Reigning champion Kansas City edged Carolina and Detroit ripped Indianapolis on Sunday to reach an NFL-best 10-1 while Dallas shocked arch-rival Washington to snap a five-game losing streak.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns and Spencer Shrader kicked a 31-yard field goal on the final play to lift Kansas City over the host Panthers 30-27.
Chuba Hubbard’s 1-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion run had put Carolina level with 1:46 remaining, setting the stage for the Chiefs’ seven-play, 57-yard march to set up the winning kick.
It clinched a 10th-consecutive 10-win season for the Chiefs, who needed a bounce-back win after losing their first game of the season last week at Buffalo.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid stressed his team could not feel down after only squeaking past a 3-8 Carolina club.
“This league is crazy,” he said. “Nothing is given to you. You’re getting their best shot so keep your heads up.
“We’ve got some things to clean up, but we keep it rolling. That’s the important part. Winning is the important part.”
Detroit’s win streak stretched to nine games as the Lions had Jahmyr Gibbs rushing for 90 yards and two touchdowns and David Montgomery running for another score in a 24-6 triumph at Indianapolis — the 10-1 start matching the 1934 club for the best in team history.
“I would highlight our defense first,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “This is 10 quarters without allowing a touchdown. We talk all the time about play a physical style, limit the points, shut down the run and we were able to do that.”
A wild finish with 38 points in the last 5:16 marked the Dallas Cowboys’ 34-26 victory at Washington, where the Commanders appeared to have lost, then made an amazing comeback only to fall in the end.
Cooper Rush’s second touchdown pass, a 22-yarder to Luke Schoonmaker with 5:16 remaining, gave Dallas a 20-9 edge, but Jayden Daniels threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz and ran for a 2-point conversion to pull Washington within 20-17.
KaVontae Turpin answered with a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown on the ensuing play, but again the Commanders responded as Austin Seibert kicked a 51-yard field goal and Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin on an 86-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds remaining.
Seibert, however, shockingly missed the conversion kick to keep Dallas ahead 27-26 and the Cowboys (4-7) added a Juanyeh Thomas 43-yard kickoff return touchdown on the next play to seal victory.
“This is the one we needed,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said.
– Tua powers Miami win –
At Miami, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns to spark the Miami Dolphins over New England 34-15.
At Chicago, Minnesota’s John Parker Romo kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2:10 remaining in overtime to lift the Vikings over the host Bears 30-27.
Sam Darnold threw for 330 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings improved to 9-2.
Green Bay kept pace with NFC North divisional rivals Detroit and Minnesota, improving to 8-3 with a 38-10 home rout of San Francisco.
Josh Jacobs ran for 106 yards and three touchdowns while Jordan Love threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns to ignite the Packers.
At Houston, Chig Okonkwo caught a 70-yard go-ahead touchdown pass from Will Levis in the fourth quarter as Tennessee upset the host Texans 32-27.
Levis threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns and Tony Pollard ran for 119 yards and a touchdown as the Titans reached 3-8 and Houston fell to 7-5.
Host Seattle beat Arizona 16-6 to leave both tied atop the NFC West at 6-5. Coby Bryant returned an interception 69 yards for a Seattle touchdown as the Seahawks defense didn’t allow a touchdown.
Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield threw for 294 yards to spark the Buccaneers over the host New York Giants 30-7 while Bo Nix threw two second-half touchdown passes to lead Denver over host Las Vegas 29-19.
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