Touchdown Bonanza landed in Week 15 this year, with points being racked up at frenzied pace. Ten teams scored 30 points or more, and only the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts didn’t score at least 10. There were nine 100 yard-plus rushing performances, and 17 receivers who eclipsed the century mark.
And yes, a stable-legged Ryan Fitzpatrick now leads the Miami Dolphins in rushing.
Playoff spots were also clinched in Week 15, with the overall picture coming into focus…as long as you don’t mention the NFC East. In fact, the only acceptable mentioning of the NFC East this week should be explicitly reserved to this video of one the finest lineman in history, Larry Allen.
Speaking of serving pancakes…here were the five best offensive line performances that I saw from Week 15.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
So, it’s always odd when you’re watching Tampa Bay–and maybe this an outsider thing—and suddenly, it’s the third quarter, and you’re still watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jameis Winston and the Bucs had me locked in with their impressive (at times) attack against the Detroit Lions, causing verbal murmuring of, “Huh” or “Hey.” Other times, I wondered about Matt Patricia and pictured and “adjustments” notebook underneath a towel in the locker room. Lost and now forgotten.
Winston did adjust and had moments of brilliance, mixed in with his now-expected moments of questionable reads and attempts. But still, the team built momentum. The offensive line started sloppy, with a holding and blocking below the waist penalties, but held their own when they absolutely need to—like this gem:
Notice that Josh Wells (72) got beat off the edge, but didn’t give up on the block? Yep, me neither (again, I was invested in this one).
Ryan Jensen, Alex Cappa, Ali Marpet, Demar Dotson, Josh Wells, with cameos by Earl Watford and Jerald Hawkins: Showed up for the Marshall University connection with Byron Leftwich, stayed for the decent line play!
4. Atlanta Falcons
While their foes over in Tampa Bay had my attention, the Atlanta Falcons were over by Silicon Valley, causing a few short circuits of the NFC playoff switchboard.
Typical, too—yes, they’re certainly this week’s Oliver Stone Award winners—and also maddening, because it’s the type of output most expected from the Falcons. They rolled into San Fran, against a defense that is one of the best in the NFL, and they managed to keep the offensive game plan moving forward (as opposed to the backward and sideways we’ve seen with these 2019 49ers). Penalties? Yes, there were more mistakes than you’d typically like to see, but it wasn’t a “Death by Yellow Flag” scenario, either. Ultimately, It ended up being one hell of a game, a thriller…that included some sold protection for Matt Ryan:
Alex Mack, Chris Lindstrom, Weston Schweitzer, Kaleb McGary, and Jake Matthews: Any. Given. Sunday!
3. Kansas City Chiefs
The Week 15 divisional battle against the Denver Broncos ended up 23-3, Chiefs. And while that might not be a total shocker, even with the unknown that snowy conditions can bring to any on-paper scenario, what the Chiefs’ offense managed to accomplish—in both facets—was remarkable. Considering the Broncos have a top 10 pass defense and are ranked the same in overall D…well, you’d think they would have been able to disrupt the Chiefs with a little more effectiveness.
But 92 on the ground and another 340 through the air isn’t a product of being pressured into out-of-sorts moments, where you’re left with a face full of snow. A significant part of that stability needs to go to the O-line, too.
Here, count with me:
That’s four-plus seconds more than you want to give Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill.
Austin Reiter, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Erik Wylie, Eric Fisher, and Mitchell Schwartz: Way to hold things down in the snow, men.
2. New Orleans Saints
It was a tall order for the Colts to head down to New Orleans and stop Drew Brees and the Saints on Monday Night Football. When you’re going up against an extra-motivated Brees, who was only three touchdowns away from the NFL record, plus the Superdome’s volume…well, that’s a spicy jambalaya.
The Colts’ defense entered the gamed ranked 16th in points allowed and 22nd in passing yards per game—not great, but also not terrible, or worse, Arizona. So there was an opportunity for an upset of sorts, a chance at stalling one facet of the Saints’ offense.
But it never happened.
Brees was nearly perfect. He got the record. He got another record. It was glorious! And lost in all of it, was the exceptional job the Saints’ front did with protecting Mr. Brees on such a historical evening.
Nick Easton, Ryan Ramczyk, Terron Armstead, Larry Warford, and Erik McCoy, and Will Clapp: That tweet might also be referring to you guys—especially when considering the injuries!
1. Baltimore Ravens
For all the grief the New York Jets have dealt with this season—mono, bowling, etc.—they do have the third-best run defense in the NFL. That’s right: third. Out of 32 teams, only the Saints and Buccaneers are better.
And when you allow that to sink in—after you Google it and reconfirm—it makes what the Ravens were able to do on Thursday night otherworldly.
When the whistle finally blew “ballgame,” the Lamar Jackson-led scampering nightmare for the Jets racked up over 200 years rushing. And if that wasn’t enough of an onslaught, Jackson also tossed for over 200 with five touchdowns.
As usual, through all of the highlight reel-making sensations, there was one of the sturdiest offensive lines in the league this year, leading the way for all of it—they even helped Lamar with his mock dinner bib because the offensive feast was getting messy.
Marshal Yanda, Patrick Mekari, Bradley Bozeman, James Hurst, and Orlando Brown: Week 15’s Champion of the Choppy Steps goes back to Baltimore!
