NFL Recap & Results | October 18, 2026
Week 6's Sunday slate came down to kickers and quarterbacks. Houston beat Jacksonville on a 49-yard field goal as time expired in London after Cam Little had tied it from 60, Buffalo held off Las Vegas on a short week, and Green Bay shut Dallas down on Sunday night, 23-13. Elsewhere Arizona beat the Rams on Chad Ryland's sixth field goal as time expired, Kansas City stayed unbeaten, and Tennessee finally won. Here's how it went down, plus a look at how the card and the season-to-date record held up.
Fairbairn's 49-Yarder Beats the Clock at Wembley
Houston Texans 34, Jacksonville Jaguars 31
Houston scored first on a 6-yard C.J. Stroud touchdown pass, and Jacksonville answered with two Trevor Lawrence touchdown passes to Bhayshul Tuten. A pass interference penalty on Travis Hunter set up Stroud's 1-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left in the half, and Houston led 17-14 at the break. The Texans pushed it to 31-21 late in the third on a 13-yard Stroud touchdown pass and a 25-yard touchdown run, and Hunter's 7-yard touchdown catch made it 31-28 early in the fourth.
Then came the turn. Stroud, who had thrown 185 passes this season without an interception, threw one in the end zone, and Hunter caught it on the drive after his own touchdown. Jacksonville faced fourth-and-4 at the Houston 42 and sent Cam Little out for a 60-yard field goal, which he made to tie it 31-31 with about two minutes left. Stroud drove Houston 36 yards in seven plays, and Ka'imi Fairbairn made a 49-yarder as time expired.
Stroud finished 24-of-34 for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Marvin Harrison Jr., acquired in a trade with Arizona this week, caught three passes for 34 yards in his Texans debut, and Woody Marks ran 15 times for 56 yards. Lawrence was 24-of-41 for 306 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Houston won its second straight after an 0-4 start and improved to 2-4, and Jacksonville fell to 4-2.
HOU 34 · JAX 31
Bills Hold Off Raiders After Tucker's Diving Touchdown
Buffalo Bills 33, Las Vegas Raiders 30
Buffalo, on a short week after Monday night's overtime win in Los Angeles, scored on its first three drives with Tyler Bass field goals of 44 and 28 yards and a 9-yard Josh Allen touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir. Las Vegas matched it with a 1-yard Ashton Jeanty touchdown run and two Matt Gay field goals, and it was 13-13 at halftime. Bass kicked a 47-yarder in the third, Dorian Williams intercepted Kirk Cousins, and Allen escaped pressure and found Keon Coleman for a 12-yard touchdown and a 23-13 lead.
Las Vegas did not go away. A Gay field goal and an 11-yard Cousins touchdown pass to Tre Tucker tied it 23-23 with 8:07 left, James Cook answered with a 3-yard touchdown run, and Bass's 38-yarder with two minutes left made it 33-23. Cousins then needed two plays to find Tucker for a 44-yard touchdown on a diving catch, but Gay's onside drop kick went too far and Shakir caught it in the air.
Allen was 23-of-33 for 255 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers, Cook ran 22 times for 95 yards and a score, and Bass was 4-for-4 on field goals. Cousins was 23-of-41 for 313 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and Tucker had five catches for 97 yards. Buffalo improved to 5-1 and heads into its bye week, and Las Vegas fell to 3-3.
BUF 33 · LV 30
Packers Smother the Cowboys at Lambeau
Dallas Cowboys 13, Green Bay Packers 23
Green Bay controlled the first half. The Packers converted 9 of 10 third downs before halftime, Jordan Love found Matthew Golden for a 9-yard touchdown, Trey Smack kicked a 25-yard field goal, and a pair of pass interference penalties helped set up Love's 1-yard sneak with 25 seconds left for a 17-0 lead. Dak Prescott threw two first-half interceptions, one to rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse, his first career interception, and one to safety Evan Williams.
Dallas finally got on the board on a 1-yard Javonte Williams run in the third quarter, but Smack answered with field goals of 44 and 29 yards, and Prescott's 6-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Flournoy with 52 seconds left only made the final score look closer; the two-point try failed. Prescott was 34-of-54 for 258 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, 4.6 yards per attempt, and the Cowboys ran 15 times for 48 yards.
Love was 23-of-41 for 276 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and was sacked three times, and Green Bay ran 26 times for 57 yards while holding the ball 30:51 to Dallas's 29:09. The Packers won their third straight to move to 4-2, and Dallas fell to 2-4.
DAL 13 · GB 23
The Rest of the Slate
Bears 31, Falcons 23: Caleb Williams returned from his hamstring injury and went 30-of-36 for 305 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions and no fumbles. Chicago led 31-7 early in the fourth before Atlanta scored 16 points, including two two-point conversions, while losing three fumbles.
Panthers 25, Eagles 14: Philadelphia started Tanner McKee with Jalen Hurts ruled out by a blood clot in his leg, and Carolina pulled away for an 11-point win.
Browns 13, Ravens 10: Cleveland held Baltimore to 235 total yards and 6-of-16 on third down in a game neither offense controlled.
Saints 34, Giants 27: New Orleans trailed 10-0, then scored 34 unanswered points behind Tyler Shough, who threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, and held on after New York's late 17-point rally to end a three-game losing streak. The Saints are 2-4 and the Giants 3-2-1.
Steelers 26, Buccaneers 19 (OT): Chris Boswell tied it with a 58-yard field goal and put Pittsburgh up 19-16 with 1:23 left, Tampa Bay's Chase McLaughlin answered from 53 yards with 13 seconds left, and Aaron Rodgers threw a 6-yard touchdown pass in overtime to win it.
Patriots 26, Jets 19: New England beat New York for the fourth straight time with A.J. Brown back from injured reserve.
Titans 26, Colts 20: Tennessee won for the first time this season, and Daniel Jones threw two more interceptions for Indianapolis.
Cardinals 18, Rams 16: Chad Ryland kicked six field goals, the last a 43-yarder as time expired, and Arizona won without scoring a touchdown. Los Angeles lost kicker Blake Grupe to a knee injury in the first quarter, and punter Ethan Evans kicked an extra point.
Chiefs 22, Chargers 6: Kansas City improved to 5-0 in its first game without Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton, and Los Angeles fell to 0-6 after Justin Herbert threw his eighth interception of the season.
Returns and Absences
Caleb Williams came back from his hamstring injury and threw for 305 yards, and A.J. Brown returned from injured reserve for New England, but the absences mattered more. Jalen Hurts missed Philadelphia's game because of a blood clot in his leg, Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton were out for Kansas City, and Baltimore played without Lamar Jackson again. Los Angeles lost kicker Blake Grupe to a knee injury in the first quarter, and Marvin Harrison Jr. made his Houston debut in London.
Kickers Had the Last Word.
Week 6's Sunday slate had a walk-off in London, a time-expired win for Arizona at SoFi, and Tennessee's first win of the year. Minnesota, San Francisco, and Kansas City are the only unbeaten teams, with the 49ers still to play Monday, and the Chargers and Dolphins are the only winless ones. Week 6 closes Monday night with the Commanders at the 49ers.
Star of the Day: C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston
24-of-34 passing | 312 yards | 3 TD | 1 INT
Chad Ryland's six field goals, Caleb Williams' 30-of-36 return, and Tyler Shough's four touchdowns made cases of their own, but Stroud answering his first interception of the season with a game-winning drive in London, one that set up Fairbairn's kick as time expired, is the clearer story.
Dud of the Day: Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas
34-of-54 passing | 258 yards | 1 TD | 2 INT
Justin Herbert's eighth interception of the season and Jameis Winston's benching were in the conversation, but Prescott throwing two first-half interceptions and averaging 4.6 yards per attempt in a 17-0 hole at Lambeau is the clearer dud.
How We Did: Checking the Card
Sunday's card went 6-6 on sides and 5-7 on totals across 12 games.
Houston @ Jacksonville: The preview leaned Jacksonville -2.5 (Toss-up) and the under at 42.5 (Lean), citing the league's best scoring defense and an under-heavy London record, with the side close to even because Houston had won seven of the last ten meetings. Houston won by three on Fairbairn's kick, so the side missed, and the teams combined for 65 points, 22.5 past the total. The side lean missed; the under lean missed.
Buffalo @ Las Vegas: The preview leaned Las Vegas +5.5 (Lean) and the over at 53.5 (Lean), citing Buffalo's short week and nine giveaways in three games against a Raiders team that was 3-1 against the spread as an underdog. Buffalo won by three, so Las Vegas stayed inside the number, and the teams combined for 63 points, 9.5 past the total. The side lean cleared; the over lean cleared.
Dallas @ Green Bay: The preview leaned Dallas +1.5 (Toss-up) and the over at 53.5 (Lean), citing Dallas's rest edge, a thin Packers defensive line, and two high-scoring offenses. Green Bay won by 10 after converting 9 of 10 third downs in the first half, and the teams combined for just 36 points, 17.5 under the number. The side lean missed; the over lean missed.
By tier: Lean 7-6, Toss-up 4-7.
The rest of the slate, winner first:
Bears 31, Falcons 23: ATL +1.5: Missed · Under 52.5: Missed
Panthers 25, Eagles 14: CAR -3: Cleared · Under 39.5: Cleared
Browns 13, Ravens 10: CLE +3: Cleared · Under 39.5: Cleared
Saints 34, Giants 27: NYG +1.5: Missed · Over 46.5: Cleared
Steelers 26, Buccaneers 19 (OT): PIT -2.5: Cleared · Under 38.5: Missed
Patriots 26, Jets 19: NYJ +7.5: Cleared · Under 43.5: Missed
Titans 26, Colts 20: IND -7: Missed · Under 44.5: Missed
Cardinals 18, Rams 16: LAR -12.5: Missed · Over 51.5: Missed
Chiefs 22, Chargers 6: KC -7.5: Cleared · Under 40.5: Cleared
The headline takeaway: the sides split evenly at 6-6 with the Lean sides going 5-2, while totals struggled at 5-7, with the unders going 3-5 and three of those misses coming up just 1.5 points short (Bears-Falcons, Jets-Patriots, and Titans-Colts).
Season Predictions Record
Tracking every graded card against the spread and total from the preview articles, updated through October 18:
Spread / Side: 41-48-3
Total (Over/Under): 51-41
The side leans sit at 46%, while the totals sit at 55%. Records read wins-losses-ties, and ties (pushes) are left out of the percentages. We'll keep this tally updated through the rest of the season.
Week 6 closes Monday night with the Commanders at the 49ers, 8:15 PM ET. We'll have the preview, the card, and both leans before kickoff.