Story by
NFL Week 15 winners and losers: Mahomes' injury should force change
- Story by
- NFL Week 15 winners and losers: Mahomes' injury should force change
"It doesn't look good" became the regrettable catchphrase of Week 15 in the NFL .
It has been some time since injuries have hit so many stars throughout the league on the same day, with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons feared to have met the same fate . Meanwhile, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay also said the outlook wasn't promising for wide receiver Davante Adams , whose status is uncertain after he suffered a non-contact hamstring injury.
Advertisement
And along with the personnel hits came a significant reshaping of the playoff picture , complete with two teams becoming the first to seal their postseason spots in the Rams and Denver Broncos .
Here are the biggest winners and losers of Week 15 in the NFL:
NFL Week 15 winners
Josh Allen
Only the reigning NFL MVP could shrug off being caught on camera vomiting on the sideline. While no one could have blamed Allen if his fourth-quarter act had been in response to the Buffalo Bills ' porous run defense, which gave up 246 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, the quarterback assured it was a common occurrence for him. Despite that, he once again harnessed his distinct cool and singular playmaking streak to propel Buffalo to a wild 35-31 win over the New England Patriots , who saw their hopes of clinching the AFC East this week evaporate as quickly as their 21-0 lead did. Initially boxed in by some schematic and personnel restraints, Allen once again started off by working the underneath area almost exclusively in the first half as the Bills' deficit grew. But the aggressiveness of yesteryear kicked in for the quarterback once the team's moment of desperation arrived, and his knack for extending plays, operating out of structure and attacking downfield sparkled in the furious rally. In all likelihood, he'll need to revert to this mode a few more times to rescue a group that looks bound to get roped into more shootouts, particularly in the postseason. With this outing, Buffalo established that it is far from the most trustworthy team likely to make the playoff field, but it might be the most dangerous.
Advertisement
Bo Nix
The Denver Broncos quarterback has been decried as the weak link in an otherwise Super Bowl-ready roster. Yet in a matchup that many expected to be defined by the Packers offense taking on the Broncos defense, it was Nix who might have been the deciding factor.
The second-year signal-caller strung together arguably the most impressive outing of his career, repeatedly dicing apart zone coverage for 302 yards and four touchdowns on the day in Denver's 34-26 triumph. Nix helped the Broncos unlock an explosive streak that has been missing in action for large stretches, with six of his completions coming more than 15 yards downfield. He also weaponized his mobility, extending plays to give his receivers more time to get open. If this version of Nix shows up in the playoffs, Denver stands out from the rest of the pack as the AFC's clear front-runner.
