In what was an eventful slate of games on Christmas Eve, the Miami Dolphins finally beat a team with a winning record, the Detroit Lions claimed their first division title since the 90’s, and the Cleveland Browns continued their strong play under a resurgent Joe Flacco.
Cleveland Browns 36 | Houston Texans 22: Thanks to a franchise record 265 yards receiving from WR Amri Cooper and 368 yards passing and three touchdowns from QB Joe Flacco, the Cleveland Browns continued their strong playoff push in Houston. Since being signed to the practice squad, and replacing Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Flacco had thrown for 1,307 yards, ten touchdowns and posted a QB rating of 85.1.
While his seven interceptions is something of a concern going down the stretch, the Browns have gone 3-1 with the former Super Bowl XLVII MVP under center, and has Cleveland looking like a legit Super Bowl contender.
Detroit Lions 30 | Minnesota Vikings 24: Thirty years in the making, the Detroit Lions claimed their first division title since 1993 in hanging on for a 30-24 win in the Twin Cities over the Minnesota Vikings. QB Jared Goff completed 30-40 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown. RB Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 12 passes for 106 yards and one touchdown.
QB Nick Mullens complete 22-36 passes for 411 yards, two touchdowns but four interceptions. WR Justin Jefferson caught six passes for 141 yards and one touchdown in a losing effort for the 7-8 Vikings.
Miami Dolphins 22 | Dallas Cowboys 20: In what was billed as the primetime matchup between two of the NFL’s glamour franchises, America’s Team and The Boys From South Beach did not disappoint.
With Miami failing to record a win vs. a plus-500 squad all season, it would be the Dolphins getting their win over a Dallas team who continues to be a real-life version of Jekyll and Hyde away from Jerryworld, thanks to PK Jason Sanders game-winning 29 yard field goal.
For the game, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa completed 24-37 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown, RB Raheem Mostert rushed for 46 yards on 11 carries and WR Tyreke Hill caught nine passes for 99 yards.
For the Cowboys, QB Dak Prescott continued his strong MVP push in completing 20-32 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, including his eight-yard TD pass for Brandin Cooks with 3:27 to give the Cowboys their last lead at 20-19.
WR CeeDee Lamb caught six passes for 118 yards and one touchdown.