NFL snap judgements, week 15: Steelers get crucial win over Patriots and Nick Foles gives us deja vu in LA
Week 15 in the NFL marks the end of Thursday Night Football - excellent news for your productivity at work on Fridays - and the start of Saturday night action. It's an altogether more convenient time of the year for us British fans.
It also means there are just two weeks left in the regular season, but there's plenty of drama left to unfold. The sixth seed in both conferences is still wide open, with the Vikings, Eagles, Redskins, Panthers, Ravens, Colts, Titans and Dolphins all fighting it out for the last two tickets into the postseason.
Sunday night's action gave us a trip down recent memory lane, as Nick Foles did the business again in Los Angeles, and reminded us that this year's Patriots aren't quite the same unstoppable beast. They're now in danger of missing out on a first round bye for the first time in almost a decade.
Here's everything we learned from another night full of twists and turns...
Cornered Steelers finally work out how to beat the Pats
The Steelers had lost five straight to the Patriots before last night. They couldn't afford to lose this one. Pittsburgh outmuscled New England on the way to a 17-10 victory, riding rookie running back Jaylen Samuels on offense all night. Samuels exploded for 142 yards from 19 carries, and had a couple of key receptions in the passing game.
Ben Roethlisberger threw two interceptions, but was ultimately better than Tom Brady - he found Vance McDonald for a touchdown in the first quarter and hit Antonio Brown in the end zone in the second, before engineering an impressive fourth quarter drive which set up a Chris Boswell field goal. That field goal ensured Brady would need a touchdown on the final drive, but he was off-target with three straight shots into the end zone as the Pats slumped to an uncharacteristic defeat.
The Patriots don't lose in December - they definitely don't lose two straight. If you needed any more proof that this New England team isn't quite up to the standard of years past, this was it. The Pats were stilted on offense all night. Their one touchdown saw Brady find Chris Hogan in light years of space down the right touchline, and Hogan was so open he could practically jog it in for the untouched score.
After that there was little to get excited about, and Bill Belichick will undoubtedly be raging about being held to just 10 points against a foe he knows so well. This loss means the Patriots slip out of the number two seed, with the Texans taking over. Could we see them playing in the first week of January for the first time since 2009?
Nick Foles turns back time in LA
It was at the LA Coliseum where Nick Foles' magical road to the Super Bowl begun last season. Is he about to go and do it all over again? The Eagles still need the Vikings to slip up to have a shot at making the playoffs, but last night's shock 30-23 win over the Rams gives them a chance. Foles threw a pick to Aqib Talib but was otherwise sound, completing 24 of his 31 passes for 270 yards.
He and Alshon Jeffery diced up the Rams secondary - Jeffery finished the night with 160 yards from eight catches - before handing the ball over to Wendell Smallwood at the goal line. Smallwood crashed through the middle on two almost identical scores, and Josh Adams rushed in another as Philadelphia jumped out to a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter.
It was a lead too big for the Rams to overturn. LA have been poor three weeks in a row since their week 12 bye, and look an entirely different team on offense - they've averaged just 324 yards across those games. Jared Goff was flat out bad again. He struggled under pressure and threw two picks, one an incredibly dumb play on third down with no receiver in-mind. It's now officially OK to start worrying about the Rams, who should hold onto the number two seed, but suddenly look like a flawed team who can be beaten with a bit of smart coaching.
Sean McVay has plenty to figure out over the next few weeks. Thankfully, he has the Cardinals and 49ers to close the season, but he'll know anything less than a Lombardi trophy will be a disappointing end to the season. There's no room for error anymore.
Bears silence Packers for sweetest NFC North crown
The Bears clinched the NFC North for the first time since 2010, and what better way to do it than by throttling their most hated rivals, all but eliminating them from playoff contention. Incredibly, 2010 was also the last time the Bears beat the Packers at Soldier Field, but this is a whole different team to the sorry outfit we've grown used to over the past decade, and which had finished bottom of the division in each of the last four seasons.
The Chicago defense was at its destructive best, and threw Aaron Rodgers off his game all day. Rodgers completed just 25 of his 42 passes for 274 yards and no touchdowns, and an Eddie Jackson pick - Rodgers' first in an NFL record 402 passes - in the fourth quarter essentially put a pin in his chances of pulling off a late comeback reminiscent of week one's win at Leambeau Field. Rodgers repeatedly missed on shots downfield and put under severe pressure by the Bears pass rush. Khalil Mack had 2.5 sacks, Leonard Floyd had two, and rookie linebacker Roquan Smith was also excellent, finishing the day with 10 tackles.
On offense, Mitchell Trubisky outshone Rodgers. He completed 20 of his 28 passes for 235 yards and two scores - to tight end Trey Burton and running back Tarik Cohen. There was nothing jazzy about Chicago's attack - much went through Jordan Howard, who had 19 carries for 60 yards and a score - but there doesn't need to be when the defense is letting off fireworks left, right and centre. Are the Bears a genuine Super Bowl contender? After these last two weeks I think you have to say yes.
Colts trample Cowboys to keep playoff hopes alive
The Colts defense made history against the Cowboys, shutting them out for the first time since 2003 in a performance which should give the rest of the AFC's wild card hopefuls sweaty palms. Indianapolis totally stymied a previously rampant Dallas attack, holding Amari Cooper to 32 yards and giving Dak Prescott little to work with outside of handing the ball off to Ezekiel Elliott. Darius Leonard outshone fellow Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Leighton Vander Esch with another 11 tackles and a couple of pass deflections, while Pierre Desir, Clayton Geathers and George Odom - who had a pick - all did strong work in an underrated secondary.
Andrew Luck was his excellent mobile self in the pocket, passing for 192 yards from 16 completions, but it was Marlon Mack and the running game which headlines the Colts' offensive efforts. Mack rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns from 27 carries against Dallas' third-ranked run defense, as the Indy offensive line won the battle in the trenches.
With the Ravens and Titans both winning the Colts still have more to do to reach the postseason, but might be the most dangerous opponent of those three should they get there. This defeat coupled with the Eagles' shock victory will give a few people squeaky bums down in Dallas. The NFC East looked pretty safe 24 hours ago, but we've seen Nick Foles pull off far greater miracles.
Penalties cost Seattle as they slip up in San Francisco
The Seahawks committed 14 penalties for an unwanted franchise record of 148 yards, but it was a pass interference call on Shaquill Griffin in overtime which ended up costing them the game. With the 49ers just needing a field goal to secure the win, Griffin's penalty moved them to within range, and Robbie Gould did what he always does, splitting the uprights for a 26-23 upset victory.
It's hard to say the Niners didn't deserve it. Nick Mullens had a great night, finishing 20 of 29 for 275 yards and a touchdown, and put together a mini highlight reel of really impressive throws. You'd imagine there may well be a market for him in the summer. Rookie running back Jeffrey Wilson also deserves a mention - he had a costly fumble on a big run through the middle early on, but still shone, averaging 6.6 yards on his seven carries.
Russell Wilson looked to Chris Carson and Doug Baldwin all night on offense. Carson had 22 carries for 119 yards and a score, and Baldwin caught four passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns. His early score was immediately wiped out by Richie James returning the ensuing kick off for a touchdown. Seattle had to fight to reach overtime at all - Sebastian Janikowski's field goal capped off a fourth quarter comeback, but it's tough to win football games when you give away so many penalty yards. Next up it's the Chiefs - defeat in that one could leave the Seahawks' playoff place looking a little hairy.
Vikings run game finally fires to down Dolphins
The Vikings' rushing attack has floundered all season behind one of the league's poorest offensive lines, but they finally sorted things out on Sunday as they blew out the Dolphins 41-17. This was Minnesota's first game under new offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, and if it's a sign of things to come there's reason for renewed hope in Minneapolis. Dalvin Cook rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns from 19 carries and Latavius Murray added 68 and a score of his own from 16.
Cook and Murray took the pressure off Kirk Cousins, who completed 14 of a season-low 21 attempts. He hit Stefon Diggs on a 13-yard touchdown to cap a nice opening drive, and later found Aldrick Robinson on another nice score. The only black mark was a sloppy pass which was picked off by rookie cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick and taken 50 yards to the house.
Miami started the game looking like they'd maybe spent a few too many days celebrating last weekend's miraculous win over the Patriots. They looked lost in the first quarter and found themselves 21-0 down in the blink of an eye. They managed to pull back within a score thanks to that Fitzpatrick pick six and a Kalen Ballage score before the Vikings finished with 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Ballage was the highlight of the night for the Dolphins, who lost Frank Gore to an ankle injury. He rushed for 123 yards from his 12 carries.
Ravens stick to script to stop Buccaneers
The Ravens have found a strong identity since installing Lamar Jackson at quarterback, and it's looking like carrying them all the way into January. The league's top scoring defense limited its top passing attack to just 157 yards through the air and kept them under 300 total offense in a 20-12 victory. 121 of those yards went to Mike Evans, who was the only factor in Jameis Winston's passing attack. Peyton Barber did most of the work on the ground, finishing with 85 yards and a score from 19 carries, but Baltimore's defense held strong, limiting the Bucs to a single field goal in the second half.
Jackson and co. stuck to the same script that's brought so much success in his first five NFL starts. He rushed for 95 yards from 18 carries and Gus Edwards added 104 and a score from his 19 attempts. In the passing game Jackson leaned mostly on Willie Snead, and his only passing touchdown was a shovel pass to Chris Moore. He finished with 131 yards from 14 completions, but his real value shone through on a number of third-down scrambles which kept drives alive and demoralised the Buccaneers defense.
The Ravens still own the sixth seed in the AFC at 8-6, but the Colts and Titans are both primed to take advantage of the slightest slip-up in the final two weeks. That's a lot of pressure for a rookie QB to deal with, and should be a real test of Jackson's mettle.
Titans overpower Giants as Henry goes big again
I wrote last week that Derrick Henry surely couldn't match his incredible 238-yard, four touchdown performance against the Jags this Sunday. He didn't come far off. Henry rushed for 170 and two scores from his 33 carries as the Titans pounded the Giants into submission by dominating the physical battles. Marcus Mariota only needed 88 yards passing to secure a comfortable 17-0 win, in which the real plaudits must go to the Tennessee defense.
They limited Saquon Barkley to just 56 yards from scrimmage - the fewest of his NFL career - sacked Eli Manning three times and picked him off once. Perhaps most impressive was how they limited the Giants to just three third down completions from 16 attempts, as New York failed to put a proper drive together all day.
The Titans join the Ravens and Colts at 8-6 - watch out for that Tennessee-Indianapolis showdown on the final day of the season, if the chips fall right it could be a slobberknocker to decide who progresses to the postseason.
Josh Johnson's Redskins stay in the hunt
Josh Johnson's first NFL start since 2011 ended in victory thanks to Dustin Hopkins' 36-yard field goal as time expired. The 16-13 win over the Jaguars in Jacksonville means the Redskins are still alive in the NFC playoff race at 7-7, but does anyone really expect this injury ravaged team to get there?
Johnson completed 16 of his 25 passes for 151 yards, a touchdown to Jeremy Sprinkle and, crucially, no interceptions against a Jaguars unit which had the potential to make his life hell. In reality it was a very limp performance from Jacksonville. Cody Kessler finished the day with a shocking 57 yards passing, and was the team's leading rusher with 68. Is that you, Blake Bortles?
Washington go to Tennessee and then host the Eagles in their final two games. You'd predict them to lose both, but the real concern has to be about the immediate future of this franchise and what they're going to do at the quarterback position next year, with Alex Smith's situation more than a little murkly.
Elsewhere in the NFL...
The Atlanta Falcons offense finally woke up from a five-week slumber to blow out the hapless Cardinals. The Falcons hadn't scored more than 20 points in a game since week nine, but cruised to a 26-7 half-time on the way to reaching the 40-point milestone for the first time this year. Matt Ryan had a solid day, completing 22 of 36 for 231 yards and two touchdowns, but Tevin Coleman was the real star of the show. Coleman overcame his recent struggled to rush for 145 yards and a touchdown from just 11 carries. Josh Rosen had another miserable day before being benched for Mike Glennon. He threw two interceptions, one which Deion Jones took to the house, as the Cardinals managed fewer than 300 yards of offense for the 12th time this season.
Josh Allen's 42-yard touchdown pass to Robert Foster in the fourth quarter was enough to secure a 14-13 comeback win for the Buffalo Bills over the Detroit Lions and move both teams to 5-9 on the season. The Lions managed to shut down Allen in the run game after his record-breaking streak, but the seventh overall pick still managed to find the end zone on a rushing score in the first half. It was all about Kenny Golladay early on, the Detroit wideout racked up 146 yards receiving from seven receptions and helped set up a Zach Zenner rushing touchdown and a Matthew Stafford score to Andy Jones, before Buffalo shut out the Lions in the second half and held on for the win.
The Bengals kept their faint playoff hopes alive with a 30-16 win over the Raiders. Joe Mixon punished the Oakland defense, rushing for 129 yards and two touchdowns from 27 carries and Jeff Driskel also hit Tyler Boyd for a score as Cincinnati jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Their defense was much improved - Sam Hubbard sacked Derek Carr twice and Geno Atkins recorded another three, while Carr and Jalen Richard both also lost crucial fumbles.
The Texans moved one step closer to clinching the AFC South with a hard-fought 29-22 win over the Jets on Saturday. Houston trailed going into the fourth quarter, but Deshaun Watson hit DeAndre Hopkins on a beatiful touchdown pass to seal the comeback. Hopkins had a huge day, catching for 170 yards and two scores from 10 receptions. Sam Darnold had one of the best games of his short career for the Jets, completing 24 of 38 for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cleveland Browns still have a shot at the postseason after beating the Denver Broncos 17-16 on Saturday night. Baker Mayfield found Brashad Perriman on third-and-nine for the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter on a day which was all about the ground game for Cleveland. Nick Chubb rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries lining up opposite his cousin Bradley. Two interceptions cost Case Keenum and the Broncos, who were limited to field goals all night after Keenum's dive into the end zone in the first quarter.
