NFL round-up: Seahawks close in on NFC’s top seed with win over Carolina | NFL

Zach Charbonnet ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks turned two third-quarter Carolina turnovers into touchdowns to beat the Panthers 27-10 on Sunday and move closer to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

Sam Darnold threw an interception in the end zone but finished 18 of 27 for 147 yards with a touchdown for the Seahawks, who can win the NFC West title and top seed if the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams lose or tie.

Jaxson Smith-Njigba added nine catches for 72 yards as Seattle (13-3) earned its sixth straight victory.

The Panthers (8-8) had a chance to win the NFC South as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 20-17 at Miami on Sunday. Now the Panthers will need to win at Tampa Bay next weekend to capture their first division title since 2015 and end a seven-year playoff drought.

Bryce Young was held to 54 yards on 14-of-24 passing and threw an interception for the inconsistent Panthers, who followed up a win with a loss for the fifth straight time. Young ran for 30 yards and scored Carolina’s only touchdown with a 10-yard run.

Carolina was limited to 139 yards of offense.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17-20 Miami Dolphins

Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard throw for his first career score, and the Miami Dolphins beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-17 on Sunday.

The Bucs (7-9) remained one game behind the Carolina Panthers (8-8) in the NFC South after the Panthers’ 27-10 loss to Seattle on Sunday. The Buccaneers would still win their fifth straight division title and sixth straight playoff berth by defeating Carolina in the regular season finale the next week.

But Tampa Bay has lost four straight, seven of its last eight, and has barely looked like a playoff team during that stretch. The Buccaneers’ last four losses have all come by one possession.

Despite three turnovers and a 145-53 rushing loss Sunday, Tampa Bay pulled within three after a three-play, 91-yard drive that Baker Mayfield capped with a four-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 54 seconds left.

A broken coverage by the Dolphins defense led to a 59-yard reception by Chris Godwin that set up the score, but Miami recovered the onside kick to end Tampa Bay’s comeback attempt.

Arizona Cardinals 14-37 Cincinnati Bengals

Ja’Marr Chase caught two touchdown passes from Joe Burrow, who threw for 305 yards as the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Arizona Cardinals 37-14 on Sunday.

Chase finished with seven catches for 60 yards and became the first player in NFL history with at least 80 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches in each of his first five seasons.

Burrow passed for 300 or more yards for the 28th time, tying Andy Dalton for the record in franchise history. Chase Brown ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns as the Bengals (6-10) improved to 3-2 since Burrow returned from surgery on his left toe.

Arizona’s Trey McBride had 10 catches, giving him 119 this season to break the NFL single-season record for a tight end, surpassing Zach Ertz’s 116 in 2018. He also broke DeAndre Hopkins’ Cardinals record of 115 catches, set in 2020.

The Cardinals (3-13) had the seventh-ranked passing offense in the league, but the Bengals’ improved defense limited them to 233 total yards. Jacoby Brissett threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

New England Patriots 42-10 New York Jets

Drake Maye threw a career-high five touchdown passes before ending the rest of the game in the third quarter, New England scored a touchdown on its first six drives and the Patriots finished the regular season undefeated on the road by dominating the New York Jets 42-10 on Sunday.

Rhamondre Stevenson had a TD and a catch for the Patriots (13-3), who moved closer to winning the AFC East title for the first time since 2019. They will do so if Buffalo loses or ties Philadelphia later today.

Maye was 19 of 21 for 256 yards and a 157.0 quarterback rating with TD throws to Stevenson, Stefon Diggs, Austin Hooper, Hunter Henry and Efton Chism III before being lifted by coach Mike Vrabel to Joshua Dobbs with 5:31 left in the third quarter. Maye joined Tom Brady (11 times) and Drew Bledsoe (twice) as the only New England quarterbacks to reach 4,000 passing yards in a season.

Dobbs’ opening drive ended the Patriots’ touchdown drive, with New England settling for a field goal on its seventh possession – but Andy Borregales nailed the 41-yard attempt up the right upright.

It didn’t matter much at that point, as the Patriots entered their eighth 13-win season in team history. Only San Francisco has more with 11.

Pittsburgh Steelers 6-13 Cleveland Browns

Shedeur Sanders threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, Cleveland’s defense kept Pittsburgh out of the end zone and the Browns held on for a 13-6 victory Sunday, preventing the Steelers from winning the AFC North.

Pittsburgh (9-7) entered the weekend needing a win or loss against Baltimore for its top division title since 2020.

Instead, the Steelers will host the Ravens to close out the regular season, with the winner clinching the division and the AFC’s fourth seed in the playoffs.

The Browns (4-12) ended a four-game losing streak, as well as a seven-game skid in division play. This is the first time since December 10, 2009 that the Browns have beaten the Steelers and held them in check without a touchdown.

Cleveland scored on its first two possessions and took a 10-0 lead.

Jacksonville Jaguars 23-17 Indianapolis Colts

Trevor Lawrence scored twice, Cam Little kicked a game-clinching 42-yard field goal with 6:58 left, and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 on Sunday, moving within one win of their first AFC South title since 2022.

The Jags (12-4) won their seventh straight game a day after two-time defending division champion Houston beat the Los Angeles Chargers to stay in contention for the title. The Texans’ victory also eliminated the Colts from the playoffs.

Jacksonville’s Liam Coen became the first coach in NFL history to take a four-win team and win 12 games the following season.

Lawrence was 23 of 37 for 263 yards, although his streak of consecutive games with at least 225 passing yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating above 100 ended at four. He didn’t have a touchdown pass and he threw his first interception in five weeks.

The Jags have kept 44-year-old Colts quarterback Philip Rivers winless in three games since he returned to the league after a five-year retirement.

New Orleans Saints 34-26 Tennessee Titans

Tyler Shough threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Austin Jr with 6:22 left to give the New Orleans Saints the lead as they recovered from a 13-point deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 34-26 on Sunday.

Shough improved to 5-3 as a starter, helping the Saints (6-10) earn their fourth straight victory. He dominated Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in the draft, in the third NFL matchup between starting rookie quarterbacks this season. Shough finished 22 of 27 for a career-high 333 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 142.7.

Audric Estime added a 32-yard TD run with 3:44 left as New Orleans dominated the second half. The Saints both outscored the Titans 24-6 and outscored them 331-152 after halftime.

Chase Young had one and a half of the Saints’ four sacks and also stripped Ward and returned the fumble 33 yards for a touchdown. Charlie Smyth made two field goals. Young got a half-sack with 5:16 left to force the Titans into a three-and-out.

The Titans (3-13) now begin the 2026 season trying to string together back-to-back wins. This is something this franchise hasn’t done since November 13-17 of the 2022 season. They are 1-8 at home this season.