CBS Sports
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.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!