It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and not just because of the holiday season. It’s officially crunchtime in the NFL, when teams are desperately trying to secure postseason berths and prime seeds.
The desperation should help produce some of the best performances of the season, and this week’s slate offers 16 games spread out over a five-day span. A dozen of those contests take place Sunday and Monday, with all 12 of them featuring at least one team still battling for a playoff spot or improved seeding.
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Here are five of the most compelling storylines to follow Sunday and Monday. (Find the NFL Week 15 schedule here.)
1. Rebounds required
A whopping 12 teams in the heart of the playoff race lost last weekend. Those defeats have heightened the sense of urgency in Week 15. Nine of those teams — the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons — play Sunday or Monday and need victories to either remain in the hunt or to protect their positions near the top of the standings.
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A few front-runners are among the most needy. The Eagles have lost two straight and went from first in the NFC to fifth last weekend. Can they bounce back Monday night against the Seahawks, who are on a four-game slide? The Chiefs also have lost two straight and look to bounce back on the road against the New England Patriots. But will Bill Belichick cook up enough to hold Patrick Mahomes and his much-maligned receiving corps in check? The Dolphins collapsed Monday night, losing to the lowly Tennessee Titans despite leading by double-digits with three minutes left. Top weapon Tyreek Hill is nursing an ankle injury and without him, Mike McDaniel’s offense just isn’t the same. The New York Jets boast a talented defense. Can they knock off the AFC East leaders?
2. Chase for NFC, AFC top seeds
If the season ended today, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, both 10-3, would be the top seeds in the NFC and AFC, respectively. That would mean a first-round bye and the always highly coveted home-field advantage.
Landing the No. 1 seed bodes well for a team’s chances of reaching the Super Bowl. According to NFL Research, since 1990, when the league expanded to a 12-team playoff system (now 14), 34 of the 64 No. 1 seeds have reached the Super Bowl. Those top-seeded teams are 15-19 in the season’s final game.
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So, earning that No. 1 seed certainly carries great importance. San Francisco and Baltimore can maintain or add to their leads with victories Sunday. The 49ers lay their five-game win streak on the line against the 3-10 Cardinals in Arizona. Despite being visitors, the 49ers are 12 1/2-point favorites. The Ravens, meanwhile, have what may be a stiffer challenge, visiting the Jaguars (8-5). The Ravens are a narrow 3-point favorite and enter this game having won three straight and seven of their last eight.
Will these two powerhouse teams, who face each other in a potential Super Bowl preview on Christmas night, remain hot Sunday? (49ers at Cardinals, 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday; Ravens at Jaguars, 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday.)
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3. Unlikely QB heroes
For many backup quarterbacks, 2023 represents the season of opportunity. Two of the more surprising and refreshing QB stories of late involve passers at opposite ends of the spectrum: Tommy DeVito of the New York Giants and Joe Flacco of the Cleveland Browns.
The Giants have found new life behind DeVito, the undrafted rookie, who has helped the team to three straight victories. The Syracuse and Illinois product has thrown five touchdowns and zero interceptions during this three-game stretch, and after owning a horrendous 2-8 record, the Giants are approaching respectability as well as a sliver of postseason hope. This week’s task: defeating the 6-7 New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Can the Giants and DeVito, who is completing 65.9 percent of his passes and sports a 96.5 passer rating, continue to ride this wave of unforeseen success?
Flacco, Super Bowl XLVII MVP with the Ravens, was out of football this season until three weeks ago. That’s when the injury-plagued Browns came calling. Flacco, making his second start for Cleveland last week, passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns while guiding the Browns to a 31-27 upset of Jacksonville. The 38-year-old Flacco’s heroics helped Cleveland improve to 8-5, and the Browns rank fifth in the AFC. This week, he’ll face the Chicago Bears. With another strong performance, Flacco can help keep the Browns in the driver’s seat as they eye a postseason run despite having lost star quarterback Deshaun Watson for the year. (Giants at Saints, Bears at Browns, both 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)
4. Heavyweight bout in Buffalo
Sunday’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills was considered a potential Super Bowl preview in the preseason. Fast forward to now, and Dallas (10-3) is indeed one of the league’s hottest teams. Buffalo (7-6) still has a ways to go to punch a playoff ticket, but it remains dangerous, as last week’s win over Kansas City showed.
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Boasting an offense that leads the league with 32 points per game, and a defense that ranks in the top five, the Cowboys have the look of legit contenders. The Bills, meanwhile, certainly are more talented than their record suggests and enter this game with loads of motivation and desperation. Buffalo has less than a 50 percent chance of making the playoffs, but beating Dallas can help improve its odds. And Dallas needs to win if Mike McCarthy and company expect to snatch the NFC East from the Eagles, with whom they are tied for the division lead. (Cowboys at Bills, 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday.)
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5. Who will win MVP?
Unlike some years, when one or two players seem to stand head-and-shoulders above the rest, the 2023 MVP field is rather crowded.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott enters Week 15 with a narrow lead over the 49ers’ Brock Purdy to win the award. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson also has a strong case and could increase his chances with a win Sunday and additional heroics against San Francisco next week and Miami the week after. Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts needs a rebound both individually and from a team standpoint to thrust himself back into the conversation, and the same goes for Mahomes.
But does it really have to be just about the quarterbacks? Hill’s importance to Miami and level of dominance is unquestioned. A wide receiver has never won MVP, but with the 2,000-yard mark still within his reach, could Hill make history? And let’s not forget Christian McCaffrey, who is on pace for 2,110 all-purpose yards (1,539 rushing and 571 receiving) for the 49ers.
(Top photos of Mike McDaniel, Tommy DeVito, Lamar Jackson: Rich Storry, Al Bello, Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
