A thunderous doink helped the Kansas City Chiefs gain some breathing room in the race for the AFC’s top seed, as the Buffalo Bills fell short despite Josh Allen’s outstanding effort. Travis Kelce did not only become AFC West Championship, but also crushed an all-time NFL record during last night’s victory over the Los Angeles Chargers and is now the fastest TE in history to reach 12,000 career receiving yards.
A DOINK FOR THE DIVISION! IT’S GOOD! @CHIEFS WIN! pic.twitter.com/RtsINqo05m
— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024
Taylor Swift chose to pay tribute to her lover, Travis Kelce, at the final Eras Tour event, which took place on Sunday, December 8, in Vancouver. With over two billion dollars in income, Swift’s lengthy career assessment is a watershed event in both her business and personal lives, and she chose to acknowledge the latter on stage.
During her 1989 album performance, the popstar wore a sparkling gold top and a red skirt that matched the colors of the Kansas City Chiefs, Kelce’s team, in what fans believe was a tribute to her beau. Perhaps the two also coordinated, as Kelce appeared to pay respect to Swift before taking the field at Arrowhead Stadium to face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, December 8.
Both Taylor and Travis have so much to celebrate, no wonder Taylor’s private jet flew Travis Kelce out to Nashville, Tennessee some hours ago.
The battle for first place in the NFC remained close as the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles kept up with the Detroit Lions. There are four weeks remaining in the NFL regular season to determine the postseason picture.
There is a clear leader in the battle for the AFC bye. The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (12-1) are in excellent position to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after Matthew Wright drilled a 31-yard field goal off the left upright and through the goal posts as time expired to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers 19-17 on Sunday night.
Patrick Mahomes once again produced all the big plays when the Chiefs needed them the most, and they rallied for their 15th straight one-point win. The Chiefs have a two-game lead over the Buffalo Bills (10-3) and Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3). Buffalo retains the tiebreaker against the Chiefs after Kansas City suffered its only loss in Week 11. On Christmas Day, the Chiefs and Steelers will play off in Pittsburgh.
Russell Wilson moved to 6-1 this season, throwing two touchdown passes as the Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns 27-14. Allen became the second player in NFL history to throw three touchdown passes and run for three touchdowns in the same game (Otto Graham did it for the Cleveland Browns in the 1954 NFL championship game), but Buffalo’s defense was unable to stop Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, and the Los Angeles Rams in a 44-42 loss on Sunday.
The Bills had won seven straight. Next week, they face the Lions, while the Steelers travel to Philadelphia. The Eagles just escaped with a 22-16 victory over the tenacious Carolina Panthers. Some Philadelphia players were unhappy after the ugly win.
Wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith were dissatisfied with the offense’s performance. The Eagles (11-2) again leaned on Saquon Barkley, who gained 124 yards on 20 attempts. That means Jalen Hurts didn’t need to do much. He threw for 108 yards, two touchdowns passing and one rushing.
Barkley eclipsed LeSean McCoy’s single-season team record for running yards. He now has 1,623 yards, bringing him closer to Eric Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105 yards established in 1984.
Brown, who threw his helmet on the sideline in fury following a three-and-out in the third quarter, answered bluntly when asked where the offense has to improve. Brown said, “Passing,” without explaining. Brown was targeted only four times and caught all four catches for 43 yards. Hurts failed to throw him the ball several times when he was open, including on a touchdown pass to Smith.
Brown stated that the offense’s run-heavy nature makes it “extremely difficult” for receivers to establish a rhythm. The Eagles have won nine consecutive games and are one game behind the Lions (12-1) for the NFC’s top spot. Detroit now holds the tiebreaker advantage.
The Vikings were on the Lions’ heels courtesy to a stellar day from Sam Darnold in a 42-21 victory over Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons. Darnold had a career-high 347 passing yards and five touchdowns to lead Minnesota (11-2) to its sixth consecutive victory. The Vikings complete the season in Detroit, in a game that could decide the NFC North and the NFC’s top seed.
But there’s a long way to go before January 5.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took sole ownership of first place in the NFC South with a 28-13 victory over Las Vegas, while Atlanta suffered its fourth consecutive loss. The Buccaneers are 7-6 after their third consecutive victory over a last-place team. The Falcons (6-7) swept the Bucs, therefore they own the tiebreaker.
The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Arizona Cardinals 30-18 on the road to preserve their lead in the NFC West. The Seahawks (8-5), Rams (7-6), Cardinals (6-7), and San Francisco 49ers (6-7) are all in close contention. The division race could come down to the Seahawks-Rams game in Los Angeles in week 18.
