CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first NFC South title since 2007 on Sunday when Tom Brady threw for 232 yards and a touchdown, and Antonio Brown made a grand return to the NFL in a 32-6 route of the Carolina Panthers.

In his first game since Oct. 13 after missing eight games, Brown saw a prominent role on offense with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sidelined by injuries, catching 10 passes for 101 yards while being targeted 15 times by Brady. Brown has been plagued by an ankle injury and was suspended three games for breaking COVID-19 protocols prior.

Ronald Jones carried 20 times for 65 yards and a touchdown filling in for the injured Leonard Fournette. Tampa Bay also got big offensive contributions from unheralded players Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Cyril Grayson. Vaughn broke two tackles and rambled for a 55-yard first quarter touchdown. Grayson, a COVID-19 replacement player elevated to the active roster this week, hauled in a 62-yard reception to set up Brady’s only TD pass, a 4-yarder to Cameron Brate.

The Bucs (11-4) put up 391 yards on offense after being shut out 9-0 by the New Orleans Saints last week.

The Bucs’ defense had no problems shutting down Carolina’s dual-quarterback approach, even after Pro Bowl linebacker Shaquil Barrett left with a knee injury in the second quarter. Tampa Bay had seven sacks and limited the Panthers (5-10) to two field goals.

CHIEFS 36, STEELERS 10: Patrick Mahomes threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, Byron Pringle caught two of the TD passes, and Kansas City (11-4) beat Pittsburgh (7-7-1) in Kansas City, Missouri, to clinch its sixth consecutive AFC West title.

The Chiefs remained a game ahead of Tennessee for first place in the AFC with their eighth straight win. That would give them the conference’s lone first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a touchdown run for Kansas City before leaving early in the second half with a collarbone injury. Darrel Williams and Derrick Gore carried the load the rest of the way with Williams running for 55 yards and Gore adding 43 yards on the ground and three catches for 61 yards.

The Steelers became the first team in NFL history to trail by at least 23 points at halftime in three straight road games. Already on the playoff bubble, Pittsburgh dropped further behind the Bengals (9-6) in the AFC North.

TEXANS 41, CHARGERS 29: Rex Burkhead ran for a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns, and Houston (4-11) took advantage of three turnovers to beat Los Angeles (8-7) in Houston with both teams missing more than a dozen players because COVID-19 protocols.

The Chargers’ playoff chances took a serious blow with the loss to the lowly, if recently improved, Texans. Outside linebacker Joey Bosa, running back Austin Ekeler, receiver Mike Williams and center Corey Linsley were among the major contributors on the COVID-19 list for L.A., which entered in second place in the AFC West.

Houston had 16 players miss the game on the COVID-19 list – including top receiver Brandin Cooks, center Justin Britt, defensive end Jonathan Greenard and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn – but managed to win consecutive games for the first time this season. The Texans beat Jacksonville last week.

BENGALS 41, RAVENS 21: Joe Burrow threw for a franchise-record 525 yards and four touchdowns, and Cincinnati took sole possession of first place in the AFC North with a win over depleted Baltimore in Cincinnati.

Burrow, the second-year QB who broke Boomer Esiason’s team record of 522 yards, was 37 of 46 and threw two touchdown passes to Tee Higgins and one each to Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon as the Bengals (9-6) swept the Ravens (8-7) for the first time since 2015. Cincinnati won 41-17 at Baltimore on Oct. 24.

Tee Higgins had 12 receptions for a career-high 194 yards. Ja’Marr Chase caught seven for 125 yards, and Boyd had three catches for 85 yards.

With Lamar Jackson out with an ankle injury and backup Tyler Huntley on the COVID-19 list, Josh Johnson — signed as a free agent 10 days ago – started at quarterback for the Ravens. His 4-yard pass to Rashod Bateman put Baltimore up 10-7 in the first quarter, but the Ravens — especially their injury-ravaged secondary – couldn’t keep up with Burrow and the Bengals.

RAMS 30, VIKINGS 23: Brandon Powell returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to lift Los Angeles (11-4) into the playoffs as the Rams pulled out a victory over host Minnesota (7-8).

The victory also sent the Rams’ NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals into the postseason.

Sony Michel rushed for a season-high 131 yards and a score, Matt Gay made three field goals, and the Aaron Donald-led defense did its part, keeping the Vikings out of the end zone on two first-half trips inside the 10-yard line.

Matthew Stafford had his first three-interception game since Sept. 10, 2018, when he was picked off four times for Detroit against the New York Jets. But the Rams (11-4) still had more than enough to win their fourth straight game and pass Arizona for first place in the NFC West.

FALCONS 20, LIONS 16: Matt Ryan threw a tie-breaking, 12-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Hurst early in the fourth quarter and Atlanta (7-8) held on late to beat Detroit (2-12-1) in Atlanta to preserve its slim playoff hopes.

Foye Oluokun’s interception of Lions fill-in quarterback Tim Boyle’s pass at the Atlanta 1 with 33 seconds remaining preserved the win. It was the first interception of the game for Boyle, who made his second career start as Jared Goff remained on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Atlanta wide receiver Russell Gage’s lost fumble with 2:18 remaining set up the Lions’ last possession at the Atlanta 37. The fumble was forced by Jalen Reeves-Maybin and recovered by Dean Marlowe.

EAGLES 34, GIANTS 10: Jalen Hurts threw a touchdown to lineman Lane Johnson, linebacker Alex Singleton returned an interception for a score and host Philadelphia (8-7) continued its late-season playoff push with a win over New York (4-11).

The Eagles have won six of eight after opening the season losing five of seven and moved into the seventh playoff spot in the NFC. They could clinch a playoff berth with a win and some help next week.

The Eagles can only hope they don’t have to play the final two games without running back Miles Sanders after he left the game with an unspecified hand injury.

Hurts shook off a dismal first half and threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns to push the Eagles over .500 for the first time since they won the season opener.

JETS 26, JAGUARS 21: Zach Wilson threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to outduel Trevor Lawrence, and short-handed New York (4-11) used a goal-line stand at the end of the game to hold on and beat Jacksonville (2-13)  in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

It was the fourth matchup of rookie quarterbacks taken with the first two picks in the draft – and the No. 2 selection came out on top.

Barely.

After Eddy Pineiro’s 20-yard field goal gave the Jets a five-point lead with 1:47 remaining, Lawrence and the Jaguars got the ball back – and had a chance to win.

A 26-yard run by the No. 1 pick got the ball to the 5, and he followed with a 4-yard pass to Marvin Jones. Lawrence spiked the ball to stop the clock to make it fourth-and-the-game.

But Lawrence’s pass to Jones fell incomplete – and the Jaguars were called for an illegal shift that the Jets declined, turning the ball over on downs. The Jets had 20 players on the COVID-19 list and played without coach Robert Saleh because he didn’t clear protocols after testing positive earlier in the week.

RAIDERS 17, BRONCOS 13: Josh Jacobs rushed for 129 yards and Las Vegas (8-7) came from behind to defeat Denver (7-8) in Las Vegas to stay relevant in the AFC playoff picture.

With the win, the Raiders severely damaged the postseason chances for AFC West rival Denver, which dropped its third game in the last four.

Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr completed 20 of 25 passes for 201 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Carr completed at least one pass to all seven of his targets, led by Zay Jones, who had six receptions for 50 yards. Hunter Renfrow had three catches for 40 yards and one touchdown, while Foster Moreau and DeSean Jackson each had four receptions.

After controlling much of the first half, the Raiders turned over the ball on consecutive drives spanning just three plays, and allowed the Broncos to take a 13-7 lead at halftime.

BEARS 25, SEAHAWKS 24: Jimmy Graham caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Nick Foles with 1:01 remaining, Damiere Byrd made an acrobatic reception for the 2-point conversion, and Chicago (5-10) beat the Seahawks (5-10) in Seattle.

Making his first start since last season, Foles led the Bears 80 yards in the closing minutes, capping the drive with his TD toss to Graham, who spent three seasons with the Seahawks. Graham posted up a pair of smaller defensive backs to make the catch in the corner of the end zone, his third TD of the season.

On the 2-point attempt, Foles threw late, but Byrd got his knee down in the end zone with multiple Seattle defenders trying to push him over the back line.

It was a stunning conclusion to rare snow game in Seattle that eliminated the Seahawks from the NFC playoff picture. Seattle was already assured of a losing season, and coach Pete Carroll reached double-digit losses for the first time in his tenure.

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