NFL Week 15 preview

Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL NETWORK)

Los Angeles has won eight of nine, and while even a win here would not put the Chargers in first place in the AFC West, it would send quite a message. That said, road teams have had a hard time winning on Thursday nights, and Kansas City largely hasn't blinked this season despite the going getting a little tougher. Melvin Gordon is likely to be a game-time decision for the Chargers, and Austin Ekeler is unlikely to go as well. Justin Jackson's role may be considerable in this one. If the Chargers win, the psychological impact on both teams will be significant. L.A. will know that it went into Arrowhead Stadium and won without its best player, and the Chiefs will have to wonder if maybe the Chargers have figured them out. Either way, this has the potential to be a tremendous game. Kansas City can clinch the AFC West with a win, while the Chargers would clinch a playoff berth and, at worst, the conference's fifth seed with a victory. This game is only the third time in NFL history that two 10-win teams have met on Thursday night.

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET (NFL NETWORK)

The Texans can't yet clinch a playoff berth with just a win, but if they are victorious and the Colts and Titans both lose, Houston will be AFC South champ and will be a likely bet to end up as the conference's third seed. The Texans finally lost last week, ending the nine-game winning streak that started in Week 4. T.Y. Hilton gashed the Texans' secondary, but it won't be tested by a receiver-quarterback combination like Hilton and Andrew Luck again this season. There still exists the chance that the Texans get a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs, but they would need to win out, as well as need another loss from New England and two more from the Chargers. Still, if they stay healthy, and with their Lamar Miller-led running game working, they will be a tough out — especially with an extra week of rest. For the Jets, it's all about seeing what Sam Darnold can do. He led a late comeback against the Bills, but a win against Houston would really grab some headlines — and hamstring the Texans' playoff push.

Saturday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL NETWORK)

Two of Cleveland's final three games are on the road, including this one, and while it is unlikely that the Browns pull it off, if they win out, the Steelers lose out and the Ravens lose to the Chargers next week, Cleveland would be AFC North champions. That's an admittedly far-fetched scenario, but if they somehow got in, the Browns would be a tough out. One area where they have excelled is protecting Baker Mayfield, particularly from Week 9 onward. Since then, Mayfield has been hit a total of four times. The next-best teams in the league in the "QB hits allowed" category all have surrendered 19. That the Browns are only 3-2 in that span is somewhat disappointing, but that turnaround has seen them flip a 2-5-1 mark to 5-7-1. Denver still has playoff hopes, but like the Browns the Broncos have to win out, so this is more or less an AFC eliminator game. The Broncos' loss to San Francisco was a bitter disappointment after three straight wins. They'll need to ratchet up their pass rush and find a way to get to Mayfield to win this one.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Packers are not yet dead in the water, somehow, but they'll need to win out and get plenty of help if they want to make the playoffs. Green Bay trails Carolina, Philadelphia and Washington in the loss column, as well as Minnesota, but it's conceivable that all four of those teams lose this weekend. So if the Pack can somehow shock Chicago, in their own building, they'll be an interesting story down the stretch. That's going to be easier said than done, though, because the Bears have the look of a team no one should want to see in the playoffs. The Bears can clinch the NFC North with a win, and they'll likely call upon their defense, led by Khalil Mack and the underrated Akiem Hicks, to do it. Mack, Hicks and the rest of the Bears defense destroyed the high-powered Rams last week and will likely do the same to Rodgers if Green Bay can't get a running game going. Oh, and the Bears have the little matter of revenge on their minds after what happened to them in Week 1. This has the potential to be a great battle.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Not a lot, or really anything, at stake in this one, which makes it the kind of game whose major intrigue focuses on individual performers. One thing the Bills will need to surround Josh Allen with is weapons in the receiving game, and they may have found one in Alabama product Robert Foster. Foster has been a revelation as a big-play threat for the last month or so, logging 13 catches for 330 yards and a touchdown the last four weeks. That's about 25.4 yards per reception, which is, of course, spectacular. Detroit's main bright spots this year have been Kenny Golladay and Kerryon Johnson, but otherwise Matt Patricia's first season has been filled with frustration and few bright spots other than a demolition of the Patriots in Week 3. Besides that game, the Lions have beaten the bad teams on their schedule and lost to the good teams. The Bills are the former, so Detroit might be a good bet to improve to 6-8, though that will represent another wasted year of Matt Stafford.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Lamar Jackson is officially the starter for the Ravens, and that probably has to do with the team's 3-1 record with him under center but also maybe is connected to the fact that the Bucs defense couldn't stop a nosebleed, so long as the nosebleed was running the football. Tampa's run defense is one of the league's worst by every statistical measure, and regardless of who has quarterbacked their offense, the Bucs have been a turnover machine all year. That's a bad thing to be against any team, particularly the Ravens, who still boast the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense. Baltimore's streak of running for 200 yards as a team ended against Kansas City, though only by 2 yards. The Ravens would seem a good bet to top that number this week, take control early and watch as the Buccaneers shoot themselves in the foot offensively — if they can get anything going in the first place. A Ravens win coupled with a Steelers loss would put Baltimore back in first place in the AFC North.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Everyone expected the Cardinals to be a major work in progress this season, and they have been. The same cannot be said for Matt Ryan and the enormously disappointing Atlanta Falcons, whose season was derailed early by defensive injuries, but who have not done anything on offense to cover for that side of the ball. Any team with Ryan as its quarterback should not be middle of the pack in scoring offense, even in the near-complete absence of a running game. It's a mark against Ryan that he hasn't been able to figure out a way to get the Falcons humming enough to win games, and perhaps the team's struggles without Devonta Freeman will prompt it to draft a more suitable backup this year. Perhaps no one's stock has dropped more than Tevin Coleman's, as he has been pedestrian when tasked with the role of feature back. Having said all of that, the Falcons, on their home field, should still knock around an Arizona team that needs several playmakers, particularly on offense.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Another matchup of teams going nowhere gives us time to reflect on the career of Geno Atkins, one of the NFL's best interior linemen, who has had the misfortune of playing in Cincinnati his whole career. If Atkins was a member of a better team, he would be mentioned in the same breath as guys like Fletcher Cox and Aaron Donald. He's not quite on their level, but he's not far off either. You feel bad for him because unless the Bengals suddenly become something other than what they've been for decades, Atkins' great work will have been done in anonymity. Certainly whatever he does in this contest will go mostly unnoticed, unless he racks up 10 sacks by himself. Oakland may have screwed up a golden opportunity at the top overall pick with its win over Pittsburgh, and when a sentence like that can be said, and can have plenty of truth to it, you know you're speaking of a bad football team. Derek Carr, it should be noted, has not thrown an interception in eight games and made some gorgeous throws to beat the Steelers. Could he still be the guy in Oakland?

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Titans need the Dolphins, Ravens and Colts to lose to leapfrog all three in the playoff chase. Oh, and they need to win out. If they do that, they'll take care of the Colts themselves in the process, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Dolphins and Ravens will suffer at least one more loss before the season ends. Marcus Mariota hasn't been bad this season, but he hasn't been good either, and the Titans will go precisely as far as their defense and running game take them. Derrick Henry playing like he did against the Jaguars for a few more weeks would make them plenty formidable, but they'll have their hands full with Saquon Barkley, who has been as advertised and then some for the Giants. Barkley still has a shot at Eric Dickerson's rookie yards from scrimmage record, and there's no doubt that the Giants will feed him with plenty of touches, especially if Odell Beckham is out again with his quad injury. This game could either be really fun or really bad. Watch at your peril!

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

The NFL is still buzzing about the sheer improbability of Miami's hook and lateral win over New England, and while most of the buzz is about Bill Belichick's uncharacteristic, awful decision to have Rob Gronkowski on the field for the play, not enough praise has been sent to Kenyan Drake, who was spectacular once he got the ball in the final sequence. Miami is a truly strange team insofar as it still has a legitimate shot at a playoff berth yet is mediocre or worse in most every major statistical category. About the only thing the Dolphins do really well is force turnovers. They have forced 25, good for third in the league. Minnesota's offense has turned the ball over six times in its last four games and just fired offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. The Vikings have gotten virtually no traction in the running game, and Kirk Cousins has been mostly mediocre of late. If they don't put Miami away early, they might be in trouble.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Two teams that have been decimated by injuries at various points this season do battle in this one, and truth be told, it has the potential to be one of the ugliest games of the week, and possibly the NFL season. There has to be some question as to whether or not Doug Marrone's job is safe, given the way the Jaguars have cratered this year. Blake Bortles was a disaster, there was turmoil at times in the locker room, and after an early-season win over New England, the Jags went downhill in a hurry. Washington might still be leading the NFC East had Alex Smith not gotten hurt, but he did, and then Colt McCoy did, and the Redskins have paid dearly for it. While Washington could win out and have a good chance at a playoff berth, the mere suggestion of such a thing seems almost farcical. Josh Johnson will get the nod under center for Washington this week, and out of respect for loyal fans of the team, nothing more will be said about that situation.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Cowboys have come alive, and while it's easy to make fun of Jerry Jones for some of his personnel decisions, the move to use a first-round pick to bring in Amari Cooper has been nothing less than a masterstroke. Cooper has six touchdowns in six games with Dallas, including three, one of which was the overtime game-winner against the Eagles last week. Dallas has gone from 3-5 and underwhelming to 8-5 and champions of the NFC East, provided it wins this game. The Colts are making a playoff push of their own, however, and it has been fueled by a dynamic quarterback-wide receiver combination. Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton are making beautiful music together, and Hilton has topped 100 yards receiving in three of his last four games. The Colts are 6-1 in their last seven and would vault ahead of the Ravens with a win, provided Baltimore loses to the Bucs. Washington and Jacksonville stands as a dud, but this NFC East-AFC South tilt should be a doozy.

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET (FOX)

One of the unsung heroes of Seattle's season, and really one of the best players not talked about nearly enough in the NFL, is Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner. By some metrics, Wagner has not missed a tackle all season, and though he seemingly got away with an obvious penalty, he made a huge play to help Seattle to a win over Minnesota when he blocked a Vikings field goal. Seattle is a trendy dark horse pick to win the Super Bowl, and why not? The Seahawks are in the top 10 in both scoring offense and defense, they run the ball tremendously well and have Russell Wilson playing at a high level. What's not to like? The Seahawks will clinch a playoff berth with a win, and it's hard to imagine the 49ers stopping them. The teams met two weeks ago, Seattle cruised to a 43-16 win, and Wagner scored on a 98-yard interception return. The Niners could use a loss more than a win, and that's probably what they're going to get. 

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Steelers are suddenly in disarray, losers of three straight, and in real danger of missing the playoffs. They're fresh off a loss to the moribund Raiders, and Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger have resorted to blaming an old X-ray machine when pressed for an explanation on why Roethlisberger didn't re-enter the game against the Raiders until Oakland had taken a late lead. What Tomlin should really be explaining is how the Steelers defense is so bad and why none of the coaches on that side of the ball has been fired. Pittsburgh got strafed by Derek Carr on consecutive drives to lose the game. Imagine what a seething Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will do to a team they traditionally torture. Belichick knows he let a game slip away against Miami, and it's doubtful he'll lose two in a row. Since 2001, Belichick is 43-12 in games after a loss. The Steelers' only hope, with James Conner unlikely to go, is that Roethlisberger has a career game. That doesn't seem probable. A New England win and a Miami loss gives the Pats the AFC East.

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

The Rams ran into the buzz saw that is the Bears defense last week, but this week should be different. For one thing, Los Angeles is back at home. For another, the Eagles are not the Bears on defense, nor are they particularly close. Los Angeles will also probably decide to give Todd Gurley the ball more than 11 times, even though Philadelphia's defense is much better against the run than it is the pass, and Fletcher Cox is a monster on the defensive line. The Eagles are in big trouble, as they probably need to win out. They have a tough remaining schedule, with the Texans looming after this game. What has done Philly in? Simply put, it has been a lack of difference-making plays from the offense and an inability to beat the Dallas Cowboys. Philly got torched by Amari Cooper last week, so Jared Goff and Brandin Cooks are probably licking their chops at the thought of going up against Philly's secondary. A Rams win coupled with a Bears loss would clinch a first-round bye for L.A.

Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Drew Brees has been pedestrian of late, though he found his form in time to guide the Saints to a win over Tampa Bay and avenge one of their two losses on the season. New Orleans rediscovered its running game against Tampa and never really panicked despite trailing 14-3 at the half and 14-11 after three quarters. Saints fans would doubtless like to see Brees get cooking again; however, despite their propensity for running the football — only three teams have more rushing attempts this season — New Orleans is truly lethal when Brees is playing with surgical precision. Carolina is reeling, and another loss will K.O. its playoff chances. Cam Newton is banged up, and while the Panthers' last four losses have all been by one possession and by an average of only four points, they're still just that: losses. They're much better at home, but it might not matter if Brees and the Saints get going. Carolina will have to control the ball and cash in any long drives with touchdowns. A win plus a Bears loss would secure a first-round bye for the Saints.