Week 15 of the NFL season began Thursday night when the Las Vegas Marauders squashed the Los Angeles Chargers 63-21 in what became Chargers mentor Brandon Staley's last game with the group (senior supervisor Tom Telesco and Staley were terminated the next day).
On Saturday, the Cincinnati Bengals kept their season finisher trusts bursting at the seams with an undeniably exhilarating 27-24 triumph over the Minnesota Vikings in extra time. The Indianapolis Yearlings followed that by scoring 30 unanswered focuses in a 30-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Detroit Lions made simple work of the Denver Mustangs is a 42-17 victory to wrap up the record.
Our NFL Country columnists responded to all the activity, addressing waiting inquiries emerging from each game and choosing who - - for sure - - is rising and succumbing to each group. We should get to it.
Lions
Did the Lions' offense get its strut back? After a 13-point execution that Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown depicted as "disheartening" and "disappointing" during last week's misfortune to the Chicago Bears, the Lions answered with areas of strength for an at home over Denver with a strong result on the two sides of the ball. St. Brown was falling off a season-low 21 getting yards, while veteran QB Jared Goff committed nine turnovers more than a four-game stretch prior to confronting the Horses. The two of them moved forward: St. Brown enrolled 102 getting yards with a TD, while Goff tossed five score passes without a turnover.
Stock up after the success: Sam LaPorta. The new kid on the block tight end returned from a two-get game at Chicago to set the establishment mark for youngster tight finishes with nine scores on the season and three on the evening.
Stock down after the success: Third quarters. The Lions keep on tracking down ways of battling in the second from last quarter, as they were outscored 10-7 in the third for the third consecutive week. During the week, Goff said they expected to have better execution and center emerging from halftime, and in spite of the fact that it didn't hurt them in this game, it's as yet something special to fix. - - Eric Woodyard
Mustangs
Could a gassed Horses at any point group get itself - - once more - - for one final season finisher push? The Mustangs played their third street game in 13 days and looked each piece travel-exhausted. The offense grouped three-and-outs right off the bat in a drowsy beginning while the protection, in the wake of holding the Lions scoreless in the primary quarter, couldn't keep up with the energy with a whirlwind of missed handles and unfortunate run fits that followed. It's a misfortune to a NFC group, so not excessively harming in the special case chase, however the Horses need to find a completing kick with two sequential games at home and can't lose once more in the event that they need a trump card.
Stock up after the misfortune: CB Pat Surtain II. Surtain keeps on impacting nearly all that rivals do in the passing game. Where the Horses put him in the development typically pushes the ball somewhere else, and somewhere else Saturday night was five score passes for Jared Goff, three of those to youngster tight end Sam LaPorta.
Stock down after the misfortune: Run guard. The Mustangs didn't give up a hurrying score until the final quarter, however the speed of the game had long moved away from them as Detroit beat away for a significant part of the final part against a Horses rally. The Lions were the seventh group to top 130 hurrying yards against the Mustangs and the fourth to top 180. - - Jeff Legwold
Foals
Might the Yearlings' offense at any point follow through with the task regardless of mounting wounds? The Foals lost recipient Michael Pittman Jr. to a blackout and running back Zack Greenery to an arm injury in this game, yet their able reinforcements acted such that proposed they can conquer those misfortunes. The Yearlings got a few surprising commitments from any semblance of D.J. Montgomery (three vocation gets before Saturday) and Tyler Goodson (who had no conveys entering the game). Indeed, even the shortfall of right tackle Braden Smith wasn't sufficient to keep the Yearlings down, in spite of his reinforcement - - youngster Blake Freeland - - fighting with Steelers star edge rusher T.J. Watt.
Stock up after the success: Quarterback Gardner Minshew. Minshew had seven consummations of 10 yards or longer, a decent sign for a passer who has been a little on the lower end with regards to yards per endeavor this season. He outperformed his 6.7-yard normal entering the game with a 7.7-yard exertion against the Steelers. He likewise stayed away from any turnovers.
Stock down after the success: Kicker Matt Gay. Gay has had a uniquely lopsided exhibition in the beyond two games. He has now missed a joined four kicks north of two weeks, including an additional point against the Bengals and a 43-yard endeavor that hit the right upstanding on Saturday. - - Stephen Holder
Steelers
Might the Steelers at any point dominate another match this season? The Steelers have dropped three games in succession, and there's very little from those exhibitions to recommend this group can dominate another match this season - - not to mention make the end of the season games. In the misfortune to the Foals, an under-staffed Steelers safeguard was outflanked by a correspondingly in need of help Yearlings offense, unfit to prevent players raised from the training crew from getting into the end zone. With a three-game stretch to end the season against a flooding Bengals group, a bold Seattle crew and an AFC-driving Ravens bunch, the Steelers need to accomplish more than set up 216 yards of offense, while permitting 372 yards of offense - - including 157 yards to third-and fourth-string running backs.
Stock up after the misfortune: Diontae Johnson. Without precedent for his profession, Johnson has scores in three successive games. Against the Yearlings, he wrapped up with four gets for 62 yards and a score.
Stock down after the misfortune: George Pickens. The wide beneficiary regretted his absence of targets and running shallow courses before the Colts game, but, on his most memorable profound objective, a Colts cornerback had the option to wrestle a 50-50 ball away from him. A while later, quarterback Mitch Trubisky said Pickens took an unexpected point in comparison to he was anticipating. On another play, Pickens gave no work to impede for Jaylen Warren, bringing about the running back being handled close to the objective line as opposed to scoring a score. - - Brooke Pryor
Bengals
Are the Bengals excessively beat up to keep the enchanted rolling? Cincinnati experienced two enormous wounds in Sunday's success. Protective tackle DJ Peruser left the game with a lower-body injury, and wide collector Ja'Marr Pursue was likewise taken out with a right shoulder injury. The Bengals have had the option to endure the deficiency of quarterback Joe Tunnel, yet in addition being down a top safeguard and one of the association's best wide beneficiaries will confound things further.
Stock up after the success: Guarded tackle BJ Slope. Slope presently claims one of the more implausible details of the NFL season: He has kept a capture attempt in consecutive games.
Stock down after the success: Cornerback DJ Turner. The promising freshman cornerback permitted five gets on his initial six focuses as the closest protector, plays that yielded 100 yards and a score. - - Ben Child
Vikings
For what reason does a generally extraordinary safeguard continue to surrender late leads? Saturday denoted the third time in four games the Vikings have lost subsequent to surrendering the triumphant score with under 2 minutes staying in the game. They drove 17-3 right off the bat in the final quarter and 24-17 with 3:48 excess. Bengals collector Tee Higgins merits recognition for a gymnastic work to score with 39 seconds remaining, however the Vikings have demonstrated powerless against profound dig courses. Bengals quarterback Jake Searing, as a matter of fact, finished 10 of 14 passes for 166 yards and two scores to wide beneficiaries on their last six drives.
Stock up after the misfortune: Running back Ty Chandler. In his most memorable NFL start, Chandler created a 132-yard exertion, the Vikings' initial 100-yard round of the time.
Stock down after the misfortune: The Vikings' tush push. Minnesota overthought its work force on two bombed quarterback sneaks in extra time, involving recipient Brandon Powell as the pusher in order to keep the Bengals out of their objective line guard. - - Kevin Seifert
Bandits
What amount did Bandits break mentor Antonio Penetrate assist his case with getting the full-time gig? Likely however much the 3-0 misfortune to the Vikings hurt his possibilities four days sooner. Each game is a season no matter what anyone else might think, however as more than one player said in the storage space subsequent to beating the Chargers, they are playing for Penetrate and break senior supervisor Champion Kelly. "Since we love the two of them," right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. Eight players scoring scores and scoring a TD after each of the 5 focal points made a difference. They next face the Bosses on Christmas Day.
Stock up after the success: In-between time hostile facilitator Bo Hardegree. Moved higher up to the press box from the sideline, Hardegree appeared to have a superior vibe for the game with his playcalling. In any event, he appeared to be more ready to call further passes for Aidan O'Connell, and the youngster quarterback answered easily and a profession best 120.7 passer rating, while Hardegree composed a season-high 378-yard game on offense.
Stock down after the success: Pass inclusion. Alright, so we're genuinely picking nits here, yet in the event that we need to find something negative from a victory win, two blown inclusions brought about a couple of TDs for the Chargers, from 79 yards to finish off the second from last quarter, and from 13 yards halfway through the final quarter, separately. - - Paul Gutierrez
Chargers
Will Senior member and John Spanos at long last make the right recruits to turn this establishment around? Frustrations and average quality have been inseparable from this group. This custom has stood halfway in light of the proprietorship's bombed recruits. They saved head supervisor Tom Telesco for 11 seasons regardless of only two season finisher wins; recruited mentor Brandon Staley following one year as an organizer, and kept him into this season in spite of a memorable season finisher implosion. This gives off an impression of being the ideal situation to at last turn this establishment around, yet there is no such thing as an ideal situation for these Chargers.
Stock up after the misfortune: The Chargers' draft pick. The Chargers are currently projected to have the No. 5 pick in the draft. With a program that is projected to be $34.8 million over the compensation cap next season, as per ESPN's List The board Framework, exploiting gifted freshmen on modest arrangements will be principal.
Stock down after the misfortune: The whole association. Thursday night's misfortune was one of the most humiliating in NFL history. It reflected brokenness at each level, from a proprietorship bunch that had stood by too lengthy to even consider continuing on from a mentor and head supervisor to the players, who appeared to have surrendered. Since Staley and Tedesco have been terminated, the establishment can set out on another period. - - Kris Rhim
0 Comments