Sam Darnold reached another high point in his spectacular comeback season by throwing for a career-best 377 yards, and the Minnesota Vikings set up a winner-take-all showdown for the NFC's top play-off seed with Sunday's 27-25 win over the Green Bay Packers.

Minnesota (14-2) held off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt from its NFC North rival to record its ninth straight win heading into next weekend's regular-season finale at Detroit, where the Vikings and Lions will square off for the conference's No. 1 seed and a first-round play-off bye.

Darnold completed 33 of 43 attempts with one interception and touchdown passes to Jalen Nailor, Jordan Addison and Cam Akers that staked the Vikings to a 27-10 advantage after three quarters.

The Packers (11-5) answered in the fourth with a pair of touchdowns, including Jordan Love's 3-yard pass to Malik Heath that cut the lead to 27-25 with 2:18 left. They never got the ball back for a chance to move ahead, however, as Darnold's 6-yard pass to Akers on 3rd-and-2 helped Minnesota run out the clock.

VIKINGS VS. LIONS.

WEEK 18.

WINNER GETS THE #1 SEED AND NFC NORTH TITLE. pic.twitter.com/lVRDh40U4M

— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024

Love finished with 185 yards on 19-of-30 passing in Green Bay's latest loss to a top NFC team. Of Green Bay's five defeats this season, two have come to the Vikings, two to the Lions and one to the East champion Philadelphia Eagles. 

Josh Jacobs scored his 14th rushing touchdown of the season with a two-yard run in the third quarter, but the Packers' star running back was held to 69 yards on 17 carries and Green Bay managed just 271 total yards.

Justin Jefferson amassed 92 yards on eight catches for Minnesota, while Nailor ended with 81 yards on five grabs.

Barkley reaches 2,000 rushing yards, Eagles roll to clinch NFC East

Saquon Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a campaign, though he may not get a chance to set the league's single-season record due to the Philadelphia Eagles' success. 

Barkley rushed for 167 yards and the Eagles clinched the NFC East title with a 41-7 win over the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

Barkley is up to 2,005 yards rushing on the season, putting him exactly 100 back of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 set in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams. 

The record is within reach for Barkley, who's averaging 125.3 rushing yards per game, but Sunday's lopsided win locked the Eagles into the No. 2 seed for the upcoming NFC play-offs. Philadelphia (13-3) seems likely to rest most of its starters for next week's regular-season finale against the New York Giants. 

Saquon Barkley is just the 9th player in NFL history to reach 2,000+ rushing yards@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/3o7SCoMWO0

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 29, 2024

Who Philadelphia starts at quarterback in Week 18 is also a big question after backup Kenny Pickett exited in the third quarter after taking a hard hit to the ribs from Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons.

Already without two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jalen Hurts because of a concussion, Pickett’s injury forced the Eagles to turn to third-stringer Tanner McKee.

McKee didn't show any jitters in his NFL debut, as he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown and another to DeVonta Smith from 25 yards out in the second half to cap the Eagles' rout. 

Commanders secure spot in playoffs with overtime win over Falcons

Jayden Daniels' 2-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz in overtime put the Washington Commanders in the playoffs with a 30-24 win over Atlanta, a result that could keep the Falcons out of the postseason.

Daniels' third touchdown pass of the night - and second to Ertz - secured Washington (11-5) a wild-card berth and the franchise's first play-off appearance since 2020. The standout rookie quarterback added a career-high 127 rushing yards to win a head-to-head matchup with the Falcons' Michael Penix Jr., who finished second behind Daniels in voting for the 2023 Heisman Trophy.

Penix had his moments as well in his second NFL start, as the 2023 No. 8 overall pick forced overtime with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts that tied the score at 24-24 with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta (8-8) never got the ball in overtime, however, as Washington marched 70 yards in 12 plays after winning the coin toss to reach the end zone.

What a way to close out the last Sunday of 2024pic.twitter.com/Op6KZf4IWp

— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024

The loss dropped the Falcons one game behind Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South after the Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers earlier Sunday. Atlanta needs a victory over Carolina in next week's regular-season finale and a Tampa Bay loss to the New Orleans Saints to win the division.

Ertz also had a 10-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter that got the Commanders closer after Atlanta had built a 17-7 half-time lead on the strength of two Bijan Robinson touchdown runs. Ertz finished with six receptions that totalled 72 yards.

Robinson recorded 90 rushing yards on 17 carries, while Drake London led Atlanta's receivers with 106 yards on seven catches. Penix completed 19 of 35 passes for 223 yards with one interception. 

Buccaneers in control of NFC South after five Mayfield touchdown passes

Baker Mayfield's career-high-tying five touchdown passes put the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in position for a fourth consecutive NFC South title following a dominating 48-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers. 

Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan each caught two of Mayfield's touchdown throws to help Tampa Bay (9-7) take a one-game lead over the Atlanta Falcons in the division standings heading into the regular season's final weekend. Mayfield amassed 359 yards while completing 84.4 per cent (27 of 32) of his attempts without an interception.

Carolina (4-12) lost for the fifth time in six games despite Bryce Young's two touchdown passes to Adam Thielen, who recorded a season-high 110 yards on five catches. Young had 203 passing yards and no interceptions, but was sacked five times and completed just 15 of 28 throws.

After Thielen's 17-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter tied the game at 7-7, the Buccaneers broke the game open with 20 consecutive points while scoring on four straight possessions.

The first two of those drives ended in Chase McLaughlin field goals that put Tampa Bay ahead. Mayfield extended the lead to 20-7 with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Evans midway through the second quarter, a score set up by back-to-back runs of 34 and 42 yards by Bucky Irving.

This man is BAKINGpic.twitter.com/GzcAY1tTTi

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) December 30, 2024

Irving registered 113 rushing yards on 20 attempts while adding 77 more yards on four catches.

McMillan's 10-yard touchdown catch 1:11 before half-time increased the margin to 27-7, and the Bucs tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter via Mayfield's 5-yard strike to Payne Durham and a blocked punt J.J. Russell returned 23 yards into the end zone.

Giants end 10-game losing streak, eliminate Colts from play-off race

Drew Lock also matched a career high by throwing four touchdown passes, including two to Malik Nabers, as the New York Giants finally stopped a franchise-record losing streak with a 45-33 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Nabers piled up a career-best 171 receiving yards on seven catches, while Lock finished a sharp 17-of-23 for 309 yards with no interceptions and also ran for a touchdown as the Giants ended a run of 10 consecutive defeats and earned their first win in nine home games this season.

New York (3-13) did lose control of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft, however, with the New England Patriots now in the driver's seat following Sunday's results.

Playing without starting quarterback Anthony Richardson due to back and foot injuries, Indianapolis (7-9) will officially miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season despite Jonathan Taylor's 125 rushing yards and two touchdowns. 

Joe Flacco threw for 330 yards and two touchdowns in Richardson's place, but the veteran was intercepted in Giants' territory on the game's opening drive and again with under three minutes left to thwart the Colts' comeback hopes.

Giants winpic.twitter.com/cKJj3NZZU6

— New York Giants (@Giants) December 29, 2024

The Giants also received a 100-yard touchdown return of the second-half kick-off from Ihmir Smith-Marsette that gave them a 28-13 lead, though the Colts closed the gap to two points early in the fourth quarter on Taylor's 26-yard touchdown run and Flacco's 13-yard scoring pass to Alec Pierce.

New York answered with Nabers' 59-yard touchdown catch with 8:39 remaining, though Indianapolis countered with Flacco's 7-yard touchdown pass to Michael Pittman that trimmed the Giants' advantage to 35-33 with 6:38 to go.

The Giants then marched 70 yards in just five plays to go up 42-33 on Lock's 5-yard touchdown run with 2:57 remaining, and Dru Phillips picked off Flacco on the next play from scrimmage to help seal the outcome.

Bills trounce Jets to wrap up AFC's No. 2 seed

Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Buffalo Bills demolished the New York Jets 40-14 to clinch the AFC’s second seed.

With 28 passing touchdowns and 12 more coming on the ground this season, Allen became the NFL’s first player with five consecutive seasons with at least 40 touchdowns.

Allen threw for 182 yards and Buffalo’s defence took care of the rest by forcing three turnovers – including two interceptions of Aaron Rodgers, who was limited to only 112 yards on 12-of-18 passing. 

The Bills (13-3) also sacked Rodgers four times, with one coming in the end zone for a safety that helped Buffalo build a 12-0 half-time lead.

Josh Allen writing @NFL history.#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/zN1aT9z5Ni

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 29, 2024

Buffalo remained in complete control, opening up a 40-0 lead early in the fourth quarter with its last points coming on a 69-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to practice squad call-up Tyrell Shavers.

The Bills, who previously wrapped up a fifth consecutive AFC East title, will host the conference’s seventh seed during wild-card weekend.

New York (4-12) got its lone points on two touchdown passes from backup Tyrod Taylor in the final seven minutes, a nine-yard strike to Garrett Wilson and a 20-yard delivery to Tyler Conklin.