NFL Week 15 Recap: Paradigm Shift

You know, I had to be one of very few NFL fans who actually didn't have this game between the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions circled on my Week 15 itinerary. Don't get me wrong; there were quite a few games I was focused on for that week, but this one, despite the heavy anticipation, was not one of them. Everyone saw this as a Super Bowl LIX preview. I honestly can't see why. We all know Josh Allen falters in January. And as genuinely good as the Lions are, something will always happen with them.

This game was wild, though. The Bills were blasting Detroit at first, but it ended up as an offense-filled shootout. There have been a lot of those games this season. We saw a lot of things in this game. Missed field goals from both sides. Dan Campbell going for the onside kick with twelve minutes left in regulation. Said onside kick almost returned all the way. Ninety points scored in this game. 48-42 was the final score in favor of the Bills. The Lions' 11-game winning streak was over just like that, and it's getting worse for the Lions: the injury bug has now hit David Montgomery. A torn MCL. Yikes.

The "Allen for MVP" crowd is getting louder and louder, and they need to stop. Yes, he beat KC and Detroit. However, he lost to the Rams, he lost to the Texans, and oh right, he got blown out by the reigning MVP this year. So yeah, that kills it. That's not the only shift we saw as a result of this game.

Now this game was on my itinerary, because it's the battle of Pennsylvania. The Keystone State, the second to become a state after Delaware, has two teams in three of the four leagues. In the NHL, it's the Penguins and Flyers, and that's always epic and awesome. In MLB, it's the Pirates and Phillies, who were division rivals in the National League East until 1994. And in the NFL, it's the Steelers and Eagles, though they did briefly band together during WWII and became the "Steagles." Because they're in separate conferences, these two teams see each other every four years, so this is really extra special. The game took place in Philly, the eastern end of PA, and it was a battle between two playoff bound teams, but the Eagles were too much for the Steelers. The Eagles won 27-13, their 10th straight win, and as a result of the Lions' loss, they are now tied for the #1 spot in the conference.

The Steelers shouldn't fret too much, though. They are officially playoff bound as a result of the Miami Dolphins' loss to the Houston Texans, which saw Tua Tagovailoa throw three interceptions; not a good game for a Dolphins team that needed wins badly. What also got the Steelers in was the Indianapolis Colts losing, 31-13, to the Denver Broncos, and it could be said that Jonathan Taylor's fumble moments before crossing the goal line for a potential touchdown may have killed not only the game for Indy, but the Colts' season as well.

Also as a result of the two aforementioned games, the Houston Texans are champions of the AFC South for the second straight year. It was still amazing that they made the playoffs last year after winning 3.5 games in 2022. This season had been bumpy for the Texans. It looked like that what we were seeing from QB C.J. Stroud was a possible sophomore slump, and yeah, some of the games were bad. However, they won the games that mattered and they locked up the division three weeks earlier than they did last year.

The week began with a very ugly Thursday Night Football contest between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. A game that saw no touchdowns. A game that saw no fantasy points from Cooper Kupp. A game that the Rams won with four field goals. A game that pretty much killed the Niners' season. I was very close to separating this game into its own story, but I didn't. The time was not right. By that I mean, the Niners aren't eliminated... yet.

So Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams decided to turn the clock all the way back to 2019, as they tore it up in their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That game had absolutely no meaning; the Jets and Jags are playing a for the draft, but even so, Rodgers and Adams (if only for that game only) going back to that prime they had and that this Packers fan loved for years? Definitely made that game awesome! Elsewhere, the Cincinnati Bengals avoided joining the eliminated teams for one more week; doing so with a 37-27 win over the lowly Tennessee Titans.

Lamar Jackson continued to solidify his case for his second straight MVP. 290 yards, five touchdowns, in a dominant win over the New York Giants. Elsewhere, the Cowboys kept their faint hopes alive with a 30-14 win over the now-eliminated Carolina Panthers, and the Washington Commanders edged the New Orleans Saints when they stopped NO's two-point attempt in the final seconds. And the Kansas City Chiefs finally had a dominant win this season, but it was against the Cleveland Browns. So it was basically the NFL's equivalent of the philosophical question, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one's around to hear it, does it make a sound?" At least we had the hilarious moment of misogynistic and homophobic idiot Harrison Butker missing a chip shot field goal.

Regarding the rest of the late window, the Arizona Cardinals soundly defeated the lowly New England Patriots to stay alive in the hunt for the NFC West, and elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put up 40 points against the Los Angeles Chargers, increasing their chances of once again winning the NFC South this year. The Chargers took a hit with this loss, but they still have pretty decent playoff chances. At best, the Bolts are two wins away from getting in.

As a Packers fan, I was amped for this game against the Seattle Seahawks. For one, it was on Sunday Night Football, and for another, we were coming of the heartbreaker in Detroit. Also, somebody winning that Rams/Niners game prevented us from clinching a spot this week, but I figured that a win would allow us to control our own destiny for getting in during Week 16. With all of that, the Packers truly dominated the Seahawks in Seattle. Josh Jacobs had a running masterpiece, Jordan Love was solid as usual, and Romeo Doubs found the end zone twice. Also, our defense played very brilliantly in what would be a 30-13 victory in Seattle. With the win, the Packers improved to 10-4, but on the other side, Seattle's loss was a bad one. They are now tied with the Rams for the NFC West lead, they do not have the tiebreaker, and they have the Cards breathing down their neck.

As a result of Seattle's loss, the Minnesota Vikings clinched a playoff spot before they took the field for one of the week's two Monday games, and prior to that game, well... this one is quite emotional for me. We all heard the news: Randy Moss diagnosed with liver cancer. This was heartbreaking news for all of us football fans, no matter what team you cheer for, whether it's Vikings fans or rival fans. I am in the latter, but Randy Moss made that Packers/Vikings rivalry fun. Packers/Vikings games were fun to watch when the Vikings had that WR duo of Moss and Cris Carter out there. We all hope Moss beats this for sure; he's one of the best.

As for the game, the Vikings, fresh off clinching that playoff spot, made quick work of the officially eliminated Bears, whose season ended with Washington's win. As for the other Monday game, it was the Atlanta Falcons and the Las Vegas Raiders, and it was ugly as hell. Week 15 started with an ugly game and ended with an uglier one. 15-9 was the final score, and after Kirk Cousins threw his first TD pass in five games, it was followed by a safety and two field goals. Yet the Raiders still almost won this one. Holy guacamole. In any event, the Falcons kept pace with the Bucs in the NFC South, still one game out, though virtually tied due to the fact that Atlanta defeated Tampa Bay twice.

And that's that for Week 15! We have three weeks left in the season, and we're closing in on the holidays! Week 16 will kick off with the Los Angeles Chargers hosting the Denver Broncos in an AFC West matchup on Thursday Night Football, with the winner most likely getting into the playoffs. We will also have our first taste of Saturday football with a pair of games: first off, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Houston Texans, and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens will face off in an AFC North clash. On Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and on Monday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers play host to the New Orleans Saints.

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