Every week in the NFL season brings a host of new questions … and answers some old ones, too. Let’s run down what we learned in Week 15 … and what we’ll be wondering about in Week 16 and beyond.
ANSWERED: Minnesota might just do this thing, at last
The ghosts of the past hang heavy over the heads of Vikings fans. Losses in four of the first 11 Super Bowls, Morten Andersen kicking the 15-1 Vikings out of the playoffs in 1998, the Minneapolis Miracle leading to Philly Frustration in 2018 … so many chances for championship glory, so many failures, over and over. So you can understand why the Skol faithful might not be 100 percent ready to give themselves over to this team.
That said … the rest of us can start. Yes, Sam Darnold has never started a playoff game. But he's got the best possible armor around him in the Vikings' offensive gameplan and defensive intensity, and he's also got a Hulk of his own in Justin Jefferson. Minnesota survived what could have been a look-ahead loss to Seattle Sunday, in large part because Jefferson played a starring role with 144 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
The Vikings close with divisional games against the Packers and Lions and a very real chance to claim the NFC North crown. Up until a few weeks ago, we would have said “vulture” or “steal” the divisional title, but the Vikings have proven themselves every bit the equal of their rivals. Now it’s down to who wins, straight up. If you’re a Vikings fan, it’s OK to hope.
ASKED: Do we trust the Rams, or nah?
Look, in the NFL, a win is a win is a win. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a monstrous blowout or an in-the-mud scrap, all that matters is the W. And the Rams have been piling up those Ws by playing both ways. You can say it’s a sign of inconsistency, or you can call it flexibility, but the end result is the same, and as a result the Rams are now an 86 percent favorite to make the playoffs, per NFL.com.
Los Angeles has now won four straight and sits at 9-6, quite the bounceback from a 1-4 start. Two weeks after piling up points by the armload against Buffalo, and a week after the most uninspiring game of the season (a 12-6 win over San Francisco), the Rams pounded out a 19-9 victory over a surprisingly spry New York Jets team. With San Francisco and Arizona eliminated and Seattle staggering, Los Angeles has a chance to lock down the division and guarantee that opening-round home game. And from there, who knows?
ANSWERED: Washington got two wins this weekend
Here’s a sentence you haven’t read often lately: Things are really looking up in Washington! And yes, we’re talking about the football team. The Commanders beat the Eagles to solidify their playoff standing and continue toward their best season in a generation. But on a larger scale, a deal to develop a stadium inside the District of Columbia is back from the dead. In the late hours of budget negotiations, the Senate unanimously passed a bill giving the District the ability to develop federal land — currently the site of the decrepit, abandoned RFK Stadium — into a new mixed-use residential/commercial stadium site.
There’s no guarantee that the Commanders are headed back into D.C. The state of Maryland will still have a say, and Virginia could step in with a firmer bid, too. But the ability to redevelop the RFK Stadium site, which is more accessible than the current FedEx Field site, would be a major step forward for the franchise, and for the city as a whole.
ASKED: How much football is too much football?
We are in the midst of perhaps the most sustained run of NFL football in human history. Starting on Dec. 21, we have had, or will have, games on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Eight of a possible 10 days! That's a hell of a lot of football. Obviously this is part of the NFL's move to seize Christmas from the NBA, but there's more to it than that — this is the league extending its dominance to virtually every day of the week. This won't necessarily be a harbinger of the future, but it could be. Is this too much football, or is the NFL just serving customer needs? We'll find out soon enough.
ASKED: Ravens or Steelers… who ya got?
The AFC playoff race is pretty well set in stone already, barring some catastrophic end-of-year failures. The AFC North divisional race, however, is very much in flux, with both the Ravens and Steelers still in the hunt for the title and that coveted first-round home game. (The Bengals are still mathematically in the playoff chase, but … sorry, Joe.) So let’s see how this all shakes out with their final two games:
Baltimore: At Houston, at home vs. Cleveland.
Pittsburgh: At home vs. Kansas City and Cincinnati.
Who’s got the edge? Two home games are a pleasant bonus for Pittsburgh, but both are a challenge. Baltimore has to travel to Houston, and while a home game against Cleveland seems a gimme, remember how the first Browns-Ravens game this season went? (Hint: It was one of Cleveland’s three wins on the year.) We’ll get a lot of clarity on — of all days — Wednesday.
ANSWERED: Arizona still has a long way to go
For a moment there, things were going well in Arizona. The Cardinals were 6-4 and on top of the NFC West. Sure, they weren’t quite a Super Bowl-worthy contender, but they were at least headed for the playoffs. Got to start somewhere, right?
Or not. Since then, the Cardinals have gone 1-4 and played themselves right out of the postseason. The run bottomed out on Sunday with an ugly 36-30 overtime loss to Carolina, one of those teams that Arizona should have beaten handily. Injuries, penalties and inexplicable mistakes by quarterback Kyler Murray cost the Cardinals on Sunday, and once again Arizona finds itself on the outside of the playoffs looking in. This is the third straight season that the Cardinals have missed the postseason, despite overhauls of the roster, sideline and front office. Is there hope for 2025, or is Arizona just one of those snakebit franchises?
