NFL Week 15 Recap: Will Elite Teams Please Stand Up?

You’d think that through 15 weeks of the NFL season we would have an idea of who the truly elite teams are. But do we really? After what we saw Sunday from some of the biggest contenders, can you say you are any more convinced of who the top dogs are?

Let’s dive into some brief game recaps, but before we do, let’s touch on one point: many of the middling teams, from the 8-6 clubs on the cusp of the postseason to the 6-8 also-rans-but-still-alive, do not have a single signature win to their name, padding their records by beating up on their peers. The Chargers are 8-6, and their biggest win is over the 8-6 Dolphins. The Bucs are 6-8 with only an opening-night win over Dallas standing out. The Seahawks are a surprising 7-7, with their only a victory against a team with a winning record over the Chargers. And so on and so forth.

So, can we really trust any of these teams against the likes of the Eagles, Chiefs, Bills, or Bengals? It’s hard to say, but there is not much convincing evidence.

At any rate, a look at the week that was:

49ers 21, Seahawks 13

That’s seven straight wins for the 49ers, yet another team without any major notable victories (the 8-6 Chargers and 8-6 Dolphins are their only wins over winning clubs). Seattle is falling back to earth, perhaps not surprisingly, and the beat just rolls on for Brock Purdy, 2-0 since taking over as a starter. As NFC West champs, the Niners have the luxury of rest and trying some things out now since they can’t get a bye anyway, but maybe this would be a good time to open up the playbook for Purdy. The running game and defense are rolling for San Francisco. For Seattle, many flaws have been exposed and with a visit to Kansas City next, this could be the end of the road for the Hawks’ playoff hopes.

Vikings 39, Colts 36, OT

Where to start with this one? Obviously, there is the whole “biggest comeback in NFL history” thing. Poor Matt Ryan — on the wrong end of another historically-bad choke job. The Colts are a bad football team and in reality their 33-0 lead was more a product of Minnesota’s self-inflicted wounds than anything else. But from the Vikings’ side of things, this win adds to what has been a crazy season of cardiac wins. Is this a good omen for the postseason, or just further proof that luck is outweighing skill for the Vikes? The latter is the easier take, but Jalen Hurts’ shoulder injury suddenly shifts the narrative a bit. Like him or not (you like that?!), Kirk Cousins has shown an unexpected amount of heart and moxie, and when the team has needed them, the big playmakers like Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and Adam Thielen have shown up big. We’ll see if this serves as a confidence builder or is just a little extra pixie dust for a team thriving on it.

Browns 13, Ravens 3

An ugly game through and through, the Ravens’ offense continues to be stuck in the mud. They get a little bit of a pass because Tyler Huntley is still in for Lamar Jackson, but Baltimore’s offense hadn’t been instilling much confidence even before No. 8 went down. The running game is in good shape with J.K. Dobbins, but pass protection and the lack of a vertical game makes you wonder if Baltimore can hang with the big boys in the AFC playoffs. Their soft schedule should ensure a playoff berth, but this game had to leave Ravens fans nervous. On the flip side, at 6-8 the Browns aren’t really in it but not quite dead either, and you figure Deshaun Watson will knock off more and more rust each week.

Bills 32, Dolphins 29

The Bills win another close game! It wasn’t the prettiest thing (although the image of Tyler Bass diving across the snowy field certainly was), but Buffalo found a way again. The knock on the Bills was that they went 0-7 in one-score games last year, but have flipped the narrative somewhat in 2022 with a 6-3 mark in games decided by eight points or less (including four straight wins in that department). Josh Allen put the team on his back when things looked dire, despite a foolish decision to scramble and kill the final eight seconds of the first half before bailing himself out with a TD pass. The Von Miller-less defense is still a question mark, giving up over 400 yards and a big rushing day to Raheem Mostert despite tallying a couple of sacks on the night. But destiny is in the Bills’ hands, as three season-ending wins will earn Buffalo the No. 1 seed. For Miami, this was a brutal loss, a third straight road defeat against a playoff-hopeful club. Mike McDaniel’s team has shown grit even in losses this year, and its closing schedule (Green Bay, New England, New York Jets) should help aide a postseason berth. The silver lining was the massive effort by Mostert, who churned out 136 yards on 17 carries.

Saints 21, Falcons 18

What can you really say about this game and these two underwhelming teams? Both are still alive in the awful NFC South, but how encouraged can Atlanta really be about Desmond Ridder’s debut (13-26, 97 yards)? Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill were efficient and Hill gave the Saints a big-play spark, but New Orleans still had to work to fend off Atlanta after building a 14-0 lead. At least both of these teams are still “in it” in the NFC South.

Jaguars 40, Cowboys 34 (OT)

Well, well, well. Look at what we have here — an actual race in the NFC South. The Cowboys have to be a little concerned considering they barely survived Houston and now failed to hold a 17-point lead in Jacksonville. Two INTs by Dak stood out, especially the one that lost the game in OT. Trevor Lawrence is getting better every week, with four TD passes to help rally the Jags. Doug Pederson is making an impact in Jacksonville, and if the Jags can stay within a game of the Titans these next two weeks, they will play for a shot at the NFC South title in Week 18 when they host Tennessee.

Lions 20, Jets 17

The dream remains alive! The Lions are one of the hottest teams in football, now 6-1 after a 1-6 start. The Jets have continued to battle hard, but the wheels are starting to come off for Gang Green these last few weeks. Zach Wilson put up solid yardage numbers but still doesn’t look like the guy. Detroit has a favorable closing schedule, but it still might be asking a lot to win out from here. Either way, it’s great to see both of these franchises in the thick of a playoff race.

Chiefs 30, Texans 24 (OT)

Another week, another easy opponent, another underwhelming win for a Chiefs team that very well could end up with a first-round bye based on their cupcake schedule. Only the Seahawks, Broncos, and Raiders remain and the Bills still have a visit to Cincy, meaning the Chiefs might get a week off before the divisional round. They tore Houston apart in terms of yardage, outgaining the lowly Texans 502-219, out-first-down-ing them 33-18, and Patrick Mahomes was 36-41 for 336 and 2 TDs passing. And yet still, the pesky Texans hung around until a Davis Mills fumble in OT killed any hopes of an upset. Kansas City has allowed the most passing TDs in the NFL, but nothing seems to matter so long as Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are making magic for KC.

Steelers 24, Panthers 16

The Steelers are a different team with Najee Harris running the ball, and in typical Pittsburgh fashion they won with a dominating run game (156-21 rushing yardage advantage). The Panthers gave up four sacks of Sam Darnold, yet this team remains alive thanks to the awfulness that is the NFC South. Pittsburgh is basically out of it, but can impact the postseason race these last few weeks with games against Las Vegas, Baltimore, and Cleveland. There is still a glimmer of hope for Mike Tomlin to avoid his first-ever losing record.

Broncos 24, Cardinals 15

The Broncos finally found a team more inept than themselves! For all the talk about Nathaniel Hackett being on the hot seat, what about Kliff Kingsbury? This team may just be quitting on him and without Kyler Murray they are truly hapless. Brett Rypien had an efficient day and Latavius Murray ran wild (24-130, TD) for a Broncos team that basically has had no ground game this season. Changes at the helm may actually be coming for both franchises at the end of this season.

Raiders 30, Patriots 24

Where to begin with this game? One of the wildest/dumbest endings in NFL history shockingly went in favor of the Raiders and not against them. Bill Belichick’s team has surprisingly entered the “stupid” category, something we never thought possible. Mac Jones looks lost (13-31, 112 yards) and it seems like New England’s fading playoff hopes are a pure mirage. Las Vegas has been astoundingly good at blowing leads this season but got let off the hook here. With games against Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Kansas City, the road to the postseason looks grim for the Raiders, but perhaps this frantic finish will give them a boost of confident going into the home stretch.

Chargers 17, Titans 14

No one wanted to win this thing until LA finally did in the closing seconds. Turnovers by Justin Herbert and general offensive ineptitude by Tennessee kept the game tied at 14-14 until Herbert pulled a rabbit out of his hat on a big throw to Mike Williams to set up the game-winning kick. Tennessee just isn’t that good and really doesn’t have the passing game to complement Derrick Henry. The Titans might still win the division by default, but don’t expect them to make any noise in January. The Chargers are at least picking up some steam, even if their postseason prospects aren’t much brighter.

Bengals 34, Buccaneers 23

One of the biggest and quickest meltdowns in Tom Brady’s career coincides with what is now a six-game Bengals winning streak. Cincinnati continues to be a calm, make-the-necessasry-adjustments second-half team and stayed poised in rally from 17-0 down just before halftime. It wasn’t a big yardage day for Joe Burrow, but 4 TD passes always light up the stat sheet. The Bengals need more from their running game (21 carries, 53 yards as a team) but the defense forced three Brady turnovers in the third quarter alone and four on the day, a formula that is always conducive to success.

Giants 20, Commanders 12

It’s interesting to look at the trajectory of these two teams’ seasons as they may be heading back in their original directions. The Giants, once 6-1 but then 7-5-1, looked all but done. The Commanders, once 1-4 but then 7-5-1, looked like they could do no wrong. But after Sunday night, the Giants may be rejuvenated while Washington is suddenly contemplating going back to Carson Wentz at QB. Some questionable calls hurt Washington’s chances, but two Taylor Heinicke fumbles and a 1-for-10 showing on third down proved even more costly. With games against San Francisco, Cleveland, and Dallas still on the docket, Washington’s once-rosy playoff outlook is anything but. The Giants finish with Minnesota, Indy, and Philly, but should be feeling more confident, especially after Kayvon Thibodeaux came up with a monster game on defense.

Packers 24, Rams 12

There was to be no Mayfield Magic 2.0 at Lambeau Field on Monday night. The Rams once again looked like the team headed for the worst Super Bowl-defending season of all time, while the Packers saw a glimmer of what could have been. At 6-8 Green Bay is mathematically alive, although no one seems to think Aaron Rodgers and Co. will make a run to the playoffs. Still, Rodgers looked more like his old self than we’ve seen and a strong running game was an encouraging sign for Green Bay. The closing schedule is not forgiving as the Pack play Miami, Minnesota, and Detroit, but at the very least hope remains alive for one more week.