Allen stars in the snow as Bills book play-off place

Super snowy touchdown & one-handed catch - NFL plays of the week

Paul Higham
BBC Sport Journalist

Josh Allen had a record night in the snow as the Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC East title and a play-off spot with five games to spare.

It was misery in the Buffalo blizzard for the San Francisco 49ers though, who joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in suffering huge body blows on Sunday.

The Bengals lost a wild shootout against the Pittsburgh Steelers which gives them a huge mountain to climb to make the play-offs, while the Ravens felt the full force of the red-hot Philadelphia Eagles.

There were two one-point games and a frantic overtime finish while Aaron Rodgers' job may be on the line after another poor outing for the New York Jets.

Josh Allen makes history as Bills win AFC East

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Josh Allen led the Bills to their fifth straight AFC East title

Just when you think Allen has done it all, he managed to somehow get credited for a touchdown pass and reception on the same play in another all-action display during Buffalo's 35-10 rout of San Francisco.

After Amari Cooper caught Allen's pass and was tackled, he offloaded the ball back to his quarterback who dived Superman-style into the snowy end zone.

Allen became the first quarterback to have a touchdown catch, pass and run in the same game as the Bills won a seventh straight fixture to clinch a fifth consecutive AFC East title.

With five games left it is the earliest a division has been won for 15 years and at 10-2 the Bills have the Kansas City Chiefs in their sights in the battle for top spot in the AFC.

San Francisco lost three fumbles in the game as well as star running back Christian McCaffrey to another injury on a miserable night in western New York.

The 49ers, who reached the Super Bowl last season, are now bottom of the NFC West on 5-7.

Eagles earn statement win over Ravens

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Saquon Barkley took the game away from the Ravens in the fourth quarter

Challenging the Detroit Lions for top spot in the NFC are the Philadelphia Eagles, who stifled the Baltimore Ravens' top-ranked offense to win their eighth game in a row.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley pressed his Most Valuable Player claims with 107 yards and a touchdown, but the way Phildelphia's defence bottled up Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry was the catalyst for their 24-19 victory.

At 10-2 the Eagles are now powering towards the NFC East title, but Baltimore were left frustrated after earning more yards and dominating possession but failing to capitalise as their usually reliable kicker Justin Tucker missed three more crucial kicks with the game still in the balance.

Wilson goes wild as Steelers sink Bengals

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Russell Wilson had the third 400-yard game of his career on Sunday

Russell Wilson recorded the second best yardage total of his 13-year career with 414 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 44-38 win at the Cincinnati Bengals.

Joe Burrow also threw three scores but the Bengals' leaky defence yet again cost them as they tied an unwanted record with a fourth defeat when scoring over 30 points this season.

Moving to 9-3, Pittsburgh tied a better NFL record with a 21st consecutive winning season - but Mike Tomlin's side are more focused on staying ahead of Baltimore and winning the AFC North.

The Bengals, at 4-8, should probably start thinking about next season.

Bucs win in overtime and two close calls

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned a 26-23 overtime success at the Carolina Panthers after a wild finish that saw Adam Thielen put the hosts ahead with just 30 seconds left only for Chase McLaughlin to tie the game as time expired with a field goal - and repeat the dose for the overtime win.

A late Sam Darnold touchdown pass to Aaron Jones gave the Minnesota Vikings a 23-22 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. A fifth win in a row keeps the Vikings just a game behind the Lions in the NFC North on 10-2 and looking good for the play-offs.

Quarterback Anthony Richardson kept the Indianapolis Colts alive with some late heroics in another one-point win - a 25-24 success at the New England Patriots.

Richardson threw a touchdown to Alec Pierce with just 12 seconds left to get within a point, and then barged over for a two-point conversion to win it as the Colts made the aggressive play call.

Rodgers' starting role in jeopardy?

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The Jets are now 3-9 this season under Aaron Rodgers and are all but out of play-off contention

The New York Jets have fired the head coach and general manager this season, and now Aaron Rodgers' job could be on the line after one of his worst games for the team as they blew a 21-7 lead to lose to the Seattle Seahawks.

Another dramatic game saw both a 99-yard kick-off return and a 92-yard interception return go for touchdowns, but it was Rodgers' position as starter that was the big talking point as the Jets' defeat ensured a ninth straight losing season.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered a nasty concussion from a late hit by Houston's Azeez Al-Shaair that saw the Texans linebacker ejected during their 23-20 win in Florida.

Kirk Cousins was intercepted four times by the Los Angeles Chargers, including for a crucial pick-six, as the Atlanta Falcons were beaten 17-13 to lose a third game in a row, while the Los Angeles Rams outlasted the New Orleans Saints to win 21-14.

Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw three touchdowns and ran in one himself as the Washington Commanders got back on track after three straight losses with an emphatic 42-19 win over the Tennessee Titans.

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