Baker Mayfield shined at Lambeau Field as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-20. The quarterback completed 22 of 28 pass attempts for four touchdowns and 381 yards. With these numbers, Mayfield concluded his meeting with a perfect passing efficiency rating of 158.3. This is the first time a quarterback has achieved a perfect score at Lambeau Field, with a minimum of five pass attempts. Tampa Bay’s receivers obviously benefited from Mayfield’s play. Chris Goodwin generated 155 yards, and Mike Evans scored the 92nd touchdown of his career. With their victory and the advantage in the tiebreaker, the Bucs (7-7) seize the top of the South division of the National Conference, ahead of the New Orleans Saints (7-7). The two teams will face off in the 17th week of the schedule. A duel which could be decisive for the first place in the division.
Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns improved their chances of making the playoffs by posting their ninth victory of the season. A victory which was decided on the last game of the match. Chicago Bears receiver Darnell Mooney was unable to secure Justin Fields’ desperation pass and the ball leapt into the arms of D’Anthony Bell for the interception. Despite three interceptions, Flacco contributed to a 13-point Browns comeback in the fourth quarter. He threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with less than four minutes left, and Dustin Hopkins made a 34-yard field goal to make it 20-17 in favor of the Browns with about 30 seconds left in the game. The match ended with this score. Casually, Kevin Stefanski’s men (9-5) have the same record as the Kansas City Chiefs.
The San Francisco 49ers (11-3) are the National Conference West Division champions for the second straight season. They defeated the Arizona Cardinals 45-29, recording their sixth consecutive victory. The Cardinals had a good idea of what awaited them when they welcomed Christian McCaffrey. The latter had scored four touchdowns and produced 177 yards during the previous duel in October. The 49ers star player picked up where he left off with three majors and 187 yards, including 115 by rushing. McCaffrey became the first player in Niners history to score seven touchdowns against the same team in a season. The seven majors against the Cardinals during the same schedule also tie an NFL record in the Super Bowl era. With all this, we must not forget Brock Purdy’s performance. He saw 16 of his 25 pass attempts find takers for 242 yards and 4 touchdowns. Purdy and McCaffrey deliver performances worthy of the Goodell Tour MVP title.
Especially when we’re facing the New York Jets. The Miami Dolphins (10-4) humiliated the New Yorkers (5-9) by a score of 30-0. Jaylen Waddle took over in the absence of Tyreek Hill. The receiver was Tua Tagovailoa’s favorite target, racking up 142 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. As for Raheem Mostert, he scored two rushing touchdowns. He has 18 on the ground and two through the air this season. Mostert is only the third undrafted player since 1967 to score at least 20 touchdowns in a season. Priest Holmes and Austin Ekeler are the other two. Mike McDaniel’s men are back on the path to victory, having lost to the Tennessee Titans the previous week. The end of the Floridians’ season promises to be interesting with clashes against the Dallas Cowboys, the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills.
