For the second week in a row, Las Vegas’ defense scored two touchdowns, including a pick-6 from the faltering Patrick Mahomes, and the resurgent Raiders held off the careless Kansas City Chiefs 20-14 on Monday to maintain their faint chances of making the NFL postseason.
The Raiders (7-8) broke a six-game losing run to the Chiefs when big defensive end Bilal Nichols recovered a fumble eight yards for a touchdown and Jack Jones caught an interception 33 yards for another score seven seconds later. This season’s five defensive touchdowns by the Raiders mark a record high since 2005.
With one of their poorest games of the Mahomes era, Kansas City (9-6) lost a chance to win the AFC West for the seventh time in a row.
Still, the Chiefs had a
Mahomes completed with 235 yards and an interception on 27 of 44 attempts.
White gained 145 yards on the run while Aidan O’Connell went 9 of 21 for 62 yards, never finishing a pass after the first quarter. For the Raiders, Malcolm Koonce had three sacks.
NFL action from elsewhere on Christmas Monday
California’s Santa Clara (AP) — In the third quarter, Lamar Jackson completed two touchdown passes in eighteen seconds, and Baltimore defeated San Francisco by intercepting Brock Purdy four times.
With impressive plays on both sides of the ball, Jackson and the Ravens (12-3) transformed a much-anticipated clash between the NFL’s two best teams into a decisive victory.
The defense, led by Kyle Hamilton, intercepted Purdy on three of the 49ers’ first four drives, setting the tone early in the 11-4 game.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Jackson surpassed Purdy to become the MVP favorite after throwing for 252 yards and running for 45 more.
Since Colin Kaepernick in 2015, Purdy is the first quarterback for the 49ers to throw four interceptions in a single game.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – With a touchdown pass and a “tush push” that set him the NFL record for the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season, Philadelphia (11-4) defeated New York to end a three-game losing streak.
The Giants (5-10) were down 18 points late in the third quarter when Adoree’ Jackson returned an interception 76 yards for a major and Saquon Barkley made a two-point conversion.
However, D’Andre Swift’s five-yard touchdown run and two field goals by Jake Elliott helped the Eagles put it away in the fourth quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, New York’s Tyrod Taylor found Darius Slayton for a 69-yard touchdown pass, bringing the score to 30–25. Taylor was eliminated.
With a one-yard “tush push” early in the first quarter, Hurts scored his 15th rushing touchdown of the year, tying the record for most by a quarterback in an NFL season. In 2011, Cam Newton of Carolina set the record with 14.
Hurts tied the team record for touchdowns this season with a 36-yard pass to DeVonta Smith to give his side a 17-3 lead. Hurts now has 35 touchdowns overall.
