This weekend’s NFL action provided us with a little bit of everything. On Saturday night at Arrowhead, the Kansas City Chiefs shook off recent struggles to hand what had been a red-hot Chargers team a blowout loss — almost assuredly wrapping up the AFC West in the process.
Then when Sunday came calling, drama and intrigue took over the NFL landscape. Making his first appearance since Week 6, Aaron Rodgers put up his worst performance in almost a decade in what will likely end up being a season-ending Packers loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Later on Sunday, the defending champion Patriots pulled off a dramatic late-game comeback against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. By virtue of this win, and the Steelers’ meltdown, New England has a clear shot for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
These are among the top takeaways in what was a wacky and drama-filled slate of Week 15 NFL games.
Chiefs dismantle Chargers’ division title hopes
The Los Angeles Chargers entered Saturday night’s game against the Chiefs in Kansas City having won seven of their past nine games. A win here, and Philip Rivers’ squad would have been odds-on favorites to come out on top in the AFC West. That didn’t happen.
Overcoming recent struggles that had seen them lose four of five, the Chiefs were absolutely dominant in front of their home crowd. Alex Smith completed 23-of-30 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, including this score to the explosive Tyreek Hill. Having struggled recently, Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Kareem Hunt added 206 total yards and two scores.
Defensively, Kansas City forced three interceptions from what had been a red-hot Philip Rivers — leading the quarterback to call himself out big time. Kansas City now boasts a one-game lead in the AFC West and has swept Los Angeles on the season. One more win or another Chargers loss, and the Chiefs will win the division. Saturday’s strong performance almost guarantees this will come to fruition.
Vikings are truly the class of the Norse
No one really expected a hapless Bengals squad to go into Minnesota and give the Vikings a game Sunday. But in order to be considered Super Bowl contenders, teams have to take care of business against lesser opponents. That’s exactly what Minnesota did in Week 15.
The game was never really close. Minnesota opened up a 17-0 lead in the first quarter before finding itself up 24-0 at the half. The majestic Case Keenum missed on just three of 23 passes for 236 yards with two scores. Meanwhile, Jerick McKinnon put up 138 total yards out of the backfield.
Defensively, Minnesota picked off two Andy Dalton passes and held the Bengals to just north of 150 total yards of offense. By virtue of the win, the Vikings have now clinched the NFC North division and are well on their way of earning a first-round playoff bye.
They still haven’t won
And it may never happen again. That’s how fans of the long downtrodden Cleveland Browns franchise must feel right now. Following a major shake up and some looming drama in the front office, the still winless Browns couldn’t compete against an average Ravens team on Sunday.
It started with DeShone Kizer actually passing for negative yards through the first quarter. The embarrassment was magnified by the fact that almost no one showed up for the game at FirstEnergy Stadium. Then, Kizer embarrassed himself and his team even more as the game progressed.
In the end, Cleveland fell by the final score of 27-10. It’s the Browns’ 14th consecutive loss to start the season. The team is 1-29 since the start of the 2016 campaign and has won a grand total of one game in two calendar years. There are no further words we can use to frame the sadness that’s taking place by the lake in Ohio right now. It’s just utterly absurd.
The most Patriots win ever
It sure looked like the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots were going to blow it on the road Sunday against Pittsburgh. Up 27-24 after scoring 11 points in three minutes, New England’s defense yielded this absurd 69-yard catch and run to JuJu Smith-Schuster, setting Pittsburgh up at the 10-yard line with just over a half minute to play.
That’s when things got crazy. The very next play saw Ben Roethlisberger connect with tight end Jesse James for what looked to be the winning score. Officials on hand at Heinz Field decided to review the play, ultimately (and rightfully) deciding that James did not have possession of the ball. The play was called incomplete, setting up a huge third-down play.
Instead of opting to throw a fade towards the back of the end zone, Big Ben tossed a slant to Eli Rogers. That’s when the Patriots brought back memories of their Super Bowl victory of Seattle, with Duron Harmon coming up with the game-ending interception. Why Pittsburgh threw this high-risk pass while down just a field goal is anyone’s guess.
In any event, a loss here would have eliminated New England from acquiring the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Instead, the team now finds itself tied with Pittsburgh for that spot with two weeks remaining. Oh, did we mention Rob Gronkowski dominated to the tune of nine receptions for 168 yards in his return from a one-game suspension? Who didn’t see that coming?
Jags clinch first playoff spot in a decade
Even without star rookie Leonard Fournette on the field Sunday, the Jaguars absolutely imposed their will against Houston. In the process, Jacksonville clinched its first playoff appearance since the 2007 campaign.
Taking advantage of a hapless Texans offense, the league’s top defense yielded less than 200 total yards and got to T.J. Yates for four sacks and nine total hits. Offensively, it was the Blake Bortles show. No, really. The much-maligned quarterback completed 21-of-29 passes for 326 yards with three touchdowns and zero picks in the 45-7 win.
This represents the Jaguars’ 10th win of the season and enables them to remain alive for the top seed in the AFC heading into the final two weeks. The team has also won seven of eight and has to be considered a legit Super Bowl contender. Yeah, 2017 has been weird.
Bills somehow control their own destiny
Just imagine if Sean McDermott had not benched Tyrod Taylor in favor of rookie Nathan Peterman back in Week 11. Primarily due to Peterman’s five first half interceptions, Buffalo dropped that game against the Chargers, 54-24. Despite this, the Bills control their own destiny in the AFC wildcard race following an ugly 24-16 win over Miami on Sunday.
It’s a game that saw Buffalo take control early before it allowed the Dolphins to get right back in it late in the fourth quarter. That’s when Jay Cutler went all Jay Cutler on us, ultimately throwing a game-ending interception.
By no stretch of the imagination do the Bills look like a legit playoff team. And if they were to take on say Jacksonville or Pittsburgh in the first round, it would likely end in a blowout. Even then, Taylor has more than proven himself to be the team leader. That’s helped the Bills remain in contention for their first playoff appearance since 1999.
Bengals already quitting on Marvin Lewis
News broke Sunday morning that Lewis will step away from his role as the Bengals’ head coach following Week 17, ending his 15-year tenure with the team. This news came after Lewis’ Bengals fell to the Chicago Bears, 33-7, at home last week.
Like clockwork, Bengals players took to the field in Minnesota hours after this news broke and apparently quit on Lewis. Cincinnati fell down 17-0 in the first quarter, partially due to this terrible pick-six by Andy Dalton. From that point on, it was apparent that Bengals players had no interest in participating in a game on Sunday.
At the end of the day, Cincinnati fell by the score of 34-7. The team has now been outscored 61-7 over the past seven quarters. Maybe Lewis should just call it quits on his squad Monday. After all, the players have already thrown in the towel.
Seattle is a wasteland
Not the city. It’s magical. The team in Seattle. That came out in droves Sunday afternoon when Russell Wilson and Co. failed to show up for the biggest game of the year. There’s no other way to go about saying it. The Seahawks crapped all over themselves, leading us to wonder aloud whether this team needs to take a trip to Costco for some Depends.
Needing a win to stay relevant in the NFC West race, Seattle found itself down 34-0 at halftime against the juggernaut Los Angeles Rams. The team’s first seven possessions resulted in a fumble, punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble and punt before Wilson took a knee to mercifully end the first half.
Of the 34 points Los Angeles scored in the first half, every single last one of them came on drives that started on Seattle’s side of the field. That’s no way to remain competitive against a good team. And for his part, Wilson was a Benny Hill theme song waiting to happen in this one.
By virtue of the embarrassing 42-7 home loss, Seattle is now just 8-6 on the season and really fighting for its playoff life. Based on Sunday’s performance, the playoffs themselves now seem to be a major stretch. At the very least, when it comes to teams deserving of a shot at the Super Bowl.
Teddy’s return
He might have come in during garbage time on Sunday. He might have thrown an interception on his very first pass. That really doesn’t matter. For the first time since January of 2016, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater took to the field.
Having suffered a devastating knee injury in August of 2016 that could have cost him not only his career but his life, Bridgewater’s return to the field is one of the best stories this season in the sports world.
It also comes at a time when drama has enveloped the NFL’s landscape. From the National Anthem protests and sexual harassment allegations, it just hasn’t been a great season from a PR perspective. At the very least, we can end Week 15 on a feel-good story. Good for you, Teddy.
Jimmy’s legend grows in San Francisco
Making his first start at Levi’s Stadium as a member of the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo was welcomed with an unusually festive environment in Santa Clara. And with his team down one and just over a minute to play, the youngster had his first true defining moment as San Francisco’s quarterback.
Having already played a tremendous game heading into this final drive, Garoppolo completed 3-of-4 passes for 45 yards to set up the game-winning field goal and give the 49ers their third consecutive victory with Garoppolo under center. Only this time, it came against a Titans team that was in playoff positioning heading into Week 15.
Garoppolo completed 31-of-43 passs for a career high 381 yards in the win. He’s the first 49ers quarterback to throw for 300-plus yards in consecutive games since Jeff Garcia all the way back in 2000. San Francisco has now won four out of five for the first time since 2011. Meanwhile, the team has scored on 20-of-28 possessions since Garoppolo took over under center. And he’s now the first quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger back in 2004 to win his first five NFL starts. Whew.
Mistake-filled game ends Packers’ playoff hopes
Technically, Green Bay is not eliminated from playoff contention. But Sunday’s mistake-filled loss to the Carolina Panthers doesn’t help matters much here. Making his first appearance since Week 6, Aaron Rodgers had his first three-interception game since all the way back in 2009. And in reality, the interceptions were on Rodgers. He was about as erratic as we’ve seen the quarterback in his career with rust playing a large role in it.
In a one-score game late in the final stanza, Geronimo Allison coughed up a fumble for the Packers’ fourth turnover of the game. That pretty much ended the game and the Packers’ playoff hopes in the process.
Now at 7-7 on the season, one has to wonder whether Green Bay will simply shut Rodgers down for the remainder of the year. The team’s playoff hopes are faint, and Rodgers himself is not 100 percent recovered from the broken collarbone he suffered back in October.
Derek Carr fumbles away Raiders’ season
This former MVP candidate was pretty much a shell of his former self throughout Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. But Carr and his Raiders still had an opportunity to win and save their season. Unfortunately, the recently-extended signal caller pulled one of the biggest choke jobs in recent NFL history.
With his team down 20-17 and at the Cowboys one with less than a minute remaining, Carr fumbled the ball into the end zone and out of bounds for a game-ending touchback. It has to be seen to be believed.
Not only did this one play pretty much end the Raiders’ season, it moved Dallas to 8-6 on the year and very much in the NFC Playoff race heading into Week 16. It was a fitting way to end what was a drama-filled Sunday around the NFL.
But in reality, neither Dallas nor Oakland looked like legit playoff teams on Sunday. For the Raiders, that means a 6-8 record and irrelevance in the AFC Playoff race. For the Cowboys, it means a Week 16 date with Seattle — a game that will see the team get Ezekiel Elliott back from suspension.
Nick Foles brings us back to 2013
We’re not sure how this whole thing will play out. What we do know is that Foles performed at an extremely high level in his first game since taking over for Carson Wentz Sunday against the Giants.
Making his first start as a member of the Eagles since 2014, Foles threw a whopping four touchdowns in a come from behind 34-29 win, ultimately helping Philadelphia clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs. Without their MVP candidate on the field for the remainder of the year, that’s absolutely huge for Philadelphia.
With that said, there’s definitely some larger concerns surrounding the now 12-2 Eagles right now. They yielded 434 passing yards to Ei Manning and have now given up 88 points over the past three games. Simply put, the margin for error isn’t there with Foles under center. That could ultimately become an issue moving forward.