Dolphins Eliminate Patriots Form the Playoff Hunt, Bears, Cowboys Still Alive

The New England Patriots lost the contest against the Miami Dolphins, ending their postseason streak after 11 years. The Fins defeated Bill Belichick’s side, 22-12, keeping their playoff hopes.

New England is now 6-8, and out of the playoff picture. What makes this loss even more painful for them is that Stephon Gilmore, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, had to leave the game after a vicious knee injury.

Pats were leading 6-0 at halftime, mostly due to a fantastic defense that stopped Tua Tagovailoa. However, the young rookie exploded in the second half with two rushing touchdowns, which along with Salvon Ahmed’s one, was enough to turn the result upside down and make a colossal step towards the postseason.

Ahmed posted 122 rushing yards, While Tagovailoa had only nine. He would throw for 124 without a TD.

On the other side, Cam Newton had 209 passing yards without a pick or a touchdown. Jakobi Meyers caught seven passes for 111 yards; Sony Michel had 74 rushing yards on 10 carries. After 11 consecutive postseason appearances, which was the longest streak in the NFL history, the Pats won’t experience the playoff battles this time.

Dolphins are tied with the Ravens with 9 wins and 5 losses and have two tough games until the end, both on the road, against the Las Vegas Raiders and the Buffalo Bills.

Chicago Bears showed character by defeating the Minnesota Vikings on the road, 33-27, keeping themselves in the hunt for the playoffs.

The Bears held the Vikings’ late push, keeping Kirk Cousins restrained in the final moments of the match and picking his last pass of the game to secure a victory.

Guests from Chicago were setting the pace in the opening half, heading for halftime with a 20-10 lead, not allowing the home team to have the edge at least once during the entire match.

Mitch Trubisky threw one interception with three minutes before the end, but fortunately, the Vikes weren’t able to capitalize from that. Trubisky had 202 passing yards for one TD and pick each.

Both leading runningbacks, David Montgomery on one, and Dalvin Cook on the other side, were blazing. Montgomery ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, while Cook added one score and 132 yards on the ground.

Chicago is 7-7 and Minnesota 6-8. The Bears visit the Jaguars next week, then meet with the Packers at home, while Vikings travel to New Orleans and Detroit.

Ezekiel Elliott-less Dallas Cowboys defeated San Francisco 49, keeping their hopes to win the NFC East title and reach the postseason. The Cowboys beat the 49ers 41-33, using the guests’ mistakes, as San Francisco had four turnovers and Dallas none.

Andy Dalton looked good, with 209 passing yards for two touchdown passes. On the other side, Nick Mullens threw for 219 passes two touchdowns, and had one lost fumble, once again disappointing when needing to step up.

Dallas’ RB Tony Pollard ran for two touchdowns, while Michael Gallup and Dalton Schultz caught one TD pass each for the hosts.

The Cowboys have two matches against the direct rivals for the top spot in the NFC East. At first, they host the Philadelphia Eagles, and after that, head for New York to meet the Giants.