley sidelined by COVID-19.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and the Buffalo Bills hung on to beat the New England Patriots 33-21 to vault themselves back into first place in the AFC East title race. Buffalo now holds tiebreakers over the Patriots and Dolphins, and is in the driver's seat to win its second straight division title. Allen finished 30 of 47 passes for 314 yards, and he also rushed 12 times for 64 yards.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tom Brady threw for 232 yards and a touchdown, Antonio Brown made a grand return to the lineup after missing the last eight games and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-6 to clinch their first NFC South title since 2007. In his first game since Oct. 13, Brown saw a prominent role on offense with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sidelined with injuries, catching 10 passes for 101 yards while being targeted 15 times by Brady. Ronald Jones carried 20 times for 65 yards and a touchdown filling in for the injured Leonard Fournette.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Hours after clinching the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys put an emphatic stamp on the title by blasting Washington, 56-14. Dak Prescott was 28 of 39 for 330 yards and four scores as Dallas moved to 11-4 while crushing Washington's playoff hopes. Cooper Rush threw the fifth scoring strike, helping the Cowboys reach 50 points for the first time since the Super Bowl in 1993.