NFL Week 15 Recap
NFL Week 15…A HAH HAH HAH HAH
Week 15 saw some playoff teams start to pull away in their divisions while others got a little closer. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Eagles to give themselves some breathing room in the NFC East, while the Seattle Seawhawks knocked the San Francisco 49ers out of the playoffs for the first time in four years with their victory. In the AFC, the Indianapolis Colts beat a hurt Houston Texan team to capture the AFC South title. With a Green Bay loss and a Detroit win, the Lions vaulted over the Packers in the NFC North standings and now find themselves sitting in the #2 spot in the NFC playoff picture. Take a look below to read about all the action and how the playoff seeding is starting to take shape.
Thursday Night
Arizona Cardinals 12 — St. Louis Rams 6
It was a kicker’s dream on Thursday night as the Arizona Cardinals traveled to St. Louis to take on the Rams. Chandler Catanzaro put all 12 points on the board for the Cardinals as he connected on all four of his field goal attempts, including a 51-yarder in the third quarter. But other than kicking, the real story of the night came when Drew Stanton was sacked in the third quarter and had to leave the game with a knee injury. Cardinals fans could only watch and be reminded of the the Cardinals/Rams game from last month which saw former starter Carson Palmer go down with a knee injury that would knock him out for the rest of the season. Since the game Stanton has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain and Ryan Lindley has been named the starter. Lindley was drafted by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2012 draft and had a few disastrous games with the Cardinals where he threw zero touchdowns compared to seven interceptions while only completing 46.7% of his passes. Lindley was cut this past August, but brought back last month once Palmer went down. The Cardinals are just a game ahead of the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West, and the two foes will be meeting each other next week in a must watch game. The Cardinals will be relying on their defense, a strong run game from Kerwynn Williams and Stepfan Taylor, along with Lindley not screwing up. With the loss, the Rams were eliminated from the playoffs.
Sunday Games
Pittsburgh Steelers 27 — Atlanta Falcons 20
Going into this game, the Falcons knew that they would need an upset in order to stay competitive in the NFC South. The New Orleans Saints would be taking on the Chicago Bears and with the way the Bears had been playing, could easily pull off the road win. The Carolina Panthers would be taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home, a team they narrowly defeated in week one of the season. The Steelers needed this victory as wel, as they found themselves just trailing the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North and on par with the Baltimore Ravens. It was the Steelers who jumped out to an early lead thanks to a pair of Shaun Suisham 38-yard field goals in the first quarter. The defense stepped up in the second quarter when William Gay intercepted Matt Ryan at just about midfield and ran it into the end zone 52 yards for the touchdown. After a pair of Le’Veon Bell touchdowns for the Steelers and a pair of Matt Bryant field goals and a Devin Hester touchdown for the Falcons, it was 27–13 Pittsburgh after the first couple minutes of the fourth quarter. After Bell’s touchdown to start the fourth, Ryan and the Falcons marched 84 yards down the field (in under four minutes) ending with a Roddy White touchdown. When the Steelers got the ball back, they ran out the clock for about four minutes before punting to the Falcons. With 6:23 left on the clock, the Falcons had to be thinking they had plenty of time to get down the field. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t even make it ten yards. They only racked up 8 yards in 1:49 and decided to punt and rely on their defense to make a big stop, but that wouldn’t be the case. The Steelers moved the ball enough to run out the clock and win the game. The Falcons now find themselves on the outside looking in after the Saints beat the Bears on Monday night, but hope to make up some ground when they face the Saints next week. The Steelers on the other hand are still behind the Bengals in the AFC North, but do find themselves holding on to a Wild Card spot.They take on the Kansas City Chiefs next week and a showdown at home against the Bengals in the last game of the season.
Washington 13 — New York Giants 24
If you are a fantasy football fan and you had Odell Beckham Jr. on your team in the midst of a grueling playoff match up, you came out smiling on Sunday afternoon. The rookie wide receiver caught three touchdown passes from Eli Manning and ended the day with 12 completions and 143 total receiving yards. Beckham Jr. has been one of the few bright spots on the Giants this year and after Sunday’s performance, he looks like a shoe in for Offensive Rookie of the Year. “I don’t want to get his head too big right now, but he has a lot of skill,” said Manning. “You hope he keeps working and grinding and doing the little things to correct. There is still room for improvement.” If there is room to improve, I can’t wait to see the types of numbers he’ll put up. Washington on the other hand saw a return of their former Rookie of the Year, Robert Griffin III after backup turned starter Colt McCoy left midway through the first quarter with a neck injury. If you take away his being sacked seven times for a loss of 47 yards, RG III didn’t have a horrible game, he connected on 18 of his 27 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown, while running for 46 yards on five rushes.
Miami Dolphins 13 — New England Patriots 41
To quote a college classmate and Patriots fan, “not even Ace Ventura could save these Dolphins.” But that confidence did not kick in until the second half because the score at halftime was only 14–13 in favor of the Patriots. The first half lead of the Patriots was helped by corner back Kyle Arrington who picked up a blocked field goal and ran it back 62 yards for the Patriots first score of the game. But the third quarter saw momentum swing the Pats way and never change. They reached the end zone three times (LeGarrette Blount, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman) and kicked a field goal to enter the fourth quarter ahead 38–13. Ryan Tannehill threw for over 340 yards and connected with at least eight receivers, but the Pats defense kept them out of the end zone in the second half. The Pats’ D also sacked the Miami QB four times and intercepted him twice. With the win, the Patriots moved to 11–3, clinched the AFC East and find themselves sitting atop the AFC with the number one seed if the playoffs were to end today. Next week the Patriots will head out on the road to take on the New York Jets while the Dolphins will play host to the Minnesota Vikings.
Oakland Raiders 13 — Kansas City Chiefs 31
Oh Oakland, what would you do without Sebastian Janikowski? The Raiders kicker hit two field goals in the game, and up until the last 45 seconds of the game, was the only reason the Raiders had points on the board. The Chiefs on the other hand got production from all sides of the ball. Special Teams started it off with a 81-yard punt return from De’Anthony Thomas towards the end of the first quarter. Cairo Santos kicked a second quarter field goal to give them a 10–0 lead. The third quarter saw the offense get going as Alex Smith connected Travis Kelce on a 20-yard pass for a touchdown. On the first play of their next possession, Knile Davis caught a little check down pass that went maybe five yards from the line of scrimmage (the KC 35) and saw no on else for miles as he ran straight for 65 yards into the end zone. Jamaal Charles added 52 yards rushing on 12 carries but had to be taken out of the game in the third quarter as he was being checked for a concussion. Dwayne Bowe and Albert Wilson each had 69 yards receiving on three completions each while the KC defense sacked Derek Carr four times and forced him to fumble and turn the ball over.
Houston Texans 10 — Indianapolis Colts 17
The Indianapolis Colts knocked off the Houston Texans on Sunday to claim the title of AFC South Champs. After a pair of Andrew Luck led drives in the second quarter that resulted in touchdowns, the Colts defense stood up and made sure that they kept the Texans scoreless on the offensive side (the Texans touchdown in the first quarter was the result of an interception returned for a touchdown at the hands of Texans’ safety Kendrick Lewis). It was unfortunate for the Texans that they didn’t have a Luck, or any luck, on offense as starting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick broke his leg while running with the ball in the second quarter. Rookie Tom Savage entered the game and completed his first NFL pass ever, but that was about his only highlight. He threw an interception, botched a hand off to Arian Foster which resulted in a fumble recovery for the Colts. To make matters worse, Savage suffered a leg injury of his own on the second to last play of the game and will be undergoing an MRI. The question on everyone’s mind is who will throw touchdown passes to J.J. Watt? The Colts will visit the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday in what could be an upcoming preview of the Super Bowl.
Jacksonville Jaguars 12 — Baltimore Ravens 20
The Jaguars can take pride that they kept this game close and even led at halftime…other than that there isn’t much to be proud of. C.J. Mosley, Terrell Suggs, Pernell McPhee, Elvis Dumervil, and Timmy Jernigan combined for EIGHT Baltimore sacks on Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles. Kamar Aiken scored a touchdown on a blocked punt to put the Ravens on the board in the first quarter and tight-end Owen Daniels caught a touchdown pass from Joe Flacco in the third quarter to give the Ravens their first lead of the game. The Ravens find themselves holding on to the final Wild Card spot in the AFC and will travel to Houston to take on the recently eliminated Texans next week. Jacksonville is still looking for it’s third win of the season and will have a chance for it on Thursday night when they take on the Tennessee Titans.
Green Bay Packers 13 — Buffalo Bills 21
In what was possibly the biggest upset of the week, the Buffalo Bills and their defense kept the high flying Green Bay Packers grounded on Sunday afternoon. It had been over a month since Green Bay last lost (October 26th to the New Orleans Saints) and was the lowest point total since only scoring a touchdown on September 21st against the Detroit Lions. Aaron Rodgers completed just 17 of his 42 passes and back-up strong safety Bacarri Rambo intercepted him on back-to-back drives in the second half. They had to rely on defense and special teams because Kyle Orton and the offense were no big help. Orton had only slightly better numbers than Rodgers as he went 14 of 27 for 158 yards and just one interception. Fred Jackson led the running attack with just 71 yards on 20 carries, but those carries helped keep the clock ticking and Rodgers off on the sideline. Marcus Thigpen had a 75-yard punt return in the first and “Super” Mario Williams helped strip Rodgers in the end zone at the end of the game which saw running back Eddie Lacey fall on it resulting in a safety. Sandwiched in between were four Dan Carpenter field goals to help put points on the board and keep the Bills in the playoff hunt. Even with their excellent play over the last month, the Packers now face some uncertainty about making the playoffs. The loss left them tied with the Detroit Lions, but the Lions beat the Packers in the beginning of the year so they are now the #2 team in the NFC while the Packers fall to the 6th and final spot of the playoffs. All four of the Packers losses have come on the road this year, so they want to win in Week 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and in Week 17 against those Lions of Detroit so that they have a better chance of having the playoffs run through Green Bay. If the Packers squeak in at the 6th seed, they’ll have to play big games on the road, something they haven’t done particularly well this year.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 — Carolina Panthers 19
The Panthers entered Sunday still in the playoff hunt thanks to some abysmal play in the NFC South. They were locked in a battle with the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons to see who would come out on top and claim victory of the division crown and a playoff berth. They needed to win and for the Saints to lose and they’d have sole possession of first place. The Panthers took care of their business against the Bucs, even if they did get off to a slow start. The Panthers could only muster three Grahm Gano field goals in the first half while Josh McCown was able to target big Mike Evans in the end zone for a touchdown and Patrick Murray hit a field goal with time expiring to end the first half. Derek Anderson was the starter for the Panthers in place of the sore and still recovering Cam Newton. Anderson made quick work of a short field to start off the second half when Josh McCown fumbled at his own four yard line after being sacked by Charles Johnson and Mario Addison (Johnson recovered the ball). After a short Mike Tobert run to get the Panthers to the two-yard line, Anderson found Jerricho Cotchery for the touchdown and the lead. Next week the Panthers will face the Cleveland Browns but there is still no word on if it will be Anderson or Newton starting. If the Panthers can pull off that victory, it will be a must win in Week 17 when they face the Falcons to finish out the season.
Cincinnati Bengals 30 — Cleveland Browns 0
For the last few weeks, Cleveland fans have been clamoring for the arrival of their quarterback savior, Johnny Manziel. This Sunday they got their wish as Manziel was named the starter earlier this week but unfortunately the outcome was not what they were hoping for. In a battle against their AFC North and in-state rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, “Money” Manziel looked as broke as a college kid on a Sunday morning. His first drive ended in a four and out. The second drive consisted of a sack by the hands of Wallace Gilberry (who took great pride in mocking Manziel with his “money” celebration) and an incomplete pass. The third drive was marred by penalties and capped off by a Dre Kirkpatrick interception of Manziel. The fourth drive saw a pass for negative yards and a punt. The fifth drive is where I will stop because it just gets sad. The Browns began to realize that if they wanted to win, it would have to be with them running the ball. Isaiah Crowell was given the ball on the first five plays and rushed for twelve total yards,not much at all, but an improvement to the previous four tries. After another incomplete pass, Manziel tried again and was, you guessed it, INTERCEPTED! But this one was overturned because of a neutral zone infraction. But no worries friends, just five snaps later, Manziel was INTERCEPTED by Adam “Pacman” Jones. The second half wasn’t much better and the Bengals led by a Jeremy Hill running game, balanced passing attack, and a suffocating defense easily won this game 30–0. Before the game I had on ESPN and Merril Hoge broke down some Johnny Football tape and showed how Manziel just isn’t ready to be an NFL quarterback. He pointed out that Manziel just doesn’t have the vision and gets himself into situations where he has to scramble or force a bad pass. To quote Hoge, “You have first round hype with sixth round talent.” If this game is any indication, the sixth round may be too generous.
New York Jets 16 — Tennessee Titans 11
In a battle of the two win teams, someone must come out on top…unless it’s a tie. Fortunately for us, a Geno Smith penalty in the end zone which led to a safety and made that almost impossible. Those were the only other points put up on the board for the Titans except for three Ryan Succop field goals.With just under eight and a half minutes left, the Jets found themselves needing to go 76 yards to get to the end zone and take a fourth quarter lead. Thanks in large part to Chris Johnson, the Jets did indeed march those 76 yards (37 coming from Johnson taking a direct snap in a “wild cat” formation) and saw Johnson make a goal line push into the end zone for the touchdown and the lead. The only other fireworks in this game came during a break in the third quarter as the refs reviewed a potential 81-yard Eric Decker touchdown for the Jets (it was overturned). Defensive tackle Jurrell Casey started to have words with Geno Smith and then smacked him in the back of the head as Smith turned to listen to another Titan jaw at him. A brawl ensued, but no players were tossed, just a 15-yard penalty on Casey.
Denver Broncos 22 — San Diego Chargers 10
For the second time this year, Broncos kicker Connor Barth came up big in a game as he connected on all five of his field goal attempts. Add on a Peyton Manning to Demaryius Thomas touchdown in the third quarter and the Broncos clinched the top spot in the AFC West and stayed tied with the New England Patriots for the top record in the AFC (but still find themselves as the #2 seed). Manning was suffering from an illness and according to the Denver Post, “took four IVs” to stay in the game. Backup QB Brock Osweiler even got to spell Manning for the last minute and a half in the first half. Luckily for Broncos fans, that short break was all that Manning needed and he returned after half time to make that big throw to Thomas. Manning and the Broncos will have an extra day to get better as their next game isn’t until Monday night when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals, who are hoping to hold on to their lead in the AFC North.
San Francisco 49ers 7 — Seattle Seahawks 17
For the third time in four games, the Seattle Seahawks defense allowed their opponent only one score. The defense led by the “Legion of Boom” recorded six sacks on 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for a loss of 36 yards. They blanketed the 49ers receivers and limited Kaepernick and the 49ers to only 11 completions (19 attempts) for only 141 yards through the air. Kaepernick tucked the ball and ran himself nine times and gained 46 yards while Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde managed 84 yards on 17 carries. Russell Wilson of the Seahawks didn’t have that much better of a game, going just 12 of 24 for 168 yards while being sacked five times. But he did help the Seahawks convert on 3rd down eight out of 14 times, while the 49ers only managed six of their 15 attempts. With the loss, the 49ers were officially eliminated from the playoffs while the Seahawks were able to make some ground in the NFC playoff standings. But don’t tell head coach Pete Carroll that, he is only focused on the next game and isn’t looking into January play just yet. “I don’t care about that stuff right now,” Carroll said. “We have two more games to play and we have one more game that’s at hand right now. That’s all we got. The rest of it doesn’t matter.” The Seahawks take on the current number one spot holder in the NFC, the Arizona Cardinals, in what will sure to be the most watched game of next week on Sunday Night Football.
Minnesota Vikings 14 — Detroit Lions 16
The Minnesota Vikings were hoping to play spoiler to the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon. Before the game started, the Detroit Lions would have learned that their NFC North rival, the Green Bay Packers, had lost to the Buffalo Bills and that the top spot in the North would be their’s for the taking if they could put away the Vikings at home. Things didn’t look good as the Vikings jumped out to a 14–0 lead thanks to a Matt Asiata touchdown to close out the first quarter, and a 75-yard drive in the second that featured a 40-yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater to Charles Johnson and then an eight yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings. But the Lions defense turned up the heat after that. On the Vikings next drive, they sacked Bridgewater and then Lions’ safety Glover Quin intercepted him on the next play and ran it 56 yards to the Vikings 11-yard line which then resulted in a Matthew Stafford to Golden Tate touchdown. On just the second play of the next Vikings possession, Bridgewater was intercepted again, this time by cornerback Darius Slay. That interception led to a Matt Prater field goal which cut the Vikings lead to only four as they headed into the second half. Bridgewater has shown some flashes this season of being a very good quarterback, but once he gets shaken, you might as well put him on the shelf. He hasn’t successfully recovered from situations like the one that he faced on Sunday, but not many rookies can say that they have. In the third quarter, Minnesota got nothing going, but the Lions soaked up the clock on their lone drive of the quarter, eating away at over seven minutes of time. The drive ended in another Prater field goal and cut the Vikings lead to one. The fourth quarter saw the Vikings continue a long drive that got them to the Detroit eight-yard line, but faced with a fourth down, they went for a field goal. It was the Lions’ special teams time to shine as Jason Jones blocked the 26-yard attempt by Blair Walsh. The Lions and Joique Bell took over and had their own march and field goal attempt, but unlike the Vikings, this one was good and gave the Lions the lead. The Lions are now tied with the Packers at 10–4, but currently own the tie breaker which gives them the division lead and #2 spot in the NFC playoff picture. They’ll travel to Chicago next week to take on the lowly Chicago Bears, and after that they’ll travel up north to take on the Green Bay Packers in the last game of the season, which could have major playoff implications.
Sunday Night
Dallas Cowboys 38 — Philadelphia Eagles 27
This wild Sunday night saw many hot and cold streaks, but the Cowboys had more hot than cold and came out the victors. The Cowboys started the game off with a 21–0 lead thanks to DeMarco Murray and two Tony Romo to Dez Bryant touchdowns. But the Eagles came soaring back in the second quarter and added a touchdown and a field goal to make it 21–10. The Eagles kept the momentum as the second half started and watched Mark Sanchez work the fast pace offense into a frenzy. Their first drive of the third quarter saw Sanchez hit Jeremy Maclin on a deep ball that traveled 72 yards and ended with Maclin on the 1-yard line, which Chris Polk was happy to run in for his second touchdown of the day. Deep in their own territory, the Cowboys saw Tony Romo fumble on their next drive and lose the ball to the Eagles and Fletcher Cox. With a short field, it was the old vet Darren Sproles’ turn to have a short drive into the end zone for the touchdown and an Eagles lead. Faced with some adversity, the Cowboys bounced right back on their next drive which saw Romo air the ball out to Bryant for some major yardage and then DeMarco Murray did what he did all season and make big plays. His 21-yard run led to ANOTHER Romo/Bryant connection which got them to the 2-yard line. For that, they rewarded Murray with his second touchdown of the day and the lead back. The Cowboys added a little extra cushion to the lead when, who else, Dez Bryant caught a 25-yard TD pass from Romo, his third of the day! The win gave the Cowboys a full game advantage on the Eagles in the NFC East standings and has the Eagles on the outside looking in, while the ‘Boys find themselves in the #3 seed. Dallas hosts the Colts next week in what should be an entertaining battle, while the Eagles will travel to Washington in what is a must win game for them.
Monday Night Football
New Orleans Saints 31 — Chicago Bears 15
Well this game went just about as planned, which is unfortunate for Bears fans. The Chicago crowd, John Gruden, the entire half time crew, and maybe even Kristin Cavallari were all calling for Bears quarter back Jay Cutler to take a seat on the sidelines and give anyone, even Jimmy Clausen, a chance. reports circulated after that the game that veteran players are ready to be done with the season and that coach Marc Trestman may be fired at year’s end. To top it off, Jay Cutler’s press conference was attended by only one reporter after the Bears’ PR team apparently failed to notify the reporters in the locker room that it was about to begin. Cutler took three questions from ESPN.com’s Mike Sando and then looked confused as to why no one else was there. After being told that the media were on there way, he replied, “We’re going to wait for them?”, then turned back to Sando and the bare room and asked “Do we have anything else?” before walking away. The Bears can’t even get a press conference right. But happy times for the Saints who now control their own destiny with a little bit of breathing room between themselves and the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South. They host Atlanta next week in what will probably the be most anticipated match up between a 6–8 team and a 5–9 team. Drew Brees connected on 29 of his 36 attempts for 375 yards and three touchdowns. If Brees can spread the offense like he did Monday night and if the defense can hound Matt Ryan like they did Cutler (seven sacks and three interceptions…oh my!) then New Orleans will be playoff bound once again.
The Week Ahead
- The Arizona Cardinals find themselves on their third starting quarterback of the season as Ryan Lindley will take over on Sunday for the injured Drew Stanton. The first place Cardinals will take on the ferocious Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night.
- The Falcons and Saints face each other in New Orleans in a Sunday battle that should have some major playoff implications. The Saints currently hold a lead over the Falcons and the Panthers in the NFC South.
- The Cincinnati Bengals will face a tough opponent in the Denver Broncos, but need the victory to stay ahead of the Baltimore Ravens (playing the Texans) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (taking on the Chiefs).
- It will be the battle of the 2-win teams on Thursday night when the Jacksonville Jaguars play host to the Tennessee Titans. Please allow me to quote Duncan MacLeod when I say, “There can only be one!”
