NFL Week 15 scores, highlights: Insane ending to Browns-Bears, Texans walk-off in OT, 49ers clinch division (2024)

49ers clinch NFC West

And the first division winner is ... the San Francisco 49ers. They're NFC West champions after handling the Arizona Cardinals, 45-29. Next task: The No. 1 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.

Rams hang on

In a game that should not have been this close, the Rams (7-7) hung on for a 28-20 win over the Commanders to move into the No. 7 spot in the NFC. Los Angeles finishes the season against the Saints, Giants and 49ers.

Umm Rams?!

After Terry McLaurin's last touchdown, I wrote, "Too little, too late for Washington, but a highlight play nonetheless."

Turns out it wasn't too little, too late, because the Commanders are now within a possession with just under two minutes to play. McLaurin made another huge play (a 49-yard catch-and-run down to the one-yard line), and a few plays later Jacoby Brissett found Curtis Samuel for the TD. Brissett has thrown two quick touchdowns in place of the benched Sam Howell, and Washington has life.

McLaurin mosses defender

The Commanders may be bad, but Terry McLaurin is very much not. After nearly making the catch of the year earlier in the second half (see below), he made a leaping, turning grab over Derion Kendrick for the 29-yard touchdown. Too little, too late for Washington, but a highlight play nonetheless.

Purdy continues MVP campaign

While the Bills are completely shutting down Dak Prescott and the Cowboys, Brock Purdy has strengthened his case to be NFL MVP. Last year's Mr. Irrelevant has diced up the Cardinals defense to the tune of 16 of 25 passing, 242 yards and four touchdowns (two to Christian McCaffrey and two to Deebo Samuel). He has to be looked at as the favorite with a few weeks to play.

James Cook legacy game

Bills RB James Cook is having the game of his life.

• 25 carries for 179 yards and two touchdowns
• 2 catches for 42 yards and a touchdown

Cooks' second score gave the Bills a 31-3 lead (!) against the 10-3 Cowboys. Total domination from Buffalo.

Touchdown race heating up

Raheem Mostert scored twice versus the Jets, giving him a league-leading 20 TDs on the year. He's now joined by Christian McCaffrey, who has a hat trick of touchdowns in the 49ers' blowout over the Cardinals. It's going to be a great race to follow down the stretch of the regular season.

Almost Catch of the Year

Terry McLaurin nearly made an INSANE catch down the left sideline. It was ultimately ruled incomplete -- it should have been defensive pass interference regardless -- but what an incredible effort from the Commanders WR.

Commanders on the board

It's not over yet. Down 20-0 midway through the third quarter, Sam Howell found a wide-open Curtis Samuel to get Washington on the scoreboard.

CMC x2

Another two-touchdown game for Christian McCaffrey, whose 41-yard catch-and run gave the 49ers a 28-13 advantage.

Commanders forget to cover Kupp

Two Commanders defenders just watched as Cooper Kupp ran by them after going in motion pre-snap. All that was left to do was catch Matthew Stafford's deep ball and leisurely jog across the goal line for the 62-yard touchdown. Rams not messing around up 20-0 on Washington.

Bills dominating Cowboys

The Cowboys have just two more first downs (five) than the Bills have touchdowns (three) in a first half that's been all Buffalo. Josh Allen tacked on a third score with a QB sneak from one-yard out.

Bills handling Cowboys

Needing this win to stay in the AFC wild-card race, the Bills have handled the Cowboys over the first 20 minutes. Two Buffalo touchdowns from two running backs so far, with Latavius Murray and James Cook finding the end zone.

Brock Purdy leaves with shoulder injury; returns quickly to throw TD

49ers fans held their breath after Brock Purdy stayed down after taking an illegal hit on a pass towards the end of the first half. Purdy walked off the field and into the blue medical tent, but he only missed two plays before returning. And not only did he come back, but he also led San Francisco to a touchdown before intermission with this six-yard strike to Christian McCaffrey.

Rams up double digits

Matthew Stafford is 12-for-13, Kyren Williams found the end zone, and the Rams are up double digits on the Commanders late in the first half.

High-scoring first half in Arizona

The 49ers clinch the NFC West with a win, but the 3-10 Cardinals have not made it easy in the first half. James Conner kicked off the scoring for Arizona, San Francisco responded with a touchdown drive of its own -- with Deebo Samuel punching it in -- and then the visitors took the lead when Charvarius Ward intercepted Kyler Murray and took it back for the 66-yard score. Arizona has since added two field goals to pull within 14-13.

Insane ending to Browns-Bears

Joe Flacco is now 2-1 as the Browns starter after erasing a double-digit deficit against the Bears in the fourth quarter. After an abysmal first three periods, Flacco led a field goal drive, threw a long touchdown to Amari Cooper, and then orchestrated the game-winning score by setting Dustin Hopkins up for a 37-yarder. Browns up, 20-17.

The Bears still had 32 seconds to work with, and they came about as close as you can come to winning the game on a Hail Mary. The ball was literally in the hands of Darnell Mooney as he lay in the end zone, but the Bears WR couldn't control it and ended up kicking it back into the air. It landed right in the arms of D'Anthony Bell for the game-sealing interception.

Cleveland is now 9-5 on the season and well on its way to making the playoffs with a QB it signed less than a month ago.

Walk-off TD called back, but Texans still win!

The Texans had done it! They won! Devin Singletary scored a walk-off TD!

Not so fast. A holding call negated the game-winning score, giving the Titans new life.

That life lasted all of two plays, because Ka'imi Fairbairn saved the Texans day by drilling a 54-yarder as time expired.

The Texans, without C.J. Stroud, now move to 8-6 and are right in the thick of the wild-card race in the AFC.

Will Levis in blue medical tent

In overtime against the Texans, Will Levis stayed down after getting sacked. Fortunately, Levis was able to walk off the field. He's in the blue medical tent.

YOU GOT MOSSED

Chris Moore said GIMME DAT to Desmond King II as he snatched the ball away from the Texans cornerback for a big gain. Huge play with Tennessee and Houston battling in overtime.

Browns erase 10-point deficit

Despite throwing three interceptions, Joe Flacco has kept fighting -- and now he has the Browns tied with the Bears in the final minutes. The game-tying score came on a beautiful throw to Amari Cooper between three defenders. The pass was so good, in fact, that not only did Cooper catch the ball in stride, but he broke free down the sideline to complete the exhilarating 51-yard touchdown.

PANTHERS WIN

This might be the nail in the coffin for Falcons head coach Arthur Smith. That's because Atlanta, tied for first place in the NFC South, just lost to the previously 1-12 Carolina Panthers. The Falcons had a golden chance to ice the game in the final minutes, but an unacceptable interception from Desmond Ridder in the red zone gave Carolina one last chance. And No. 1 pick Bryce Young delivered, driving the Panthers 17 plays and 90 yards while draining 7 minutes, 35 seconds off the clock. From there, Eddy Pineiro's chip-shot field goal lifted Carolina to its second win and severely damaged Atlanta's playoff hopes.

Kadarius Toney costs Chiefs more points

Everyone knows about Kadarius Toney's offsides penalty that cost the Chiefs the potential game-winning touchdown. This week, he bobbled a catch that resulted in an interception and then a touchdown a few plays later. Toney played a big part in Kansas City's Super Bowl win last season, but he's been beyond bad in 2023.

Baker on 🔥

How about Baker Mayfield absolutely carving up the Packers defense? He's 22 of 28 passing for 381 yards and four touchdowns as Tampa Bay has racked up 34 points at Lambeau.

Luckily for David Moore, who scored the most recent touchdown, he held onto the ball just long enough before Rudy Ford knocked it out of his arm as he crossed the goal line.

From ELITE to INT

Last week, Browns QB Joe Flacco threw three touchdowns in a win over the Jaguars. This week, he's got three interceptions as Cleveland trails by 10 against the Bears. It's been a forgetful day for the veteran signal-caller.

Three straight for Jimmy Graham

It's back to being Jimmy Graham SZN in New Orleans. The 37-year-old TE has now scored in three straight games for the Saints, who have dominated the Giants on Sunday.

One catch, one TD

The Buccaneers are back up by 10 after second-year TE Ko Kieft caught his first pass of the season ... for a touchdown! Huge response from Tampa Bay after the Packers' scoring drive.

Throw and catch of the day

I don't see this one being topped. Facing a third-and-14, Jordan Love stepped up in the pocket, rolled right and then uncorked a dart towards the end zone. The throw was perfect, and so was the catch, as rookie Jayden Reed stopped his momentum as he neared the sideline so that he could make the catch and keep both feet inbounds for the 17-yard highlight score.

Joe Flacco pick-six

Could the Bears actually made a run at the playoffs? They're now up on the 8-5 Browns after Tremaine Edmunds picked off Joe Flacco and took it all the way back to the house. Chicago has a 14-7 lead.

Cryptic situation with Zach Wilson

With Zach Wilson dealing with dehydration, according to CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson, Trevor Siemian was at QB to start the second half. Not long after, however, the Jets ruled out Wilson with a head injury. The injury is not being called a concussion, and Wilson is not in concussion protocol. A strange season for the Jets gets a little weirder.