NFL Sunday Awards: Detroit Lions with trick play of the year, Jayden Daniels magic and Michael Penix Jr's winning debut

A Detroit Lions trick play named 'stumble bum', late Jayden Daniels heroics, more Brock Bowers history and another Minnesota Vikings celebratory dance. We look back on NFL Sunday on the road to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans...

Another week, another instalment of Ben Johnson and Detroit Lions boundary-pushing offensive architecture. This time, with Johnson's potential future place of work on the receiving end.

Had the Lions really just faked a stumble in order to tee up a trick play? Were it any other offensive coordinator in the NFL, you might have been scratching your head wondering as much for far longer. But this was the Lions. This was Ben Johnson. Of course they had designed a fake stumble.

With Detroit leading 27-14 in the third quarter, quarterback Jared Goff received the snap from under center before swivelling and pretending to trip up in the backfield. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs meanwhile also tumbled to the ground as the rest of the offense cried 'Ball!' to dress up the illusion of a botched play, prompting Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens to bite with his eyes in the backfield for a split second, just enough time for Sam LaPorta to tear beyond him downfield.

At this point the Lions sideline could be seen pointing at their wide-open tight end, having omitted the usual grimaces that might have been evident had Goff in fact stumbled accidentally. They knew it had worked. LaPorta knew it had worked. And Goff knew it had worked, looking up and floating a perfect 21-yard touchdown pass to his man to put the game to bed in a 34-14 win.

"At first, it started on Monday, with Ben asking if (I) thought I could fumble on purpose and pick it back up," Goff said. "I said I don't know about that. We kind of got off that pretty quickly and were like, 'Let's just pretend we're falling or pretend I'm fumbling but I'm holding onto the ball.' I think the part that Gibbs dives really sells the play. I'm only doing half of it."

It was the lunacy the league has come to expect from Johnson, whose genius is both a blessing and a burden for a franchise all too aware of the head coaching interest he will warrant once again in January. For some, there may be a question as to why he would waste a play like that in a game the Lions were controlling against a beaten Bears side, as opposed to saving it for the playoffs?

To question that is to question the depth of his bag of tricks, which continues to toss up surprise after surprise. This one also happened to come against a Bears team that would do well to pair Johnson's artistry with quarterback Caleb Williams as they re-enter the head coaching hunt.

"The stuff he comes up with every game is crazy," said Gibbs. "You don't see really stuff like that, only if you're in college. In college, they have all of those explosive plays and stuff basically."

Goff revealed the play, named 'Stumble Bum', had originated from Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love botching a snap before turning it into a chunk pass play against the Bears earlier in the season. Johnson does not miss a beat.

His offense has now posted at least 400 yards in three of the last four weeks and is currently ranked No 1 in scoring having broken a franchise record for most points in a season with 493. The injury bug has been cruel to them of late, but a 100-yard rushing game from Gibbs in the absence of the injured David Montgomery and Jameson Williams' 143-yard game suggest the Lions are not slowing down.

And just like that, there is hope once more in Atlanta. With victory over the New York Giants and a setback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Dallas Cowboys, the Falcons are alive again in their bid to reach the playoffs, which felt like a minimum requirement when they handed Kirk Cousins a $180m contract in the offseason.

The Falcons could be heading towards an expensive one-and-done divorce with Cousins next year after benching their marquee quarterback addition for first-round pick Michael Penix Jr on Sunday. Raheem Morris had been left with no choice but to turn to his rookie after seeing Cousins throw just one touchdown to nine interceptions over the last five games, which had included a four-game losing streak threatening to derail the entire campaign.

It amounted to a winning debut for Penix as he completed 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards and an interception, for which Kyle Pitts and a case of butter fingers were at fault, in a 34-7 victory over the unwatchable Giants. If there is anything to shout about for Brian Daboll's Giants it is their defensive front, against which Penix did a tremendous job of staying out of trouble and using his mobility to dictate the pocket smoothly while avoiding debilitating sacks.

He was a willing aggressor downfield - with the oomph on his passes to match - he added a desperately-missed dimension with his ability to roll out and throw off-platform, he attacked tight windows and immediately looked like an upgrade to what Cousins had offered over the last month, which had been a stagnant and immobile operator struggling to maximise the breadth of talent around him. Oh, and who doesn't love watching a left-handed quarterback throw?

Game on the line. Against the NFL's No 1-ranked defense. With two minutes left. No problem for Jayden Daniels, who strengthened his grip on Rookie of the Year honours on Sunday as he navigated a stunning game-winning drive to lead the Washington Commanders to a 36-33 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, denting their divisional rivals' bid to win the No 1 seed in the NFC.

Daniels connected with Jamison Crowder at the back of the end zone with six seconds on the clock to ice the game after leading a nine-play, 57-yard march, marking one of five touchdown passes on the day for the first-round pick as he nullified five turnovers committed by the Commanders earlier in the game.

Some of his finest work came on the ground, Daniels also rushing for 81 yards off nine carries, including a 29-yard scramble on fourth-and-11 at the end of the third quarter to set up his four-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus and pull Washington within 27-21.

Once more he was unflappable in the face of late-game pressure, strapping a team to his back when they needed him most and in doing so throwing his fourth go-ahead touchdown in the final 30 seconds of a game - the most by a rookie in history.

There are certain players in the NFL that you can only hope are surrounded by a contender-worthy roster at some point during their career. Maxx Crosby has been one of those with the Las Vegas Raiders, and now has some company in that department in the form of Brock Bowers.

The tight end has not only asserted himself among the league's star rookies, but is already among the best players in his position and trending towards dominance for the next decade. He had 11 more catches for 99 yards in the Raiders' 19-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, meaning he is now the first rookie tight end in history to post 1,000-plus yards and 100-plus catches in a season.

He now needs five more catches to snap Puka Nacua's rookie record for receptions, and 10 more yards to overtake Mike Ditka's 63-year-old rookie record for yards by a tight end.

Midnight thought of the day is reserved for anything that may come to mind as the night draws in on an NFL Sunday. Not for the first time in recent weeks, Bryce Young features here.

He is getting better and better by the week, the marriage between him and Dave Canales only strengthening and the signs as to why he was the No 1 pick at the NFL Draft becoming more and more evident. There is a long way to go, but he has put his credentials as the Carolina Panthers starter heading into 2025 beyond doubt.

Young produced his best performance in the NFL on Sunday, completing 17 of 26 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a 36-30 overtime win against the Arizona Cardinals, ending the playoff hopes of Kyler Murray and co in the process. Among his standout moments was a bullet first-down pass to Tommy Tremble on a crossing right while taking a crushing hit from an unblocked rusher. He would follow it up moments later with a beautifully-weighted back shoulder touchdown strike to David Moore.

Nobody deserved the win more on Sunday. And how good it is to see Bryce Young enjoying his football.

So often we can focus on the genius of Josh Allen as the MVP favourite - and rightly so - while overlooking some of the components that have made this Buffalo Bills offense one of the best scoring machines in the league.

It wasn't so long ago that the Bills offense had been accused of falling stale at times under Ken Dorsey, before Joe Brady took over play-calling duties and placed a greater emphasis on the role of James Cook. For his production when he does touch the ball, the Bills still use him at a bizarrely limited rate in comparison to other feature running backs around the league. But perhaps that is the beauty of his involvement.

Cook rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown from 11 carries in Sunday's win over the New England Patriots, while making three catches for 26 yards and a score. He now has 1,186 yards and 16 touchdowns from scrimmage, all from just 214 touches, including just 182 carries. When he gets the ball, and when he gets the ball behind THIS offensive line, things happen.

The Vikings have long been deserving of their own section to celebrate the league's greatest menu of touchdown celebrations, the choreography to which is seemingly headed up by Cam Bynum and Josh Metellus.

So far we have seen the Parent Trap handshake, an imitation of viral breakdancer Raygun, Usher's 'Glitch' dance and the White Chicks dance. On Sunday the Minnesota defense united again to perform the 'Camp Rock' dance after Theo Jackson's decisive late interception of Geno Smith in a 27-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Suddenly Kevin O'Connell's side are in the hunt for the No 1 seed, while Sam Darnold is hurtling towards a pay day after another three-touchdown outing.