Week 15 Takeaways for the 2025 NFL Season
Just when we all started getting in the holiday spirit, things started happening and shook us. A team we have grown accustomed to seeing in February has been eliminated in December. Multiple stars went down with serious injuries. Normally elite K Brandon Aubrey missed not once, but TWICE. Fortunately, plenty of good things happened to offset the sadness. Our first two playoff berths have been claimed, and the Myles Garrett sack record chase is on a roll. We even saw a 44-year-old grandfather start at quarterback! For all that and a lot more holiday cheer (and gloom), continue reading for my week 15 takeaways!
TNF: Falcons Overcome Countless Errors to Extend Bucs’ Swoon
Both of these teams came into week 15 following abysmal showings that they’d love to forget. Tampa Bay at least had a reason for optimism though: WRs Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan both returned from long injury layoffs, while OT Tristan Wirfs came back too. Evans (6/132) terrorized Falcons DBs, McMillan (2/38) had a couple of big catches, and Wirfs kept QB Baker Mayfield (19/34, 277 yards, 2 TDs, INT) in good shape most of the night. Mayfield did take 5 sacks though, including 2 from rising rookie DE James Pearce Jr. In part because of their competition, the Buccaneers looked more crisp on offense than we’d seen in weeks.
Atlanta is 4-9 not because they aren’t talented. Their issue is that they do the little things wrong and come up short in critical situations. Here, they just messed up whenever possible. In a season-worst effort by any team, the Falcons committed 19 (!) accepted penalties. Every time something good happened, Atlanta ruined it with a foul. The worst one came when they jumped offsides on an FG before ceding a TD 1 play later. Even though both RB Bijan Robinson (19/93/1; 8/82 receiving) and WR David Sills V (6/78) had great games, each had a crucial error. The former fumbled in his own territory, while the latter dropped a TD.
Despite all of that, and the lack of WR Drake London (who’s still injured), Falcons QB Kirk Cousins (30/44, 373 yards, 3 TDs) kept his team in the game. What is it with Cousins on Thursday Night Football against the Buccaneers? For some reason, he always stars in this situation. His connection with TE Kyle Pitts (11/166/3) was sensational, and the star trio of Cousins, Pitts, and Robinson helped Atlanta recover from a 28-14 deficit. Then the Falcons of course made another error: HC Raheem Morris did the dumb 2-point try thing, which Atlanta missed. On their next TD, they missed the 2-point attempt they needed to tie the game.
Even so, Atlanta got the ball back once more. Tampa Bay finally got their first sack of the game, and it was a strip sack by OLB Haason Reddick. The refs ruled a simultaneous recovery, which gave the ball back to the offense. Cousins overcame 3rd-and-28 and 4th-and-14 to reach FG range, where Zane Gonzalez knocked a 43-yarder through to win 29-28. The Falcons showed a lot of heart in this game after being eliminated 4 days earlier. Maybe they’d still be in the race if Cousins was the full-time QB. Tampa has gone from 6-2 to 7-7, but with Carolina somehow losing to New Orleans AGAIN, they remain in first place in the NFC South.
Autopsies of the Bengals’ and Chiefs’ Seasons
With both the Bengals and Chiefs officially eliminated from postseason contention, it feels like a good time to do a postmortem on their seasons. Both teams had such high hopes, and both failed spectacularly. Cincinnati’s main issue is rather obvious: the defense is abysmal. DE Trey Hendrickson will end up missing the bulk of the season, and there’s no pass rush without him. A coordinator change to Al Golden did nothing because the talent is too poor. This team lost two straight games despite scoring 80 combined points in those contests. QB Joe Burrow missing 9 games didn’t help, but Joe Flacco did very well on offense.
The last five quarters have been a different story though. Cincy’s defense has quietly improved, while the offense has fallen off a cliff. Burrow gave the game away last week against Buffalo, and he led his unit to 0 points at home this week against Baltimore. His stats (25/39, 225 yards, 2 INTs) are as ugly as the performance was. The Bengals lost 24-0 despite crossing midfield many times. Nothing has aligned for these cats, and Burrow’s abnormal stretch of bad play finally sunk them. While I can see hope given the offensive talent and the strides this defense has recently taken, HC Zac Taylor could be coaching his final games.
Kansas City is a far more interesting evaluation. These are the 3-time reigning AFC champs we’re talking about. QB Patrick Mahomes has made the playoffs…and won the division…every season that he’s been the starter. That streak ended last week, and KC’s loss (plus a few other results) eliminated them from the playoffs altogether this week. The offense was once again out of sync. Kansas City cannot run the football (2.3 YPC against the Chargers), and the injured offensive line is getting Mahomes (16/28, 189 yards, INT) killed (5 sacks). Mahomes tore his ACL on the final sack, ending his most trying season.
That wasn’t the end of the game though. Mahomes was driving the Chiefs will down 16-13. However, backup Gardner Minshew threw in INT while in long FG range, and THAT finished KC off. So what went wrong? On paper, this was a more talented team than last year’s Super Bowl-bound group. Well, the offense has just been…off. TE Travis Kelce is dropping passes, while the line has been injured. Defensively, the Chiefs have been inconsistent. But worst of all? They can’t win close games, the ones they won at an insane rate in the past. That’s how a 6-8 team has a +60 point differential. All of that’s to say—expect a 2026 rebound.
Rams, Broncos Clinch 1st Playoff Berths of 2025 in Heavyweight Tilts
It took a while, but we finally saw the first two playoff spots of 2025 clinched. New England failed to do so during the early Sunday window (more on that later), but the 4:25 slate gave us a pair of stellar matchups. The Rams hosted the Lions in another iteration of the Matthew Stafford–Jared Goff bowl. Detroit has won these in the past, but these Rams are better than the prior versions. Even so, LA started off with some really uncharacteristic errors. Stafford threw an INT on a screen, but it was more of a great play by DE Aidan Hutchinson. He also missed a wide-open TD pass to TE Terrance Ferguson. WR Puka Nacua…dropped a pass (gasp).
Detroit was able to parlay the miscues into a first-half lead, maintaining their advantage for most of the first two quarters. The Lions’ passing game was great. Goff (25/41, 338 yards, 3 TDs) and WRs Amon-Ra St Brown (13/164/2) and Jameson Williams (7/134/1) all looked fantastic. Detroit’s running game was poor though (70 yards total on 20 carries), and after their lone takeaway, the defense was a sieve. These teams combined for 518 first half yards and finished with 915. LA had 519 yards on their own, and they were surgical in the second half. Nacua (9/181) atoned for his drop, and TE Colby Parkinson (5/75/2) was a TD machine.
The Rams blitzed Detroit 17-0 in the third quarter to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. They won 41-34 but the Lions benefitted from a garbage-time score. LA’s defense settled in after the break, looking more like the unit that starred all season. The only real blemish on the day was an injury to WR Davante Adams. On a go route, he pulled up lame and reached for his hamstring. The league’s best red zone weapon is unlikely to play next week and could be out longer. That’s bad news with a TNF game coming up at Seattle, where the winner will be in charge of the NFC West and the 1-seed in the conference. Adams will be sorely missed.
Over in Denver, the surging Packers faced the red-hot Broncos, but many people had Green Bay winning. Denver’s offense has been hit-or-miss, but they won 10 straight games coming in, and their defense is a top-5 unit league-wide. Neither offense had the hottest start, but both got going in the 2nd quarter. GB held a 16-14 lead at the half and extended that by a TD to open the 3rd quarter. The difference at that point became the QBs. Green Bay’s Jordan Love (24/40, 276 yards, TD, 2 INTs; 3/29 rushing) tossed two passes up for grabs, and CBs Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss picked them off. The first got WR Christian Watson (3/29) hurt.
Watson’s injury ended up being alright, but they took a much bigger hit. DE Micah Parsons, the team’s star defender and big trade acquisition, went down with a noncontact knee injury and was diagnosed with a torn ACL. Losing the NFL’s leader in pressures is probably a death blow to the team’s Super Bowl hopes. This is why he wouldn’t play for Dallas without an extension. For proof of his impact, look at the QB on the other side. Bo Nix (23/34, 302 yards, 4 TDs) immediately erased the deficit and launched Denver to a 34-26 lead. This was probably his best performance as an NFL quarterback, and it came at an ideal time.
Even so, Green Bay had chances. Denver went on 4th and 3 at the Packers’ 45 and missed, but Green Bay turned it right back over on downs. With a chance to end the game on 4th and 1, Denver handed the ball to FB Adam Prentice for some reason and got stuffed. The Broncos’ defense bailed them out though. Their relentless 4-man rush kept getting home, and they forced Love into 4 straight incompletions to finish the game. Love simply doesn’t win when the game is on his shoulders. RB Josh Jacobs (12/73/1; 2/19/1 receiving) can’t do it all. Meanwhile, Denver took charge of the #1 seed and might be the AFC’s most fearsome team.
Bills Avenge Early-Season Loss to Patriots with Furious Comeback
We had a chance for a real changing of the guard. Buffalo has won the AFC East ever since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay. However, after already beating the Bills back in week 5, the Patriots went on a tear, winning 10 in a row. A season sweep over Buffalo would’ve clinched the division crown. While the last meeting was close, New England appeared to be on the verge of a blowout after taking a 21-0 lead. QB Drake Maye (14/23, 155 yards, INT; 4/43/2 rushing) notched 2 rushing TDs in the first half, and rising rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson (14/148/2) took a 52-yard carry to the house. Meanwhile, Buffalo could do nothing.
Late in the half, the Bills changed their strategy to great effect. Rather than trying to be something they’re not, Buffalo leaned into their two best players: QB Josh Allen (19/28, 193 yards, 3 TDs; 11/48 rushing) and RB James Cook (22/107/2; rec TD). A Cook TD run finally got the Bills on the board, and you could see the Patriots’ cracks starting to show. New England added an FG before halftime, and Henderson earned a 65-yard TD run in the 4th quarter, but that was it for their offense. Maye couldn’t get anything going in the second half, while Allen reverted to MVP form. Buffalo scored TDs on their next five possessions to steal a 35-31 win.
The ramifications here are significant. With a win, the AFC East would’ve belonged to the Pats. Instead, these two teams now have a season split and are separated by just 1 game in the standings. The Bills can easily win out: the Browns, Jets, and struggling Eagles (ignore the Raiders game) don’t pose too much of a threat. New England, who plays Baltimore, the Jets, and Miami, could do the same. One slip-up could change the division winner though. In the here and now, Buffalo’s playoff chances got a major boost, while the Patriots aren’t keeping pace with Denver for the #1 seed anymore. A lot remains up in the air in the final weeks.
Grandpa Philip Rivers Starts for Colts and Looks Limited vs. Seahawks
I had to end this article with the topic that’s been buzzing around the football world this week. Did you know that Philip Rivers is actually the second (confirmed) grandfather to play in the NFL? It’s true. But all eyes have been on the 44-year-old that signed with the Colts after they lost Daniel Jones for the season. Backup Anthony Richardson remains on IR, and 3rd-stringer Riley Leonard hurt his knee in relief last week. In a desperate moment, HC Shane Steichen turned to his old friend Rivers, who he spent 6 seasons with as a young assistant coach on the Chargers. Indy is also conveniently the last team Rivers played for.
However, that last game action came in 2020. He led the team to an 11-5 record and their last playoff appearance but has been retired for 5 years. In fact, he was named a Hall of Fame semifinalist, but the hall will have to wait because his activation by the Colts resets his timer. He will no longer be eligible for enshrinement until 2031. Rivers said that didn’t matter, but between that and having 10 kids (some of whom he coaches), I wouldn’t have jumped back into the game. The famously clean-mouthed signal caller couldn’t shake the itch I guess, and he signed this week. The question of whether he’d actually start felt crazy.
By Thursday or so, it became clear that Rivers could still sling the ball. He apparently looked good in practice, earning the starting nod even with Leonard as a full participant. The main question was how he’d move and feel after taking a few hits. Playing at Seattle, a ferocious defense, was quite the first test. It was surreal seeing Rivers out there again, and he honestly didn’t look out of place. He never had a big arm, so the death-by-1000-cuts attack was right in line with his past play style. The plan was clearly to ride RB Jonathan Taylor (25/87; 3/14 receiving) and the defense while Rivers got re-acclimated. It almost worked.
Rivers (18/27, 120 yards, TD, INT) started a bit slowly but racked up completions as the game went on. However, they didn’t go anywhere. Almost everything was short, so we don’t really know if he can push the ball down the field still. Even during a late two-minute drill, Indy mostly ran the ball. A TD pass to WR Josh Downs (3/13/1) was the highlight, and a desperation heave for an INT with under 10 seconds remaining was the low point. The Colts took a late lead on a career-long 60-yard FG by K Blake Grupe, but Seattle’s Jason Myers kicked a game-winning 56-yard FG for his 6th make of the afternoon. Indy lost yet again, this time 18-16.
What can we make of Rivers at this point? While he’s definitely limited in terms of arm strength, that was always true. His command of the offense is definitely still there; you could see him taking charge of everything at the line. I wonder if the team will open things up more as he settles in. Losing when your opponent only kicked FGs hurts. The Colts’ defense really rallied and played great, but it wasn’t enough to stop Indianapolis’ skid. Rivers himself said he wasn’t there to save the season. It was spiraling BEFORE he arrived after all. After this week’s game, only peak Rivers could be that hero. We’ll see if he still has it in him.