The USFFL took two weeks to complete the Week 15 slate of games over the holiday weekends. The results of this week’s games are notable because seven of the eight Division leaders won their games. The scores were as follows:
New England 19-14 over Cincinnati
Baltimore 27-26 over New York AFC
Tennessee 42-12 over Houston
Kansas City 31-13 over Denver
Dallas loses 24-14 to Los Angeles NFC
Green Bay 20-10 over Chicago
Atlanta 48-14 over San Francisco
Seattle 21-10 over Carolina
This dominant performance by the Division leaders left many of the second and third place teams in the position of win or risk dropping out of playoff contention.
Playoff Picture
AFC
After Week 15 The Patriots, Ravens, and Chiefs have each locked down first place in their respective Divisions. All three teams are 11-3 and vying for the first or second place rankings and that all-important playoff Bye. Tennessee has clinched the South at 10-4, but are a long shot for the first place seeding.
Wild-Card
The 9-5 Broncos have a tight claim on the first wild card spot, and their loss to Kansas City this week won’t likely drop them out of the playoff hunt. The second wild card is still up for grabs. If the season were to end today, the 7-7 Steelers would claim the second spot. Though the Jets are still in the running at 7-7, followed closely by the Texans, Raiders, and Browns at 6-8 each. The Browns helped their cause with a 34-24 win over the Cardinals, while the Texans, Raiders, and Jets each lost their week 15 matchup.
NFC
The picture in the NFC is not quite as clear as the AFC, with several Division titles still in play. The Cowboy’s loss combined with an Eagles win places the team from the City of Brotherly love in first place with two weeks to go. Both teams have a record of 10-4, but Philly holds the tiebreaker. Green Bay and Detroit both won their games, so the Packers hang on to their one game lead with two to go. Same situation in the South, both Atlanta and New Orleans won their games, allowing the Falcons to maintain a one game lead with two to go. In the West, Seattle’s win, combined with San Francisco’s loss give the Seahawks a little breathing room.
Wild-Card
The Cowboys currently claim the first wild card seed. If the season were to end today, the 9-5 Saints would find themselves on the outside looking in, however San Francisco’s 9-5 hold on the final wild card spot places them in a must-win situation over the next couple of weeks.
Week 16 Preview
The game I am most looking forward to in Week 16 is the matchup between the Cowboys and the Eagles. Right up there is the Pittsburgh at New York AFC, the winner of this game will hold the second wild card spot with one game to go. The teams have identical records and are fighting it out for the NFC East championship. Philadelphia won the first game this season 27-14. other games with playoff implications include LA at San Francisco, Detroit at Denver, and New Orleans at Tennessee.
Game of the Week

Baltimore Ravens 27 – New York Jets 26New York and Baltimore traded scores throughout the first half. Baltimore held a 17-16 halftime lead thanks to a missed XP by Sam Ficken. New York took the lead midway through the third quarter on a Sam Darnold 12 yard TD pass to Le’Veon Bell. The score was set up by a Jordan Jenkins INT, one of two thrown by Lamar Jackson. The Jets took a 26-17 lead early in the fourth quarter on a Sam Ficken 23 yard FG. The score was set up by a 70 yard pass from Darnold to Robby Anderson. The pass moved the ball from the Jets’ 20 to the Ravens’ 10. The Jets’ inability to get the TD would prove costly.Following Ficken’s FG the Ravens’ responded with a clutch 6 play, 80 yard drive capped off with a 5 yard TD pass from Jackson to his favorite target, Mark Andrews. The drive only took a little over 2 minutes off the clock. The key play on the drive was a 30 yard run by Gus Edwards. The run was costly as Edwards was injured on the play and will miss the next two weeks. With the score at 26-24 the defenses stepped up. The Ravens forced a three and out only to have to punt the ball back to New York after getting one first down. The Jets managed two first downs before having to punt the ball back to the Ravens. The punt left the Ravens with the ball at their own 23 yard line with 3:15 to play.A 1st down run by Jackson netted 3 yards followed by a Mark Ingram run that was stuffed for no gain. On 3rd and 7 Jackson’s pass for Nick Boyle fell incomplete, but the Jets’ jumped offside giving Baltimore another chance. Jackson’s 3rd and 2 pass was complete to Hayden Hurst for 14 yards moving the ball to the Ravens’ 45. On 1st and 10 Jackson went back to Hurst for 1 yard. On 2nd and 9 Jackson intended to go deep to Marquise Brown but instead saw an opening down the middle of the field. Jackson took the opening and ran 30 yards to the Jets’ 24 yard line. A 10 yard run by Mark Ingram moved the ball to the Jets’ 14 with 1:00 to play. A Jackson 2 yard run was followed by a quick lookin to Mark Ingram who took the ball in for the TD. However, a holding penalty negated the score and moved the ball back to the 22. Two runs by Mark Ingram moved the ball to the Jets’ 17 setting up a 34 yard Justin Tucker FG with 30 seconds to play. Tucker split the uprights but a false start moved the ball back to the 22. The extra 5 yards did not affect Tucker in the least, making the 39 yarder with ease. The kick gave the Ravens a 27-26 lead with 15 seconds to play.Justin Tucker’s kickoff sailed through the end zone resulting in a touchback. On 1st and 10 from the 25 Sam Darnold went deep to a double covered Robby Anderson and the pass was picked off by Earl Thomas. A kneel down by Jackson ended the game.Donnie called a great game and would have pulled off the upset except for a missed XP and the inability to fully capitalize on the long pass to Robby Anderson. Next week the Jets (7-7) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7) in a game with wildcard playoff implications. The Ravens (11-3) travel to Cleveland to play the Browns (5-9).
Weekly Leaders
Quarterbacks
Ryan Fitzpatrick was 42 of 65 for 426 yards and 3 TD’s in the Dolphin’s loss to the Giants. Daniel Jones and Matthew Stafford both threw for 4 TD’s.
Receivers
DeVante Parker had a whopping 16 receptions, 173 yards and 3 TD’s. Not surprisingly, another Dolphin receiver was second in receptions, with Patrick Laird hauling in 10 catches.
Running Backs
Saquon Barkley carried the ball 20 times for 303 yards, a 15.1 YPC average. This total puts Barkley over the 2000 yard mark, with 2094 in 14 games. Derrick Henry currently leads the league with 2261 yards on the ground. Henry scored 4 TD’s and carried for 261 yards in week 15.
Odds & Ends
Minnesota’s Anthony Harris and Detroit’s Darius Slay both hauled in two interceptions. New Orleans’ Cameron Jordan had 5 sacks.