JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes, Travis Etienne ran for two scores and the Jacksonville Jaguars moved atop the AFC South with a 36-19 victory against rival Indianapolis on Sunday.

The Jaguars (9-4) won their fourth consecutive game and extended the Colts’ misery in Jacksonville. Indianapolis (8-5) most recently won at EverBank Stadium in 2014, an 11-game skid that includes a matchup in London.

This latest one could have a lasting impact.

Colts quarterback Daniel Jones injured his right Achilles tendon in the second quarter and could be out for the season. The injury often includes a nine-month rehab, meaning Jones could be one-and-done in Indy and the Colts could be looking for a starting quarterback in March.

"It sucks ... for Daniel Jones, everything changes right now."@BMac_SportsTalk reacts to Daniel Jones' achilles injury vs the Jaguars. pic.twitter.com/sU68JfXQX6

— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) December 7, 2025

Jones dropped to the ground after throwing incomplete and immediately grabbed the back of his right leg. He slammed his helmet to the ground several times before team trainers arrived. He eventually limped off the field and into the locker room for tests. The Colts quickly ruled him out.

Jacksonville led 14-7 at that point, and the Colts never threatened with backup Riley Leonard in the game. The only other quarterback on Indy’s roster is Brett Rypien, who is on the practice squad.

Indy lost its third in a row and fourth in five games, a late-season slump that allowed Jacksonville and potentially Houston to move ahead in the division. Now, with Jones hurt and a daunting schedule down the stretch, it’s fair to wonder whether the Colts win again.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, keep winning and gaining confidence.

Lawrence completed 17 of 30 passes for 244 yards, with no turnovers. He connected with Jakobi Meyers and Tim Patrick for TDs.

Three of Lawrence’s completions gained at least 30 yards. Brian Thomas Jr. had his best game in nearly two months, finishing with three receptions for 87 yards. Etienne ran 20 times for 74 yards, scoring on runs of 3 and 28 yards.

Josh Hines-Allen had a sack for the fourth consecutive game, this one resulting in a safety.

Indy’s Jonathan Taylor gained 74 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries against the NFL’s stingiest run defense. Leonard completed 18 of 29 passes for 145 yards and an interception. He ran for a score late.

Saints 24, Buccaneers 20

TAMPA, Fla. — Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough ran for two touchdowns and the New Orleans Saints upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20 on Sunday to tighten the NFC South race.

The lowly Saints (3-10), who were 8 1/2-point underdogs, frustrated Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (7-6) in a sloppy game mostly played through a driving storm.

The four-time defending division champion Bucs lost for the fourth time in five games and fell into a first-place tie with Carolina. The Bucs and Panthers face off twice in the final three games.

After Chris Godwin Jr. couldn’t hold onto Mayfield’s pass on fourth-and-2 from the Saints 47, New Orleans drove for the go-ahead score.

Shough spun away from Logan Hall and Vita Vea in the backfield and scrambled 13 yards for a touchdown and a 24-17 lead near the midpoint of the fourth quarter.

The Buccaneers had a chance to tie it but Emeka Egbuka dropped Mayfield’s pass in the end zone, and they settled for a 37-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin that cut the deficit to 24-20 with under five minutes remaining.

The Bucs had another chance in the final two minutes but Mayfield ran out of his early-season magic.

First, Deion Jones dropped a potential interception that would’ve set Tampa Bay up near its own 40. Instead, the Bucs got the ball after a punt at their 20 with 1:48 remaining and no timeouts.

Mayfield threw two incomplete passes, ran for 7 yards and threw a 2-yard pass to Cade Otton.

Shough finished with 144 yards passing and 55 rushing with one pick.

Mayfield had 122 yards passing on a 14-of-30 afternoon with one interception.

Shough’s 34-yard TD run on the opening drive of the second half was his career score on the ground. It gave New Orleans a 14-10 lead.

Helped by a 29-yard pass-interference penalty on Jonas Sanker that wiped out an incomplete pass to Tez Johnson on third-and-10, the Buccaneers reclaimed the lead a few plays later.

Rachaad White ran 11, 7 and 5 yards. Then Sean Tucker ran for 13 yards and scored from the 1 to make it 17-14.

Dolphins 34, Jets 10

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tua Tagovailoa remained unbeaten against the New York Jets and put his cold weather woes on ice, and the Miami Dolphins had three rushing touchdowns to run away with a 34-10 victory Sunday.

With Miami’s fourth straight win, Tagovailoa improved to 7-0 against the Jets as a starter and 8-0 overall in games in which he has played against the AFC East rivals. And with the temperature 41 degrees at kickoff, Tagovailoa moved to 1-7 in his career when the temperature is 46 or colder.

De’Von Achane ran for 92 yards and a touchdown before leaving in the second quarter with a rib injury. Jaylen Wright filled in and had a career-high 107 yards and a score. Rookie Ollie Gordon II also ran for a TD for Miami (6-7), which ran for 239 yards and has won five of its last six after starting the season 1-6.

Tagovailoa was 13 of 21 for 127 yards with a touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle before sitting for the final minutes with the game well in hand. Zach Wilson, New York’s No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, finished up for Miami.

Zach Sieler had 2 1/2 of the Dolphins’ six sacks of the Jets (3-10), who were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. It’s the 15th straight year — the NFL’s longest active drought — without a postseason appearance for New York.

Undrafted rookie quarterback Brady Cook made his regular-season NFL debut for the Jets when he replaced the injured Tyrod Taylor with 3:39 remaining in the first quarter. Taylor left with what the team announced was a groin injury.

Cook, who was Taylor’s backup because Justin Fields was ruled out with knee soreness, was 14 of 30 for 163 yards and two interceptions. Taylor was 1 for 4 for 6 yards and an interception before leaving.

The immediate concern for the Dolphins after the game was Achane, who was slow to walk off the field after a 29-yard run late in the second quarter.

Seahawks 37, Falcons 9

ATLANTA — Rashid Shaheed returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, Seattle’s defense came up with three turnovers and the Seahawks won for the seventh time in eight games, beating the hapless Atlanta Falcons 37-9 on Sunday.

Sam Darnold threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair of scores to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and another to Cooper Kupp. The Seahawks (10-3) broke away from a 6-6 tie at halftime with a 31-point beatdown of the Falcons over the final two quarters.

With their seventh loss in eight games, the Falcons (4-9) sealed an eighth straight losing campaign — matching the worst stretch in franchise history — and were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a month still to go in the regular season.

Atlanta hasn’t made the postseason since 2017, a year after its infamous Super Bowl meltdown to Tom Brady and the Patriots.

Seattle is a team with soaring expectations, coming into the day as one of three NFC West teams with nine wins and its sights on a division title, maybe even a top seed in January.

Shaheed sparked the second-half outburst on the very first play after the break, marking the second week in a row that Atlanta has given up a huge kickoff return.

Shaheed took the kick at his own goal line, found a seam and was barely touched on his way to the other end of the field for the longest touchdown of the NFL season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It also was the longest return for the Seahawks since Tyler Lockett had a 105-yarder against Chicago in 2015.

That wasn’t the only miscue on another awful day for Atlanta’s special teams.

After an interception by Mike Hughes gave Atlanta the ball in Seattle territory, the home team came away with no points. Zane Gonzalez’s 50-yard field goal attempt was swatted away by Nick Emmanwori, who streaked in off the edge without being blocked.

The Seattle defense forced a fumble by Bijan Robinson when the Falcons were driving for a potential tying touchdown in the third quarter. DeMarcus Lawrence knocked the ball away and Devon Witherspoon scooped it up at the Seahawks 12.

On Atlanta’s next possession, Kirk Cousins’ pass for Kyle Pitts was deflected and picked off by Emmanwori, his first career pick, Devon Witherspoon had another pick on a wacky play when the ball ricocheted high in the air on a short throw by Cousins.

The Seahawks were bolstered on the defensive side by the return of safety Julian Love and tackle Jarran Reed from injured reserve, making the first time all season that unit was at full strength.

Love played for the first time since a Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals after being sidelined with a hamstring ailment. Reed had missed the last four games with wrist and thumb injuries that required surgery.

Vikings 31, Commanders 0

MINNEAPOLIS — J.J. McCarthy threw a career-high three touchdown passes in his first turnover-free game, returning from his latest injury absence in prime form for the Minnesota Vikings in a 31-0 victory on Sunday that sent the Washington Commanders to their eighth straight loss.

McCarthy went 16 for 23 for 163 yards in his seventh NFL start, after sitting out last week in Seattle with a concussion while the Vikings were shut out for the first time in 18 years and dropped their fourth consecutive game with the offense in disrepair.

McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season after knee surgery and five games earlier this season with a sprained ankle, targeted his tight ends for all three scores — the first two to Josh Oliver and the last one to T.J. Hockenson.

As smooth as the afternoon went for the Vikings (5-8), the return of the starting quarterback for the Commanders (3-10) produced nothing positive — only pain.

Jayden Daniels, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award winner, was forced out midway through the third quarter when he was blocked during an interception return and landed hard on the left elbow he dislocated last month to require a three-game absence. Daniels missed three games to injury earlier this season, too.

Marcus Mariota, who is 1-5 as the starter this season, threw an interception and lost a fumble as the Vikings finally enjoyed a stellar performance from every position group after stumbling badly through November to fall out of realistic contention for the playoffs.

McCarthy, who took four sacks and faced plenty of pressure, looked like a seasoned pro from the start. The Vikings scored on a seven-play, 61-yard drive from the opening kickoff and then stopped the Commanders on fourth-and-goal from the 2 when Deebo Samuel stumbled in the back of the end zone and failed to hang on to the throw from Daniels — the third straight incompletion.

Then McCarthy directed a 19-play, 98-yard drive that drained 12:01 off the clock, converting five third downs — including three with 6 yards or longer to go.

Jordan Mason capped the possession with a touchdown run, as the Vikings leaned on him and Aaron Jones to gain 162 yards on 34 rushes.

Packers 28, Bears 21

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Keisean Nixon intercepted Caleb Williams’ pass in the end zone with 22 seconds remaining to preserve Green Bay’s 28-21 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday that moved the Packers into first place in the NFC North.

The Bears were facing fourth-and-1 from Green Bay’s 14-yard line when Williams faked a handoff and rolled to his left. Tight end Cole Kmet had gotten behind Nixon in the end zone, but Nixon made a leaping catch of the underthrown pass.

Josh Jacobs scored the tiebreaking touchdown on a 2-yard run with 3:32 remaining as the Packers (9-3-1) won their fourth straight and snapped a five-game winning streak by the Bears (9-4).

Packers coach Matt LaFleur improved his record against the Bears to 12-1, the lone loss coming in the final week of the 2024 regular season. It came in his first head-to-head matchup with rookie Bears coach Ben Johnson.

During his introductory news conference, Johnson said, “to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.” Johnson was Detroit’s offensive coordinator last season when the Lions swept the Packers.

LaFleur declined to comment on that remark before Sunday’s game, but Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said, “you take it personal, for sure. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Green Bay’s Jordan Love went 17 of 25 for 234 yards with three touchdowns — two to Christian Watson and one to Bo Melton — and one interception. Williams was 19 of 35 for 186 yards with two touchdowns and the pick.

Jacobs set up his go-ahead touchdown with a spectacular 21-yard run.

The Packers were facing third-and-2 from Chicago’s 28 when Love pitched right to Jacobs. Chicago’s Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter, D’Marco Jackson and Jaylon Johnson were all converging on Jacobs behind the line of scrimmage.

Jacobs somehow got through all of them and raced 21 yards before Kevin Byard finally brought him down. Jacobs then scored with a physical run up the middle on third-and-goal.

That still left plenty of time for Williams, who has orchestrated five fourth-quarter comebacks this year. He got Chicago into scoring position with completions of 27 yards to Luther Burden and 24 yards to Devin Duvernay.

Chicago faced third-and-1 from the 14 when Kingsley Enagbare stuffed Kyle Monangai for no gain. That set up the game-sealing interception.

After getting outscored 14-3 and outgained 207 yards to 71 in the first half, Chicago rallied to tie it with two touchdowns and a field goal on its first three second-half possessions. Williams threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus and Cairo Santos kicked a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter.

The tying touchdown came when Williams floated a 1-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Colston Loveland on third-and-goal with eight minutes left. That capped a 17-play, 83-yard drive lasting over 8 1/2 minutes.

Rams 45, Cardinals 17

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Matthew Stafford threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns, Puka Nacua and Blake Corum both scored twice and the Los Angeles Rams rolled past the Arizona Cardinals 45-17 on Sunday to stay tied for the NFC West lead.

The Rams (10-3) scored 35 unanswered points to bounce back from last week’s turnover-filled loss to the Panthers and win for the seventh time in eight games. They are tied with the Seahawks atop the division, one game ahead of the 49ers.

The reeling Cardinals (3-10) have lost five straight and 10 of their past 11 after starting the season at 2-0.

Los Angeles fell into an early 7-0 hole but rallied for a 24-10 lead by halftime, scoring just before the break on a beautiful 28-yard throw over the middle from Stafford to Nacua, who had six catches for 136 yards in the first half. The Rams also scored touchdowns on a pair of 2-yard runs — one each by Kyren Williams and Corum.

Los Angeles piled up 306 yards in the first half and had 530 in the game.

The Rams stayed hot to open the second half, scoring another touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Stafford to Colby Parkinson for a 31-10 lead.

Los Angeles capped the offensive onslaught with two straight touchdowns on the first play of the drive.

Nate Landman intercepted Jacoby Brissett’s pass late in the third and the Rams scored on the next play when Stafford hit Nacua for a 31-yard touchdown and a 38-10 lead. On their next drive, Corum eluded the Cardinals’ flat-footed defense on the first play on a 48-yard TD run for a 45-10 lead.

Stafford completed 22 of 31 passes. Nacua had 167 yards receiving and Corum had 128 yards rushing.

The injury-depleted Cardinals took a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game after a crisp, five-play, 67-yard drive that ended with Brissett’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Michael Wilson.

Wilson caught 11 passes for 142 yards and had two touchdowns. Brissett — starting his eighth straight game in place of injured starter Kyler Murray — completed 25 of 44 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Trey McBride had five catches for 58 yards. It was his 15th straight game with at least five catches, tying the all-time mark for a tight end set by Travis Kelce.

Arizona suffered another lopsided loss at the hands of a division rival. They were thumped by the Seahawks 44-22 in Week 10 and lost to the 49ers 41-22 in Week 11.

The Rams have won 15 of their past 18 against the Cardinals.

Broncos 24, Raiders 17

LAS VEGAS — Bo Nix passed for 212 yards and rushed for a touchdown, and the Denver Broncos didn’t fall behind for the first time this season as they defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 24-17 on Sunday.

The Raiders lost quarterback Geno Smith, who injured his right hand and shoulder in the third quarter and was replaced by Kenny Pickett.

The Broncos (11-2) appear to be on the verge of ending Kansas City’s nine-year reign in the AFC West, and they tied idle New England for the top seed in the conference. Denver owns the tiebreaker because of its 6-0 record against common opponents; the Patriots lost to the Raiders.

In running their winning streak to 10 games, the Broncos also ended their NFL record of rallying for nine consecutive victories. Denver has its best record through 13 games since 2013.

The Raiders (2-11) have lost seven in a row and 11 of 12. Las Vegas also has lost 11 consecutive divisional games, the league’s longest active skid.

Statistics pointed to a potential mismatch with the Broncos bringing in a top-five defense against a Raiders offense that’s at or near the bottom of several statistical categories. Denver held the ball for 39:03 and gained 356 yards with 27 first downs. The Raiders had 229 yards and 16 first downs.

Nix was highly efficient, completing 31 of 38 passes.

Nik Bonitto recorded two sacks, giving him 12 1/2 for the season. He is the first Denver player with double-digit sacks in consecutive seasons since Von Miller did it five straight times from 2014-18.

Smith was 13 of 21 for 116 yards and a touchdown. Pickett completed 8 of 11 passes for 96 yards and a TD.

Maxx Crosby had two tackles for loss, giving him 25 for the season to break his team record of 23 set three years ago.

Each team had just one possession in the first quarter — and made them count.

The Broncos opened with a 14-play, 81-yard drive that took 8:54, with Nix running in from 8 yards to complete the series. Then the Raiders took the remaining time off the clock, with Smith hitting Brock Bowers for a 15-yard TD.

That was the first opening-series touchdown the Broncos have allowed this season. It also was the first opening Las Vegas drive to go the distance since the first game at New England.

Both offenses had their difficulties in the second quarter, with the only score coming on a 48-yard punt return for a touchdown by Denver’s Marvin Mims Jr.

RJ Harvey’s 3-yard scoring run late in the third period gave Denver what seemed like an almost insurmountable two-touchdown lead. Harvey has five TD runs this season and four through the air.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---