Neil Reynolds: Trevor Lawrence stars as Jaguars push for the playoffs, while the Chiefs survive overtime scare in Houston | NFL News
Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes in leading the Jacksonville Jaguars to a comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday
I’ve been covering the NFL for quite a long time, and I think that just might have been the wildest weekend I’ve ever seen. I know I’ve said that many times before, but some of the finishes were incredible, the games amazing – they just defied logic at times. It’s a weekend that will live long in the memory…
1) Cousins leads Vikings to incredible comeback win
You have to admire the steel shown by the Minnesota Vikings to come back from 33 points down at half-time against the Indianapolis Colts to ultimately win 39-36 in overtime.
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Highlights from the Minnesota Vikings’ incredible, record comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.
Kirk Cousins was outstanding, throwing for 417 yards in the second half alone!
It was a really memorable game, for so many reasons. It went from the Vikings scoring what you felt were nothing more than consolation touchdowns, to suddenly thinking ‘we might have a game here’, to the incredible comeback win that played out in front of our eyes.
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Watch all of the best throws made by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins from his four-touchdown game.
The Colts completely collapsed in on themselves. They made absolutely no effort to put more points on the board in the second half… they had the Vikings on the floor but let them get up and ended up paying the price.
2) Pure craziness from Patriots on final play
I could not believe what I was seeing when the New England Patriots, tied at 27 apiece with the Las Vegas Raiders in the final throes of that game, started throwing laterals around on the final play of the game.
Jakobi Meyers saw his long throwback across the field intercepted by Chandler Jones, who bulldozed over Patriots QB Mac Jones and went over for the game-winning touchdown. What were the Patriots thinking?!
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Watch the highlights from the Week 15 matchup between the New England Patriots and the Las Vegas Raiders.
This was a chance to take the game into overtime, try to win the game in the extra period and continue on your playoff march. It could end up costing the Patriots a postseason place.
It was an absolute head-scratcher… and you could see the Patriots coaches in the background on the sidelines going crazy, they didn’t call this play.
3) Lawrence continues to star in Jags’ playoff surge
I continue to be so impressed with Trevor Lawrence, and the second-year quarterback’s play is leading to the Jacksonville Jaguars having a late and unexpected charge towards the playoffs.
They are now just one win behind the Tennessee Titans for the lead in the AFC South after their overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys.
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Highlights of the Dallas Cowboys’ overtime clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars from Week 15 in the NFL.
They came back from 17 points down, brilliantly led by Lawrence, who threw four touchdown passes on the day – with receiver Zay Jones excellent in catching three of those.
The Jags play with great spirit, they really believe in head coach Doug Pederson, and as long as they have Lawrence they have a chance to win every game they play – and perhaps even make some noise in the playoffs if they get in.
4) Chiefs survive overtime scare against Houston
I have to credit the Kansas City Chiefs with winning their game against the Houston Texans on Sunday – a win is a win in the NFL – but should they really be letting the one-win Texans hang around with them in overtime like that?
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Highlights of the Kansas City Chiefs’ overtime clash with the Houston Texans from Week 15 in the NFL.
Houston have played hard in the last few weeks, no doubt, but that would worry me if I was a Chiefs fan as they head towards the playoffs.
It’s Super Bowl or bust as always for Kansas City, given the talent on their team. Patrick Mahomes was as good as ever, but I think there are some defensive issues with that team at the moment.
I was really surprised that this game was as close as it was. Something to watch out for with the Chiefs going forward.
5) Lions find another way to win as streak extends
The Detroit Lions notched up another win on Sunday. That’s six from their last seven now, evening up their record at 7-7 on the season, seeing them very much in the playoff race with three weeks of the regular season remaining.
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The Detroit Lions have gone on a sensational run of six wins in the last seven games in their bid to reach the playoffs.
And it was encouraging seeing them do it a different way. They’ve scored 30 points or more in seven games this season, but on Sunday they only hit 20, leaning instead on a defense that has been much-improved over the last month.
They exposed New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, who I think will head back to the bench as soon as Mike White is fit.
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Brock Wright runs away for a 51 yard game-winning touchdown for the Detroit Lions against the New York Jets.
Jared Goff threw just his third touchdown pass on the road this season, hitting Brock Wright on fourth down for what proved to be the game-winning score.
Player of the Week: Josh Allen
The Miami Dolphins actually played really well in the cold weather up in Buffalo, so the Bills needed to put all of their 32 points on the board – winning off the final kick of the game from Tyler Bass.
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Watch the highlights from the Week 15 matchup between the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills.
And it was Josh Allen who once again led the way for the team, throwing for 304 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran 10 times for 77 yards, successfully adding a two-point conversion to tie the game at 29 apiece.
This is what Allen does. He puts this team on his back. And there was one incredible throw, in particular, to James Cook where he rolled to his right and then just drilled it to the back of the end zone with no time left in the first half.
Play of the Week: Chandler Jones
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Chandler Jones scored a sensational walk-off TD for the Las Vegas Raiders after New England Patriots players started throwing lateral passes in a crazy finish to the game.
This is a simple one this week – for good and bad reasons! It has to be Chandler Jones and that winning touchdown for the Raiders against the Patriots as time expired.
It was right up there with David Tyree’s helmet catch, Franco Harris’ immaculate reception, Stefon Diggs’ Minneapolis Miracle. This will be a play that will be remembered in NFL history.
Coach of the Week: Kyle Shanahan
Kyle Shanahan has led the San Francisco 49ers to a 10-4 record so far this season despite having to use three different starting quarterbacks
Kyle Shanahan’s San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-13 on Thursday night to clinch the NFC West division title.
That was their seventh-straight victory, and so much of that is down to Shanahan. The defense is outstanding, he has added Christian McCaffrey seamlessly to the offense and he is now winning with his third starting quarterback of the year in rookie seventh-round draft pick Brock Purdy.
Purdy, the final pick of the draft, looks anything but ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ and that’s a credit to the coach and his staff. This 49ers team are legit – they’re certainly being tested in terms of injuries and adversity, but here they are still standing.
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Watch the highlights from the Week 15 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks.
On My Radar: Watch out for chasing pack in NFC South
Let’s keep an eye out for the three teams all at 5-9 on the season in the NFC South.
Despite their records, each of the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons have a chance to topple the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who sit a hugely disappointing 6-8 for the year after their latest loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
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Watch the highlights from the Week 15 matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In the first half, they were efficient on offense, good on defense – like last year’s Bucs – as they went up 17-0… but then they ultimately lost 34-23 following a grand total of four turnovers in the second half. It means that Tom Brady has lost eight regular-season games for the first time in his career.
Can the Panthers, Saints or Falcons catch the Bucs? They’re all very much alive heading into the final stretch.
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