NFL Week 15 Recap: Going South

The AFC South is getting hot and heavy!

Week 15's Sunday Night Football spotlight was on the Jacksonville Jaguars for the first time in 15 years; since Week 5 of the 2008 season. The Jags, who are coming off back-to-back losses, played host to a Baltimore Ravens team who was looking to become the first AFC team to clinch a playoff spot this season. The Jags were looking to bounce back from their losses, as well as the injury to Trevor Lawrence two weeks prior, but unfortunately, the Jags were outplayed from the get-go. This includes a very dumb and questionable play at the end of the first half, a weird pass play that saw the Jags fail to get out of bounds and allow the few remaining ticks to run out with no points for Jacksonville.

Even worse, the Jags pulled the same crap that Miami pulled (twice) with Tua: Lawrence was concussed, and they let him out there. Just messy as hell. The Ravens went on to win 23-7, and with the losses from the Steelers and Broncos during the Saturday action, the Ravens became the first AFC team to lock in a playoff spot this season. In addition, the Ravens are also one step closer to clinching the AFC North, as well as the AFC's #1 seed.

Now for the bad side of this. The Jacksonville Jaguars are in a bit of trouble. The Indianapolis Colts won the day before. As for the Houston Texans...

The Texans found themselves in a dogfight with a Tennessee Titans team who was facing elimination. The game went to overtime tied at 16, and a the period progressed, it actually looked like we'd see a tie between the clubs. However, Houston managed to get into field goal range, and even though David Singletary's walk-off touchdown was called back via penalty, Ka'imi Fairbairn did managed to nail a long field goal in the final seconds to win it. The Houston Texans won, 19-16, and as a result of everything between the AFC South teams, we have a three way tie at first place between the Jags, Colts, and Texans, and three weeks remain in the season. Luckily, despite losing three straight, the Jags are still the official first place team, but if they're not careful, that Colts/Texans battle in Week 18 could end up being head-to-head for the division.

On to the other South Division; the one with no winning records in it. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered as the first place team, but it looked like the Green Bay Packers would knock them down. Sadly, it was not the case. It was bad for the Packers. How bad? Baker Mayfield became the first visiting QB to ever have a perfect QB rating (158.3) at Lambeau Field. That's how bad. A 34-20 win kept Tampa Bay on top of the NFC South at 7-7, while the Packers' second straight loss was a damning one, as we dropped from 7th to 11th in the conference. It was a three way tie atop the NFC South, and regarding the New Orleans Saints, they won big over the New York Giants. As for the Atlanta Falcons, they actually lost, 9-7, to a Carolina Panthers team who only won once.

Is Joe Flacco really the secret weapon that the Cleveland Browns needed all this time? It sure seems like it. The Browns won another one, but it was a close one. After Dustin Hopkins nailed a go-ahead field goal, the Chicago Bears had one more chance, and it almost worked. Justin Fields' Hail Mary attempt was bobbled and found Darnell Mooney, but he bobbled it and dropped it. He had it, too, no joke. The Browns won 20-17, and as a result of Cleveland's win, the New York Jets, who were blasted 30-0 by the Miami Dolphins, were eliminated from playoff contention. Oh, and the Tennessee Titans were eliminated with their aforementioned loss. The Los Angeles Chargers also faced elimination following their Thursday loss, but they remain alive for one more week due to Jacksonville's loss. One of the things that brought the Bolts closer to the end was the Chiefs' win in Foxboro; a good rebound from the embarrassment from a week prior.

The late window saw the San Francisco 49ers easily trounce the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 45-29, and with that win, the 49ers locked up the NFC West and remained on top of the entire conference. The Arizona Cardinals ended up eliminated, and the Washington Commanders suffered that same fate with their loss to the Los Angeles Rams, who moved above the playoff line. Funny thing: prior to the Rams' win, the Saints were above the playoff line, meaning that for just a few hours, the tepid NFC South had two teams above ground.

The Buffalo Bills continue to astound fans this season. They made easy mince meat out of the Dallas Cowboys, but again, it continues the Bills' Jekyll and Hyde season. We've seen Buffalo lose to teams like the Broncos, Bengals, and Jets, yet when it comes to the superpower teams, they go all out. They just beat the Chiefs and Cowboys on back-to-back weeks. If they had shown any semblance of consistency this year, they wouldn't be behind the playoff line heading into Christmas. Oh, and Dallas, don't fret too much, because Atlanta's loss put the Cowboys in the playoffs. So there's the silver lining right there.

The Monday Night game was a NFC battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks, and for the Eagles, they needed to bounce back after dropping out of first place in the NFC East. The Dallas loss put them back on top of the division, and they did battle (and Brotherly Shove) their way to a 17-10 lead, but that's where the offense stopped. Though Seattle had to start at their own eight yard line after the two minute warning, they managed to go the full 92 yards! A go-ahead touchdown, and Jalen Hurts' attempt to get into field goal range resulted in his second interception of the evening. The Seahawks won, 20-17, to increase their playoff hopes, and the Eagles will have to take the consolation prize of clinching a playoff spot this week; Atlanta's loss and San Francisco's win put them in.

So that's that. Three weeks are left in the regular season, and it starts with Week 16, the Christmas week. It will kick off with Thursday Night Football between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints, and it's followed by a pair of Saturday games. The first of the two will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC North battle, and the second will see the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers face off exclusively on Peacock. On Sunday Night Football, the Denver Broncos host the New England Patriots in a Christmas Eve game on NFL Network. Finally, on Christmas Day, it's three games: an AFC West battle between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs, an NFC East battle between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, and the two #1 seeds facing off--the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers! What a Christmas! I hope it's a merry one for everyone!

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My other stories involving Week 15's action: