Every week in the NFL season brings a host of new questions … and answers some old ones, too. Let’s run down what we learned in Week 15 … and what we’ll be wondering about in Week 16 and beyond.
ASKED: Could the new Super Bowl favorite be … Philadelphia?
The easy talking point heading into Sunday’s Bills-Lions game was, “This is a preview of what we could see in February!” And yes, Bills-Lions remains a likely Super Bowl matchup, and the betting favorite. But we would humbly suggest that the fact these two teams dropped nearly half a hundo’s worth of points on each other suggests that mayyyybe there might be room for another team in the mix.
Philadelphia has quietly reeled off 10 straight wins — quietly everywhere but in Philly, of course, where they’re undecided whether this team is a champion-in-the-making or about to tear itself apart from the inside. (Or both.) The Eagles possess something neither Buffalo or Detroit do — a functioning defense — and that could well be the difference in the playoffs.
The Eagles lead the league in yardage allowed per game, and rank first in the NFC in points allowed. That could well be the difference in a crucial January or February game. Yes, it’s fantastic watching Josh Allen gather touchdowns by the armload … and it’s also maddening when his defense gives them right back to the opposition.
Vegas is noticing; Philadelphia is +450 to win the Super Bowl right now, behind only Detroit (+400) and Buffalo (+425). Grease your light poles accordingly.
ANSWERED: Dropping the ball at the 1 should be penalized as a crime
I’ve never played NFL-level football, and I’m assuming neither have you. But even though I Never Played The Game, I do know this: If I have the opportunity to score a touchdown, I’m holding onto the ball until they have to surgically remove it from my hands three days later. Because the other alternative is to pull a boneheaded move like Indy’s Jonathan Taylor did:
… or Cincy’s Jordan Battle did:
Yes, we know they feel bad for costing their teams points — or their fantasy teams playoff wins, which is arguably worse. But perhaps it’s time to begin ramping up the punishment. Perhaps we need to bring law enforcement into this. Drop a ball before the end zone, spend a quarter in stadium jail. Who says no? Certainly not the fans of the dropper.
It’s time to drop hammers, not footballs.
ASKED: What’s up with the Chargers?
For the first half of the season, Jim Harbaugh had quietly transformed the Chargers into a playoff-quality unit. Now, as the season winds down, they’re transforming back into … well, the Chargers. They’ve lost three of their last four, their lone win coming against an Atlanta team that basically gifted them the game with four interceptions from Kirk Cousins. Sunday, they got thoroughly worked over by the Buccaneers, 40-17, a game that shouldn’t have been anywhere near that kind of a blowout.
The Chargers currently occupy the seventh seed in the AFC playoff race, and have an 88 percent chance of making the playoffs. That’s very good, especially for a team that won all of five games last year. Los Angeles could make a lot of these problems go away with a win this week at home against Denver; the Chargers finish the year with road games against New England and Las Vegas. That’s a favorable schedule, but it could very easily turn into a gut-check one if the team doesn’t step up, particularly on defense.
As always with the Chargers, you should never ever take any kind of victory for granted.
ANSWERED: The Chiefs’ hopes rest on Patrick Mahomes’ ankle
The Chiefs are 13-1, which sounds impressive. The Chiefs are also the fourth-ranked favorite to win the Super Bowl, which also sounds impressive. But the Chiefs are absolutely held together like a Christmas present wrapped by a child, as Sunday showed. Kansas City beat Cleveland 21-7, the Chiefs’ first double-digit win in eight weeks. But KC also lost Patrick Mahomes to a right ankle injury, the extent of which remains uncertain. X-rays were negative, which is good news, but he remains a question mark heading into Saturday’s game against the Texans.
The issue here is that Kansas City’s offense is just pretty dang bad overall, regardless of who is under center … but all things considered, you’d definitely rather have Mahomes out there than anyone else. (No offense to backup Carson Wentz, who came on for unremarkable mop-up duty after Mahomes’ injury.) Kansas City’s offensive line can’t protect Mahomes, or anyone else, and the slate of just-a-guy receivers can’t make up the difference.
Kansas City has enjoyed an incredible run of good fortune to this point, but the cracks are clear. And without Mahomes at his best, they’ll only widen.
ASKED: Has Bryce Young reverted to form, or was this just a bad week?
Bryce Young 2.0 hit a hard wall on Sunday, as the Panthers lost 30-14 to the Cowboys despite being favored (!) for the first time in forever. Young committed four turnovers — two fumbles and two interceptions — that led to 10 Dallas points, plus the end of the game. It was a rough end to a run of good almost-wins for Carolina, which — shocker — was eliminated from the playoff chase with the loss. (Yes, Carolina has been reduced to celebrating moral victories now.)
Panthers head coach Dave Canales did not hesitate in saying Young would continue to be the starter for next week’s game against Arizona. The question now is which is the real Young … and how that might affect the Panthers’ roster thinking for 2025 and beyond.
ANSWERED: The Bengals still have a playoff path!
Joe Burrow is playing like an MVP and the Bengals’ offense is taking care of business. (The defense is still a touchdown-surrendering mess.) But when you’re 6-8, you have zero margin for error. Literally. The NFL gives the Bengals a 6 percent chance of making the playoffs, which is surprising but not shocking when you think how godawful this team has been all year.
In order for Cincinnati to make the playoffs, per CBS, the following events have to take place:
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Cincinnati must win all three of its final games. (Of course.)
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Either the Broncos or Chargers have to lose all three of their final games.
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The Dolphins and Colts have to each lose at least one more game.
So yes, we’re saying there’s a chance. Not much of one, but still. Stranger things have happened in the NFL.