He ended it with an apology for a mistake that might have wrecked Pittsburgh’s playoff plans.Limited at practice all week by a sore groin Justin Layne Jersey , Smith-Schuster tweeted before the Steelers’ showdown at New Orleans that he wouldn’t miss the game for anything.“A lot on the line this week. The whole season comes down to this,” Smith-Schuster tweeted. “I’m talking about the fantasy football championship round. Of course I’m playing Sunday!! There’s no way I can let down the real ones who believed in me by drafting me!! Let’s get it!!”Smith-Schuster delivered 11 receptions for 115 yards. But he let down Steelers Nation with his fumble at the New Orleans 34 in the final minute, sealing Pittsburgh’s 31-28 loss .That dropped the sliding Steelers out of first place in the AFC North and endangered their chances of even making the playoffs.To claim the AFC North, Pittsburgh (8-6-1) needs to beat Cincinnati next Sunday and have surging Baltimore (9-6) lose at home to Cleveland. Failing that, the Steelers, who has lost four of their last five by a total of 16 points, would need the unlikely scenario of an Indianapolis-Tennessee tie to earn a wild card berth.“When I’m at my lowest, I’m not going to hide,” Smith-Schuster wrote in an Instagram post Monday. “I’m sorry. That loss was on me. I let everyone down, it won’t happen again.”Smith-Schuster wasn’t the only one in the spotlight of blame and blunders. His coach, Mike Tomlin, is being second-guessed for a failed fake punt that set up the Saints on Pittsburgh’s side of the field for the game-winning touchdown drive with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter.Drew Brees threw the game-winning touchdown toss to Michael Thomas with 1:25 remaining.“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Tomlin said after the Steelers fell from fourth to eighth in the AFC playoff picture thanks to two fumbles and the failed punt on their last three possessions.Upback Roosevelt Nix took the snap, stepped to his right and ran up the middle. He was stopped just shy of first down Benny Snell Jr. Jersey , although he celebrated as though he’d fooled the Saints.“I didn’t even know it was coming,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said of the fake punt.The same couldn’t be said for the Saints (13-2), who captured the NFC’s top seed for just the second time in their history. They parlayed the No. 1 seed in 2009 into their only Super Bowl championship.Despite their 38-31 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday night, the Chiefs (11-4) can capture the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a win over Oakland next week.Their generational quarterback already is a big winner — in the marketing department.Hunt’s signed notorious ketchup lover Patrick Mahomes as its brand ambassador after learning one of the QB’s culinary passions is the red condiment he puts on everything from steak to mac & cheese.“I’ve been a fan of ketchup for as long as I can remember, and the thick, rich flavor of Hunt’s ketchup delivers every time,” Mahomes said — or at least he read that advertising copy that was written for him.Other key decisions in Week 16 included Raiders punt returner Dwyane Harris scooping up the loose ball at Oakland’s 1-yard line Monday night and returning it 99 yards for a touchdown on a muddy field in one of the most spectacular plays of the season. It tied for the second-longest punt return in NFL history.Broncos rookie Isaac Yiadom tried to down the ball just shy of the end zone but it squibbed away from him in the drenched grass and Harris picked it up and swept around the right side for his improbable score that gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead.Harris joined Patrick Peterson (99 yards) and Robert Bailey (103) as the only players ever to score a touchdown on a punt return of 99 yards o more. Next Gen Stats said he covered 157½ total yards and almost hit 20 mph on his return.And the New England Patriots sent a shout-out to Nick Foles , of all people, after the Eagles backup QB — who outdueled Tom Brady to secure Philadelphia’s Super Bowl win last season — did them a huge favor.Foles threw for a franchise record 471 yards and four touchdowns in leading the Eagles past the Texans 32-30, denying Houston the AFC South title and sending the Patriots back into the No. 2 playoff spot.The Patriots, who have won their division 16 times in the 18 years Brady has started for them, haven’t had to play a wild-card game since 2009. And their five championships each followed a first-round playoff bye like the one they’re in line for following the Texans’ loss.So, the Patriots tweeted, “We never thought we’d say this in 2018 Zach Gentry Jersey , but … Thanks Nick Foles!” HOUSTON (AP) — After two difficult losses, Odell Beckham Jr. saw a different energy in the New York Giants on Sunday.“We came out and played like we loved the game of football and we were kids just having fun,” the star receiver said. “It wasn’t like: ‘We’re down 0-2 and we’ve got to win.’ It was like: ‘Let’s go out and have fun today.’ That’s what we did, and we got the win.”Eli Manning threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns and rookie Saquon Barkley added a score as the Giants got a 27-22 victory over the struggling Houston Texans.The Giants (1-2) were up by 14 at halftime but had trouble moving the ball in the second half. The Texans (0-3) had cut the lead to five before Manning threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with about two minutes left.“I always knew they had great resolve, but (Sunday) we just made enough plays to win,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “We went from being ‘almost’ in a lot of areas to finishing it.”Deshaun Watson threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Lamar Miller with 1 second left to cut the lead to 27-22, but New York recovered the onside kick.Watson threw for 385 yards and two scores, but his interception was one of two second-half turnovers by the Texans, off to their worst start since dropping their first four games of 2008.“I just try to think of ways to get us out of this,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “I know that it starts with me … I’ve got to figure out how to do a better job. It’s as simple as that.”Beckham had nine receptions for 109 yards and Barkley finished with 82 yards rushing as the Giants came one point shy of matching their points total from their first two games combined.A 54-yard field goal got Houston within 20-9 in the third quarter. The Texans forced a punt and were driving again when Miller caught a short pass and fumbled after a hit by Donte Deayon. The Giants recovered but couldn’t move the ball and had to punt after a drive that featured a sack by J.J. Watt.But the Texans turned over the ball again, this time when Watson was intercepted in the end zone by Alec Ogletree.Houston cut the lead to 20-15 when Will Fuller grabbed a 6-yard pass from Watson with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining, but the 2-point conversion failed.After leading the NFL in yards rushing through the first three games, the Texans couldn’t get anything going on the ground. They finished with 59 yards rushing, and Miller managed just 10 yards on as many carries.The Texans led 3-0 after a 23-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn on their first drive. The Giants took their first lead this season when Barkley shed multiple tackles on a 15-yard run that made it 7-3.New York added two field goals before Manning connected with Rhett Ellison on a 16-yard touchdown to push the advantage to 20-3 late in the second quarter.Watt had a strip sack on third down to make the Giants settle for the second field goal. Watt hadn’t had a sack since Sept. 18 Nick Bosa Jersey , 2016 before taking Manning down on that play.Houston cut the lead to 20-6 at halftime after a 28-yard field goal.INJURY UPDATENew York tight end Evan Engram (knee) left in the second quarter. … Giants CB Antonio Hamilton injured his groin in the first quarter and didn’t return. … Houston WR Bruce Ellington injured his hamstring in the first quarter and didn’t return. … Texans G Senio Kelemete (knee) left in the second quarter.WATT’S DAYWatt, who played just eight games in the 2016-17 seasons because of injuries, finished with three sacks, three tackles for losses, four quarterback hits and a forced fumble. The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year said he’s feeling progressively better every week and is glad to be contributing again.“It’s good to finally end such a long drought in that type of way,” he said. “But … personal stats don’t matter at all in a loss.”SPREADING IT AROUNDManning did a good job of spreading the ball around, completing at least one pass to six players and finding three guys five or more times.“I think you want to get everybody involved,” he said. “We got off to a fast start and needed a big drive at the end to win the game and we were able to do it.”ELIMINATING PENALTIESThe Texans are searching for a way to eliminate penalties on offense after committing several false start and holding penalties. Right tackle Julien Davenport was the worst offender and had three false start and two holding penalties.“It’s the story of penalties, mistakes,” Davenport said. “I don’t know how many penalties I had, but way too much. Hurt this team badly. I’ve got to eliminate it all.”UP NEXTGiants: Host New Orleans next Sunday.Texans: Visit the Colts next Sunday.