Welcome to another installment of my weekly NFL Column. My goal is to watch everything so that you don’t have to. I will present to you the best games to watch back; the craziest moments; the best individual performances and the season-long stat leaders and records. I will also be previewing the upcoming gameweek, too.
If that sounds like something you’re interested in, check in each week.
Not everybody in the UK has the ability to watch almost 20 hours of live NFL every week, but I’ll make sure you don’t miss anything you’d wish you didn’t. Without further delay…
This is what happened This Week in the NFL.
First of all, I just want to start by saying thank you to everybody who reads this column each week. I put a lot of time into making sure they’re worth reading, no matter how busy I am. I appreciate it more than you realise when someone asks me about what I wrote or tells me they enjoyed it.
Merry Christmas and I wish you all a great end to the year.
And from a UKFL perspective, stay tuned for 2023. We plan on sharing some cool news.
Merry Christmas, I love you all.
Alright, let’s talk football.
This was genuinely one of the best weeks of regular season football I think we’ve had all year – possibly #1. We had football on Saturday, some insanely close and exciting games and even three overtime games!
If you were watching NFL Redzone this Sunday, congratulations. What a week.
Games of the Week
It’s my column so I’m taking the liberty to change my own format… I’m not choosing a Game of the Week this time and breaking it down. This time I am going to give you a list of amazing games, and then after a spoiler warning, I will provide a fairly brief synopsis, compared to my usual breakdown.
- Indianapolis Colts @ Minnesota Vikings [History]
- Dallas Cowboys @ Jacksonville Jaguars
- New England Patriots @ Las Vegas Raiders
- Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills
- Cincinnati Bengals @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Yes, there are five different games that I think you should watch, for various different reasons. I told you it was a good weekend.
Spoiler warning.
Final chance to watch these games spoiler free.
Indianapolis Colts 36 – 39 Minnesota Vikings (OT)
This week the Minnesota Vikings made the biggest comeback in NFL history, when they defeated the Colts, despite being down an absolutely astounding 33-0 at half time. You can question how that’s even possible and enjoy your conspiracy theories, but it was epic to watch live. I’m still not sure I believe what I saw.
Dallas Cowboys 34 – 40 Jacksonville Jaguars (OT)
This one wasn’t a record-breaking historic game, but I’ll happily declare this the best game of the week for sheer entertainment value. What a game. There were twists and turns, especially in the fourth-quarter and then overtime. Absolutely brilliant. Trevor Lawrence also showed some real grit bouncing back after an interception to lead three straight touchdown drives immediately afterwards. Epic.
New England Patriots 24 – 30 Las Vegas Raiders
Yeah, this was a pretty good game of football, but the most important thing is that you need to watch the final play of this game. Absolute insanity.
I have no further words for you.
Miami Dolphins 29 – 32 Buffalo Bills
Unfortunately, the ground staff cleared as much of the snow as they could, but this still counts as a snow game in my book. The weather, as freezing cold as it was, had no effect on Josh Allen, that’s for sure… He had one of the best games of his season and led his team to a very narrow victory, with a walk-off field goal in the final seconds.
Cincinnati Bengals 34 – 23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Here’s another bit of history for you. This was the biggest comeback win that anybody has ever had against Tom Brady, who led 17-0 during the second quarter. The GOAT was previously 89-0 in games where he led by 17 or higher at any point. Well now, thanks to Joe Burrow and co, he’s 89-1.
Upset of the Week
This should probably be pretty obvious to you after reading that.
Indianapolis Colts 33 – 0 Minnesota Vikings (at half time)
I already told you about this one, but absolutely nothing that happened this week was more of an upset than this one. This second-half comeback was literally the biggest in the history of the league, what could possibly be more surprising than that?
Winners and Losers
Winners
San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
Minnesota Vikings (11-3)
Cleveland Browns (6-8)
Buffalo Bills (11-3)
Las Vegas Raiders (6-8)
Philadelphia Eagles (13-1)
New Orleans Saints (5-9)
Detroit Lions (7-7)
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-8)
Jacksonville Jaguars (6-8)
Kansas City Chiefs (11-3)
Denver Broncos (4-10)
Los Angeles Chargers (8-6)
Cincinnati Bengals (10-4)
New York Giants (8-5-1)
Green Bay Packers (6-8)
Losers
Seattle Seahawks (7-7)
Indianapolis Colts (4-9-1)
Baltimore Ravens (9-5)
Miami Dolphins (8-6)
New England Patriots (7-7)
Chicago Bears (3-11)
Atlanta Falcons (5-9)
New York Jets (7-7)
Carolina Panthers (5-9)
Dallas Cowboys (10-4)
Houston Texans (1-12-1)
Arizona Cardinals (4-10)
Tennessee Titans (7-7)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8)
Washington Commanders (7-6-1)
Los Angeles Rams (4-10)
Standout Individual Performers
Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars
6 receptions on 8 targets for 109 receiving yards and 3 TD’s.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but Zay Jones actually went crazy this week. A man best known for his ability to get up off the ground in a gravity-defying way, the Jags wideout put up the best performance of his career this week. He was targeted 8 times and converted 6 receptions into 109 receiving yards and a hat-trick in Jacksonville’s epic Overtime win in Dallas.
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
62.5% completion rate, 304 passing yards and 4 TD’s, plus 10 carries for 77 rushing yards.
There are too many weeks to count where Josh Allen stands out, but this was a special one even for him. The Bills hosted the Dolphins for a snow game and despite being very much out of their comfort zone weather-wise, Miami put up a real fight. However, they couldn’t stop number 17. Allen threw for 304 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, while adding 77 rushing yards on 10 rush attempts for good measure.
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
87.8% completion rate, 336 passing yards and 2 TD’s, plus 5 carries for 33 rushing yards a TD.
That completion percentage, though. It is a rare sight to see someone pass the ball over 40 times and still come out with a nearly 90% completion rate. Patrick Mahomes went 36 for 41 (87.8%) and threw 336 yards and 2 TD’s. He also added 33 rushing yards and scored a TD of his own, as his MVP bid grows stronger.
K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings
10 receptions on 16 targets for 157 receiving yards and a TD.
I have spoken at length about this ridiculous game of football already, but I’m going in again. K.J. Osborn is third on the Minnesota wide receiver depth chart, but this week he was one of the best wideouts in all of football. He saw an impressive 16 targets, a new career-high- and turned them into 157 receiving yards and a TD. This was Osborn’s first ever 100-yard game and he can tell his Grandkids one day that he was a driving force in the biggest comeback in NFL history.
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
59.5% completion rate, 315 passing yards, plus 17 carries for 61 rushing yards and 3 TD’s.
No, you don’t need reading glasses, you are reading that stat line correctly. A man not named Lamar Jackson or Justin Fields had 17 rush attempts from the QB position. Oh, and he scored 3 times. Admittedly, Jalen Hurts’ rushing TD’s are not quite as aesthetically pleasing as Lamar or Fields, but he’s got a whole lot of them… 13 now! He threw a solid 315 passing yards but with no touchdowns – because he stole them all for himself! Unfortunately, he hurt his shoulder, and his status is up in the air for Week 16.
A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
9 receptions on 16 targets for 181 receiving yards.
Although there weren’t any receiving TD’s to be had, there were plenty of yards to share around. A.J. Brown had himself a day, as this QB-WR connection continues to develop. Hurts and Brown are starting to blossom into one of the best duos there is. The ex-Titan was targeted 16 times and caught 9 of those for 181 receiving yards.
Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
19 carries for 172 rushing yards and a TD.
It’s always unfortunate when something steals the headlines and takes over the narrative when you played really well, so I want to take a second and stop thinking about Chandler Jones stiff-arming Mac Jones – just one second – and talk about Jones’ teammate Rhamondre Stevenson. The Pats halfback ran the ball 19 times and put up an incredibly impressive 172 rushing yards and scored a TD. Unfortunately, though, this game will be remembered for what happened when he tossed the ball back to Jakobi Meyers on his final carry.
Rayshawn Jenkins, Jacksonville Jaguars
18 combined tackles, 9 solo and 9 assists, plus 2 INT’s, including the game-winning walk-off pick-six.
I gave Zay Jones the top spot for his epic performance this week, and one of his teammates on the other side of the ball also made a compelling argument for best performance of the week defensively. Rayshawn Jenkins is a safety for the Jags, and this weekend he was everywhere. He put together a whopping 18 combined tackles, including 9 solo. He also had two interceptions, including the epic tip-drill pick-six to win the game in Overtime.
J.J. Watt, Arizona Cardinals
5 combined tackles including 4 solo, 3.0 Sacks.
If there’s anyone in the NFL who is no stranger to standout individual defensive performances it’s this man. Once the most dominant defensive force in the NFL, J.J. Watt has somewhat fallen into the back of most fans’ minds. He isn’t the player he once was, but this week we got to see a flash of how good he can be. He made 5 tackles including 4 solo and a hat-trick of Sacks.
Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York Giants
12 combined tackles, including 9 solo tackles, 3 tackles for loss and a Strip-Sack which he recovered for a TD.
If you haven’t heard this name before, you clearly didn’t pay attention to the draft this year. Kayvon Thibodeaux was one of the most sought after edge-rushing prospects in the 2022 class and for good reason. He has already shown some flashes of incredible potential and this week was no different. He made 12 combined tackles, of which 9 were solo tackles – impressive for a defensive end or rushing OLB. Thibodeaux also had 3 tackles for loss, one of which was a strip-sack which he chased down and recovered in the endzone. Giants fans should be excited about this kid, because he’s got some real talent.
Stat Leaders Through Week 15
Passing Yards – Patrick Mahomes KC, 4496
Passing TD’s – Patrick Mahomes KC, 35
Rushing Yards – Josh Jacobs LVR, 1495
Rushing TD’s – Jamaal Williams DET, 14
Receiving Yards – Justin Jefferson MIN, 1623
Receiving TD’s – Davante Adams LVR and Travis Kelce KC, 12
Total TD’s – Austin Ekeler LAC and Jamaal Williams DET, 14
Tackles (combined) – Foyesade Oluokun JAX, 156
Sacks – Nick Bosa SF, 15.5
Interceptions – C.J. Gardner-Johnson PHI, Tariq Woolen SEA 6
Week 16 Preview – What to watch
Christmas football!
Week 16 Best Games
Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys, Christmas Eve – 9:25pm
Seattle Seahawks @ Kansas City Chiefs, Christmas Eve – 6pm
Green Bay Packers @ Miami Dolphins, Christmas Day – 6pm
Tyler’s Bold Week 16 Prediction
Minshew Mania! Gardner Minshew’s Eagles will defeat the Dallas Cowboys, if he starts over injured Jalen Hurts.
Week 16 Storylines
Christmas, obviously!
This week we have Thursday Night Football, then a full 11-game Christmas Eve Saturday slate, followed by a three-game slate on Christmas Day, and then Monday Night Football. Enjoy, everyone.
Two teams fighting for a wildcard spot against all odds, Jaguars @ Jets, TNF
Can Seattle regain some of their surprising momentum from earlier in the year? Seahawks @ Chiefs, 6pm Saturday
The Giants look to consolidate their seeding, while Minnesota will try and take advantage of a potentially injured Jalen Hurts in the race for the first seed. Giants @ Vikings, 6pm Saturday
Philadelphia and Dallas have both clinched a playoff berth, but seeding is all to play for… Oh and there’s a chance of Minshew mania. Either way, this will be fun. Eagles @ Cowboys, 9:25pm Saturday
A primetime matchup between two teams who expected more this year. Raiders @ Steelers, Saturday Night (1:25am Sunday morning)
Two teams who definitely weren’t supposed to be 4-10… Broncos @ Rams, 9:30pm Sunday
Is it possible for both teams in the same game to miraculously blow a lead? Chargers @ Colts, MNF
