Derwin James Jr. ends Chiefs’ playoff hopes with an INT (0:29)Gardner Minshew is picked off by Derwin James Jr. to seal the Chargers’ win over the Chiefs. (0:29)
The victory of one team in Week 15 of the NFL season eliminated its opponent from postseason contention. And of course, the winners had to follow it up with a troll.
The Los Angeles Chargers held on to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 16-13, eliminating their AFC West rivals from playoff contention.
Los Angeles’ victory ensured a season sweep of Kansas City, but it found more joy in crushing the Chiefs’ playoff chances. Kansas City will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
The Chargers edited a clip from “SpongeBob SquarePants” in which Mr. Krabs drives SpongeBob past his house after ignoring his directions. In this case, the NFL is Mr. Krabs, the Chiefs are SpongeBob and his house symbolizes the playoffs. Instead of dropping SpongeBob off at his house, Mr. Krabs drives him to Cancun.
Facing a 24-7 halftime deficit on the road, the Buffalo Bills turned the tables in the second half, scoring four consecutive touchdowns en route to a win.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns, and running back James Cook III had 107 rushing yards and two scores. The Patriots seemed to be in the driver’s seat with a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Entering Sunday, teams that were at least nine games over .500 and led by 20-plus points were 161-0 all time, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Buffalo referenced New England clam chowder in its postgame troll, using the crackers in the bowl to spell out a “W.”
In a matchup that included only one touchdown between the two teams, the Seattle Seahawks squeaked out a victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Indianapolis nailed a 60-yard field goal with 47 seconds left, seemingly taking the lead for good. But Seattle answered with a 56-yard kick 29 seconds later. The Seahawks’ defense picked off Colts quarterback Philip Rivers’ on the ensuing drive to clinch their fourth straight victory.
Rivers, 44, was making his first NFL start after nearly five full seasons in retirement. When Rivers called the Colts last Tuesday morning to share his decision to unretire, he told head coach Shane Steichen “Dadgummit, let’s freaking go.” Seattle took note of that statement, captioning its post: “Dadgummit, that’s a win.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars dominated the New York Jets behind a stellar performance from quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence threw for 330 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 51 yards and another score. He’s the first player in Jaguars history to account for six touchdowns in a game. Running back Travis Etienne Jr. accounted for four touchdowns — three through the air and one rushing.
Etienne dove into the end zone for his final touchdown, which turned into an image Jacksonville used to troll New York. The Jaguars also spelled out “Jags” similar to the “J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets” chant.
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Christian McCaffrey ran for 73 yards and a score. Tennessee quarterback Cam Ward had 170 yards and two touchdowns, his second consecutive game with multiple passing touchdowns.
The 49ers opted for a cheesy pickup line to troll the Titans, writing “Only TEN we see,” a reference to the line: “Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only TEN, I see.” San Francisco also posted an image of a sword, similar to Tennessee’s logo.
The Atlanta Falcons stormed back to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a “Thursday Night Football” thriller.
Atlanta faced a 28-14 deficit with 13:34 left but managed to score 15 unanswered points to steal the win. Falcons kicker Zane Gonzalez nailed a 43-yard field goal as time expired for the victory. It marked the first win for Atlanta after trailing by at least 14 points in a fourth quarter since 1993.
With the Buccaneers wearing their “Creamsicle” throwbacks, the Falcons made sure to poke fun at the look, declaring them melted.
Derwin James Jr. ends Chiefs’ playoff hopes with an INT (0:29)Gardner Minshew is picked off by Derwin James Jr. to seal the Chargers’ win over the Chiefs. (0:29)
Gardner Minshew is picked off by Derwin James Jr. to seal the Chargers’ win over the Chiefs. (0:29)
Dadgummit, that’s a win. pic.twitter.com/AaDbNYGHIX
Creamsicles? Melted 🫠pic.twitter.com/6ZH3emX4AF