32 things from the NFL that we learnt Week 15: The Bills instill terror as a possible postseason squad
1. Is a stampede imminent? The Buffalo Bills defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-10 on Sunday, moving “America’s Team” out of first place in the NFC East. Since firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, the Bills have won three of their last four games and are averaging 29.3 points.
The Bills are still in ninth place overall in the AFC, a position they gained on Saturday. However, their record of 8-6 is tied with the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, and Houston Texans, teams that will not be facing the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers in the next two weeks.
3. Josh Allen, the quarterback for Buffalo, is making a more credible case for Offensive Player of the Year awards. However, after a few early-season blunders, he would need a Hail Mary to win the league MVP title. The Bills would likely need to win out, including a Week 18 victory at Miami, to just reclaim the AFC East. Despite a modest passing game (94 yards in the air), he has now responsible for a league-best 37 touchdowns (26 passing, 11 rushing).
.. Formerly held by Kyler Murray, Allen became the first player to record 10 games with at least one touchdown pass and run in a single season.
5. Buffalo wide receiver In the victory, James Cook ran for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Against Dallas, he amassed the most rushing yards for the Bills in 13 years with 179.
RB Dalvin Cook, his brother, has 292 yards and zero touchdowns this season for the New York Jets.
Regarding the Cowboys? In addition to hurting quarterback Dak Prescott’s MVP chances, their fourth road loss—and third humiliating one after prior losses at Arizona and San Francisco—raises major concerns about their ability to compete in the Super Bowl.
7. Darnell Mooney, a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, has redefined the phrase “fail Mary.”
The Chargers may be looking for a new head coach, but interim head coach Giff Smith has good news because two other substitute instructors, Chris Tabor of the Carolina Panthers and Antonio Pierce of the Las Vegas Raiders, both won in Week 15. Pierce’s victory on Thursday was clearly coming at the Bolts’ expense.
Week 15 saw victories for both Chris Tabor of the Carolina Panthers and fellow backup coach Antonio Pierce of the Las Vegas Raiders; Pierce’s success on Thursday was obviously coming at the expense of the Chargers, who may be searching for a new head coach. For Giff Smith, the acting head coach, this is fantastic news.
4. Green Bay Packers Head Coach In a span of six days, Matt LaFleur’s club suffered defeats at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants. After winning his first sixteen games, those were LaFleur’s first losses of the season in the month of December.
15. The Tampa Bay Bucs appear to be a far more competitive postseason team than the Green Bay Packers, as the Super Bowl champions are rapidly gaining ground on them for a third consecutive division title. The old NFC Central “Battle of the Bays” went to the Bucs.
16. Speaking of the Giants, Sunday’s 24-6 rout by the New Orleans Saints reversed rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito’s Italian celebrations. By the way, the Saints and Bucs are in the same NFC South division.
17. The Saints will play the Rams, who climbed into the NFC’s last wild-card spot on Sunday, in a big game coming Thursday night in Los Angeles. Although both clubs have a 7-7 record, LA is clearly playing superior football as they have won four of their last five games following their Week 10 bye.
Tyreek Hill, a top receiver and league MVP candidate for the Miami Dolphins, suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of the first game of the season. Cheetah would still need to average around 153 yards per week over the following three weeks to surpass his record-breaking 2,000 receiving yards.
The Dolphins dominated the New York Jets 30-0 in his absence, winning the series 64-13 overall.
Miami RB (20) Raheem Mostert set a Dolphins single-season record by reaching the end zone 20 times this season with his two touchdown rushes. It looks like you’re winning your league if Mostert is on your fantasy team.
In relation to potential MVPs, the San Francisco 49ers’ RB McCaffrey, Christian? Similar to Mostert, CMC has scored three touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, helping the Niners to formally secure the NFC West. As a result, he has 20 touchdowns.
26. Since 1966, when the Super Bowl was first played, McCaffrey’s seven touchdowns this season versus the Cards are the most by any player against a single team.
With 1,292 yards, McCaffrey leads the league in rushing and is attempting to become the first in-season, wire-to-wire rushing champion of this century.
28. He’s already the fourth player in history to record 1,000 running yards and 500 receiving yards in at least four seasons.
29. Tennessee Titans tight end This season, Jimmy Graham has four touchdown catches. This year, he had two more receptions that did not result in six points.
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta is unlikely to go any higher than third behind Stroud and Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, and he is unlikely to earn Offensive Rookie of the Year. Nevertheless, after catching three touchdowns in Saturday night’s victory over Denver, LaPorta made history as the only rookie at his position to have at least 700 receiving yards and seven touchdowns during the Super Bowl era.
31. Excited for Week 16, which kicks off on Thursday with that possibly crucial Saints-Rams matchup. Major postseason ramifications will also be felt for Colts-Falcons, Browns-Texans, Lions-Vikings, and Jags-Bucs on Christmas Eve. Bengals-Steelers is another important game on Christmas Eve, or Saturday if you’d prefer.
However, if you’re hoping to find enormous gifts beneath the tree? Dolphins vs. Cowboys and Ravens vs. 49ers are two of the most anticipated games of the season, even if only one of those contests is a true Super Bowl preview. (Partygoers are welcome to guess. Happy Holidays, too.)
