Week 15 in the NFL was an action movie with a gigantic budget and a director with a taste for gratuitous set pieces. It was a week of monumental plays rarely, if ever, seen before. A harebrained lateral returned for a walk-off touchdown? An interception shared between teammates, one of whom was flying out of bounds? A walk-off pick-six to cap a 17-point comeback? They’ll never believe it, but the audience will love it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Trevor Lawrence is who we thought was.<\/b> As a rookie, Lawrence was an innocent passenger on the Urban Meyer train wreck. In the first half of this season, he displayed only minor progress. Over the past month, though, Lawrence has begun to fulfill the promise that made him a quarterback projected to be taken first in the draft since he was in high school. Lawrence is a rocket in full launch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
His recent performance signals the Jacksonville Jaguars could soon employ one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. In a 40-34 overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Lawrence erased a 17-point deficit, orchestrated a last-minute field goal drive to force overtime and passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns. Lawrence has surpassed 300 yards in three of his past four games, demonstrating full command of the offense and immense physical talent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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In Deshaun Watson’s home debut, a victory for the Browns amid an unsettling backdrop<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The Jaguars won on one of the day’s many wild plays, when Rayshawn Jenkins snagged a tipped pass and returned it 52 yards for a walk-off pick-six, which Jenkins added to his 18 tackles. The Jaguars have won three of four, all of those victories coming against teams in the playoff picture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Their run means Lawrence could be finishing his breakout on a larger stage. When the Tennessee Titans lost to the Los Angeles Chargers to fall to 7-7, it meant the Jaguars, even at 6-8, control their playoff fate. They finish at the New York Jets, at the Houston Texans and home for the Titans in a game that could decide the AFC South. If the Jaguars win all three, they’ll win the division.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Bill Belichick might not have it anymore. <\/b>The most shocking play of the season, the kind of play that never happened to New England under Belichick’s watch, might keep the Patriots out of the playoffs and reinforced how far the greatest coach in football history has fallen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Tied with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Patriots had the ball at their 45-yard line with three seconds left, holding no options but to try a Hail Mary or run out the clock for overtime. Rhamondre Stevenson took a handoff and found space down the right sideline before he lateraled to wideout Jakobi Meyers, who lost his mind. Meyers circled back, surveyed the field and heaved the ball to … nobody in particular, a desperate play that a team would make if it were losing \u2014 but an insane risk in a tie game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones snared the lateral at the 48-yard line. He stiff-armed quarterback Mac Jones into the Earth’s core and then cruised into the end zone for a walk-off touchdown and a 30-24 win.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The play was troubling for New England in two ways. For one, it knocked it out of the playoff picture and reduced its odds to make the postseason to 19 percent, per FiveThirtyEight. Secondly, it was not an outlier. It was emblematic of the way the Patriots have operated all season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Belichick’s decision to make former defensive coordinator and failed head coach Matt Patricia his offensive play caller has been a disaster \u2014 as pretty much all the people Belichick sneers at predicted. The Patriots are impotent and disorganized, and quarterback Mac Jones has regressed after a promising rookie year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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For two decades, Belichick has trumpeted situational football. Patriots players would impress with their arcane knowledge of the rule book and know just when to implement that knowledge. Discipline and intelligence were pillars. The Patriots no longer play that way. They are one of the most penalized teams in the league. Before their disastrous finish, the Patriots let Keelan Cole get behind the defense in one-on-one coverage with 32 seconds left for a tying touchdown. There is no other conclusion: Belichick has lost a step.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Lions are a wagon.<\/b> On Halloween, the Lions were 1-6 after a serious of blown leads, still stuck in the organizational malaise that has doomed them for decades. After their 20-17 victory over the host Jets on Sunday, they are 7-7 and have a legitimate chance to crash the NFC playoff field.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Outside of the Philadelphia Eagles, there is no hotter team in the NFL. The Lions have won six of seven, the latest victory built with a cheeky game-winning touchdown. On fourth and inches on the first play after the two-minute warning, trailing 17-13, Jared Goff made a play-action fake, patiently waited for the play to develop and hit tight end Brock Wright alone in the left flat. Wright rumbled 51 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Svrluga: In a rare chance at prosperity, the Commanders fall short<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The Lions finish at the Carolina Panthers, etc. the Chicago Bears and at the Green Bay Packers. They are likely to be favored in all three games, and if they win out, they almost certainly will make the playoffs. With Goff’s efficient passing, Aidan Hutchinson’s pass-rushing emergence and a bruising running game, they would be a frightening first-round opponent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Dolphins stabilized their season.<\/b> Even though they are on a three-game skid and they gave themselves more work to do to ensure a playoff spot, the Miami Dolphins had to leave Buffalo feeling encouraged. They went toe-to-toe with the AFC’s top seed, proved Tua Tagovailoa does not spontaneously implode when touched by snow and rebounded after two lousy performances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The Dolphins lost, 32-29, but probably played Buffalo tougher than when they beat them in Florida early in the season, when the Bills ran 90 plays but faltered in the red zone. On Saturday night, the Dolphins controlled much of the game and led 29-21 in the fourth quarter. Tagovailoa connected on touchdown passes to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The Dolphins were the better team if not for Josh Allen’s superhuman running.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Dolphins received help Sunday when the Patriots and Jets lost, keeping them in the playoff picture as the final wild card. Their remaining schedule \u2014 Packers, at Patriots, Jets \u2014 is manageable. Their performance Saturday provided a reminder that if they get in, they’ll be dangerous. The Dolphins are a bit like last year’s Cincinnati Bengals: They are not the best team in the AFC, but their offensive talent gives them an elite ceiling. On any given day, they could beat any given team because of the upside provided by Hill and Waddle in Coach Mike McDaniel’s system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The MVP candidates had to grind it out.<\/b> The battle for MVP honors is coming down to Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, and both Kansas City and Philadelphia struggled as heavy favorites Sunday. The Chiefs trailed in the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans and needed a turnover in overtime to win. The Eagles led by four after the third quarter before they asserted themselves in the fourth against the Bears.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Mark Mask’s takeaways from Week 15<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Whichever quarterback you favored heading into the week, Sunday probably didn’t change your mind. Hurts punched up outlandish statistics \u2014 315 passing yards and three rushing touchdowns \u2014 but he also threw two interceptions. Mahomes was wickedly efficient, completing 36 of 41 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns while running for another score.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Colts are getting a new coach.<\/b> Owner Jim Irsay loudly proclaimed Jeff Saturday would have an opportunity to win the full-time job when he stunned the NFL by naming him the interim coach in Indianapolis. The Colts’ collapse Saturday made that untenable. The Colts blew a 33-0 halftime lead in Minnesota, giving the Vikings the biggest comeback in NFL history in a 39-36 overtime win.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
A million things have to go wrong for a team to squander that kind of lead, but it foremost has to do with coaching. Saturday drew praise after the Colts pulled an upset in his debut, but his lack of experience is starting to catch up to the Colts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Vikings, who clinched the NFC North, continue to be the most underwhelming 11-3 team imaginable. It takes a special kind of mess to fall behind the Colts by 33, and their point differential for the season is plus-two. But that was a miraculous, memorable day in Minnesota.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Ravens need their quarterback back.<\/b> After the Cleveland Browns’ 13-3 victory over the Ravens, Baltimore cornerback Marcus Peters \u2014 wearing a walking boot and holding a cane-like walking stick because of an injury he suffered during the game \u2014 stood outside the visitors’ locker room and welcoming teammates . He noticed running back JK Dobbins sulking, head down. \u201cPick that motherf—– up, man,\u201d Peters said. \u201cWe got a lot of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Peters’s display of leadership doubled as an incomplete statement: The Ravens do have hope \u2014 if Lamar Jackson returns from a sprained knee ligament at full health. Jackson’s value has been demonstrated with him on the sideline. Even as Dobbins shows flashes of his best self, Baltimore’s offense, methodical even when Jackson plays, has been a slog.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The notion that Tyler Huntley could be an adequate replacement for Jackson if the Ravens do not resolve his contract situation died a slow and painful death against the Browns. The Ravens tumbled out of the playoff race last year after Jackson an injury, and if he does not return soon, it’s unlikely but not out of the question the same thing could happen this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Lou Anarumo is a warlock. <\/b>The scariest opponent for any NFL offense may be the Bengals in the second half. That is because of the adjustments Anarumo, Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator, makes at halftime. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored 17 points in the first half as they built a two-touchdown halftime lead. In the second half, the Bengals flustered Tom Brady and bullied the Bucs into four turnovers, allowing only a cosmetic touchdown in the final minute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
With their 34-23 victory in Tampa, the Bengals took over first place in the AFC North. They could have their eyes on a bigger outlet. If they beat the Bills in Week 17 and the Chiefs stumble, they could claim the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the AFC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Titans made the coolest interception of the year.<\/b> At the end of the first half of their 17-14 loss to the Chargers, Titans defensive backs Roger McCreary and Joshua Kalu combined for a dazzling moment of improvisational teamwork. Justin Herbert lofted a pass into the corner of the end zone to wideout Mike Williams, the kind of ball that could only result in a spectacular catch or an incompletion out of bounds \u2014 unless the defense does something amazing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
McCreary leaped out of the end zone and over the sideline to catch the ball. Realizing he would land out of bounds, he twisted his body and, in one motion while hanging in midair, shoveled the ball to Kalu. It’s not a play anybody practices. It was a stroke of athletic genius.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Comment on this story Comment Week 15 in the NFL was an action movie with a gigantic budget and a director with a taste for gratuitous set pieces. It was a week of monumental plays rarely, if ever, seen before. A harebrained lateral returned for a walk-off touchdown? An interception shared between teammates, one of …<\/p>\n
Jaguars are on the rise with Trevor Lawrence, but Patriots can’t close<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nJaguars are on the rise with Trevor Lawrence, but Patriots can't close - harchi90<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n