The 32 things we learned from Week 15 of the 2024 NFL season:
0. That’s the number of wins the New York Giants have at home this season after their 35-14 loss Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens. Also, the number of G-Men wins since week 5.
0. Also, the number of touchdowns scored in Thursday night’s game – the first time this season no one visited the end zone in a game – when the Los Angeles Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 12- 6. Not only that, Rams WR Cooper Kupp took a donut in the receiving department during this contest, zero was the number of sacks generated by the 49ers and also the degree of responsibility shown by San Francisco LB (for now) De’Vondre Campbell, who refused to enter the game.
0. Number of touchdowns caught in 2024 for Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride… who now has 89 receptions this season.
0. The number of times Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked during the defending champions’ 21-7 triumph over the Cleveland Browns – after being sacked 13 times in the previous three games and 23 in over the last six games before Sunday. And yet…
1. That is to say, the number one story this week will undoubtedly be Mahomes’ status after he injured his ankle after being enveloped by three Cleveland defenders while trying to get rid of a pass. By NFL Networkthe three-time Super Bowl MVP is already being considered week to week…which is problematic because the AFC leadership is officially in the middle of a three-games-in-11-day stretch that ends on Christmas. The Chiefs host the AFC South champion Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon. “It’s not broken, that’s all I can tell you,” HC Andy Reid said after the game. “We’ll have to see how it goes down the road.”
2. The number of teams mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday: the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears.
3. The Ravens also have a player who apparently doesn’t feel obligated to play at any time, although WR Diontae Johnson was suspended for Sunday’s game after refusing to participate in the Week 14 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Baltimore barely missed it…but we’ll talk about that in a minute.
4. Career-high number of turnovers (3 INT, fumble) by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Sunday’s loss to the Texans – one that effectively ended the Fins’ already weak playoff prospects .
4a. The career-high number of turnovers (2 INTs, 2 fumbles) by Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys – one that officially ended the Carolina Panthers’ extremely distant outlook Panthers in the playoffs.
4b. Career-high number of turnovers (3 INT, fumble) by Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis in Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals – one that didn’t affect much outside of the position draft of the long-eliminated Titans.
5. The number of TD passes thrown Sunday by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was apparently enough hamstrings due to Johnson’s absence.
6. The number of times in Jackson’s career he’s passed for five touchdowns in a game, accomplishing the trick twice in 2024 – while he’s still a legitimate MVP candidate.
6(001): Jackson’s career rushing yards after eclipsing the 6,000-yard mark on Sunday. He needs 109 more to surpass Michael Vick’s all-time record for quarterbacks.
7. Speaking of MVP candidates, I feel like Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen could have won the award on Sunday after beating Jared Goff’s Detroit Lions 48-42 at Ford Field in a game that didn’t wasn’t as close as the score suggests. Neither team saw a juicy interconference game change their standings on Sunday. But by adding four more touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing) to his season total while totaling 430 offensive yards, Allen almost certainly left Goff, one of his apparent pursuers, in the dust.
8. Number of times the New Orleans Saints sacked Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, although some were the result of the rookie stepping out of bounds. Still, the punishment seemed to take its toll as the Commanders scored just six points in the second half and nearly coughed up a 17-0 lead before surviving on the final play of the game – when the two-point attempt Saints failed in their 20-19 defeat.
8a. And the Saints got some home cooking from the Clockmaker Sunday at the Superdome.
The referees stopped the game clock for 4 seconds when it should have been running
freezes at :09 while playback clock goes from :39 to :35
the game should have been over
how can they make such a mistake pic.twitter.com/aWyIGWb9Hy
– Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) December 15, 2024
9. On Sunday, Saints RB Alvin Kamara became the fourth player in league history with 50 career touchdowns and 25 receiving touchdowns. Is he a Hall of Famer? Other players on the list are Niners RB Christian McCaffrey, as well as HOFers Marshall Faulk and Lenny Moore.
10. The number of turnovers (4 by Levis, 3 by Cincy QB Joe Burrow) in the Cincinnati Bengals’ loss to the Titans, the most in a game in 17 years.
11. The craziest belonged to the Bengals’ SS Jordan Battle, whose premature celebration as he crossed the Tennessee goal line on a 60-yard fumble return… earned him a fumble of his own.
11a. A similar scenario would play out just hours later – for a much more high-profile player, RB Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts – with far more ramifications for the Fantasy (and NFL) playoffs.
12. A few more gems from an unusually entertaining game, which the Bengals won 37-27…although the game really wasn’t as competitive as the score would indicate. The teams totaled 49 first downs, 129 plays, 744 yards…and 26 penalties (for 223 collective yards).
13. But those numbers were just a mere prelude to the Bills-Lions game. Detroit and Buffalo combined for 90 points, 58 first downs, 145 plays and 1,080 yards – both clubs surpassing 500.
14. The Chiefs’ margin of victory on Sunday, their largest of the season.
15. The Chiefs’ overall margin of victory in their previous five wins.
16. Raise your hand if you rated the New York Jets’ 32-25 victory in Jacksonville as the most entertaining game of the weekend in a battle of teams that began Sunday 3-10.
17. The jersey number of Jets WR Davante Adams, who scored his 100th and 101st career touchdowns in the victory. He also totaled 198 receiving yards, 8 shy of his career high.
18. As disappointing as the Jets are in 2024, Rodgers has been playing well lately… although that matters the least. He has eight TD passes (compared to 1 INT) in the last four games and has had a passer rating of at least 100.0 in three of them. He even had a team-high 45 rushing yards against the Jags. Still, Sunday’s win was the Jets’ only win during that stretch.
19. The Jets’ 32 points are a season high – and Rodgers has stressed the need to score at least 30 all season. And people say he’s beside himself…
20. The Rodgers-Adams connection also brought up their peak in Green Bay as of late, the NYJ just peaked… too late for it to make the difference it might have.
21. The Jets sacked Jacksonville QB2 Mac Jones twice – certainly an insufficient total two days after ESPN featured the team’s famous/infamous “New York Sack Exchange,” which got its own “30 for 30”.
22. And yet, the play of the day might have been the backflip executed by Jacksonville DT Jeremiah Ledbetter, who is 6-3, 299 pounds, after sacking Rodgers.
23. How good is Denver’s defense? That generated five takeaways and a touchdown on a day when the Broncos offense failed to even go for 200 yards against Indianapolis. More than enough to crush the Colts and secure the franchise’s first playoff berth since quarterback Peyton Manning and Co. won Super Bowl 50 nine years ago.
24. And don’t overlook Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto for Defensive Player of the Year. He’s up to 11½ sacks and ran 50 lateral yards to the house for his second touchdown of the season…although he was flagged for the last “Marsawn.”
25. Still, Taylor’s gaffe may ultimately be recognized as the moment that sent the Colts to the glue factory in a season full of problems.
26. How good is the Los Angeles Chargers defense? Shrug your shoulders. For those of us who thought this team was overrated – or at least unproven – based on its schedule to date, the equally mediocre Tampa Bay Buccaneers woke up the fans of the Bolts Sunday. The Chargers began Week 15 as the league’s stingiest D scorer, allowing just 15.9 points per week… before the Bucs snagged nearly three times as many in a 40-17 tie . Tampa Bay’s 506 offensive yards were also by far the most allowed by first-year HC Jim Harbaugh’s team in 2024.
27. Things weren’t much better offensively, with quarterback Justin Herbert’s streak of games without an interception ending at 11, one shy of a league-record 357 completions.
28. On the other side, Buccaneers WR Mike Evans had his biggest game of the season with 159 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He needs to average 84 yards over the next three weeks to extend his 1,000-yard streak to 11.
29. Houston’s Derek Stingley picked off Tagovailoa twice in the fourth quarter and effectively shut down Miami WR Tyreek Hill, continuing to solidify his position as one of the league’s best corners in his third NFL season. 30. Yardage NT Titans rookie T’Vondre Sweat, 6-4, 366 pounds, returned a fumble Sunday. According to NFL Media, this is the longest return of a player weighing at least 350 pounds since at least 1991.
31. Cowboys K Brandon Aubrey’s very disappointing The sophomore season continued Sunday after missing his sixth field goal attempt of the year – unsuccessfully. 70 yards at the end of the first half. Come on, man. We joke, we joke…and the idea of Dallas attempting FGs for this long is pretty insane. Maybe he won’t go 36 for 38 like he did as a rookie, but we’ll find room for Aubrey on our roster – like we’re starting a team.
32. Congratulations to Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter of the University of Colorado, who could be a top-five pick in next year’s NFL Draft as a cornerback or wideout. But to get that kind of multi-position talent in one package? It should be fascinating to see where he lands and how many snaps he gets on each side of the ball.
All the latest NFL news on and off the field. Register for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.
***
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: NFL Week 15 Takeaways: Patrick Mahomes Injury Casts a Pall
