We are inching ever closer to the NFL playoffs. Week 15 was a strange one. Playoff seeding position, draft positioning, and pride were all on the line. Here's how I saw it all go down:
The Good
-The Bills' 17-10 win over the Steelers featured the first trio of brothers to play in an NFL game since 1927. The Steelers' Terrell and Trey Edmunds lost to Tremaine Edmunds' Bills as the Bills clinched a playoff spot and may have eliminated the Steelers. In 100 years of NFL football, it took 92 years before we saw this occur again. Kudos to the Edmunds family.
-Eagles running back Miles Sanders had a great game in their win over the Redskins. Sanders had 25 touches for 172 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles needed every bit of his performance and a fumble return for a touchdown to beat the Redskins 37-27 and keep thei playoff hopes alive.
-Bucs' quarterback Jameis Winston became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 450 yards in back to back games. the games were also wins in which they scored 38 points each. Winston combined for 914 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions. He now leads the league in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns. He's trying to make his case to stay in Tampa next season.
The Bad
-In possibly his final game as a starter, Giants quarterback Eli Manning had the most Eli game he could: 20/28 for 283 yards two touchdowns and three picks. Pretty accurate with the 71.4% completion percentage, but the three interceptions are what will stick out. He ended his career (allegedly) with a 1.5:1 touchdown to interception ratio.
-The Raiders closed out their last game in Oakland with a 20-16 loss to the Jags. This was not the way fans of The Black Hole envisioned this ending. The fans of the Raiders have been arguably the most loyal fans in the NFL. They booed and threw trash on the field as the team left it for the final time since they're moving to Las Vegas.
-The Browns are now 6-8 and still the biggest dumpster fire in the league. They lost to the Cardinals 38-24 as Kyler Murray outdueled Baker Mayfield in the battle of former OU Heisman trophy-winning number one overall picks. For as much fanfare as they came into this season with, they flamed out just as bad. This offseason will be eventful for them considering how hard they fell off the hype train.
The Ugly
-Vikings running back Dalvin Cook went down woth a shoulder injury and isn't expected to return for the regular season. The Vikes suspect he will be healthy for their playoff run. But when your star running back has a shoulder injury that keeps rearing it's ugly head, you have to call it into question as a major sticking point in the argument for them as a true NFC contender.
-Phillip Rivers is done as a viable option as a starting quarterback in the NFL. The same can be said for Andy Dalton, and possibly Marcus Mariota. They may have futures as backups, especially Dalton and Mariota since they have age/time on their side. Rivers, however, is done.
-Word came down Monday that Seahawks receiver Josh Gordon is suspended indefinitely by the league for a violation of the substance abuse/PED drug program. This is Gordon's fifth such suspension since he entered the league. He's one of the most physically gifted and talented receivers we've seen, but his inability to do right has cost him his career most likely.
The only team in the NFC playoff picture without 10 or more wins isn't a wildcard team. Meanwhile, in the AFC, there are five teams with a mathmatical shot at the last playoff spot. With the schedule now giving us division matchups in the final week of the regular season and the race for positionining is so tight, every game means something in these last two weeks. Every win or loss could effect how we watch the playoffs, or the draft depending on how you're looking at things. Let's enjoy these last couple weeks of the regular season.
