11 Thoughts from Sunday's Week 15 Games
The NFL is wild isn’t it? A week ago, the Cowboys were the hottest team in the league and definite contenders in the NFC. After yesterday’s blowout 31-10 loss to the Bills, the same questions that have persisted in recent years are back. Can they win on the road? Can they beat a team that plays with an approach of punching them in the mouth? The Bills, on the other hand, were headed for a tumultuous offseason just a couple of weeks ago. Now, the division is back in play. None of these narratives are wrong, by the way. We truly do not know if the Cowboys have what it takes to win a physical game on the road against teams like the 49ers or Eagles. And for the Bills, they’re two games out right now, but all they need is to be within a game of the Dolphins entering their Week 18 showdown since they’ve already beaten them once this year. Buffalo faces the Chargers and Patriots over the next two weeks. That should be two wins. Miami plays Dallas and Baltimore next. Unless they win both of those games, they’ll be playing Buffalo for the AFC East title on Sunday Night Football in Week 18.
Speaking of roller coaster rides this season, the Packers were left for dead at 3-6 before winning 3 straight and becoming “true NFC contenders.” Then they lost to the 4-8 Giants last Monday night and the 6-7 Buccaneers at home on Sunday. The same issue that’s been plaguing the Packers for, oh I don’t know, 13 straight years now, has done them in once again. The defense just isn’t championship caliber. Hasn’t been for a long time. 2023 has been no different, and that’s been particularly noticeable in their last 2 games. Green Bay’s D made Tommy DeVito look like Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield finished Sunday’s game 22-28 for 381 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs and a perfect (!!!) passer rating. I’ve written about this before, but the Packers wasted the Aaron Rodgers years by putting together just 3 top-10 scoring defenses in his 15 years as a starter (Just 1 in his final 12 seasons). They appear to have found their QB of the future in Jordan Love. But we won’t see different results if they continue to put up the same hot garbage on the other side of the ball for the next decade.
Speaking of hot garbage, did anyone watch the Panthers-Falcons game? Sorry, that was low-hanging fruit. A rain-soaked game between two meh teams ended exactly as we all thought it would in a 9-7 barn-burner. Good for Bryce Young getting another win under his belt. Any positive for him to build on heading into the offseason is a good thing. For the Falcons, they have to address the quarterback position this offseason. If they’re not in the discussions about trading up for the #1 or #2 pick, something is off.
Lamar Jackson made some outstanding plays on Sunday night, but it was the Ravens defense that once again carried this team to victory, holding the Jaguars to just 7 points and 3-of-13 on third down. Baltimore is the #1 seed in the AFC at the moment, but the litmus test is coming next Monday night when they take on the 49ers.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense continue to roll. Stafford completed 25 of 33 passes for 258 yards and 2 TDs against the Commanders, and the Rams scored 28 or more for the 4th straight game. As Nick wrote last week, the offense is starting to look a lot more like the 2021 version that went on to win the Super Bowl. I hope to see this team in the playoffs even though I don’t think they can legitimately do much more than a Wild-Card-round win. More exciting for Rams fans, however, is that they’ll be right back in Super Bowl contention in 2024.
It was kind of an ugly game for Joe Flacco. His 3 interceptions (and there could have been more) nearly did the Browns in. They found a way to win in the end, however. They’re banged up and injuries are starting to catch up with them on both sides of the ball, but I still think they’ll have the best chance of any wild-card team in either conference to make a surprise run in the playoffs.
Aaron Rodgers will apparently be medically cleared to play this week. However, the Jets have been eliminated from playoff contention after an embarrassing 30-0 loss to the Dolphins, which means we probably won’t see him until 2024. The Rodgers experiment in New York will have to wait a year.
Tommy DeVito had the Giants on a 3-game winning-streak entering their Week 15 game against the Saints. But Dennis Allen had a good plan for shutting him down, and the Saints came away with an easy 24-6 victory. It was fun while it lasted.
The Patriots hung with the Chiefs for the first 30 minutes on Sunday, but the discrepancy in talent between these two teams became more and more apparent as the game wore on. KC got back in the win column, and the Patriots went back to answering questions about what they’ll do in 2024.
Brock Purdy threw 4 TD passes, Christian McCaffrey scored 3 times, and Niners won their 6th straight game, 45-29. They’ve averaged 34.5 points per game during the win streak and now have two players firmly in the MVP discussion. Next up, the Ravens on Christmas night.
It looked bleak for most of the game, but the Texans somehow escaped Nashville with a 19-16 OT win despite not having C.J. Stroud. They’re now in a 3-way tie for the AFC South division lead with the Jaguars and Colts.