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32 things we learned in NFL Week 15 takeaways: Painful fallout for big injuries
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- 32 things we learned in NFL Week 15 takeaways: Painful fallout for big injuries
The 32 things we learned from Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season:
0.The number of points scored Sunday by the Cincinnati Bengals – in a game they had to win in order to remain on the postseason fringes. Remarkably, the Stripes took the bagel against the Baltimore Ravens despite running 71 plays and holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes. A virtually impossible set of circumstances. It was the first time the Bengals have been shut out since 2017. So much for tying up so much money in QB Joe Burrow and WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins , though the latter was unable to play after returning to the concussion protocol for the second time in three weeks.
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1.The number of times the Kansas City Chiefs have missed the playoffs in the last decade – that regrettable outcome clinched with Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers . The last time K.C. fell short was 2014, coach Andy Reid's second season with the club.
2.The number of teams that clinched playoff berths Sunday – the first secured this season – the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos both punching their tickets to the Super Bowl 60 tournament. Neither team has yet to win its division but both are in position to win their respective conference's No. 1 seed.
2a.The New England Patriots botched their opportunity to clinch the AFC East in a come-from-ahead loss to the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.
3.The number of teams officially eliminated Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings falling by the wayside – well before they took the field Sunday night – along with the Chiefs and Bengals.
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4.But Sunday was a very painful one beyond the league's shifting playoff ramifications – several superstars suffering injuries likely to run the gamut as it pertains to long-term consequences.
5. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL near the end of Kansas City 's loss, an injury that would have ensured he wouldn't play in the AFC championship game for the first time since he became the team's starter in 2018 … though K.C.'s loss had also certified that outcome. One of the more remarkable runs in league history comes to an end on that front.
6. Green Bay Packers DE Micah Parsons may have suffered a similar fate as Mahomes – and his loss would be far more damaging in the context of this season given the Packers have had the look of a team that could win the Super Bowl.
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7.The Pack were up 23-21 at the end of the third quarter when Parsons went down in Denver. Not only did they eventually succumb 34-26, but the loss dropped them from second place overall in the conference (and first in the NFC North) to seventh, though 1½ games up on the still-dangerous Detroit Lions .
8.The length of the Washington Commanders ' losing streak entering Sunday … before they snapped it by beating the New York Giants 29-21.
8a.The length of the Giants' losing streak after losing to the Commanders on Sunday.
9.Yay, NFC East … which will almost certainly have its first repeat division winner since 2004 after the Philadelphia Eagles pillaged the Las Vegas Raiders 31-0. Yet even the reigning champs currently seem like the least-bad team of the largely uninspiring quartet.
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10.Speaking of concerning injuries, the Rams have their own relative level of concern despite locking up a playoff berth. But WR Davante Adams' hamstring injury could be a huge setback – especially with LA set to play at Seattle on Thursday night.
11.Currently even with an 11-3 record, though the Rams beat the Seahawks in Week 11, Thursday night's winner will not only move to the top of the NFC West but also takes possession of the conference's No. 1 seed. Seattle certainly appears to be the healthier team, if a slightly more erratic one than LA.
12.Commanders LB Von Miller 's place on the NFL's all-time sack list – the stat became official in 1982 – after he reached 136½ on Sunday. Miller moved a half-sack ahead of Hall of Famer Jared Allen .
13.What a day for Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence , who threw a career-high five TD passes in the AFC South leaders' 48-20 rout of the New York Jets . Lawrence also rushed for 51 yards and another score. It's almost like this guy should have been a No. 1 overall draft pick. Wait.
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14.If the season ended today – it doesn't – the New York Giants would own the No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft .
15.But it sure looks like the Raiders, who fell from the No. 1 spot to No. 2 this weekend, might have to make the G-Men an offer. Las Vegas gained all of 75 yards – total – at Philadelphia en route to its seventh consecutive loss.
16.Here's a wild stat regarding Patriots rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson: Sunday, he joined Chris Johnson as the only players to have multiple games in the same season with multiple rushing TDs of at least 50 yards in those contests.
17.The longtime jersey number of Indianapolis Colts QB Philip Rivers – with the permission of predecessor Daniel Jones and the league – which he wore Sunday at Seattle.
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18.The number of seasons Rivers has now played in the league, by virtue of being on the Colts' active roster – to say nothing of playing an entire game at Lumen Field. And Rivers, 44, provided a valiant effort while passing for 120 yards and a TD in an 18-16 loss to mighty Seattle with just a few days of prep and five years of rust and extra weight ... even if all this hullabaloo will keep him out of the Hall of Fame now until at least 2031.
19.But while Indy maybe got a shot of adrenaline and hope that this season can be salvaged, the reality is that the Colts (8-6) continued to spiral after their 7-1 start and are starting to cement themselves into eighth place in the AFC – not where any team wants to be, particularly one that's reaching for the brass ring.
20. Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward has thrown multiple TD passes in successive weeks after he hadn't done it all season prior to December. Didn't help his team avoid a 37-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers … but progress!
21½.The number of sacks Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett now has, extending what was already his career high after he registered 1½ Sunday at Chicago .
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22½.Garrett needs just one more QB takedown to tie the single-season record shared by T.J. Watt and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.
23.The jersey number of Rams RB Kyren Williams (88 total yards, 2 TDs), who had a much bigger day than Lions counterpart Jahmyr Gibbs – a big key to LA's victory. Gibbs had 58 yards and didn't manage to score as Detroit continued to lose touch with the NFC playoff field.
24.However Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown had himself a day (13 catches, 164 yards, 2 TDs), the USC product shining near his old haunting grounds even if it wasn't enough to produce a victory.
25.But it did produce a spot for ARSB in the record books, the Detroit star becoming the first player ever to record at least 90 receptions in each of his first five NFL seasons.
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26.The jersey number of Houston Texans RB Jawhar Jordan , a second-year player who made his regular-season debut Sunday – after being promoted from the practice squad 24 hours earlier – and rushed for 101 yards on 15 carries.
27.Guess who will be the No. 1 pick on your fantasy waiver wire this week?
28.More importantly, if Jordan can actually be a factor in a Houston offense that got a three-TD passing day from QB C.J. Stroud in Sunday's 40-20 defeat of the Arizona Cardinals , this team could legitimately be the AFC's best by the time the playoffs start.
29.The Texans (9-5) remain on track to become the fifth team since 1990 to qualify for postseason despite an 0-3 start.
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30.It's been a tough year for the Cards, but it will wind up a significant one for TE Trey McBride , who had 12 catches for 134 yards and two TDs in defeat Sunday. The receptions and TDs matched McBride's personal bests in an NFL game, while the yardage total beat his previous career high by 1 yard.
31.McBride now has a league-best 105 receptions and became the first tight end in league history to hit the century mark in successive years. McBride and Travis Kelce are the only tight ends with multiple 100-catch seasons in the NFL, Kelce managing it three times. With 12 catches over the final three games, McBride will break Zach Ertz 's single-season record for tight end catches.
32.And with his 16th consecutive game with at least five receptions, McBride set a new positional record after being tied on that front with Kelce.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL Week 15 takeaways: Major injuries have painful fallout
