NFL Week 15 Highlights and State of the Union
It feels like this NFL season has been straight-up madness. There have been massive upsets, big-time injuries, crazy fights, and teams that have had years of slump returning to greatness – yeah, we’re talking about you, San Francisco.
Week 15 had its ups and downs, but all in all, things have kept rolling much as we’ve thought since Week 14 and I think it has left us quite prepared for the Week 16 action to come.
On Thursday Night Football, The Baltimore Ravens continued to prove that they are arguably the best team in the NFL. They absolutely smoked the New York Jets in MetLife, 42 to 21 and moved to 12-2 in decisive fashion.
Lamar Jackson is now at 2889 passing yards and he leads the team in rushing as well with 1103. So, he is well on track to break 3000 passing and 1000 rushing. He has already broken Michael Vick’s single-season record, so now he’s just stacking on!
We thought that the Fins might have a chance in NY against the Giants but instead, they got smashed in East Rutherford. At least Dolphins fans can take solace in the fact that when you check the NFL Picks opening odds report at Sportsbook Review, Miami is listed as a one-point favorite over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16.
The Seahawks have reclaimed the top spot in the NFC West with their 30-24 win over the Carolina Panthers, putting the 11-3 49ers in danger of taking a wild card berth. The Chiefs got a win over the Denver Broncos. Ok. It’s better to say, the Chiefs smashed the Broncos to smithereens. They also picked up Terrel Suggs of the waiver wire this week.
The battle for the AFC South continues, but the Texans can breathe a little easier now that they have beaten the Titans in their first of two head-to-heads in a three-week span. They are not in the clear yet, Tennessee can still take the division. But the Texans are close to locking it in.
The Raiders played their last home game in Oakland –most likely ever. And many thought they would bash the crummy Jacksonville Jaguars with all of that home energy going on. Nope. Minshew and the Jags snuck away with a 20 to 16 win in Oakland, and now the Raiders will head for Las Vegas, leaving their fans on a sour note.
The New England Patriots beat the Bengals 34-13 and managed to put a game on the Bills who were threatening to steal the division away from them. They are not completely out of the woods as the Pats have to take on the Bills in Foxboro this weekend. If they lose to the Bills and then somehow drop their other Week 17 home game to the Dolphins – and the Bills win their last game– the Pats would fall into second in the AFC East and assume the role of the No. 5 seed and top wild card contender.
Minnesota put the smackdown on the Chargers in LA and have remained within kicking distance of the Green Bay Packers, who are 11-3 after defeating the Bears in Chicago. Elsewhere in the NFC, the Rams got smoked by a wishy-washy Cowboys squad in Dallas a 21 point second quarter is what really sealed the deal for the Cowboys, who have moved back to .500 with a 7-7 record and get back to the top of their division. Also, one of the NFC’s worst (the Atlanta Falcons) took down one of the NFC’s best (the 49ers).
The Cleveland Browns are reeling. They dropped a game to the Arizona Cardinals, 38-24 and may have legitimized themselves as the league’s biggest disappointment in 2019. On Sunday Night Football, the Bills defense got the job done again… holding the Steelers to just 10 points and keeping the path open for the Titans to grab a wild card berth – potentially.
Then on Monday Night Football, the Saints went marching. The Colts didn’t stand a chance. Drew Brees passed for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns, while their stellar pass D held Jacoby Brissett to just 165 yards an zero TDs.
