Rodgers, Tomlin and the Steelers aren't done yet; Mahomes, Reid and the Chiefs might be

Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers shut up the folks calling for Mike Tomlin’s departure — for one week at least.

The Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars defended their home turf and took over first place in their respective divisions.

The Houston Texans moved another step toward a playoff berth while damaging Kansas City’s hopes.

Week 14’s biggest games didn’t disappoint.

Rodgers played his best game of the season and the Steelers held on for a 27-22 victory in Baltimore to move one game ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North.

In a week where former Steelers star players Ben Roethlisberger and James Harrison said it’s time for a new coach in Pittsburgh, the team rallied around Tomlin and came up with its biggest victory of the season.

“Awesome team win,” Tomlin said. “I’m just appreciative of the effort of the men in that locker room. It’s classic Steelers vs. Ravens.”

The Steelers (7-6) will host Lamar Jackson and the Ravens (6-7) in Week 18 so the division could be decided that day.

Rodgers, who turned 42 last Tuesday, had a season-high 284 yards passing, one interception and wasn’t sacked. He also scored his first rushing TD in three years.

“That’s why you go do business with a guy like Aaron,” Tomlin said. “Thick days, like today, he’s a been there, done that guy. Beyond the experience component of it, he relishes it. You can just tell. That’s the benefit of having a guy like him.”

The Steelers host Miami (6-7) next Monday night while the Ravens visit Cincinnati (4-9).

“I feel like each and every week there’s no room for error. We are professionals,” Jackson said. “Now, I feel like we are just trying to win as much as we can right now. We’ve just been talking about the four-game stretch. You just have to lock in and put it all on the line.”

In Green Bay, Jordan Love threw three TD passes and Keisean Nixon intercepted Caleb Williams’ pass in the end zone to secure a 28-21 victory over Chicago that moved the Packers ahead of the Bears in the NFC North.

The Packers (9-3-1) and Bears (9-4) face off again in Chicago in Week 16. The Lions (8-5) also remain in the mix in the division and they’ll meet the Bears in Week 18 after beating them in Detroit earlier in the season. With a tough schedule down the stretch, Chicago could go from first place to out of the playoffs.

The difference on Sunday was Love overcame an early pick and outplayed Williams, making big plays when the Packers needed them.

“Outside of (the interception), I thought he did a really good job,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Love. “No. 1, taking care of

the ball, but just making huge plays. The third-down throw to Christian Watson, he sees man coverage and he checks to that play and that’s a hell of a job by him. Same on the first touchdown pass to him. He’s in all-out

pressure and he checks to that play, and just a great job by him.”

Green Bay has a tough game next week on the road at the AFC West-leading Broncos (11-2) in Denver. The Bears are home against the dismal Browns (3-10).

In Jacksonville, the Jaguars gained control of the AFC South with a convincing 36-19 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Trevor Lawrence played mistake-free, efficient ball to lead Jacksonville, which is seeking its second division title in four years with first-year coach Liam Coen.

The Jaguars (9-4) host the lowly Jets (3-10) next week. Meanwhile, the Colts (8-5) lost Daniel Jones to an Achilles tendon injury and head to Seattle (10-3) with rookie Riley Leonard at quarterback. They’re now in danger of missing the playoffs entirely despite a 7-1 start.

The Colts have lost four of five to fall to eighth in the AFC. They’ll host the Jaguars in Week 17 and also play the 49ers (9-4) and finish against the Texans (8-5) in a game that could determine a wild-card spot.

The Chiefs’ defense was dominating Houston, holding the Texans to just 17 yards on five possessions that ended with punts in the second half before coach Andy Reid made an inexplicable decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from Kansas City’s 31 in a game that was tied at 10 with just under 11 minutes remaining.

Patrick Mahomes’ pass to Rashee Rice was incomplete and the Texans got the ball already in field-goal range. They scored a go-ahead TD and the Chiefs couldn’t recover in a 20-10 loss.

On Kansas City’s next possession, Rice dropped a pass on fourth down. But the defense held and gave Mahomes another shot to pull off some of his magic. Instead, Travis Kelce dropped a pass on first down and then bobbled another one that landed in Azeez Al-Shaair’s hands for an interception.

The Chiefs (6-7) will not win a 10th straight AFC West title. After reaching the Super Bowl five times in the past six years, winning three times, they’ll need to win out and get a lot of help to reach the playoffs.

Thanks to C.J. Stroud's heroics and a suffocating defense, the Texans have won five in a row and have a shot to win their third straight division title after rebounding from an 0-3 start.

On Football analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL from week to week. For more On Football analysis, head here.

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Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) celebrates a touchdown with quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat, right, sacks Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is sacked by Houston Texans defensive tackle Tommy Togiai during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) celebrates with quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) after a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified in the Senate on Tuesday in her first congressional appearance since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis galvanized widespread opposition to how the Trump administration was executing its mass deportation agenda.

Noem's appearance in front of the Judiciary Committee also comes after a weekend shooting at a bar in Texas that is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, leading to concerns that the escalating conflict in Iran could have repercussions for security in the U.S.

Her department's immigration tactics triggered a clash in Congress over its routine funding, which remains unresolved, although a spending bill passed last year granted it a significant infusion of cash for the Republican administration's mass deportation policy.

Noem defended her agency’s treatment of immigrants caught up in enforcement activities, and blamed activists and others for attacks against officers. She also lashed out at Democrats for the congressional funding showdown.

“The latest Democrat-led shutdown of DHS is reckless,” Noem said. “It’s unnecessary, and it undermines the American national security, and it harms the men and women who work at DHS and their families.”

Noem last appeared in Congress in December. But since then, President Donald Trump's immigration agenda and its enforcement by Noem's department have met fierce resistance in Minnesota, culminating in the deaths of two protesters, both U.S. citizens, at the hands of federal immigration officers.

In what was initially billed as an effort to root out fraud in Minnesota, Homeland Security eventually sent hundreds of officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to the state. They were met by protesters who organized marches, patrolled neighborhoods for ICE activity with whistles and ferried food to immigrants too afraid to leave their homes.

Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer on Jan. 7, setting off intense protests by Minnesota politicians and residents pushing for Homeland Security to end its operation in the state. Then on Jan. 24, Customs and Border Protection officers opened fire on another Minnesota resident, Alex Pretti, who had been filming enforcement operations.

Those deaths led to cries for accountability and transparency. Noem, whose initial comments portrayed both Good and Pretti as the aggressors, has come under withering criticism by Democrats and even some Republicans, who have called for her to resign.

After public outrage over the deaths, Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations on the ground there. Homan has since announced a drawdown of the ICE and CBP officers who had been sent to Minnesota to carry out what had been dubbed Operation Metro Surge, although he's been adamant that the president's mass deportation agenda will continue.

Noem faced questioning from Democrats who say officers under her control have abused their power, used excessive force and violated people's constitutional rights in carrying the Trump administration's agenda.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, repeatedly questioned Noem about comments she made immediately after the deaths of both Good and Pretti that cast them as the aggressors in the events leading up to their deaths. He called on her to apologize.

“You and your agency rushed to brand these victims as, quote, domestic terrorists," Durbin said. “We have ample video evidence and eyewitness testimony proving you are wrong. Your statements caused immeasurable pain to these families.”

Noem said she was relying on information from people on the scene and blamed “violent protesters” for contributing to the chaos officers encountered.

“I was getting reports from the ground from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene, as you’ve seen in Minneapolis and St. Paul," she said. Her officers “worked at targeting the worst of the worst” and many times faced violence from protesters, she added.

Homeland Security has often blamed conflicts in places like Minneapolis and Chicago where it's carrying out immigration enforcement activities as the fault of Democratic politicians who they say encourage people to oppose officers as they try to make arrests.

Noem is also slated to appear Wednesday in front of a House committee.

Angel Moms, parents whose children have died because of illegal immigrants, listen as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is sworn in before appearing for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appears for an oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is seen before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)