AFC East

The New England Patriots lost to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday in the most unlikely way when Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones returned a lateral from Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers 48 yards for a touchdown with no time left on the clock.

After the bizarre finish to the game, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick did his best to explain what happened from his perspective, telling reporters, "The play didn't work. Made a mistake on the play."

He seemed annoyed at the Patriots' execution in the game's waning moments, adding, "We've talked about situational football. We talk about it every week."

After the Patriots overcame a 17-3 halftime deficit with 21 points in the second half, the Raiders tied the game at 24 with 0:32 left in the fourth quarter with a nine-play, 81-yard drive. New England got the ball back and drove to its own 45-yard line, and that's when the madness ensued.

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson ripped off a 23-yard run before inexplicably deciding to lateral the ball to Meyers, who then tried to lateral the ball back to quarterback Mac Jones. The ball landed in the hands of Chandler Jones, who rumbled over New England's second-year signal-caller on his way to the end zone.

Belichick also explained why the Patriots didn't take a shot to the end zone on the final play:

It was surprising to see a Belichick-coached team make such a crushing mistake. When Jones handed the ball off to Stevenson, it seemed clear that New England was playing for overtime.

The Patriots (7-7) will try to regroup before another tough matchup next week, as it will host the Cincinnati Bengals (10-4) on Christmas Eve.

The New England Patriots fell to the Las Vegas Raiders 30-24 on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium and dropped to 7-7 on the season, which is just outside of the AFC playoff picture with three weeks remaining.

But it wasn't the loss alone that sent New England fans into a tizzy, it was the way Bill Belichick's squad lost the game.

After the Raiders managed to tie the game at 24 with 32 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Patriots got the ball back with a chance to win the game. On third-and-10 at their own 45-yard line with three seconds remaining, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson rushed to the Las Vegas 32-yard line before lateraling the ball to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.

Meyers then tried to lateral the ball to quarterback Mac Jones, but his pass was caught by Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones, who bowled over Jones and rushed into the end zone for the winning touchdown.

Had Stevenson or Meyers went down, the game would have gone to overtime, where the Patriots would have had more of a chance to win. Instead, NFL Twitter is blasting the Patriots for arguably the "dumbest" play ever:

A lot has gone wrong for the Patriots this season, but nothing else has been quite like what we witnessed on Sunday.

That said, the Patriots offense didn't play well the entire game. Jones completed just 13-of-31 passes for 112 yards as he struggled to move the ball downfield. Stevenson was the only bright spot with 172 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Had the Patriots won, they would have locked themselves into a three-way tie with the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins at the back end of the AFC playoff picture. Instead, they're a game behind both at eight in the AFC and face an uphill battle to secure a postseason berth over the last three weeks of the season.

New England will face the Cincinnati Bengals (10-4), Dolphins (8-6) and Buffalo Bills (11-3) to close the season.

By his own lofty standards, Miami Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill had a relatively run-of-the-mill game during Saturday's 32-29 loss against the Buffalo Bills, catching nine passes for 69 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets.

But for Hill, it wasn't enough:

Hill is in the midst of an epic season, with 109 catches for 1,529 yards and seven touchdowns. His addition this offseason has made the Dolphins one of the most explosive offenses in football.

But the stats only truly matter if they accompany wins, and at 8-6, the Dolphins now find themselves in a fight to qualify for the postseason. Perhaps that was the source of Hill's consternation.

Zach Wilson's short NFL career has been a siren song for the New York Jets. It's hard to ignore the tantalizing upside and ability, but behind that facade awaits a rocky shore.

Sunday was the latest wreck. Wilson's struggles contributed to New York's 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions, although the defense's inability to protect a late lead didn't help.

Still, Wilson and the Jets had 1:49 left on the clock late in the fourth quarter and all three timeouts, only needing to get into field-goal range to force overtime. Instead, he took two sacks on the final drive and could only get the Jets to the Detroit 40-yard line, setting up a 58-yard field-goal attempt for Greg Zuerlein that was missed short.

On the day, Wilson finished 18-of-35 for 317 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, taking four sacks.

While there was plenty of blame to go around in the loss, NFL Twitter honed in on the second-year quarterback:

The Jets are floundering. Sunday's loss was their fifth in the past seven games, dropping them to 7-7 on the season. Their odds of reaching the postseason are fading, and fast. Contrast that to the Lions (7-7), who have won six of their last seven and suddenly are firmly in the NFC playoff mix.

Some of the Jets' turbulence comes from the all-or-nothing play of Wilson, who can absolutely take your breath away on consecutive plays for completely different reasons. Sunday was the perfect microcosm of his career in that regard:

Wilson undoubtedly has more talent than Mike White, who missed Sunday's game with fractured ribs. But there was a reason the Jets turned to White as the starter and moved Wilson to the third-stringer or inactive role for the past three games.

The Jets seemed to have more stability on offense with White under center. Wilson offers far more chaos.

On Sunday, a steady hand may have been enough to earn a win. But it's hard to know where Wilson will steer the ship on a weekly basis, and this latest game wasn't the exception.

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel wasn't amused to see Buffalo Bills fans throw snowballs from the stands during Saturday's game.

McDaniel asked the referees during his team's 32-29 loss whether fans throwing snow could result in a penalty.

"I was just more concerned with safety when there are ice balls flying at people's heads," he said of the matter after the game. "I think that's what [the officials] were concerned with as well. There were several people that got hit. It's whatever."

Early in the contest, Bills fans took full advantage of the snowfall that hit the Buffalo region before the game.

The forecast called for wintry conditions at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, so the Dolphins knew what to expect in that regard. McDaniel wore a shirt at practice that read, "I wish it were colder," and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Miami packed "1,400 pounds worth of trunks of cold weather gear, multiple cleats for every player and capes."

All in all, McDaniel's squad didn't seem to have much trouble. Tua Tagovailoa went 17-of-30 for 234 yards and two touchdowns, while Raheem Mostert ran for 136 yards on 17 carries.

The Dolphins led by eight points in the fourth quarter before Josh Allen's five-yard touchdown pass and two-point conversion tied the game at 29. The Bills' Tyler Bass connected to a 25-yard field goal as time expired for the win.

Buffalo has one more home game left in the regular season and is on track to host at least one playoff matchup as the top seed in the AFC at the moment. Should snow blanket Northern New York on either occasion, the Bills might make sure to remind their fans to avoid engaging in any snowball fights from their seats.

The bloom is coming off the rose for Mike McDaniel in the wake of the Miami Dolphins' 32-29 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night.

Tyler Bass made the game-winning field goal as time expired after the Bills put together a drive that took the final 5:56 off the clock.

Josh Allen torched the Miami defense with 304 passing yards, 77 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

There's certainly no shame in losing to the Bills, who own the AFC's best record. But this was a game of missed opportunities for the Dolphins.

Tua Tagovailoa had a solid bounce-back effort, going 17-of-30 for 234 yards and two touchdowns after disappointing performances in the past two games. His stat line should have been better, but his receivers dropped multiple passes in the first half.

Trent Sherfield dropped a touchdown on third down early in the second quarter, forcing the Dolphins to settle for a field goal.

In addition to the receivers having bad hands early in the game, McDaniel seemed to outsmart himself. Raheem Mostert had almost 150 all-purpose yards in the first quarter alone.

After having 11 carries in the first half, Mostert was limited to just six in the second half. McDaniel elected to throw the ball on 3rd-and-3 or shorter three times in the second half. They failed to convert all three times, including a 3rd-and-1 early in the fourth quarter that lost two yards.

Jason Sanders subsequently kicked a field goal that gave the Dolphins a 29-21 lead. Buffalo tied the score on its next offensive possession.

This is the first major test of McDaniel's tenure with the Dolphins. The vibes were positive for so long, but things have taken a turn since a Week 13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Tagovailoa's performance against the Bills defense in inclement weather is an encouraging sign going forward. But McDaniel has to prove he can adjust to situations within games.

Next week will likely be a good test to see where McDaniel is at with his development as a coach. The Dolphins return home to play a Green Bay Packers defense that allows the fifth-fewest passing yards per game (192.9) but ranks 30th in run defense (154.8 yards per game).

For the fourth straight season and the fifth time in six years, the Buffalo Bills are headed to the postseason.

Buffalo clinched its AFC playoff berth on Saturday with a 32-29 victory over the Miami Dolphins at a snowy Highmark Stadium.

Quarterback Josh Allen put on a show to help the Bills edge the Dolphins, completing 25-of-40 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 77 yards on 10 carries.

Allen's MVP-worthy performance was praised by NFL Twitter as he was the best player on the field Saturday:

For the Bills, the only major question left in the regular season is whether they can top the Kansas City Chiefs for the top overall seed in the AFC. The Bills hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, so they'll only need to finish with the same record as Kansas City to secure home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Much of Buffalo's success, yet again, can be tied to the play of Allen, who at one point looked like the front-runner to win the MVP award but may still be lagging behind Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Jalen Hurts and 2018 MVP Patrick Mahomes despite Saturday's performance.

Still, the 26-year-old has been excellent, entering Saturday's game having thrown for 3,553 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 63.8 percent of his passes. He also had rushed for 628 yards and seven scores.

His top receiver, Stefon Diggs, has also put on a show with 94 catches for 1,239 yards and 10 touchdowns entering Saturday's game.

The Bills will head into the playoffs plenty battle-tested, with wins over the Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots and New York Jets. Their three losses, meanwhile, have come by a combined eight points against the Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings (overtime) and Jets.

The AFC East has been stronger than expected this season, with all four teams in legitimate striking distance of a playoff berth. One of them, at least, has already clinched. The Bills now await to see which of their rivals will join them.

Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman said during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston that he has been approached by three teams about returning to the NFL this season, per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston.

"There's been some calls, and I've turned them down," Edelman said.

He added: "The situation would have to be in New England with a New England team that's a contender."

Edelman has been retired for nearly two years. He hung up the cleats after he failed his physical before the 2021 season and had his contract terminated by the Patriots.

The 36-year-old spent his entire 12-year career in New England, helping the Patriots win three Super Bowls—he also earned the Super Bowl LIII MVP award—alongside legendary quarterback Tom Brady.

Edelman caught 620 passes for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns in 137 career games. In 19 playoff games, he caught 118 passes for 1,442 yards and five scores.

If the Patriots were one of the teams to contact Edelman about a potential NFL return, it's not necessarily surprising that he turned them down. Bill Belichick's squad enters Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders third in the AFC East with a 7-6 record, though they do hold the seventh and final seed in the conference for the postseason.

Additionally, it's unclear how Edelman would perform after being away from the NFL for almost two years.

Of course, it's possible he could return and be a serviceable player for any franchise in need of some depth out wide.

For example, former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski retired after the 2018 season only to return in 2020 to play alongside Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 28 games across the 2020 and 2021 season, he caught 100 passes for 1,425 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 226 yards and three scores in six postseason games.

While Edelman doesn't plan on returning this season, it's hard to completely rule out his potential return to the NFL in 2023, especially considering teams are still interested in him.