Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay acknowledged 2022 has been "a very humbling season" after the Super Bowl champions were eliminated from playoff contention.

Less than a year on from winning Super Bowl LVI, an injury-wrecked Rams side slipped to a 24-12 loss against the Green Bay Packers on Monday to officially put the postseason beyond their reach.

No Baker Mayfield heroics were able to save them this time around, and with a 4-10 record, they are tied with the 1999 Denver Broncos for the most losses coming off claiming the sport's biggest prize.

Asked whether he could have imagined his side's underperformance just months on from the greatest high of all, McVay acknowledged it had been a chastening campaign for his team and himself.

"I think it's hard to say that you could [have expected this]," he said. "You certainly can't, but this is the reality that we're in, and this is where we're at.

"My job is to focus on [finishing] up the season with the right competitive spirit, with the mindset and mentality that's reflective of who those guys are in the locker room and who those coaches are.

"There's been a lot of things I've thought about that I think you can make sense of, but it still doesn't make it any easier. It's a very humbling season, for sure."

McVay was adamant the Rams will not fold in the remaining weeks of the campaign, even with only pride to play for now, and credited his team for their performances amid a number of trying situations.

"This has been a real struggle in a lot of instances, a lot of adversity that we've gone through," he added. "But I think what we've seen from our guys is they're going to continue to battle.

"They're going to finish up these last three games the right way, with the right mindset and mentality, and we'll compete to the best of our ability.

"That's all I know how to do, and I trust that that's exactly what we'll do collectively as a group."

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay acknowledged 2022 has been "a very humbling season" after the Super Bowl champions were eliminated from play-off contention.

Less than a year on from winning Super Bowl LVI, an injury-wrecked Rams side slipped to a 24-12 loss against the Green Bay Packers on Monday to officially put the postseason beyond their reach.

No Baker Mayfield heroics were able to save them this time around, and with a 4-10 record, they are tied with the 1999 Denver Broncos for the most losses coming off claiming the sport's biggest prize.

Asked whether he could have imagined his side's underperformance just months on from the greatest high of all, McVay acknowledged it had been a chastening campaign for his team and himself.

"I think it's hard to say that you could [have expected this]," he said. "You certainly can't, but this is the reality that we're in, and this is where we're at.

"My job is to focus on [finishing] up the season with the right competitive spirit, with the mindset and mentality that's reflective of who those guys are in the locker room and who those coaches are.

"There's been a lot of things I've thought about that I think you can make sense of, but it still doesn't make it any easier. It's a very humbling season, for sure."

McVay was adamant the Rams will not fold in the remaining weeks of the campaign, even with only pride to play for now, and credited his team for their performances amid a number of trying situations.

"This has been a real struggle in a lot of instances, a lot of adversity that we've gone through," he added. "But I think what we've seen from our guys is they're going to continue to battle.

"They're going to finish up these last three games the right way, with the right mindset and mentality, and we'll compete to the best of our ability.

"That's all I know how to do, and I trust that that's exactly what we'll do collectively as a group."

Aaron Rodgers believes his Green Bay Packers are good enough to win the rest of their games and make a charge for the playoffs after defeating the Los Angeles Rams 24-12 on Monday.

In freezing conditions, Rodgers led the Packers to their second consecutive victory to take their record to 6-8, but they will need to win-out against the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions to have any chance of postseason action.

The Rams were without several of their top players, including defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who was named to his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl before the game.

Rodgers said "nobody was upset AD wasn't playing" and that the Packers "should have scored 30" in his absence.

He was rather dismissive of the undermanned Rams in his post-game media appearance, but said he now believes the Packers can go undefeated the rest of the way, despite the tough tests that lie ahead.

"I do [believe]," he said. "We are going to play three better football teams, but I do, definitely.

"They're all good football teams. Miami are playing for the playoffs, Minnesota are obviously division-winners and coming off a big win, and Detroit have won six out of seven and are playing really well.

"It's going to be three difficult games, but two of them are at home against dome teams, and it will be January for those two. We've notoriously been pretty good in those games over the years."

When asked what has been the difference between the Packers in their past two wins compared to the eight-game stretch before where they went 1-7, he said this league is all about momentum.

"You win a game, the vibes are pretty good." he said. "We've just been practising a little bit better, the energy's been a little bit better. 

"It’s hard to put your finger on it. We've played a couple of teams we should have beat, but that being said, it's still tough to win in the league. 

"I think we can beat anybody. We can also lose to anybody, but when you win a couple in a row, it starts to give you some confidence."

It was Rodgers' ninth consecutive win in Monday night fixtures, but he joked that the primetime slot does not have the same shine it used to.

"When you're a young player, you dream about playing on Monday nights," he said. "When you're an older player, you want those noon games. 

"It's past my bedtime. I'm ready to go home and go to sleep."

The Green Bay Packers remain in the playoff hunt for at least another week after a relatively comfortable 24-12 home win against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday.

After a field goal each to open the game, the Packers pulled ahead in the second quarter through A.J. Dillon's eight-yard touchdown run, and they were never in danger of being tracked down.

Dillon's second touchdown run of the game – this time from the one-yard line – gave Green Bay some breathing room, before fellow running back Aaron Jones got on the end of Aaron Rodgers' only touchdown pass of the game to extend the margin to 24-6.

The Rams snagged their only touchdown of the game in the final seconds of the third quarter, with Baker Mayfield finding Tyler Higbee on an eight-yard connection to make it a two-score game heading into the last, but they could not mount any more meaningful offense.

In freezing conditions, Rodgers completed 22 of his 30 passes for 229 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but it was the Packers' two-pronged rushing attack that was the difference.

Dillon was inefficient with just 36 yards from his 11 carries, but he made up for it with his two tough touchdown runs and three catches for 35 yards through the air. Meanwhile, Jones totalled 90 yards from his 17 carries, adding four catches for 36 yards and a score.

The Packers are now 6-8 after back-to-back wins, and they will need to keep it going to defeat the Miami Dolphins, the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions in the final three weeks to finish above .500 and potentially sneak into the playoffs.

The best defensive player of his era, Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald was named to his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl on Monday.

Donald was one of the initial two Pro Bowl announcements, with Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander also receiving the honour ahead of Monday's clash between the Rams and Packers.

Drafted in 2014, Donald was the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year, making the Pro Bowl in the process, and he has gone on to earn selection in every season of his career.

He joins Hall-of-Famers Joe Thomas, Jim Brown, Lawrence Taylor, Franco Harris, Derrick Thomas, Mel Renfro, Barry Sanders and Merlin Olsen as the only players to achieve the feat in their first nine seasons.

It adds to one of the sport's greatest defensive resumes, as Donald also has three Defensive Player of the Year awards, and seven consecutive selections to the All-Pro First Team from 2015 through 2021.

Having never played less than 14 games in any of his eight previous seasons, Donald's streak of All-Pro First Teams is in jeopardy after only tallying five sacks in 11 games, with his campaign likely over due to injury.

Meanwhile, Alexander, a first-round pick in 2018 will compete in his second Pro Bowl after also earning selection in 2020, a season where he was named to the All-Pro Second Team.

The rest of the Pro Bowl rosters will be announced on Wednesday.

For so much of the 2022 season, the stars have seemed to be aligning for the Cowboys as they look to finally justify the hype that surrounds Dallas before every NFL campaign.

The Cowboys survived an early season quarterback injury to Dak Prescott to start 4-1 with Cooper Rush under center, and have since consistently shown signs of being a team that has the ingredients to go all the way to the Super Bowl.

Prescott, following an unconvincing performance on his return from injury in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions, has rediscovered the level of performance that has helped him ascend to the fringes of the NFL's elite at the quarterback position. The loss of Amari Cooper in a trade with the Cleveland Browns has had a minimal negative impact on the offense, with CeeDee Lamb thriving as the undisputed number one receiver and Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard forming an explosive running back tandem.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys' defense has frequently shown its ability to derail opposing offense through dominance on the defensive line and success in generating takeaways, in which Dallas lead the NFL with 26.

Yet their strength on that side of the ball is now worthy of being called into question following a four-game stretch in which the Cowboys went 3-1 but saw their proficiency on defense drop off significantly.

Indeed, since Week 12, the Cowboys have allowed an average of 359.8 net yards per game. Only 10 teams have given up more in that span. Between Weeks 1 and 11, the Cowboys were the ninth-best defense in the NFL by the same measure.

The Cowboys were able to survive their defensive decline across Weeks 12 to 14, beating the New York Giants by a possession and blowing out the Indianapolis Colts with a fourth-quarter avalanche, before they narrowly avoided a humiliating loss to the Houston Texans in a game in which they gave up 23 points to the NFL's second-worst offense by yards per play.

But their Week 15 meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars arguably served as a harbinger of what could come for the Cowboys in the postseason if Dan Quinn's defense cannot get back on track.

Though their loss to the Jaguars was settled by a Prescott pick-six as Rayshawn Jenkins returned an overtime interception that clanked off the hands of Noah Brown, it was one borne of the Cowboys' inability to kill the Jaguars off having led 27-10 in the third quarter.

Dallas gave up two 75-yard touchdown drives, sandwiched by a 39-yard drive, to surrender that advantage in just under nine minutes of game time. The Cowboys' defense conceded eight explosive runs of at least 10 yards and 11 such passes, and were unable to preserve the lead Prescott restored with just over three minutes remaining with his second touchdown pass to Brown.

Of course, the Cowboys' defense did get the ball back to Prescott with a forced fumble from Trevor Lawrence immediately after that score, and criticism of the Dallas offense for calling a shot play to Brown on third down on the subsequent drive that fell incomplete and gave Lawrence another shot with a minute left is merited.

But the offense is rarely going to be perfect on every drive, and the frustrating thing for the Cowboys as that this was a defeat suffered amid one of Prescott's finest performances of the season.

Prescott delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 27 of his 30 pass attempts. His well-thrown rate of 90 per cent was the fourth best among quarterbacks with at least 10 attempts going into Monday and the best for signal-callers with an average of at least eight air yards per attempt. Prescott averaged 8.33, with his impressive combination of aggressiveness and accuracy exemplified by his perfectly placed 20-yard touchdown throw to Peyton Hendershot on a wheel route to put the Cowboys up 14-0 in the second quarter.

In terms of turnovers, the defense did offer support to Prescott by producing three, and the Cowboys' quarterback was not blameless in their loss of the original 17-point lead, throwing a third-quarter interception to Jenkins that set Jacksonville up for a touchdown to trim the advantage to 27-24.

But the reality is the offense scored enough points to beat Jacksonville and, instead of complementing that effort with a display that frustrated the Jags and an improving Jacksonville attack, the Dallas defense instead delivered volatility that should worry a team that will almost certainly have to go on the road as a Wild Card in the NFC playoffs.

Brown's unreliability in the clutch could be seen as an error that justifies owner Jerry Jones' continued apparent lobbying for the Cowboys to sign Odell Beckham Jr. for their playoff push.

Yet the Cowboys are not a wide receiver, especially one whose status in his recovery from a torn ACL remains unknown, away from winning their conference. They are instead seemingly short the kind of defense that can propel them to glory against opponents like the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers who can stymie their offense and whom they will surely need to overcome to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

With a postseason berth secured, there's plenty of reason for hope in Dallas, but there could be trouble ahead if the Cowboys cannot halt a worrying defensive downturn.

Atlanta Falcons running back Caleb Huntley suffered a torn Achilles in the first quarter of Sunday's loss to the New Orleans Saints, ending his season.

Huntley, 24, went undrafted in 2021 before spending his entire first campaign on the Falcons' practice squad.

He was elevated to the active roster for the first time in Week 2 this season, before being thrust into a starting role two weeks later, scoring his only professional touchdown in Atlanta's Week 4 win against the Cleveland Browns.

The former Ball State player set a new career-high in Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers, carrying 16 times for 91 yards in an overtime win, but he has since been relegated back to a depth role as Cordarrelle Patterson has returned to health and rookie Tyler Allgeier continues to impress.

Avery Williams will function as the third-stringer going forward, with the backfield trending towards Allgeier after he put up 139 rushing yards and a touchdown from 17 carries against the Saints.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday may have come at a cost, as Jalen Hurts reportedly sprained his throwing shoulder and is uncertain to play in this week's key divisional matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

The injury is not expected to be a long-term one, but could prevent him from playing in Week 16, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

If Hurts is unable to play against the Cowboys on Saturday, Gardner Minshew would be in line to get the start.

Hurts was reportedly injured late in the third quarter of the 25-20 win at Chicago but was able to finish the game. He threw for 315 yards with two interceptions and had three touchdown runs while rushing for 61 yards.

With the win, the Eagles improved their NFL-best record to 13-1 and took a three-game lead over the Cowboys atop the NFC East with three games to play.

Already assured of a playoff berth, Philadelphia can clinch the division and the number one seed in the NFC playoffs with a victory at Dallas on Christmas Eve.

Hurts has been instrumental to Philadelphia's sensational season and is one of the leading candidates for league MVP with career highs of 3,472 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing TDs. He also ranks fourth in the NFL in quarterback rating (104.6).

A year after shocking the college football world with his decision to play at Jackson State, former top-ranked recruit Travis Hunter announced he is entering the transfer portal.

Hunter's decision comes weeks after his former coach Deion Sanders left Jackson State to take the job at Colorado.

While Sanders made it clear that he expects plenty of former Jackson State players to follow him to Colorado, Hunter did not yet commit to playing for the Buffaloes.

The five-star recruit revealed the decision to transfer on his personal YouTube channel, saying "I don't know what I am going to do next."

While Colorado is a possible landing spot for Hunter, Georgia, USC and Miami are reportedly also in the mix.

Hunter had originally committed to play at Florida State after coming out of high school in Georgia atop the 2022 recruiting class before shockingly decide to play for Sanders at Jackson State – a historically black college that plays on the FCS level.

He enjoyed a solid freshman season playing on both sides of the ball for a Tigers team that finished the season 12-1 with a 41-34 overtime loss to North Carolina Central in Saturday's Celebration Bowl.

As a defensive back, Hunter had two interceptions, 10 pass breakups and a fumble recovery, while also hauling in 18 passes for 188 yards and four touchdowns while playing receiver.

Tom Brady's assessment that the Bengals' defense is "fairly tough" was proven to be a significant understatement, and Cincinnati revelled in illustrating his misjudgement after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback turned the ball over three times in their Week 15 clash.

A 34-23 victory gave the visitors the last laugh in Tampa, a result that marked the first time in 90 games a Brady side lost a home game after leading by 17, and extended the Bengals winning streak to six games.

Prior to the game, Brady said on the SiriusXM 'Let's Go!' podcast that the Bengals possessed a "fairly tough" defense.

Though the comments were blown out of proportion in the days leading up to the game, they were not forgotten by the Bengals.

Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt poked fun at Brady, saying: "Hearing that from an old, savvy vet from him, we're a 'fairly tough defense,' with four turnovers, what would you say - tough as nails?"

Defensive tackle BJ Hill admitted the team's early performance fitted Brady's description, though he was delighted to quiet a chatty Bucs offense in the second half.

"That's how we played in the first half, I'm not going to lie to you. But we just came out in the second half and played our tails off," he told reporters.

"They really didn't say too much when we got up on them. I told them, 'Just wait until the second half.' I knew what we were going to do in the second half. And we did that."

For safety Jessie Bates III, the Bengals' defensive efforts had little to do so with Brady's comments.

"We don't really care about what people say. It is how it is, week in and week out. Somebody's going to say something. At the end of the day, they got to see us," he said.

The 10-4 Bengals hold a narrow lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the battle for the AFC North crown. Cincinnati face Baltimore in their final regular-season game on January 8.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has no idea how the NFL MVP voters can pick anyone other than Patrick Mahomes for the league's highest individual honour.

Mahomes and the Chiefs had to go to overtime to defeat the one-win Houston Texans 30-24 and clinch the AFC West for the seventh successive season on Sunday.

The 2018 MVP completed 36 of his 41 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns, as well as running for another score, though his impressive performance through the air was undermined somewhat by Kansas City committing 10 penalties for 102 yards and the Chiefs twice turning the ball over on fumbles.

Jalen Hurts, the quarterback of the 13-1 Philadelphia Eagles who look destined for the one seed in the NFC, is the bookmakers' favourite for the MVP.

The Chiefs are 11-3 and on course to finish as the AFC's second seed, but Reid believes Mahomes is still worthy of a second MVP despite the Eagles' superior record.

"You saw Pat and what he did. I mean, he took care of business today," Reid said in his press conference when asked about the team cleaning up penalties.

"He went back to work and worked on it. I mean, you're talking about a guy that, if he's not the MVP in the league, I'm not sure what’s wrong with them.

"But he cleaned it up and comes out, and we have almost 500 yards of offense, minus 100 of penalties.

"That’s a pretty spectacular day there. But that's what he did. Great example of how you go back to the drawing board and make sure that you clean everything up."

Mahomes leads the NFL with 4,496 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns, while his 40 passing plays of 25 yards or more are the most in the league and nine more than that of Hurts.

Justin Fields received a fitting moniker from Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay after the Chicago Bears quarterback added yet more plays for his extensive 2022 highlight reel in their Week 15 clash.

A 25-20 victory for the Eagles put Philadelphia one win away from securing the top seed in the NFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, but they were made to work hard by the three-win Bears.

Fields was the driving force behind the Bears' valiant efforts, throwing two touchdowns and rushing for 95 yards to break 1,000 rushing yards for the season, joining Lamar Jackson (2019, 2020) and Michael Vick (2006) as the only quarterbacks to hit the four-figure mark.

While the loss dropped the Bears to 3-11, the second-worst record in the NFL, Slay believes the future is bright for Chicago with Fields leading the team.  

"He's a 4.4 guy [in the 40-yard dash]. That's what makes it tough. He is not like a 4.7 or nothing. When he gets up the field he can make you miss and he can run past you," he told reporters.

"The kid's tough. He gets hit a lot and keeps going. He had a cramp, went in and came back in for a two-minute drive. He's a tough kid.

"Chicago got a lot of upside coming from him. They're gonna have a great future with him. He's a highlight film, for real man. I salute my cap off to him and it's hard for a quarterback to be that tough."

With three games remaining in the Bears' season, Fields sits 207 yards away from breaking Jackson's single-season rushing record of 1,206 yards for a quarterback, set in 2019, and conceded breaking that mark is a goal for him with the Bears' playoff hopes having long since been ended.

"I'm already deep in it this year, so might as well try to go get that record," he told reporters.

"I think I need, what, 206? So, three games left? That's about 70 yards a game? We'll see what happens."

While Jackson has broken the 1,000-yard mark in two different seasons, Fields does not intend to make it a habit, adding: "I don't plan on rushing for 1,000 yards every year."

The Bears face a difficult end to the season, with home games against the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings, who have already secured their playoff spots, either side of a trip to face a rejuvenated Lions side in Detroit.

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley led the praise for quarterback Justin Herbert after he produced a late game-winning drive, culminating in Cameron Dicker's game-winning field goal in their 17-14 triumph over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Ryan Tannehill had tied the game with a one-yard QB sneak with 48 seconds left before Herbert took control, driving the Chargers forward for 52 yards in six plays, with Dicker nailing the 43-yard field-goal attempt with four seconds left.

Herbert completed 28 of 42 passes for 313 yards, becoming the first player in NFL history with 4,000 pass yards in each of his first three seasons. It was Herbert's fifth game-winning drive this season.

"Your triggerman is the answer for your whole team," Staley told reporters.

"The other thing, if you take a look at the ball game from the sideline, just how into it he was with the defense… he barked at our guys and said, 'I got it. I got it, fellas. You just give us a chance, and we got it.' That's what you want from your triggerman, and that's why I'm proud of him.

"You find out about your quarterback in two-minute, and it was an amazing two-minute drill for him."

The result moves the Chargers into sixth spot in the AFC with an 8-6 record, capitalising on losses for the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets.

The Chargers QB did not throw a touchdown for only the third time in his 46-game NFL career.

Stanley added: "He's not going to be happy with how we play today, and neither am I. That's the other reason why we love him, because he's not satisfied with how we play.

"He has a high standard for performance. You need your best player to play well at the end, and that's what he does."

Herbert, 24, said experience helped him through the game-winning drive, which was the 13th of his three-season career.

"I think it's just one of those things that experience is the best teacher and having gone through that and being able to rep it and knowing that you have the guys around you to make plays," Herbert said.

"Just experiences and knowing that we are going to call the right plays and we're going to get the ball moving."

Quarterback Jared Goff was happy to "win ugly" after the Detroit Lions beat the New York Jets 20-17 on Sunday for a sixth victory in seven games.

The win improves the Lions' record to an improbable 7-7 after beginning the season 1-6, and they are now even in the win column with the Washington Commanders (7-5-1) and New York Giants (7-5-1) in the NFC Wild Card race.

Against the Jets – who also fell to 7-7 with their loss – the Lions scored the winning touchdown with under two minutes remaining when Brock Wright found himself wide open for a 51-yard catch-and-run.

It was the sixth game in a row without an interception for Goff, who tossed his 23rd touchdown of the season in the win for his best return since his 32 in 2018. He also boasts the second-best QBR of his career, with his 62.8 figure also only trailing his 2018 mark of 63.6.

Speaking to the media after the game, Goff said the Lions have turned a corner and now have complete faith in their ability to win close games.

"A lot of these close games are starting to lean more towards us than they are towards them," he said. "And that hasn't always been the case around here.

"We fully believe in each other, we just know someone is going to make a play and do something right and that's half the battle.

"They're [the Jets] really good – they're one of the top five or six defenses in the league for a reason. They're really good at creating pressure with just four guys, really good at mixing up coverages, really aggressive. Both corners are really good, both safeties are really good – it's a good group.

"They challenged us for most of that game, and we're happy to be able to come away with it."

He went on to talk about the optics of the result, Goff insisting he is only concerned with the final score.

"You'd rather win ugly than lose pretty," he said. "There were times earlier in the year where we were winning pretty in certain situations, and then kind of let it fall away from us at the end.

"I think that's totally flipped to where we're at now. We've won some games recently pretty handily, but we've also won some close games, and some games on the road that we had to pull out.

"Things had to go our way – is it going our way, or are we making a play? I lean towards making a play… we're starting to learn how to win, and how to win consistently. This is a good, mature team now."

Head coach Dan Campbell made sure to point out the efforts of pass rusher Romeo Okwara, who finished with two sacks after returning from a torn Achilles last week.

"It means a lot to have Romeo back," he said. "Just to have him in the fold with us. 

"He's an unbelievable locker room guy, hard worker and then on top of that to have his length. He plays the run well and he can rush the passer. He was better than he was last week... and I'd anticipate him even better next week."

The Lions will have a chance to continue their terrific form when they travel to take on the 5-9 Carolina Panthers next week.

The New York Giants have taken the advantage in the NFC Wild Card race with a stubborn 20-12 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

The Commanders pushed hard in the final quarter, getting inside the Giants' 10 with their last two drives but failed to score on either, with the visitors' defense repelling quarterback Taylor Heinicke's best efforts at FedExField.

The Giants scored both of their touchdowns in the second quarter, with Kayvon Thibodeaux stripping Heinicke and scoring on a fumble recovery, before Daniel Jones linked up with Richie James on a drive, setting up Saquon Barkley's rushing TD.

Washington rallied from the 14-3 half-time deficit, with Heinicke lifting his output, finding rookie Jahan Dotson for his sixth touchdown of the season. Dotson had four receptions for 105 yards, including a brilliant fourth-quarter 61-yard catch.

Brian Robinson, who gained 89 yards from 12 carries, ran Washington into the redzone on the next play, but Heinicke turned the ball over when sacked by Dexter Lawrence, with Leonard Williams making the recovery.

Graham Gano extended the Giants' lead to eight points with a 50-yard field goal, before Heinicke drove Washington forward again, coming closest when Robinson's touchdown was erased due to a penalty for an illegal formation. Heinicke followed that up with two incomplete passes.

Heinicke completed 17 of 29 passes for 249 yards with one touchdown with 33 rushing yards, while Giants counterpart Jones threw 21 of 32 passes for 160 yards and 35 rushing yards. Barkley gained 87 yards on 18 carries.

The win means the Giants improve their record to 8-5-1 ahead of the Commanders (7-6-1) in the NFC East, with a tiebreak victory too. The result means the Dallas Cowboys have qualified for the playoffs.