NFL Locals: Gardner Minshew, Samson Ebukam’s Colts headed for wild Week 18
The AFC South will go down to the final week.
The Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans all won on Sunday, forcing a three-way tie atop the division with one game to play.
Gardner Minshew (Washington State) and Samson Ebukam’s (Eastern Washington) Colts hold the last wildcard spot. They lose the division tiebreaker against the Jags but have an advantage over the Texans via head-to-head win percentage.
Indianapolis kept pace with a 23-20 win over the visiting Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.
The Colts (9-7) took advantage of an offside penalty on a missed field goal, making the second attempt to take a 23-13 lead with 3 minutes, 11 seconds remaining.
Minshew contributed the highlight of the game, hitting Alec Pierce for a 58-yard touchdown over the middle of the field. Minshew completed 15 of 23 attempts for 224 yards and a touchdown. He did not commit a turnover.
Ebukam had three tackles (one solo). He entered Sunday’s game with an 84.4 grade, according to Pro Football Focus, ranking second on the team’s defense.
The Texans beat the Tennessee Titans 26-3 and the Jaguars beat the Carolina Panthers 26-0.
Frankie Luvu (WSU) had five tackles (one solo) for the Panthers.
Indianapolis will host Houston for Week 18, with the winner securing a playoff berth. Either team will win the division if Jacksonville loses at Tennessee (5-11).
“I think everyone’s fired up for what we have in front of us,” Minshew said.
• Cooper Kupp (EWU) and the Los Angeles Rams are going back to the playoffs.
Los Angeles held on for a 26-25 win over the host New York Giants and clinched a berth with the Seattle Seahawks’ loss.
Victory didn’t come easy for the Rams (9-7), who denied a two-point conversion attempt with 3:27 remaining and watched a go-ahead field goal attempt go wide left.
Kupp had four receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown – a 5-yarder scored late in the second quarter. Kyren Williams did the rest, taking 20 carries for 87 yards and three touchdowns.
The Rams last made the playoffs in 2021, going on to win Super Bowl LVI behind Kupp’s MVP effort against the Cincinnati Bengals.
• Jaylen Watson (WSU) and the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC West for the eighth straight year with a 25-17 win over visiting Cincinnati.
Watson had three tackles (one solo) in the win.
• Atlanta Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss (Idaho) had nine tackles (six solo) and a sack in a 37-17 loss at the Chicago Bears.
The Falcons (7-9) are alive in the NFC South title race ahead of Sunday’s finale at New Orleans.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are likely to win the title with a win over NFL-worst Carolina Sunday and a tiebreaker over New Orleans.
• Jalen Thompson (WSU) had three tackles (one solo) as the Arizona Cardinals stunned the host Philadelphia Eagles 35-31.
• Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley (WSU) had four tackles (one solo) in a 16-9 loss at the Denver Broncos.