When sixth-round rookie Anders Carlson lined up for his first attempt at game-winning field goal for the Green Bay Packers with 22 seconds left on Sunday, the former Auburn standout was taking aim from only 32 yards out – a piece of cake compared to the 53-yard field goal he had made in the first half.

But the game-winner was coming from just about extra-point distance, and Carlson has missed four of those this season, including one that went wide left in the second quarter after the Packers’ second touchdown on Sunday.

Carlson didn’t miss with the game on the line, though, and his field goal with 19 seconds remaining lifted Green Bay to a 33-30 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

After the Panthers tied the score with 4:05 to play, the Packers got a 36-yard completion on a third-and-4 throw from quarterback Jordan Love to wide receiver Romeo Doubs and a 20-yard connection between Love and tight end Tucker Kraft to reach the Carolina 13-yard line with 1:54 remaining. From there, Green Bay played for the field goal, and Carlson made the strategy pay off as the Packers kept their playoff hopes alive by improving to 7-8 with two games left on their regular-season schedule.

Carlson has made 24-of-29 field-goal attempts and 29-of-33 extra-point kicks in his first NFL season. The 53-yarder on Sunday is the longest field goal of his NFL career. He’s 3-of-5 from 50-or-more yards.

Carlson was among the 16 former Auburn players who got on the field on the 16th Sunday of the NFL’s 104th season.

Five other former Auburn players were involved in the Green Bay-Carolina game:

· Derrick Brown started at defensive end for the Panthers. Brown made nine tackles. Brown recorded his fourth game with at least nine tackles, and three have come in his past seven outings.

· Packers safety Rudy Ford (New Hope) made two tackles on special teams.

· Panthers outside linebacker Eku Leota was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Packers defensive lineman Colby Wooden made one tackle.

· Panthers linebacker Chandler Wooten is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

In the other Sunday games:

Atlanta Falcons 29, Indianapolis Colts 10

· Colts offensive tackle Braden Smith was designated as a game-day inactive. A knee injury kept Smith out of the lineup for the third game in a row.

Cleveland Browns 36, Houston Texans 22

· Texans offensive tackle Kilian Zierer is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

New York Jets 30, Washington Commanders 28

· Jets defensive end Carl Lawson made one tackle in his first appearance since Nov. 12.

· Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood did not record any stats.

· Jets tight end C.J. Uzomah is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Seattle Seahawks 20, Tennessee Titans 17

· Marlon Davidson (Greenville) started at defensive tackle for the Titans. Davidson made two tackles and recorded one tackle for loss in his second NFL start. His first came on Nov. 7, 2021, with the Atlanta Falcons.

· Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall made two tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Roger McCreary (Williamson) started at cornerback for the Titans. McCreary made seven tackles.

· Titans quarterback Malik Willis dressed for the game but did not play.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 12

· Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby did not record any stats.

· Jaguars defensive tackle Angelo Blackson was designated as a game-day inactive.

· K.J. Britt (Oxford) started at inside linebacker for the Buccaneers. Britt made one tackle.

· Carlton Davis started at cornerback for the Buccaneers. Davis made two tackles before leaving the game to be evaluated for a head injury.

· Jamel Dean started at cornerback for the Buccaneers. Dean made four tackles.

· Jaguars safety Daniel Thomas (Lee-Montgomery) did not record any stats before leaving because of an arm injury.

· Jaguars wide receiver Seth Williams (Paul Bryant) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Chicago Bears 27, Arizona Cardinals 16

· Owen Pappoe started at inside linebacker for the Cardinals. Pappoe made two tackles in his first NFL start.

· Cardinals tight end John Samuel Shenker is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Miami Dolphins 22, Dallas Cowboys 20

· Dolphins defensive tackle Byron Cowart is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Cowboys cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (Hewitt-Trussville) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Dolphins wide receiver Anthony Schwartz is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

New England Patriots 26, Denver Broncos 23

· Jonathan Jones started at left cornerback for the Patriots. Jones made one tackle and broke up one pass.

· Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham dressed for the game but did not play.

Week 16 started on Thursday night, when the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the New Orleans Saints 30-22, and continued on Saturday, when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 34-11 and the Buffalo Bills defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 24-22.

Week 16 concludes on Monday, with three games – Las Vegas Raiders-Kansas City Chiefs at noon CST on CBS and Nickelodeon, New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles at 3:30 p.m. on FOX and Baltimore Ravens-San Francisco 49ers on ABC.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AmarkG1.