Jalen Hurts, Mac Jones and Tommy DeVito were among the NFL Week 12 winners and losers.
The NFL's Thanksgiving slate on Thursday and Friday was a biz of a snoozer thanks to four lopsided games and all of that tryptophan in the turkey.
The Detroit Lions looked like the Lions of old in a loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys' rout of the Washington Commanders will be best remembered for Dolly Parton's halftime show, the Seattle Seahawks were no match for the San Francisco 49ers, and the New York Jets introduced the "Fail Mary" into their NFL vernacular during a loss to the Miami Dolphins in the league's first Black Friday game.
On Sunday, the 11-game slate featured much more competitive matchups and intriguing finishes.
Here are all the winners and losers from Sunday's afternoon action in the NFL...
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Winner: The 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are off to a 10-1 start for the second consecutive season. Only two other teams in the Super Bowl era have done that in back-to-back years and both won the championship.
NFL
But the Eagles' tenth victory of the season - a 37-34 win over the Buffalo Bills - didn't come easy.
The Eagles trailed by 10 at the start of the fourth quarter before Jalen Hurts' 15-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, Josh Allen's interception, and Hurts' 29-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus put the Eagles up 28-24 with 11:07 remaining. The Bills regained the lead when Allen found Gabe Davis for a seven-yard touchdown with 1:52 left. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott then converted a 59-yard field goal in less than ideal conditions to even the score at 31-31 with 20 seconds left.
The Eagles trailed again in overtime after a Bills field goal on the opening possession. But Hurts called a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a walk-off 12-yard touchdown run.
Loser: Josh Allen, the Buffalo Bills and their playoff chances
Josh Allen is now 0-6 in overtime games.
A miscommunication between Allen and Gabe Davis in OT cost the Bills a potential game-winning touchdown, with the team having to settle for a field goal. The Buffalo defense was then unable to prevent the Eagles from reaching the end zone as the Bills dropped to 6-6. The Bills now enter their bye week trailing the 6-5 Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos in the race for the seventh and final AFC playoff spot.
Oh and the Bills' next two matchups are in Kansas City and home against Dallas.
Winner: Josh Allen, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the crossbar
The Jacksonville Jaguars held on for a 24-21 win over the Houston Texans by a matter of inches. And it was linebacker Josh Allen who helped create that gap.
Allen sacked Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud twice on the final drive, the first for a loss of 15 yards and the other, during which he combined with Travon Walker, for a loss of nine. The Texans ultimately ended up attempting a potential game-tying 58-yard field goal with 34 seconds remaining and Matt Ammendola's kick hit the crossbar to end the game.
With the win, the Jaguars remained atop the AFC South at 8-3 and avenged their 20-point loss to the now 6-5 Texans earlier this season.
Loser: Matt Ammendola
A potential C.J. Stroud comeback story was a few pages and a couple of inches short.
The Houston Texans rookie quarterback nearly helped erase a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit but Matt Ammendola's 58-yard field goal attempt with roughly 30 seconds remaining struck the crossbar to give the Jacksonville Jaguars a 24-21 victory.
Ammendola also missed a 50-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. Not exactly a chip shot on either attempt by any means but missing both proved to be the difference between winning and losing...and between first place and second place. Stroud threw for over 300 passing yards for the fourth-straight game and nearly orchestrated a fourth-quarter comeback.
Winner: First-place Atlanta Falcons?
Only one team in the NFC South was victorious in Week 12: the Atlanta Falcons.
That doesn't mean it was a pretty win, but it was a win, nonetheless. And it put the Falcons in first place with a record of just 5-6.
The Falcons snapped a three-game losing streak with a 24-15 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Jessie Bates III had a 92-yard interception return to put the Falcons on the board late in the first quarter. Bijan Robinson's two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, helped the Falcons take a 21-12 lead. Quarterback Desmond Ridder got the start but threw two interceptions in Saints territory, one of which was in the red zone. Still, he did enough to get the win.
Loser: Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals
Such is life without Joe Burrow.
The Bengals offense struggled under Burrow's replacement Jake Browning in a 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, mustering just 222 total yards. Browning, who took over as starting quarterback with Burrow set for season-ending wrist surgery, competed 19 of 26 passes for 227 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Following Browning's third-quarter red zone interception, the Steelers went down field for a go-ahead touchdown. The ensuing Bengals possession then came to an end when forced to punt after Browning ran into a sack. Browning very much resembled a backup quarterback, but it wasn't exactly a banner day for the Bengals defense.
Cincinnati was outscored by one of the lowest-scoring offenses in the league as the Steelers had more than 400 yards of total offense for the first time in 58 games.
Winner: Scott Hanson and the NFL RedZone crew
The show must go on for the NFL RedZone broadcast.
Even as an emergency alarm was sounding and the building was being evacuated, host Scott Hanson continued to deliver live football action to fans watching at home. As the network aired a live feed of the fourth quarter between the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills, Hanson informed viewers that an alarm had sounded in the studio and the crew was instructed to evacuate the building in what he called an "unprecedented" incident. He ultimately remained in place and completed the broadcast as the alarm sounded in the background throughout.
Loser: Mac Jones
Mac Jones starts games but doesn't always finish them.
For the fourth time this season, and for the second-consecutive game, the New England Patriots quarterback was replaced during a game by backup Bailey Zappe. Bill Belichick elected to give Jones the start Sunday despite having benched him late in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' Week 10 loss after Jones threw an interception that thwarted a potential go-ahead drive.
Jones then struggled in the first half on Sunday against the New York Giants, throwing two interceptions as the Patriots were shut out. His second pick, which came as the Patriots were approaching the red zone, set up the Giants' only touchdown of the half. Jones attempted to throw the ball rather than take a sack and the pass went directly to Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke, who returned it to the Patriots' 26-yard line.
Jones was replaced at the start of the second half by Zappe, who completed his first six passes during an 11-play, 60-yard drive that was capped with Rhamondre Stevenson's seven-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 7-7. But it would be the only points the Pats put on the scoreboard as Chad Ryland missed what would have been a game-tying 35-yard field goal with seconds remaining in a 10-7 loss.
Winner: Tommy DeVito and his touchdown celebration
Is there a better touchdown celebration in the NFL? Fuhgeddaboudit!
Tommy DeVito has given the New York Giants reason to celebrate over the last two weeks. The undrafted rookie free agent and New Jersey native earned his first career victory last week and was named the NFL's rookie of the week. This week he made his first home start, playing just 12 miles from the New Jersey house where the 25-year-old still lives with his parents.
DeVito completed 17 of 25 passes, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins in the Giants' 10-7 victory over the New England Patriots. He and his family celebrated the occasion and the touchdown with what has become DeVito's trademark Italian "finger purse" hand gesture.
