It's the most wonderful time of the year, and not just because of the holiday season. It's officially crunch time in the NFL as teams desperately try to secure postseason spots and top seeds.
Desperation should help produce some of the best performances of the season and this week's slate includes 16 games spread over a five-day period. A dozen of these contests take place on Sundays and Mondays, with all twelve still having at least one team fighting for a playoff spot or better.
Here are five of the most compelling storylines to watch on Sunday and Monday. (Find the NFL Week 15 schedule here.)
1. Rebounds required
A whopping 12 teams lost last weekend in the heart of the playoff race. These losses have added to the sense of urgency heading into Week 15. Nine of those teams – the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons – play on Sunday or Monday and need wins to either stay in contention or to defend their positions at the top of the overall standings.
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Some top performers are among the neediest. The Eagles have lost two straight and moved from first place in the NFC to fifth place last weekend. Can they bounce back Monday night against the Seahawks, who are four games behind? The Chiefs are also coming off two straight losses and are looking to get back on the road against the New England Patriots. But will Bill Belichick muster enough to keep Patrick Mahomes and his much-maligned receiving corps in check? The Dolphins collapsed on Monday night, losing to the lowly Tennessee Titans despite leading by double digits with three minutes left. Top weapon Tyreek Hill is dealing with an ankle injury and without him, Mike McDaniel's offense just isn't the same. The New York Jets have a talented defense. Can they defeat the AFC East leaders?
2. Search for NFC and AFC top seeds
If the season ended today, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens would be the top seeds in the NFC and AFC, respectively, at 10-3. That would mean a bye in the first round and the always coveted home advantage.
Finishing in first place bodes well for a team's chances of reaching the Super Bowl. According to NFL Research, since 1990, when the league expanded to a 12-team playoff system (now 14), 34 of the 64 No. 1 seeds have reached the Super Bowl. These top-seeded teams are 15-19 heading into the final game of the season.
Therefore, it is certainly of great importance to secure the number 1 position. San Francisco and Baltimore can maintain or extend their lead with wins on Sunday. The 49ers snapped their five-game winning streak against the Cardinals in Arizona, going 3-10. Despite being visitors, the 49ers are the 12 1/2-point favorite. The Ravens, meanwhile, face a potentially bigger challenge, hosting the Jaguars (8-5). The Ravens are narrow 3-point favorites and enter this game having won three straight and seven of their last eight games.
Will these two powerhouse teams, who face off on Christmas night in a possible Super Bowl preview, stay hot on Sunday? (49ers at Cardinals, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET; Ravens at Jaguars, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET.)
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3. Unlikely QB heroes
For many backup quarterbacks, 2023 is the season of opportunity. Two of the more surprising and refreshing QB stories of late involve passers on the opposite end of the spectrum: Tommy DeVito of the New York Giants and Joe Flacco of the Cleveland Browns.
The Giants have found new life behind DeVito, the undrafted rookie who has helped the team to three straight wins. The Syracuse and Illinois product has thrown five touchdowns and zero interceptions in this three-game stretch, and after posting a terrible 2-8 record, the Giants are inching closer to both respectability and a glimmer of postseason hope. This week's task: defeat the New Orleans Saints 6-7 in Caesars Superdome. Can the Giants and DeVito, who completes 65.9 percent of his passes and has a 96.5 passer rating, continue to ride this wave of unforeseen success?
Flacco, Super Bowl XLVII MVP for the Ravens, had not played football this season until three weeks ago. Then came the injury-plagued Browns. Flacco, who made his second start for Cleveland last week, rushed for 311 yards and three touchdowns while leading the Browns to a 31-27 win over Jacksonville. The 38-year-old Flacco's heroics helped Cleveland improve to 8-5, and the Browns finished fifth in the AFC. This week he faces the Chicago Bears. With another strong performance, Flacco can help keep the Browns in the driver's seat as they eye a postseason run despite losing star quarterback Deshaun Watson this year. (Giants at Saints, Bears at Browns, both Sunday, 1 p.m. ET.)
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys can't take the Bills lightly on Sunday. (Tim Heitman/USA Today)
4th heavyweight fight in Buffalo
Sunday's game between the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills was considered a possible preview of the Super Bowl in the preseason. Today, Dallas (10-3) is actually one of the hottest teams in the league. Buffalo (7-6) still has a ways to go to secure a playoff ticket, but it remains dangerous, as its win over Kansas City showed last week.
With an offense that leads the league in points per game at 32 and a defense that ranks in the top five, the Cowboys look like real contenders. The Bills, on the other hand, are certainly more talented than their record suggests and come into this game with a lot of motivation and desperation. Buffalo has less than a 50 percent chance of making the playoffs, but a win against Dallas can help improve its chances. And Dallas has to win if Mike McCarthy and Co. want to wrest the NFC East away from the Eagles, with whom they share the division lead. (Cowboys at Bills, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET.)
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5. Who will be MVP?
Unlike some years where one or two players seemingly stand head and shoulders above the rest, the 2023 MVP field is pretty crowded.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott enters Week 15 with a narrow lead over the 49ers' Brock Purdy to win the award. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson also has a strong case and could boost his chances with a win on Sunday and more heroics against San Francisco next week and Miami the week after that. Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts needs a rebound, both individually and from a team standpoint, to get back into the conversation, and the same goes for Mahomes.
But does it really have to just be about the quarterbacks? Hill's importance to Miami and his level of dominance are beyond question. A wide receiver has never won the MVP, but could Hill make history with the 2,000-yard mark still within reach? And let's not forget Christian McCaffrey, who is on pace for 2,110 all-purpose yards (1,539 rushing and 571 receiving) for the 49ers.
(Top photos of Mike McDaniel, Tommy DeVito, Lamar Jackson: Rich Storry, Al Bello, Christian Petersen / Getty Images)