Five talking points from Week 15
Phew. What a week!
Twelve of the 15 games this week were decided by just one possession; five were won with scores on the final play of the game, including three overtime walk-offs. There were three 17-point comebacks, the most in a single week in NFL history.
Game changing plays – for better or for worse in some cases – make or break games, historical games, injury concerns and weather from all seasons. This week really did have it all. Might this have been the best week of football so far this year? Most likely.
It was difficult not to have written about every game, well, except for the Ravens and Browns, there’s often one rotten apple in the mix. Here are my five talking points from Week 15:
Minneapolis Miracle 2.0
When NFL teams have taken 30-point leads on the previous 1,550 occasions, they were 1,548-1-1. That’s a 99.903 winning percentage. That was, until Saturday, when the Colts took a 33-0 halftime lead over the Vikings and then lost, 39-36, in overtime.
This was the biggest comeback win in NFL history, breaking the previous record set by Buffalo in 1992 who wiped out a 32-point deficit in that year’s playoffs over the Houston Oilers. Minnesota’s win also secured them the NFC North title for the first time since 2017.
During the first half of this game, everything that could go wrong for the Vikings did. They had a punt blocked for a touchdown, missed on a fake punt, Justin Jefferson got hurt, Dalvin Cook fumbled, they got stopped on a 4th-and-inches conversion attempt and Kirk Cousins threw a pick-six. Without a doubt, it was one to forget for the Skol Army.
The second half was a different story for Minnesota, but it was one that was aided by the Colts total inability to see this game out. Something that they might have had a better chance at doing had star running back Jonathan Taylor not picked up an ankle injury on the very first play of the game. That led them needing to rely on Zack Moss who only needed to do the simple things to keep his team on track.
Unfortunately for them, he failed miserably to do anything of the sort. On a 3rd-and-1 from the one yard line, to take the game to 37-0, Moss somehow managed to lose seven yards and the Colts had to settle for a field goal. Also, in the fourth quarter, when all the Colts and Moss needed to do was run out the clock, his team needed him to not fumble or go out of bounds and so inevitably and inexplicably, he did both. He lost a fumble that set up a Vikings touchdown. On the next drive, he gained 11 yards, then forgot to stay inbounds, stopping the clock and helping the Vikings get the ball back just seconds later.
With Minnesota’s defense holding the Colts to three points and 102 total yards in the second half, the offense was given a spark by K.J. Osborn (10 receptions, 157 yards, TD) and rattled off three consecutive touchdown drives starting with 8:26 left in the third quarter, clawing their way back into the game despite turning the ball over twice (interception, downs) in the fourth quarter and putting the game into OT thanks to Dalvin Cook’s incredible 64-yard touchdown and T.J. Hockenson’s two-point conversion.
The Vikings move on to an 11-3 record this season but their more impressive statistic is that this season they are now 10-0 in one score games. Interestingly, the last team to come back from a 23-point deficit was Washington in Kirk Cousins’ “You Like That” game in Week 7 of the 2015 season against the Buccaneers.
The dumbest play of all time
From the sublime to the downright ridiculous. The 2022 New England Patriots, led by arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, Bill Belichick, are now responsible for the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen on a football field. Who would have thought it?
You know what, I’m not even going to analyze it because it’s so stupid. Here is some context and then enjoy the video.
The Patriots have the game tied with the Raiders. They did not need to score a touchdown to win. They had outscored the Raiders 21-7 in the second half and, while it would have been nice to win in regulation, there was no need to do anything ridiculous. So they did it anyway.
Absolute madness!!
Interception of the season!
If the previous point highlighted why you don’t just hurl a live ball around without paying attention to what’s around you, then this play is the polar opposite of that.
Titans rookie cornerback Roger McCreary tracked a deep ball from Justin Herbert, leaping to catch it, however, realizing he wasn’t going to land inbounds, he tossed it to his teammate, safety Joshua Kalu, who caught the ball and managed to get both feet down – a rare two-man interception.
Whilst New England’s Jakobi Meyers was oblivious to everything around him, McCreary is able to see and calculate everything. He’s aware that Chargers receiver Mike Williams won’t be able to make the play, he’s aware of his field position and the position of teammate Kalu, he’s aware he will not catch the ball inbounds and so ensures he jumps high enough to not only catch the ball, but to pitch it to Kalu in such in a way that only he and not Williams can catch it.
It was an incredibly impressive play worthy of any highlight reel come the end of the season and should serve as a lesson to players league wide. Always be aware of what is around you.
Jags in the hunt in AFC South
In Week 15 of the 2021 season, Jacksonville fired Urban Meyer, the head coach who (allegedly) kicked one of his players, (allegedly) did not know who Aaron Donald was and (definitely) danced with a random woman that was not his wife in a bar in Columbus, Ohio, after skipping the team flight home after a loss. What a difference a year makes.
In Week 15 of this season, the Jaguars moved to within one game of the AFC South lead after one of the greatest wins in franchise history, a 40-34 overtime win against the playoff-bound Cowboys.
A quick scan of Jacksonville’s schedule tells us it has won three of its last four games, and those all came against quality opponents. The only negative mark on that stretch came in a blowout loss to Detroit.
Trevor Lawrence turned it on after an interception by DaRon Bland, leading the Jaguars on three straight touchdown drives in fewer than nine minutes of game time, including an awesome connection with Zay Jones for a 59-yard score.
The Lions and Jags were the two teams with the worst records in the NFL last year but both are now firmly in the playoff hunt with three weeks to go, led in large part by their young stars.
Brady now costing Tampa wins
Brady committed four turnovers during Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati for the first time since 2011, all in the second half and on four consecutive drives. He also threw two interceptions for the second week on the bounce and lost two fumbles, including one in which the ball slipped out of his hand on a routine handoff.
Leading 17-3 at halftime, the Bucs looked like they took to heart Todd Bowles’ challenge for the players to take ownership of their situation this week. However, with Brady quickly turning the ball over on those Tampa Bay second-half possessions, the Buccaneers defenders ran out of gas and gave up 34 unanswered points.
Brady is 31st among qualifying quarterbacks in yards per attempt, wedged between Baker Mayfield and Kenny Pickett. He entered Week 15 with an 89-0 record in home games he led by 17-plus points (including playoffs), before blowing a 17-0 lead to lose to the Bengals.
The Bucs are now 6-8 which will be the first time a Brady team has ever lost eight games in a season. They’ll need to go 3-0 down the stretch for him to avoid his first losing record ever as a starting QB.
