NFL 2023 Week 15 Recap

 Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action has come to an end. Week 15 brought us some crazy storylines. Such storylines like a blowout in Las Vegas, a comeback win in Cleveland, a blowout in Detroit and Buffalo, and an overtime win in Tennessee. All those games and more in this week's recap post.

NFL Week 16 Freaky Stat

The Raiders scoring 42 points in a half is tied for the most in franchise history. They hung 42 points against the Buffalo Bills in Week 6 of the 1969 season. 

NFL Week 16 Recap

LA Chargers 21, Las Vegas 63: TW: Chargers; CV: Chargers

Umm oops. What the heck Chargers? Easton Stick hit 23 of 32 passes for 257 yards with three touchdowns and tossed an interception. The touchdowns went to Josh Palmer, Quentin Johnston and Alex Erickson. Granted the scoring would come after halftime by the time the Raiders had 42-0 score. Isaiah Spiller got most of the carries for the Chargers offense with 16 carries for 50 yards. Austin Ekeler would play but he only got five carries for a paltry nine yards. In general the Chargers offense got 326 total yards. Las Vegas would come out swinging after scoring zero points against the Vikings last week. Aidan O'Connell hit 20 of 34 passes for 248 yards with four touchdown passes. Easily one of his best starts of his young career. Jakobi Meyers played quarterback for two snaps, getting 12 yards with a touchdown pass. Davante Adams got one, Michael Mayer got one and Tre Tucker got two of the touchdown passes from O'COnnell. Zamir White made the most of his opportunity to play with 17 carries for 69 yards (heheh nice) with a touchdown run. Brandon Bolden, the former Patriot, rushed for a touchdown on a 26-yard direct snap to him. Despite the score, the Raiders would put up 378 total yards in the game. The big thing was that the Chargers had five giveaways which the Raiders easily took advantage of. The Raiders scoring 63 points was the 2nd most in a game since scoring 63 points in the 2020 season against the Broncos. Safe to say that perhaps the Brandon Staley era in Los Angeles is over. For the Chargers, they fall to 5-9 with almost certainty that their playoff hopes are dashed. For the Raiders, they improve to 6-8 after losing 3-0 last week against Minnesota. The 63-21 score was also a scorigami!

Next week: 
LA Chargers: vs Buffalo
Las Vegas: @ Kansas City (Monday afternoon)

TW: 0-1; CV: 0-1

Minnesota 27, Cincinnati 24: TW: Bengals; CV: Vikings

A quarterback duel in the Queen City. Nick Mullens hit 26 of 33 passes for 303 yards with two touchdown passes but also tossed two interceptions that didn't yield to Bengals points. Justin Jefferson would come back to play in this game. He would try quarterback on one play but it went for an incompletion. Ty Chandler would have one of his better games in his young career with 23 carries for 132 yards with a touchdown. At one point the Vikings had a 17-3 lead going into the 4th quarter. Jake Browning got the start for the Bengals. They hit 29 of 42 passes for 324 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The interception led to a Vikings field goal. Joe Mixon rushed rushed for 47 yards with a touchdown. Two plays would be key to the Bengals win. The first was the game-tying touchdown from Browning to Tee Higgins that had to be one of the best catches of the season. The other was Evan McPherson's game-winning 29-yard field goal that gave the Bengals the win. For total yards, the Vikings had 424 total yards while the Bengals had 378 total yards. For the Vikings, they drop their 3rd loss in the last four games and go to 7-7. For the Bengals, they keep their playoff hopes alive and the comeback gives them a 8-6 record. 

Next week: 
Minnesota: vs Detroit
Cincinnati: @ Pittsburgh (Saturday afternoon)

TW: 1-1; CV: 0-2

Pittsburgh 13, Indianapolis 30: TW: Colts; CV: Colts

Definitely a game of two halves. The first half featured the Steelers putting up 13 straight points. Mitchell Trubisky hit 16 of 23 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson but also tossed two interceptions. Trubisky would also score a 1-yard rushing touchdown. The Johnson touchdown was a result of an earlier Colts blocked punt that was recovered by the Steelers on the Colts 1-yard line. After the touchdown pass, the Steelers would not sniff the endzone. The 2nd half was the Colts proceeding to score 30 unanswered points. Gardner Minshew hit 18 of 28 passes for 215 yards with three touchdown passes. DJ Montgomery, Mo Alie-Cox and Zack Moss were the Colts that caught those passes. Three minutes after the Trubisky touchdown was the touchdown to Zack Moss that was also the result of a horse collar tackle on the Steelers. It wasn't the last time the Steelers were flagged on a play. On a pass play to Michael Pittman, Damontae Kazee proceeds to lead with his helmet to hit Pittman's helmet in a dangerous play. For Kazee, he was ejected and fortunately for Pittman he was able to get up. For the Steelers, they drop to 7-7 compared to their position two weeks ago where they had a 7-4 record. For the Colts, they move up to 8-6 in the 2023 season. 

Next week: 
Pittsburgh: vs Cincinnati (Saturday afternoon)
Indianapolis: @ Atlanta

TW: 2-1; CV: 1-2

Denver 17, Detroit 42: TW: Lions; CV: Lions

A thorough demolition by the Lions against the Broncos. Russell Wilson hit 18 of 32 passes for 223 yards with a touchdown pass to Liljordan Humphrey. It was the Broncos first points in the game in the 3rd quarter. Wilson would also get a touchdown on the ground in the 4th quarter for a 1-yard play. Samaje Perine got 37 yards rushing. Javonte Williams got 27 yards rushing. Jared Goff had a great game with 24 of 34 pass completions with 278 yards and five touchdown passes. AmonRa St. Brown had one touchdown, Sam LaPorta had three touchdowns and Jahmyr Gibbs had the other touchdown. Gibbs would hit 100 yards rushing on 11 carries with a touchdown. The controversy in this game was Broncos head coach yelling at Russell Wilson. The other controversy was on a bad offsides call. The call was bad as no one on the Broncos was on the other side of the ball. A complete opposite of the offsides call that was the correct call on the Chiefs against the Bills. For the Broncos, they drop to 7-7 as they drop just their 2nd game since starting 1-5 and going 6-2 since then. For the Lions, they get to 10-4 with the Lions getting double digit wins just the 1st time since 2014 when they went 11-5. 

Next week: 
Denver: vs New England
Detroit: @ Minnesota

TW: 3-1; CV: 2-2

Chicago 17, Cleveland 20: TW: Browns; CV: Browns

Big plays from Amari Cooper and David Njoku help the Browns get to their 1st winning season since 2020. Justin Fields was not great in the game as he hit 19 of 40 passes for 166 yards with a touchdown pass to Cole Kmet. He would also toss two interceptions but one of them came on the hail mary play. Roschon Johnson had 36 yards rushing on five carries, his 22-yard run being the longest in the game. Justin Fields had 30 yards rushing on seven carries. Chicago had 236 total yards in the game. Chicago's defense scored the other touchdown on a Joe Flacco interception that was found by Tremaine Stevenson. Joe Flacco had one of the uglier starts in his brief career with the Browns in this one. He hit 28 of 44 passes for 374 yards with two touchdown passes but had three costly interceptions. The two touchdowns went to Amari Cooper and David Njoku. It was the Amari Cooper touchdown that helped get the Browns to a 17-17 score. Cleveland was down at one point with a 17-7 score. Jerome Ford had 20 yards rushing on eight carries. Cleveland got 377 total yards in the game with 348 of them coming in the air game. Chicago had a chance to pull of the win on a Justin Fields hail mary play. One Bears player nearly came up with the ball before it was unfortunately intercepted. For the Bears, they fall to 5-9 on the season. For the Browns, they reach to 9-5 with a guaranteed winning season. 

Next week:
Chicago: vs Arizona
Cleveland: @ Houston

TW: 4-1; CV: 3-2

Atlanta 7, Carolina 9: TW: Falcons; CV: Falcons

The Panthers get their 2nd win of the season. Desmond Ridder hit 12 of 20 passes for 152 yards with a touchdown pass to Cordarrelle Patterson. He would also throw a pass that was intercepted. Along with the interception, the Falcons would also fumble, leading to two straight drives with a turnover. Tyler Allgeier hit 45 yards rushing on 14 carries. Atlanta was weak sauce in the total yardage department as they got just 204 offensive yards in the whole game. The shining light play for the Falcons was a Ridder to Jonnu Smith play that went for 56 yards, leading to their only touchdown. Bryce Young wasn't awful or great in the game. He hit 18 of 24 passes for 167 yards. Adam Thielen caught four of those passes for 43 yards. Chuba Hubbard got most of the carries in the game as he had 22 of them for 87 yards. Eddie Pineiro hit field goals from 34, 25 and 23 yards with the 23-yard field goal being the game-winner. For the Falcons, they drop to 6-8 with their hopes of an NFC South division title slipping away. For the Panthers, they improve to 2-12 on the season as they help interim head coach Chris Tabor his first win. 

Next week:
Atlanta: vs Indianapolis
Carolina: vs Green Bay

TW: 4-2; CV: 3-3

Houston 19, Tennessee 16 (F/OT): TW: Texans; CV: Titans

Houston gets a win against big brother Tennessee. Case Keenum had a trying game as he hit 23 of 36 passes for 229 yards with a touchdown but also tossed an interception. Noah Brown was the Texan that caught the pass from Keenum. Titans player Elijah Molden was the one that made off with the Keenum present and ran it back to the end zone for a touchdown. Devin Singletary had a good game on the ground with 26 carries for 121 yards. Kyle Fairbairn was the Texans player that would give the Texans the win as he hit a 54-yard game winning field goal with two seconds left in overtime. Fairbairn hit three other field goals. Will Levis hit 17 of 26 passes for 199 yards with an interception. Steven Nelson was the Texans player with the interception. Levis scored the only offensive touchdown in the Titans on a 1-yard play, while getting 25 yards rushing. Tyjae Spears had nine carries for 30 yards. Nick Folk hit one field goal but was 1 for 2 on point afters. The game looked like it might end in a tie but fortunately for NFL fans, there wasn't that scary thought. For the Texans, they get a rebound win despite no CJ Stroud under center. For the Titans, they drop to 5-9 on the season as they had the Oilers throwback uniforms in this game.

Next week:

Houston: vs Cleveland
Tennessee: vs Seattle

TW: 5-2; CV: 3-4

Kansas City 27, New England 17: TW: Chiefs; CV: Chiefs

A win in New England rebounds the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes hit 27 of 37 passes for 305 yards with two touchdowns but also tossed two interceptions. At least one of the interceptions wasn't on him entirely. It was a Kadarius Toney tipped pass that lead to the 2nd interception. Jerrick McKinnon and Clyde Edwards-Helaire were were the Chiefs that caught those passes from Mahomes. Jerrick McKinnon would play quarterback on one play as he took a direct snap and threw it to Rashee Rice for a touchdown on a 4-yard play. The Chiefs running game wouldn't amount to much but Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the Chief that got 13 carries for 37 yards. Kansas City had 326 total yards in the game. Bailey Zappe was eh in the game. Zappe hit 23 of 31 passes for 180 yards with a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry. He would toss an ugly interception in the game that lead to a Chiefs field goal. Ezekiel Elliott had 11 carries for 25 yards. Kevin Harris scored a touchdown on a 18-yard run play that was the result of the Kadarius Toney tipped pass to interception. New England had 206 total yards in the game. For the Chiefs, they snap their two-game losing streak and get to a 9-5 record. For the Patriots, they drop to 3-11. 

Next week:
Kansas City: vs Las Vegas (Monday)
New England: @ Denver

TW: 6-2; CV: 4-4

NY Giants 6, New Orleans 24: TW: Giants; CV: Saints

Giants falter in the Big Easy. Tommy DeVito got the start in this game as he hit 20 of 34 passes for 177 yards. He wouldn't finish the game as he was injured on an arguably dirty play from New Orleans, granted he had seven sacks in the game. Tyrod Taylor came into the game and hit two of four passes for 13 yards. DeVito was the leading rusher for the Giants with 36 yards rushing on four carries. New York had 193 yards of total offense in the game. Not pretty. Derek Carr had his best game of his Saints career with 23 of 28 pass completions for 218 yards with three touchdowns. Jimmy Graham, Juwan Johnson and Keith Kirkwood were the Saints that caught the passes from Carr in the game. Alvin Kamara rushed for 66 yards on 16 carries in the game. New Orleans had 296 total yards in the game. New Orleans dominated in time of possession in the game as they had the ball for 33:27 of the game while the Giants had 26:33 of ball time. For the Giants, they drop to 5-9 on the season with a guaranteed losing season after making the playoffs last season. For the Saints, they improve to 7-7 on the season with a playoff spot in their midst. 

Next week:
NY Giants: @ Philadelphia (Monday)
New Orleans: @ LA Rams (Thursday)

TW: 6-3; CV: 5-4

NY Jets 0, Miami 30: TW: Dolphins; CV: Dolphins

Miami rebounds and shuts out the Jets. Zach Wilson started again for the Jets. He hit 4 of 11 passes for 26 yards. He wouldn't finish the game as he was injured. Trevor Siemian wouldn't help the Jets in the game. He hit 14 of 26 passes for 110 yards with two interceptions. Fortunately the turnovers didn't turn into pick-sixes. Breece Hall had 12 yards rushing on six carries. The Jets had 103 total yards in the game. Not a pretty sight especially when they put up points last week against Houston. Tua Tagovailoa hit 21 of 24 passes for 224 yards with a touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle. The Waddle touchdown was so superb that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross did the Waddle. Raheem Mostert had 42 yards rushing while scoring two touchdowns De'Von Achane had 32 rushing yards on nine carries. Jaylen Waddle had eight catches for 142 yards. Miami got 290 total yards in the game. For the Jets, they drop to 5-9 on the season. For the Dolphins, they improve to 10-4 with some pace still in the #1 seed for the AFC. 

Next week:
NY Jets: vs Washington
Miami: vs Dallas

TW: 7-3; CV: 6-4

Tampa Bay 34, Green Bay 20: TW: Packers; CV: Buccaneers

Green Bay couldn't stop Baker Mayfield in this one. Mayfield hit 22 of 28 passes for 381 yards for four touchdowns. Quite literally a nearly perfect day for the passer. David Moore, Mike Evans, Rachaad White and Ko Kieft were there players that caught those passes from Mayfield that converted to six points. Rachaad White rushed for 89 yards on 21 carries in the game. Despite no touchdowns, Chris Godwin had his best game of the season with 10 catches for 155 yards. Tampa Bay had 452 total yards in the game. The result has to be a bit of a surprise as the Bucs had to fight and claw for the win against Atlanta last week. Jordan Love hit 29 of 39 passes for 284 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Tucker Kraft and Jayden Reed were the players that caught the passes from Love. Aaron Jones rushed for 53 yards on 13 carries in his return to play after suffering an injury. Green Bay had 321 total yards in the game. Green Bay just couldn't stop Tampa when it mattered most. For the Buccaneers, they get to 7-7 on the season with 1st place in the NFC South intact. For the Packers, they drop to 6-8 with them losing a playoff spot. 

Next week: 
Tampa Bay: vs Jacksonville
Green Bay: @ Carolina

TW: 7-4; CV: 7-4

San Francisco 45, Arizona 29: TW: 49ers; CV: Cardinals

The Cardinals gave it a fight but the Niners were too much. Brock Purdy had a good game as he hit 16 of 25 passes for 242 yards with four touchdowns. Purdy did have a bit of a scare of an injury but it wsa only temporary. Sam Darnold came in and hit 2 of 3 passes for 20 yards. Christian McCaffrey proceeded to do Christian McCaffrey things as he rushed 18 times for 115 yards with a touchdown run while catching five passes for 72 yards with two touchdowns. Deebo Samuel caught the other two touchdowns from Purdy. San Francisco had 406 total yards in the game. Kyler Murray hit 26 of 39 passes for 211 yards with a touchdown pass and two interceptions while rushing for 49 yards. Elijah Higgins had the touchdown pass from Murray. Arizona's running game had 86 yards rushing with a touchdown performance from James Conner. Emari Demercado had four carries for 64 yards with a touchdown in the game. Arizona had gained more yardage in the game as they put up 436 total yards and put up a season-high 29 points in this game. They just didn't have more points against the other team. For the 49ers, the win improves their record to 11-3 and they clinch the NFC West for the 2nd straight year (something they haven't done since the 2011 and 2012 49ers). For the Cardinals, they drop to 3-11 on the season with little to no chance of a playoff spot. 

Next week: 
San Francisco: vs Baltimore (Monday night)
Arizona: @ Chicago

TW: 8-4; CV: 7-5

Washington 20, LA Rams 28: TW: Rams; CV: Rams

Comeback falls short for the Commanders in Hollywood. Sam Howell hit 11 of 26 passes for 102 yards with a touchdown and an interception while rushing for 15 yards. Howell got benched for Jacoby Brissett. Brissett hit 8 of 10 passes for 124 yards for two touchdowns. Curtis Samuel caught the lone touchdown from Howell while catching another from Brissett. Terry McLaurin caught the other pass from Brissett. Washington's scoring would come in the 2nd half as they were shutout 13-0 in the 1st half. For offense, the Commanders had 297 total yards. Matthew Stafford hit 25 of 33 passes for 258 yards with two touchdown passes to Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson. Kyren Williams rushed 27 times for 152 yards with a touchdown. He had a 27-yard run that was the longest run in the game. The game was a bit of a rough one for ball handling as the Rams fumbled twice. The Rams had 445 total yards in offense in the game. For the Commanders, they drop to 4-10 and have been eliminated from playoff competition. It is their 3rd straight season missing the playoffs since winning the NFC East in 2020. For the Rams, they still have some hope of a playoff spot while moving up to 7-7. 

Next week: 
Washington: @ NY Jets
LA Rams: vs New Orleans

TW: 9-4; CV: 8-5

Dallas 10, Buffalo 31: TW: Bills; CV: Cowboys

Buffalo prevails against the Cowboys in the lone FOX late game. Dak Prescott didn't have one of his best games as he hit 21 of 34 passes for 134 yards with an interception while rushing for 27 yards. The pressure from the Bills defense left him outside the pocket multiple times while getting sacked three times for a rough 28 yards. Dallas wouldn't score its touchdown until the 4th quarter on a sweep that was given to CeeDee Lamb for a 3-yard score. Dallas had a hard time moving the ball as they would spend time punting the ball five times while scoring just two times in their eight drives. The Cowboys finished their offensive showing with 195 total yards, their worst performance on the season. Josh Allen didn't have to throw the ball a whole lot in this game as he hit 7 of 15 passes for 94 yards with a touchdown to James Cook. James Cook the receiver caught two passes for 42 yards, including the 18-yard touchdown that saw James Cook jumping for joy into the endzone. James Cook the runner ran over the Cowboys offense with 179 yards with a touchdown on 25 carries. Joining him in the run parade for touchdowns was Josh Allen who had 24 yards rushing with a touchdown. Latavius Murray had 11 yards rushing with a touchdown. The time of possession was the key stat in the game as the Cowboys offense couldn't sustain drives and the Bills could sustain drives while putting forth a strong effort from the running game, keeping the tired Cowboys defense on the field. Buffalo finished with 351 total yards in the game. For the Cowboys, they drop to 10-4 with a possibility of the NFC East slipping from their fingers. For the Bills, they continue their run to the playoffs with a 8-6 record. 

Next week: 
Dallas: @ Miami

Buffalo: @ LA Chargers (Saturday)

TW: 10-4; CV: 8-6

Baltimore 23, Jacksonville 7: TW: Jaguars; CV: Ravens

The Ravens dominate the Jaguars on the road. Lamar Jackson hit 14 of 24 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown pass to Isiah Likely but also tossed an interception. Lamar would get 97 rushing yards in the game on 12 carries. Keaton Mitchell got 73 yards rushing before he would leave the game with a leg injury that made some fans queasy with the way the leg buckled. Gus Edwards got 58 yards rushing with a touchdown run. Baltimore got 396 total yards in the game with a majority of them coming on the run game. Trevor Lawrence hit 25 of 43 passes for 264 yards with a touchdown pass to Jamal Agnew in the 3rd quarter. Trevor Lawrence would have a fumble on one of the weirdest exchanges with a football you'll ever see. Just see the highlight of it. Trevor Lawrence was also the leading rusher for the Jaguars with 41 yards on four carries, with a 13-yard run being his longest. Travis Etienne had 31 yards rushing on 10 carries. Jacksonville had 333 total yards in the game. For the Ravens, they clinch a playoff spot and hold the top spot in the AFC. For the Jaguars, the loss drops them to 8-6 with a three-way tie with the Colts and Texans for the AFC South. 

Next week:
Baltimore: @ San Francisco (Monday)
Jacksonville: @ Tampa Bay

TW: 10-5; CV: 9-6

Philadelphia 17, Seattle 20: TW: Eagles; CV: Seahawks

A team win for the Seahawks prevails against the Eagles. Jalen Hurts didn't quite have the best game as he hit 17 of 31 passes for 143 yards with two interceptions. Julian Love would be the culprit of those interceptions, including the last play of the game interception. Hurts the runner would do better than the passer as he rushed for 82 yards on two touchdowns. His touchdowns were from 3 yards and the 1-yard run that gave the Eagles a 17-10 lead with 4:43 left in the 3rd quarter. Drew Lock got the start again over Geno Smith. Lock locked in and hit 22 of 33 passes for 208 yards with a touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigbu for a 29-yard play that ends up being the game-deciding score. Kenneth Walker III rushed for 86 yards with a touchdown on 19 carries. Good to see him back on the field after missing a fair bit of time with an oblique injury. For total yards, the Eagles had 321 total yards while the Seahawks had 298 total yards. For the Eagles, they drop to 10-4 and miss the chance to regain a hold on the NFC East. For the Seahawks, they win their 8th straight game against the Eagles and improve to 7-7. 

Next week: 
Philadelphia: vs NY Giants (Monday)
Seattle: @ Tennessee

TW: 10-6; CV: 10-6

Records

Cardinal Viking:

2023: 
Week 1: 10-6

Week 2: 10-6

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 13-3
Week 5: 6-8

Week 6: 9-6

Week 7: 4-9

Week 8: 10-6

Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 6-8

Week 11: 7-7

Week 12: 9-7

Week 13: 9-4

Week 14: 5-10

Week 15: 10-6

Total: 124-100

2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2022: 157-112-2

My record: 

2023:
Week 1: 9-7

Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 11-5

Week 4: 14-2

Week 5: 7-7

Week 6: 8-7

Week 7: 5-8

Week 8: 10-6

Week 9: 9-5
Week 10: 7-7

Week 11: 11-3

Week 12: 8-8

Week 13: 9-4

Week 14: 4-11

Week 15: 10-6

Total: 133-91

2012: 164-90-2

2013: 162-92-1

2014: 172-83-1

2017: 164-92

2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1

2020: 167-88-1 

2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2

See you all on Wednesday/Thursday for the Week 16 Picks post! Enjoy your week!

-Tom