2023-24 NFL (Week 15)

Games I watched (some of):

Cowboys 10-31 Bills

Just didn't pay much attention to football this week (sick cat, family stuff, you know how it is), but I did get to see this one--the only one I was dying to watch. Fortunately I am a Bills fan, not a Cowboy fan (like my brother, heh heh heh), and this all looked pretty good to me. The Bills took the opening drive down the field for a TD (good start) and then the Cowboys stated off driving pretty good, it felt like this game might be nothing but offense on offense. But then the Cowboys stalled and, well, that's what this game turned out to be: Bills running the ball effectively and getting stops on 3rd down. The Cowboys are great at home, but kinda crappy on the road and though the weather was pretty mild for December in Buffalo, the Cowboys just couldn't sustain anything all game long (their TD was pure garbage time stuff). The Bills are in win-or-die mode and they played it to the hilt on this day. Though no one expected a dominating win over a really good team with QB Josh Allen throwing for....less than 100 yards?!?!? (Seriously?) But the Bills running game was devastating and clearly the Cowboys just couldn't figure out how to re-tool the defense. Good W for the Bills, but not that big of a deal for the Cowboys, who are probably locked into 5th place in the NFC (for their annual trip to Tampa, not bad). The Bills need to keep winning and pray for some help and if the cookie crumbles just right, don't be shocked if they blast their way through the AFC in the post-season (and that ain't just Bills Mafia talk!).

The rest of the slate:

Chargers 21-63 Raiders

Head Coach Staley, we hardly knew ye (jk, I knew waaaaay more about this guy than I wanted to). I don't root for people to get fired, but I understand it is part of this sports team thing, and very rarely have I ever longed for a coach to get the boot more than this guy. Watching him make dumb choices over and over that basically suck the life out of his own team drove me nuts over the years and thank god those poor players have finally been liberated from their too-smart-for-the-room tormenter. And the Raiders look as frisky as they have in a few years, not sure what good it does them at this point, but nice W. 

Vikings 24-27 (OT) Bengals

Both teams came in with their 2nd string QBs, wasn't sure what we'd get. But both of these backups are pretty good and this looks like it was a fun game. Bengals came back to pull it out late, good win. 

Steelers 13-30 Colts

I've been watching the Steelers for several years now wondering how they win games (and make the playoffs) when their offense is so terrible. After years of pulling out wins they don't deserve, it feels like maybe they're starting to lose that mojo; feels like they may have to finally go get a QB to build around (hmmm....Justin Fields, anyone?). As for the Colts, well, their offense can run it up and they're fun to watch and they are obviously way better than the Steelers. This score looks right to me. 

Broncos 17-42 Lions

The Lions have been scuffling lately, the Broncos have been balling lately, felt like this was gonna be a tight one. Nope. Lions came to play, Broncos couldn't hang. So have the Lions been overachieving or are they for-real and ready to get back to winning? And what is up with the Broncos? Frankly, I think they have been overachieving and going to Detroit was too much of an ask for this squad. I think the Lions are actually pretty good and I think the Broncos will not be making the post-season (but they can still tell themselves they've had a nice season). 

Bears 17-20 Browns

The Browns have a great defense and an okay offense that has been racked by turmoil at the QB spot. But the AFC is fraudulent (I think) and therefore the Browns are still very much in the mix. The Bears don't have to worry about playing for draft position because they've already got the Panthers' #1 pick and winning is probably good for raising QB Fields trade value. That said, trying to win and coming up short is the best possible outcome for the Bears. Good W for the Browns, good L for the Bears.

Bucs 34-20 Packers

The ol' Bay of Pigs match. I saw none of this but the Bucs play well on the road and occasionally that offense is spicy (the poor man's Colts, if you will), so while Green Bay should be untouchable at Lambeau in December, it isn't surprising that the Bucs came to play. These are two mid-level teams and they look like it. 

Texans 19-16 (OT) Titans

The Texans steal a division W on the road without their QB. Good W. As the for the Titans, well, rookie QB Levis is already better than I thought he ever could be (just a morsel of crow for now, I'll let the full meal marinate for another year or two), so at least they're moving in the right direction. 

Jets 0-30 Dolphins

I thought the Jets pass defense would be up for the test, but they weren't gonna win anyway, so not a shock that they mailed it in. 

Chiefs 27-17 Patriots

The Pats probably could've won this game (but they'll never get Caleb Williams that way), so they pulled back and rolled over in the end. Mahomes is as good as ever but this Chiefs squad is not up to the recent dominance, they're gonna struggle to get wins in the post-season.

Giants 6-24 Saints

The Saints know how to beat bad teams. The Giants are a bad team. 

Falcons 7-9 Panthers

The Falcons offense is loaded with weapons but they got no QB to fling the ball around, so while they're much better than the Panthers, they just couldn't get anything going in the rain in Charlotte. Good W for the Panthers (now the Bears are in jeopardy of only having the #2 pick....jk the Panthers are too awful for that).

Commanders 20-28 Rams

The Rams are playing pretty good right now, under the radar, too, as they might be able to sneak their way into the playoffs. The Commanders are not good (and yet not awful enough to really get better).

Niners 45-29 Cards

The Niners are rolling. Clearly, easily, obviously the best team in the league (when healthy). The Cards....just don't matter.

Ravens 23-7 Jags

The Jags are not right. I'm not sure if they're hurt or losing focus or just not very good but they are not a winning team right now and this is a bad time to spin the ol' wheels. The Ravens are really good when QB Lamar Jackson gives full effort but if he fogs up, the team could quickly go sideways.

Eagles 17-20 Seahawks

The Eagles are scuffling lately, too. I still think they have the best chance of beating the Niners, but they would do well to get off whatever bad mojo has gripped them because the season is running out. The Seahawks could still make the playoffs but I just can't see them being dangerous if/when it comes to pass.