rozomaldini Monday Night Football, Week 15

The Dillon Tank runs over Rams

By David McDonnel

The Superbowl Champion Rams have run their season race and all the preseason excitement of running it back ended with a whimper as they never looked like earning a victory in Lambeau Field.

The first half was relatively even but AJ Dillon was mad for road and after carrying well early in the game, he got his reward when he ran over a Rams defender like a Sherman Tank and into the end zone for the first touchdown.  

With four points separating the sides at the break, Dillon carried into the end zone at the start of the second half to extend the Packers lead. 

Aaron Jones add another touchdown soon after and Green Bay went into a 18-point lead that they never looked like relinquishing.

Although the Rams threatened a comeback when Baker Mayfield found Tyler Higbee in the endzone, that was as close as they got. 

It has been a poor title defence by the Rams and they are a team in need of a refurb but with very few draft picks to make a tangible difference in April. This team, down three of their stars, are a shadow of the team that won last year. 

Sean McVay also needs to improve his rushing options as their run attack has been very poor this season and it is easier to defend the pass when you know it’s going to be a passing play and it also negates play-action options.

This has been an issue all season which was largely covered up by Cooper Kupp until he got injured. 

The Packers defence played well and sacked Mayfield five times, while keeping him to 111 passing yards. The win moves Green Bay to 6-8 and within touching distance of the play-offs considering they still have the Lions on the schedule in Week 18. 

rozomaldini Monday Night Football, Week 15

Monday Night Football: Rams @ Packers

By Conor Perrett 

To close out Week 15 of the NFL season, we have a Monday Night Football edition which features two teams that would have been solid preseason bets to meet in the NFC Championship. 

A lot can change in the space of a few months though and now both teams are staring down the barrel of a losing season, in which they are playing meaningless games in December.

Green Bay Packers (5-8)

Power Rankings – 20th

DVOA Rankings: Offence – 11th, Defence – 23rd, ST – 30th: Overall – 15th

The Packers will be the first to admit, it has been a bit of a messy past year for their organisation. 

With all the drama that has gone on with Aaron Rodgers, the fact is he still remains with the team. After starting the season 3-1, it’s gone downhill since winning just two games in their past nine matchups. Both offence and defence has had their fair share of mistakes that has resulted in Green Bay having a less exciting season than usual.

The Packers have had a bright spot come to light over the recent weeks with the emergence of rookie wide receiver Christian Watson. After catching just 10 passes for only 88 yards in his first six games, he has caught 15 passes for 314 yards and seven touchdowns over the past four games. That stretch of games also includes at least one touchdown catch in every game. 

He may face his toughest match-up yet though, when tasked with star cornerback Jalen Ramsey for the Rams.

I also wonder if we will see Jordan Love tonight after his recent cameo.

Los Angeles Rams (4-9)

Power Rankings – 29th

DVOA Rankings: Offence – 26th, Defence – 14th, ST – 24th Overall – 27th 

The Rams snapped a six-game losing streak last week with a comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders that will be remembered for a while. The past few weeks of the NFL season has had some classics which can overshadow one another, but Baker Mayfield’s comeback last Thursday Night was one of the more impressive come-from-behind victories.

Mayfield had only been on the roster for two days before he was thrown into action, which saw him overturn a 13-point deficit in the last three minutes of the game. With Matthew Stafford and John Wolford looking done for the season, Mayfield will have more time to show LA why he was a former first overall pick in the Rams last four games.

With a running game which has improved only recently, Sean McVay may be able to work some magic to give the new QB some help. But the team’s best player Aaron Donald, still remains sidelined with an ankle injury, which will continue to have huge repercussions for the defensive side.

Prediction

This contest is an interesting one with both teams having disappointing seasons compared to what their high expectations would be. To be fair, they are both coming off the wave of a win, as they try to find some success before the season ends. 

From a match-ups side of things despite not having the presence of Donald on the field the Ram’s defence has been manageable. They stop the run well and Rodgers will have his work cut out for him.  

Right now we still can’t put a finger on how good this Rams’ offence is under Mayfield. It’s great seeing him ignite that comeback victory last week, but the reason they were in that position was because the offence was lacklustre in the previous 57 minutes of the game.

Under the lights in a cold Lambeau Field, it will be tough conditions to play in. Green Bay will feel more at home as the freezing atmosphere dawns on the teams, and I think that will get them in rhythm on offence quicker, as they jump out to a lead the Rams won’t be able to catch.

Rams 13-20 Packers

rozomaldini NFL Column, Week 15

Walk-Off Wins Galore 

Week 15 Monday Review Column 

By David McDonnell

Yesterday we put another incredibly exciting weekend in the books with three walk-off wins, two of them in overtime.

Most of the rest of the games were just very close for the most part so let’s get to it and review the best of yesterday’s action. 

Walk-off wins 

The best place to start is in Las Vegas which finished in the most unpatriotic way for the Patriots. 

For anyone who was on the wrong end of the Pats playing mistake free football and grinding out wins for almost a quarter of a century, yesterday they got some payback and then some more, with what can only be described as a wonderfully unexpected epic finale. 

It was the Master versus the Apprentice as Belichick came up against his long-time offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in what turned out to be a very entertaining contest.

The Raiders were healthier than they have been on offence all season with both Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller in the starting line-up and it was the latter that got things going when he ghosted past the defence to catch a touchdown pass. 

In the third quarter, safety Kyle Duggar showed his offence how to score touchdowns when the veteran read Derek Carr like a book for a pick-six.

Rhamondre Stevenson had been the standout player on the Pats offence with 172 rushing and with less than four minutes left in the game, the running-back cut through the Raiders defence for a touchdown. 

It put the ball back in Derek Carr’s court and the QB didn’t disappoint and retook the lead when he found Keelan Cole in single coverage with a great throw over the top to tie the game with 32 seconds left.

It was a controversial call as one of Cole’s feet looked to have gone out of bounds, which wouldn’t have made the Pats head coach very happy. 

Worse was to come for Belichick.

Just as we prepared ourselves for the third overtime of the night, we got one of the most memorable plays of his reign in New England when Jacoby Myers made a game deciding brain fart after the clock had already reached zero. 

What a crazy NFL moment, one for the ages!!!!

Let’s take a look from another angle.

It must have been a very satisfying score for Chandler Jones, who was traded away from the Pats a number of years ago.

In fairness to Belichick, he didn’t throw Jacobi Myers under the bus in the press conference afterwards.

Cowboys v Jaguars

In the second quarter the Dallas Cowboys must have thought they were well on their way to securing their playoff position when they took a 14-0 lead but it didn’t turn out that way as this game went to overtime before it was decided. 

Trevor Laurence has just turned the corner in recent weeks and the many doubts about him delivering on his unquestionable potential are fading by the week. Ever since he got that late win against the Ravens a few weeks ago, he has been excellent and this week it was all about keeping up with the Jones. 

Laurence found his favourite target Zay Jones for three touchdown passes, the best of which was this Trev throw on the run for a 59-yard score. 

It reduced the Cowboys lead to 10 points and it was game on!!!

Dak Prescott has been inconsistent of late and threw an interception and the Cowboys were duly punished when Laurence found Marvin Jones on third down late in the third quarter to leave just three points separating the sides. 

Dak then led a drive to retake the lead when he found the very impressive Noah Brown with the minutes remaining. At the very end of regulation, Riley Patterson kicked over from 48 yards to send the game to overtime. 

The game was decided when a ball thrown by Dak was deflected and Rayshawn Jenkins capped a red letter day, where he had 18 tackles and two interceptions, with this walk-off 52-yard pick-six.

With it the Jags playoff chances are greatly renewed and they are now only one game behind the Tennessee Titans, who have lost their winning mojo. 

The best moment of the Titans v Chargers game was this heads up play by corner-back Roger McCreary, who jumped out of play and passed the ball midair to Joshua Kalu for an amazing interception. 

Justin Herbert has been balling of late and he found Mike Williams late in the game to set up a field goal, which Cameron Dicker dispatched for the win.

The result puts the Chargers in the sixth position in the AFC on 8-4, just ahead of the Miami Dolphins after beating them in their head-to-head matchup a week ago. 

The third walk off win of the night came as the Texans surprisingly brought the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime. 

With the score tied 24-24, the Texans stopped the Chiefs first drive in overtime and had the chance to drive for a game0winning field goal. However, Frank Clark punched the ball clear from Davis Mills for a fumble and on the next play Jerrick McKinnon ran in from 26 yards for the walk-off win. 

The Texans have won only one game all season but they are competing hard every week and general manager Nick Caserio has knocked their draft class out of the park and given this franchise a solid base to build on going forward. 

Lovie Smith seems to be enjoying his seat at the top table and this Texans team is heading in the right direction. 

Jets v Lions

A game that had huge playoff significance saw the Lions win the sixth game in their last seven outings, this time against the New York Jets. 

The first score of the contest was a 47-yard punt return from Kalif Raymond. 

Zach Wilson was under centre for the New York franchise and he had a good day throwing for 317 yards and two touchdowns. He routinely found Garrett Wilson and threw an excellent pass to  CJ Uzomah in the second quarter. 

Wilson did throw a costly interception in the third but he found Uzomah for a second TD that saw the Jets into a late fourth quarter lead. 

The Lions responded when Dan Campbell went for it on fourth and inches, which resulted in a play-action call that saw Brock Wright go for a 50 yard touchdown.

It gave Detroit a three-point lead and Wilson managed to put them into field goal range but Greg the Leg couldn’t force overtime with his 58-yard kick. 

Round Up

There was another late finish as the Saints won on the road against their divisional rival Falcons.

The New Orleans offence can be unpredictable with their two QBs continuing to rotate and both Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill found Juwan Johnson for touchdowns. 

It was third-round pick Desmond Ridder’s first NFL start for the Falcons but it wasn’t enough to bring home the W. Instead, it was another rookie that caught the eye on the day as running-back Tyler Allgeier averaged 8.1 yards per carry for 139 yards and a touchdown. 

Ridder did have a chance to lead a late drive with the scores 18-21 but rookie Drake London caught the ball to pick up a first down, but lost it in contact and the Saints recovered it to effectively end the game. 

The Bengals are now the top seed in the AFC North after staging a second half comeback against the Bucs.

It was an impressive win but an even more so a demoralising loss as the Buccaneers went from leading by 17 points late in the second quarter to trailing by 17 by the middle of the fourth quarter. 

A lot of it was of their own making. 

First Gio Bernard seemed surprised to be snapped the ball during a punt, then a 23 yard sack on Burrow was called off for a foul. This was followed up by fumbles by Brady and Fournette on successive drives. Inextricably, the Bucs didn’t even manage to get out of their own half for the entire third quarter. 

All these mistakes were punished on the scoreboard and the Bengals led 20–17 by the end of the third quarter. Burrow then found Chase at the start of the fourth in an all too easy turnaround.

The Steelers defence shut down Carolina’s rushing attack with Chuba Hubbard their leading rusher with a mere 10 yards. The best of the Steelers three touchdowns was this angry run from Najee Harris, who got into the endzone for the fourth game in a row. 

Bret Rypien threw 21/26 as the Broncos overcame a tame second half challenge from the Arizona Cardinals that had Trace McSorley replace the injured Colt McCoy at quarterback. 

The Eagles extended their record to 13-1 after a hard fought affair with the Bears in Chicago. 

Justin Fields almost won Touchdown of the Week for the fourth time this season, but he was judged to have stepped out of play with this amazing effort.

He did find Montgomery soon after to finish the touchdown drive. However, Jalen Hurts showed what he could do with ball in hand and ran for two touchdowns in helping the Eagles to another road win. 

All four teams in the NFC East currently occupy playoff positions after the Giants won against the Commanders that also had its share of late drama. 

Here is a link to that match report: https://tinyurl.com/bdxpj8er

Watch out for our Monday Night Football preview a little later. 

rozomaldini Sunday Night Football, Week 15

Giants win rematch with Commanders 

By David McDonnell

This was another game that went down to the wire this weekend. 

Two weeks ago, the Giants and the Commanders played out a draw after four quarters and overtime. The prospect of overtime looked again on the cards when Brian Robinson ran into the endzone on second and goal but for a flag call on Terry McLaurin for what I am still unsure. 

It left the Commanders with second and goal from the six yard line. Three plays later it was 4th and six and I’ll get back to this stage near the end….

First quarter 

The first half was taken over by the Giants rookie DE Kayvon Thibodeaux. 

The former Oregon Duck was immense and after getting three first quarter sacks, he then got the strip sack on QB Taylor Heinicke, gathered the ball and scored a touchdown. 

On the next Giants drive, Sequon Barkley was heavily involved and also ran it for a touchdown from close range. 

It gave the Giants a 14-3 lead at the break. 

Washington had a change of emphasis in the third quarter and started to find McLaurin to telling effect. Five passing plays over 10 yards concluded when Heinicke found rookie Jahan Dotson in the endzone to make it 14-12.

The  two-point conversion looked good but was ruled out for a contentious call Ron Rivera certainly didn’t agree with. It put the Commanders a few yards back and Joey Slye missed the PAT kick.

Fourth Quarter 

Barkley was running well all night and the Giants kept in front from the boot of Graham Gano to make it 20-12 with two minutes to go. 

It left Heinicke with a long drive and he brought play into the Giants half with a pass to Curtis Samuel. 

Later in the drive Heinicke should have been picked by Nick McCloud. 

Heinicke then almost reached the endzone and i thought he would dive for the pylon for his signature move but was stopped out of play at the one yard line. 

That’s when Robinson crashed over but the touchdown was called back because of a flag. Two plays later on 4th and 6, it came down to a last play.

The New York Football Giants held out but most people could understand why Ron wasn’t happy with the no pass interference call on the last play. 

The results leave the NFC playoff picture with the Giants in sixth position on 8-5-1 and the Commanders the seventh seed in NFC with 7-6-1. The Giants also gave the head to head advantage with three weeks of the NFL regular season to go!!! 

Watch out for our Monday Review Column a little later.

rozomaldini Saturday Night Football, Week 15

Bills beat Dolphins in the Snow

By David McDonnell

Of the three games on Saturday, for me they saved the best for last and the Dolphins v Bills, was terrific fare from start to finish.  

In the end, a walk-off field goal from Tyler Bass was the difference between the sides after a four thrilling quarters. 

After struggling on offence last weekend, the Dolphins had no such problems this week and their rushing attack with Raheem Mostert was very much to the fore early on. 

However, it was Buffalo who got the opening two touchdowns. First Allen threw a great ball to Quintin Morris.

Then he found Nyheim Hines for a comfortable second quarter lead. 

Miami answered back when Salvon Ahmed finished an impressive drive by Tua Tagovailoa to leave a point separating the sides.

However, before halftime Allen bought time by scrambling right and flung a dart to James Cook in the endzone. 

At the start of the second half, Tua found Jalen Waddle for a wonderful touchdown.

On his next drive Tua found Tyreek Hill over the top to take the lead.

In the fourth quarter, Allen led the Bills downfield with his arms and legs and ended up finding Dawson Knox for a six-pointer. The Buffalo QB then superman dived into the endzone to pick up the two-point conversion to tie the game.

By this stage the snow was pelting  down. Allen led a late drive and Tyler Bass kicked the winning score as time elapsed. 

The Bills win the AFC East and remain top seeds in the AFC.

rozomaldini Saturday Night Football, Week 15

Vikings make NFL comeback history

 

By David McDonnell

Holy Mother of God, What a comeback!!!!

The Vikings were 33-0 down against the Colts at half-time, but staged a miraculous second-half comeback to send the game to overtime, where they won at the death to complete the biggest ever comeback in NFL history.

It is difficult even now trying to comprehend what we witnessed. 

At half time, it had been all so different. 

In the first half the Vikings kept getting punished from largely self-inflicted wounds with the Vikes being roundly booed by their home support as they trailed 33-0.

The Colts first touchdown came from a blocked punt, their second after Dalvin Cook had fumbled which led to a successful touchdown drive, and a third score came after Kirk Cousins was intercepted by Julian Blackmon for a pick six. 

The Colts took at 33-0 into half-time. 

In the third quarter touchdown a touchdown from the impressive KJ Osbourne looked like a consolation score. 

Even when they added a second, there wasn’t much of a fuss from anywhere but when Justin Jefferson got a third touchdown at the start of the second quarter, the whole mood of the stadium changed.

It made a two-score game with 13 minutes remaining and there was certainly a belief that a comeback could be on the cards. The atmosphere was rocking but when Cousins threw an interception with eight minutes remaining, everyone took a breath.

However two minutes later, Cousins was one-yard out with a first and goal and two plays later found Adam Thielen for a touchdown.

Before the two minute warning, Minnesota made a big stop on fourth down when Matt Ryan tried the QB sneak. The chains showed him to be just short and with 2.19 left, Dalvin Cook broke free from a screen pass and went 64 yards for a touchdown that exposed some poor tackling by the Colts. 

Cousins found Hockenson through the middle for the two point conversion to tie the scores, 36-36. 

The game went to overtime and with time threatening to run out, Greg Joseph kicked over from 40 yards to make history as the Vikings completed the greatest comeback in NFL history.

There have been 1551 games in the NFL,  and these Minnesota Vikings are the only team to comeback from a 33 point deficit. 

The win secures the NFC North title for Minnesota, while at the same time probably ending Jeff Saturday’s chances of keeping his interim coaching job past this season. His side paid the price for thinking the game was over and terrible clock management and play calling.

This comeback will live long in the memory.

rozomaldini NFL Column, Week 15

It’s NFL Saturday 

By David McDonnell 

Somewhat surprisingly, there are three NFL games tonight. 

WIth the college football regular season finished, Saturday night is a great night to watch NFL matches as we sail into the business end of the year. In the NFC, the Eagles and the 49ers have already secured playoff berths, and tonight both the Vikings and the Bills can add their names to the postseason football list.

Dolphins v Bills

The late game sees the Dolphins play the Bills with a 1.15 kickoff. 

Miami currently sit sixth in the AFC playoff positions with a record of 8-4 but should they lose tonight, then they could be joined by the Chargers, Jets and Patriots on 8-4 by the end of the weekend.

The Dolphins are stuttering of late and have lost on their last two outings against the 49ers and the Chargers. Last time out they were competitive against the Bolts with their defence competing well for most of the contest.  It kept them in the game. Christain WIlikns was their standout player especially in the opening half. 

Where they struggled mightily was on offence, outside of Tyreek Hill. Their run game was very poor with Raheem Mostert their leading rusher with only 37 yards on 11 carries. The passing game wasn’t much better with Tua Tagovailoa clearly playing through injury. All he could muster was 145 yards, most of which went on one deep play to Hill for a touchdown. 

It is hard to be overly critical of a quarterback when they are not 100% healthy but the lack of a running threat is hindering their play-action game, which allows their receivers time to get down the field for big yardage.  

This week they came up against a Bills defence that played very well last time out. They limited the Jets rushing attack to 76 yards and hit Mike White so hard and so often, he is out this weekend with a rib injury. 

Josh Allen is back to ballin out every week and he is taking very little care with his body as he is steaming into tackles regularly to pick up first downs. I think his play has become a bit predictable recently and in the fourth quarter he is almost always opting to back himself to run with ball in hand to extend drives. I believe it is only a matter of when he is going to get hit and pick up a significant injury. I hope i’m wrong because he is brilliant to watch and i want to see him mixing it with Mahimes, Burrow and Jackson in the play-offs.

For tonight, I can’t see past a Buffalo victory and with it a guaranteed postseason appearance. Maybe then Allen will protect himself a bit more in the last three games in order to be fresh for the games that truly matter in their quest for a Superbowl. 

The other games tonight see the Vikings v Colts and the Ravens v Browns.

Of the two, I am more interested to see the AFC North divisional matchup. It will be the third start for Deshaun Watson under centre for Cleveland, but his first in a national broadcast. So far he has looked rusty but I haven’t had an opportunity to see him in a full game so that will be of interest to me. 

It’s a pity Lamar Jackson is still out. 

His replacement Tyler Huntley had to leave the field last week with a concussion and didn’t return but he is expected to start tonight with Anthony Brown waiting in the wings. Without Lamar the Ravens lack bite making Baltimore very predictable. They will try to run over the Browns and although Cleveland have little to nothing to play for, a divisional win is always a nice way to keep your supporters onside heading into the offseason. 

I think this Ravens defence is one of the best in the league and I expect this to be a low scoring affair. This is a toss of the coin for me, but without Lamar I think the Browns take this one.

In the 6pm kickoff, I expect the Vikings to score enough to beat the Colts who have been dismal in pass protection this season. Minnesota will be playing post season football but I remain unconvinced by the Vikings all season and I’m not changing my tune now. 

rozomaldini Thursday Night Football, Week 15

49ers win seven in a row 

By David McDonnell 

It turned out to be easier than expected for the 49ers. 

Brock Purdy continued to impress under centre completing 17 out of 26 pass attempts for 217 yards and two touchdowns. 

The first came when he found George Kittle through the middle and the tight-end ran into the endzone for the opening score. 

Tre Greenlaw has been brilliant all season when he’s been for and when he knocked the ball free in a tackle, the fumble was returned by Charvarius Ward inside 10 yards.

Two plays later Christian McCaffery punched it into the endzone. 

In the first minute of the second half, Purdy working through his protections saw Kittle free on a busted coverage and the tight-end caught and ran in for a 54-yard touchdown.

It put 18 points between the sides and from there to the finish the contest was never in jeopardy, but the Seahawks did well to make it a one score contest by the end when Geno Smith found Noah Fant in the endzone with three and a half minutes left.

The 21-13 victory gave San Francisco their seventh win in a row and confirmed their position in the postseason. Christian McCaffery is being used regularly and with great effect. This Niners defence is playing at a Superbowl winning level and they held the Seahawks to 70 rushing yards.

It will take a good team playing well to stop the 49ers in the NFC. 

rozomaldini Thursday Night Football, Week 15

TNF: 49ers v Seahawks

By Conor Perrett

Week 15 of the NFL season starts off with a NFC West clash between the top two teams in the division. 

The game has major implications for the playoff picture, with a win for the 49ers giving them the division title, while a win for the Seahawks would put them back in the play-off positions as the Giants and Commanders play each other on Sunday night.   

This is a matchup that has lots of history behind it, but will be the first time the QB’s of either team, Brock Purdy and Geno Smith, will meet and hopefully make more headlines to what is usually a spicy affair. 

Seattle Seahawks (7-6)

Power Rankings: 16th

DVOA Rankings: Offence: 9th, Defence: 21st, ST: 2nd Overall: 10th 

When Seattle made the blockbuster trade to send long-term quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, we expected this Seahawks team to enter a rebuild and fight for draft picks. A surprise start of the season changed that and put the Seahawks in a position to make a run for the play-offs.

The 6-3 start put them in a good position but with one win over the last month is a setback. Over that span, their play on both sides of the ball has regressed, with teams running the ball against their defence with ease and they are coming off a loss to the Carolina Panthers, where they ran the ball for 223 yards. 

While the offence has shown flashes of good over the season, their worst performance came in Week 2 against the Niners. They were held to seven points and quarterback Geno Smith struggled against that defence in particular.

San Francisco 49ers (9-4)

Power Rankings – 5th

DVOA Rankings: Offence: 10th, Defence:  2nd, ST: 14th, Overall: 3rd 

The 49ers open this game as favourites and despite having a top defence, offence is the main success for winning games in this league. 

That is a testament to how well Brock Purdy has played so far. The Mr. Irrelevant of this year’s draft class, has come in after the two previous QB’s in front of him have gone down with injuries. So far he has not put a foot wrong for the Niners. 

His impressive performance against a red hot Miami team put the league on notice, and last Sunday, his dismantling of the Buccaneers only confirmed that.

A San Fran win would not only give them a season sweep over the Seahawks, but it would also give them a three-game lead with only three games to play in the NFC West. With them also holding the tiebreaker, that means the division would be locked up with a victory.

Previous Matchups

2022 Season:

Week 2 – Seahawks @ 49ers, 7-27, 49ers Win

Last season the Seahawks had the way with the Niners, but Seattle were a completely different team at that time. Russell Wilson was their QB and they viewed the play-offs as a minimum. Now this season they are in rebuild mode and San Fran took advantage of that when they put them away fairly comfortably earlier in the season.

Prediction

The main thing to keep an eye on to the build up of this game, is the status of Brock Purdy who is listed as questionable. The expectation is for him to play, but with the offensive powers of head coach Kyle Shanahan, it might not matter who’s under the helmet at QB.

This one feels like a fairly easy game for me to predict. On paper the 49ers offence and defence is better than Seattle’s, while they also look to match-up better as well. This San Francisco team likes to run the ball and suffer opposing teams on defence. That matches up perfectly against the Seahawks who have trouble stopping the run and playing good defence.

It’s the main reason why the Niners had so much success against them earlier in the season and even without quarterbacks Trey Lance, who was playing in that game and Jimmy Garoppolo,  I can see no different result.

49ers 27-13 Seahawks

rozomaldini NFL Power Rankings, Week 15

Week 15 Power Rankings

By Conor Perrett

With four weeks left in the regular season, we enter the final stretch as teams start to push for playoff glory or prepare themselves for the off-season ahead.

We have movement at the top of our rankings with contenders swapping for positions and welcome some new names into the battle of the top-10 with a late season resurgence. 

So without further ado let’s rank all 32 teams.

  1. Philadelphia Eagles (12-1)

Last Week – 1st

It’s been a special year for the Eagles on both sides of the ball. The offence has set a team record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 27, and Jalen Hurts is leading the way for the MVP conversation. The defence also leads the league in takeaways, as right now there’s no other team that can compete to the level of Philadelphia on both sides.

Up next: at Chicago, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

2. Kansas City Chiefs (10-3)

Last Week – 2nd

The Chiefs have been the best offensive team all season and they continued to show why they deserve that title, when they scored 34 points against a very good Broncos defence. 

This team may lack the explosive playmakers like they once had, but they remain  an unstoppable force. With the No. 1 seed still up in the air in the AFC, Kansas will have work to do to secure that top placement if they want a rest week before the playoffs begin.

Up next: at Houston, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

3. Buffalo Bills (10-3)

Last Week – 3rd

Entering the season Buffalo looked to be the team to beat, but has slowly fizzled down with impactful injuries getting the better of them. They still remain to be one of the elite teams, but the loss of some defensive playmakers have caused them to be a bit less fearful. 

A dominant run game has also been this team’s kryptonite for years, as the weight of the offence remains on Josh Allen’s shoulders despite clearly not being 100% healthy with his elbow injury.

Up next: vs. Miami, Sunday 1:15 a.m. GMT

4. Cincinnati Bengals (9-4)

Last Week – 5th

Cincinnati have had no easy path over the past few weeks, but they have stepped up to the challenge. It’s put them in a position to repeat their success of last year, with them hoping they can go one step further this time round. The defence is back to playing to the levels we saw from them earlier in the season, while the offence is also back to the top of their game. 

Getting through the AFC won’t be easy, but for casual fans that want to see great football. A conference with young quarterbacks that includes Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa will be fun for many years to come.

Up next: at Tampa Bay, Sunday 9:25 p.m. GMT

5. San Francisco 49ers (9-4)

Last Week – 6th

The Niners had their best win of the season last week but we mentioned how the loss of their second starting quarterback could hinder their title hopes. 

Well, their battling of the Buccaneers on Sunday showed that it doesn’t matter who’s at QB when Kyle Shanahan is running the offence. San Fran continued to look dominant on defence and the offence shined with Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy at the helm. 

The Deebo Samuel injury also seemed to look far worse than it actually was, with him expected to be back when the playoffs roll around.

Up next: at Seattle, Friday 1:15 a.m. GMT

6. Dallas Cowboys (10-3)

Last Week – 4th

Dallas find themselves down two spots this week, after they made hard work of a poor Texans team. They entered the game as 17 point favourites, but only led in the last minute when they scored the winning touchdown in a two-minute drill. 

At the end of the day a win is a win, but with the spots at the top here so close between teams, any disappointing performance this late into the season will cause movement in the rankings. 

Up next: at Jacksonville, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

7. Miami Dolphins (8-5)

Last Week – 7th

Miami’s season has been full of inconsistencies and they find themselves currently on the bad end of the stick, on a two-game losing streak. 

I mentioned last week that the Dolphins can’t let the blueprint San Francisco put out the previous week continue to happen in the following weeks. It seemed the Chargers used that to their advantage in their win this week and they probably won’t be the last. 

I still view Miami as a contender, but in a league where coaches have to learn and adapt, that saying couldn’t be said any louder to Mike McDaniel right now.

Up next: at Buffalo, Sunday 1:15 a.m. GMT

8. Baltimore Ravens (9-4)

Last Week – 9th

The Ravens emerged victorious from a matchup with the Steelers that saw both starting quarterbacks knocked out of the game. The defence has improved drastically over the last few months but until they get Lamar Jackson back at the helm, Baltimore won’t be contending for any Super Bowls.

Up next: at Cleveland, Saturday 9:30 p.m. GMT

9. Minnesota Vikings (10-3)

Last Week – 8th

The division title still looks firmly set in place for the Vikings, but their loss to the Lions this week was a surprisingly expected one. Kirk Cousins looks comfortable in this new system and gets to throw to one of the best receivers in the league, but the defence is at rock bottom right now. The Vikings have given up over 400 yards for the fifth consecutive game and were finally on the other side of a shootout. 

For everyone who has watched them or looked at the stats which shows this team is bang average, it won’t come as a surprise. But with a favourable schedule ahead for Minnesota, don’t be surprised to see them with one of the best records and amongst the league leaders still.  

Up next: vs. Indianapolis, Saturday 6 p.m. GMT

10. Washington Commanders (7-5-1)

Last Week – 12th

Despite having the week off, Washington find themselves in the top-10 for the first time this season thanks to other teams’ misfortunes. They are about to get Chase Young back now.

Up next: vs. New York Giants, Monday 1:20 a.m. GMT

11. Detroit Lions (6-7)

Last Week – 14th

Can I rank a team in the top-11 when there’s a chance they don’t make the playoff? You bet your bottom dollar I will if that’s how they’re playing.

With five wins in their last six games, the Lions are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, with everything coming together for them towards the end of the season. The offence is winning in whatever way they want to, while the defence has seen a vast improvement from their league worst performances earlier in the season.  

With their last four games being @ Jets, @ Panthers, Bears and @ Packers, it’s the fourth easiest schedule remaining according to PFF and Detroit would have to win three of those four if results went their way to make the postseason. It’s a very doable task for a team that could cause some upsets amongst the NFC, if they carry on their recent form.

Up next: at New York Jets, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

12. New York Jets (7-6)

Last Week – 13th

As impressive and gutsy as Mike White has been, himself and the Jets took one hell of a beating against the Bills this past Sunday. The defence has seen a massive improvement with a new and improved secondary, led by cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed. But the same can’t be said for the offence. That side of the ball has been holding them back all season, rankings 26th in EPA per drive. 

The rotations at quarterback and offensive tackle is a big factor for that and it may be the reason for them not making the playoffs for a 12th consecutive year. 

Up next: vs. Detroit, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

13. Los Angeles Chargers (7-6)

Last Week – 18th

Week 14’s game against the Dolphins, was the first this season in which wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were both available from start to finish. It showed when it came down to the tape as Justin Herbert was able to make the most out of that situation by throwing for 367 yards.

It was a much needed win for this coaching staff in prime time, as they edge ever closer to getting Herbert to the postseason for the first time.

Up next: vs. Tennessee, Sunday 9:25 p.m. GMT

14. Tennessee Titans (7-6)

Last Week – 11th

This Titans stubbornness to build an offence around running the ball is starting to backfire on them. For many years we’ve known this Mike Vrabel team to out physical opponents into wins. It came with great success but is slowly dying out now. 

Ryan Tannehill is not a good enough quarterback to get you success in the postseason and more of an effort needs to be put in to acquire pass catchers. There is no ‘Plan B’ for when the run doesn’t work, leading to an offence that equivalates to watching paint dry.

Up next: at Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday 9:25 p.m. GMT

15. New England Patriots (7-6)

Last Week – 15th

The Patriots offence ranks about last in the majority of offensive stats and it has contributed to them being unable to complement the defence and special teams. This of which, has ranked on the better side being the best defence in the league, per EPA per drive. 

The Patriots are in no easy division but the playoffs aren’t completely out of play. For them to make a statement though the offence has got to improve, and that feels like it should start with the play calling duties.

Up next: at Las Vegas, Sunday 9:05 p.m. GMT

16. Seattle Seahawks (7-6)

Last Week – 10th

Things might be slipping away for Geno Smith and the Seahawks, who could be staring at a 7-9 record unless they find a way to win one of their next three games against the 49ers, Chiefs or Jets. This team looked extremely promising at the start of the season but with one win in their last four games, it’s been downhill since.

Up next: vs. San Francisco, Friday 1:15 a.m. GMT

17. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8)

Last Week – 23rd

It’s been a while since the Jaguars have had an offence that ranked in the top half of the league and it’s mainly because of how well quarterback Trevor Lawrence has played from November on. Since Week 9, he has thrown 10 touchdowns and no interceptions, as he’s finally starting to look like the QB we expected to see out of Clemson. 

Up next: vs. Dallas, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)

Last Week – 16th

The Buccaneers are averaging less than 17 points per game and it’s some things we’ve never seen from a Tom Brady offence before. To be fair to the GOAT, it doesn’t even feel like his offence. Losing former Head Coach, Bruce Arias is seen to be a bigger miss than expected as the players and coaches are on completely different pages. They somehow remain at the top of the division, but it may not be for long.

Up next: vs. Cincinnati, Sunday 9:25 p.m. GMT

19. New York Giants (7-5-1)

Last Week – 17th

This is the exact kind of worry we had with this Giants team after they started the season 6-1. New York were one of the bigger surprises a few months ago, but now only have one win in their last six games. With a tough set of fixtures remaining, it won’t get any easier but confidence must remain around the organisation. 

A seven win season is still a massive overachievement when you think at where this rebuild is at. Though it’s not going to be a pretty finish to their season, it’s been a successful season regardless for the Giants.

Up next: at Washington, Monday 1:20 a.m. GMT

20. Green Bay Packers (5-8)

Last Week – 20th

By playing on MNF and coming off a bye week, Green Bay will have had over two weeks of preparation for their game against the Rams. You would hope with all that time they won’t let a Baker Mayfield comeback happen again.

Up next: vs. Los Angeles Rams, Tuesday 1:15 a.m. GMT

21. Carolina Panthers (5-8)

Last Week – 26th

The Panthers have found a lot more success since interim head coach Steve Wilks took over and committed to a running game. They’ve averaged 155 rushing yards per game and scored 10 rushing touchdowns in their past seven games, a big reason they are 4-4 under the spell of  Wilks.

On defence and special teams, the Panthers are about where they should be with their young players starting to flourish in those two phases of play.

Up next: vs. Pittsburgh, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

22. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-8)

Last Week – 22nd

Kenny Pickett suffered a concussion in the first quarter of Sunday’s game and in familiar fashion Mitchell Trubisky threw three interceptions in his absence. It feels like a lost season for Pittsburgh as they wait to see if some of their rookies can progress into the past great like they once had. 

What may be the most worrying is the Steeler defence. That unit is the most expensive unit in the NFL, yet ranks 26th in EPA per drive.

Up next: at Carolina, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

23. Cleveland Browns (5-8)

Last Week – 19th

Offensively, the Browns have fallen apart since their bye with injuries along the offensive line hurting the running game. QB Deshaun Watson also hasn’t hit the heights that were expected of him. He’s led just one offensive TD in two games as it’s been a lousy start to his Browns’ career. In that span Watson ranks 31st in EPA per drive and last in offensive points per game.

Up next: vs. Baltimore, Saturday 9:30 p.m. GMT

24. Las Vegas Raiders (5-8)

Last Week – 21st

As the Raiders try and recover from their ever-too-familiar loss to the Rams this past Thursday night, they have ‘their Super Bowl’ this week when Josh McDaniels faces his old team. 

Las Vegas has now lost three games in which they led by 17 points and that doesn’t even include the melt down they just had on TNF. This team wants to fight for the playoffs and if they could finish games they could be. The sad truth though is that it comes down to the mentality of the Raiders. A well drilled team would never let that happen and the fact we’ve seen it from them multiple times now is not a good look at all.

Up next: vs. New England, Sunday 9:05 p.m. GMT

25. Atlanta Falcons (5-8)

Last Week – 24th

Atlanta finds themselves all the way down here, but their playoff hopes are still alive by just being one game behind in a horrible NFC South division. With rookie QB Desmond Ridder getting his first taste of NFL action this week, who knows if the Falcons can be playing meaningful games deep in December.

Up next: at New Orleans, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

26. Arizona Cardinals (4-9)

Last Week – 25th

Kyler Murray left the game after three plays on Monday night with a non-contact injury that ended up being an ACL tear. The injury will finish Murray’s season and end a pretty miserable season for him. The future of Arizona looks misty with the head coach and QB getting new contracts less than a year ago, but an underwhelming season has caused questions to be asked. 

Up next: at Denver, Sunday 9:05 p.m. GMT

27. New Orleans Saints (4-9)

Last Week – 27th

Similar to their opponents this week, the Saints had the bye week to prepare for things. With a division that is still up for grabs, every game is still important in New Orleans.

Up next: vs. Atlanta, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

28. Denver Broncos (3-9)

Last Week – 31st

Now it’s no secret I’ve been critical of this Denver team, so it may come as a surprise to them to move up three spots despite losing this week. My reasoning for this is they did actually what I needed to see out of them. Yes this defence did just give up 34 points, but it was to one the best offences in the league and my opinion of them being an elite defence won’t change from that. 

The fact their offence scored 28 points was the spark we’ve been waiting to see all season now. It’s a step in the right direction and if their offence can keep that up for the last month of the season, they will win a few more games. 

Up next: vs. Arizona, Sunday 9:05 p.m. GMT

29. Los Angeles Rams (4-9)

Last Week – 30th

Just two days after being picked up by the Rams, Baker Mayfield led an eight-play, 98-yard, game-winning touchdown drive using zero timeouts in the final 1:45 against the Raiders on TNF. Tom Brady blew the NFL world away when he did it last week, but Baker’s cover of the task was just a little bit more impressive.

The question now is whether this was a wild one-off NFL game to remember, or is it what the 2022 Los Angeles Rams actually are.

Up next: at Green Bay, Tuesday 1:15 a.m. GMT

30. Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1)

Last Week – 28th

The Colts have had a lot of time to think about that fourth quarter in Dallas . The offence has been the biggest issue with this team, as they are fundamentally bad on offence with the worst pass-block win rate in the league.

Up next: at Minnesota, Saturday 6 p.m. GMT

31. Chicago Bears (3-10)

Last Week – 29th

The Bear’s season has been heading towards a downhill swirl over the last month, with injuries starting to pile up on an already lacklustre roster. The off-season for Chicago looks promising, but this new regime still needs to prove to the league they are capable of turning the glimmers of success into consistent wins.

Up next: vs. Philadelphia, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT

32. Houston Texans (1-11-1)

Last Week – 32nd

The main reason for the Texans’ poor offensive output is their quarterback play, which is one of the worst in the league. Houston quarterbacks have a passer rating of 75.7, the lowest in the NFL, and have thrown 16 interceptions. For this season there’s nothing they really can do about that now, but they might be able to change that with the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft early next year.

Up next: vs. Kansas City, Sunday 6 p.m. GMT