Cam Newton struggled but the New England Patriots managed to keep their playoff hopes alive thanks to an ugly 20-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Newton completed just nine passes for 84 yards with two interceptions, but the Patriots defence was able to smother Arizona’s top-ranked offence and keep the Cardinals from taking advantage of New England’s offensive struggles.
Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray was held to 170 yards and zero touchdowns, with both teams only managing to find the end zone on the ground.
A 50-yard field goal from Nick Folk as time expired ultimately clinched the much-needed victory for New England, as the Patriots remain within touching distance of the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East.
The Dolphins had little trouble in their clash with the winless New York Jets, pulling out a 20-3 victory.
Ryan Fitzpatrick looked comfortable back in the starting quarterback position in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa, throwing for 257 yards and two touchdowns in the blowout win.
Meanwhile, a returning Sam Darnold threw two intercepts and was sacked three times in a performance to forget for the Jets.
Patrick Mahomes was at his electric best as the Kansas City Chiefs repelled Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24.
Mahomes threw for a whopping 462 yards and found the end zone three times in what was an offensive masterclass.
And it needed to be against Brady, who threw for three touchdowns himself but had a late surge denied by some terrific clock management from the Chiefs.
After Covid-19 issues forced all of Denver’s quarterback options out of their game against New Orleans, undrafted wide receiver Kendall Hinton was unable to do much as the Broncos went down to the Saints 31-3.
Hinton completed just one pass for 13 yards to go along with two intercepts, while Taysom Hill did enough to lead the Saints to their ninth win of the season.
The Minnesota Vikings survived a late missed field goal to edge a 28-27 win over the Carolina Panthers.
In a high-scoring affair, the Tennessee Titans ran in four touchdowns to beat the Indianapolis Colts 45-26.
Baker Mayfield threw for two touchdowns and 258 yards to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 27-25 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A spirited effort from quarterback Mitch Trubisky was not enough for Chicago as the Bears went down to the Green Bay Packers 41-25.
In Sunday’s other games, the Atlanta Falcons demolished the Las Vegas Raiders by 37 points, the San Francisco 49ers pulled off an upset 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Buffalo Bills improved to an 8-3 record with a 10-point victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, and the New York Giants defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 19-17.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here