Dec 25, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott (4) reacts with punter Donnie Jones (8) after kicking the go-ahead field goal during the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
December 26, 2017
(The Sports Xchange) – Highlights of National Football League games on Monday:
Eagles 19, Raiders 10
Jake Elliott kicked a 48-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining and the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs with a narrow 19-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles looked shaky but improved to 2-0 since Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL. Foles went 19 of 38 for 163 yards, one touchdown and one interception as the Eagles improved to 13-2 overall and 7-0 at home. The Eagles conclude the regular season on Sunday at home against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles were also 13-2 in 2004 when they advanced to the Super Bowl.
Oakland quarterback Derek Carr finished 15 of 29 for 140 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
The Raiders, who had already been eliminated from playoff contention, fell to 6-9.
Steelers 34, Texans 6
Mike Hilton and Cameron Heyward recorded multisack games and the Pittsburgh Steelers remained in the running for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by breezing to a 34-6 victory over the Houston Texans.
Hilton and Heyward combined for five sacks of Houston quarterbacks T.J. Yates and Taylor Heinicke as the Steelers (12-3) limited the Texans (4-11) to 51 net passing yards.
Pittsburgh scored on its first two possessions and completed its road schedule with just one loss.
Pittsburgh clinched a bye in the postseason while extending its road winning streak to six.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 20 of 29 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns, including scoring strikes of five yards to Justin Hunter and 18 yards to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Roethlisberger completed multiple passes to four receivers as the Steelers’ passing offense excelled in its first week without injured Pro Bowl receiver Antonio Brown.
Houston has lost five consecutive games and eight of nine since its mid-October bye week.
