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NFL Quick Hits: All 16 Games From Week 15

Andrew McKagan |
December 17, 2013 | 3:11 p.m. PST

Staff Writer

Former Cal Bear and current San Diego Charger receiver Keenan Allen helped his Offensive Rookie of the Year candidacy last Thursday with another multi-touchdown performance. (John Martinez Pavliga/Wikimedia Commons)
Former Cal Bear and current San Diego Charger receiver Keenan Allen helped his Offensive Rookie of the Year candidacy last Thursday with another multi-touchdown performance. (John Martinez Pavliga/Wikimedia Commons)

-Thursday-

Chargers 27, Broncos 20

Get that defense playing better consistently and San Diego is a playoff team.

Where oh where has elite pass rusher Von Miller gone?

-Sunday-

Falcons 27, Redskins 26

The Redskins had seven turnovers and still only lost by a single point? Lord, the Falcons need help.

If the Cardinals were willing to trade a second-round draft pick and elite corner at the time in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for Kevin Kolb after only a handful of successful NFL starts, and the Seahawks were willing to pay Matt Flynn over $15 million in guaranteed money after exactly two starts of his own, don’t tell me Kirk Cousins won’t potentially draw trade interest.

Bears 38, Browns 31

We know who Jay Cutler is as a player. But old Josh McCown is not the future. The Bears’ quarterback situation will be one of the most interesting stories of the offseason.

It’s insane how talented tight end and former Trojan Jordan Cameron has been phased out of the Browns’ offense while Jason Campbell is at the helm. A shame.

Colts 25, Texans 3

Finally the Colts get a convincing win. Not that they’re any real threat in the playoffs, though. 

JJ Watt may not have the eye-popping stats of last year, but his impact outside of the box score still warrants the Defensive Player of the Year nod. 

Bills 27, Jaguars 20

That Bills defensive line though. Thirty-seven sacks between Mario and Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and Jerry Hughes. Now if only EJ Manuel would play consistently better, Buffalo might have something here.

The Jaguars were a joke earlier in the season. Now they’re at least competitive. It's a huge credit to Jacksonville’s coaches, and this next draft will be very telling as to how they will look to build this team in the future.

Tom Brady threw yet another game-losing interception on Sunday against the Dolphins. (Jeffrey Beall/Creative Commons)
Tom Brady threw yet another game-losing interception on Sunday against the Dolphins. (Jeffrey Beall/Creative Commons)
Dolphins 24, Patriots 20

Michael Thomas, an undrafted defensive back out of Stanford who just signed with the Dolphins last Tuesday, had the game-sealing interception of Tom Brady on Sunday. What a story. And a huge win by Miami to keep their playoff hopes favorable.

Tom Brady had his fourth game-sealing turnover of the season on Sunday. That’s Romo-esque.

Vikings 48, Eagles 30

Did not expect this one. No Adrian Peterson? No problem. And Matt Cassel to Greg Jennings was one of the prime aerial hookups of Week 15.

Philadelphia had a shot to take control of the NFC East with a win over the lowly Vikings. A very disappointing defensive performance.

Seahawks 23, Giants 0

It’s insane that Seattle cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Byron Maxwell (4 combined interceptions) had more catches than Giants receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks (3 combined receptions). As complete a defensive performance as you will see by the Seahawks.

Nobody knows what’s wrong with Eli Manning. Sure, his offensive line isn’t the greatest, but he should know better than to test Richard Sherman on deep fade routes. Twice, as both of those throws turned into interceptions.

49ers 33, Bucs 14

The usual, dominating performance by the 49er defense. Kaepernick had a very good game as well. And I know he’s only a fullback, but losing Bruce Miller to injury is significant for San Francisco.

After spending over $137 million recently on Darrelle Revis and Dashon Goldson ($24.7 million cap hit this year), arguably the two most valuable players on the roster this year have been Gerald McCoy and Adrian Clayborn, whose combined cap hit will be less than $12 million.

Panthers 30, Jets 20

The Panthers are good when Cam Newton is good.

At least Geno Smith threw a touchdown… And great to see defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, a first-round pick of the Jets this year, score a touchdown on a goal line carry.

Chiefs 56, Raiders 31

Alex Smith threw five touchdown passes on the day. None of them travelled more than 15 yards through the air.

At least we know for sure that the Raiders will be looking for a quarterback in the offseason. Their defense is in dire need as well.

Packers 37, Cowboys 36

Justin Tucker kicked six field goals in Detroit on Monday night, including a 61-yard game-winner. (Maryland GovPics/Wikimedia Commons)
Justin Tucker kicked six field goals in Detroit on Monday night, including a 61-yard game-winner. (Maryland GovPics/Wikimedia Commons)
Wow, they sure know how to develop quarterbacks in Green Bay. Someone’s going to pay Matt Flynn a lot of money this offseason…

The state of the Cowboys’ defense is the result of two things: 1) Monte Kiffin’s inability to make any sort of schematic adjustments, and 2) Jerry Jones’ inability to find talented depth players in the later rounds of drafts.

Rams 27, Saints 16

The Rams’ defensive line is suffocating at home. I am impressed that the team still plays hard after they have nothing left to play for.

The Saints aren’t really this bad on the road… right? Next week on the road at Carolina will be a huge game. Make sure to tune in for that one.

Cardinals 37, Titans 34

I can’t believe the Cardinals are 9-5. With Carson Palmer playing well and that talented defense, it’s a shame they almost surely won’t be going to the playoffs this year.

There are some holes on Tennessee’s roster, but also some huge bright spots. They’ll contend for the playoffs soon if Jake Locker can stay healthy.

-Sunday Night-

Steelers 30, Bengals 20

It sounds crazy to say after many years of dominance from James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, but the Steelers really need to find their next elite edge defender. The future looks bright, however, with young stars on the roster including Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Cam Heyward.

I mentioned the Bengals’ improved offensive line last week, and they could be the best unit in the NFL right now. Too bad Andy Dalton can’t seem to throw out routes or hitches with any sort of consistency.

-Monday Night-

Ravens 18, Lions 16

The Ravens won with six Justin Tucker field goals. If Joe Flacco gets hot in the playoffs, the Ravens have the defense to contend for a second straight Super Bowl.

So many mistakes. That’s Lions football, apparently.

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