Patrick Mahomes' injury leaves a shadow

The 32 things we learned from Week 15 of the 2024 NFL season:

0. The New York Giants have won the most at home this season after losing 35-14 to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Also, the number of wins the G-Men have won since Week 5.

0. Plus, the number of touchdowns scored in Thursday night’s game – the first time this season that no one has visited the end zone in a contest – as the Los Angeles Rams defeated the San Francisco 49ers 12-6. In addition, Rams WR Cooper Kupp did a donut in the receiving department in this contest, the number of sacks generated by the 49ers was zero, and the responsibility that (for now) San Francisco LB De’Vondre Campbell refused to show to go into the game.

0. Number of touchdown catches in 2024 for Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride…who now has 89 receptions this season.

0. That’s how many times Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes was sacked in the defending champions’ 21-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns – after being sacked 13 times in the last three games and 23 times in the last six games before Sunday. And yet…

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1. That said, this week’s No. 1 will undoubtedly be Mahomes’ status after he suffered an ankle injury after being wrapped up by three Cleveland defenders while trying to get rid of a pass. According to NFL Network, the three-time Super Bowl MVP is already considered week-to-week…which is problematic because the AFC front-runners are officially in the middle of a three-games-in-11-day stretch that ends on Christmas. The Chiefs host the AFC South champion Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon. “It’s not broken, that’s all I can tell you,” HC Andy Reid said after the game. “We’ll have to see what happens next.”

2. The number of teams that were mathematically eliminated from postseason consideration on Sunday: the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears.

3. The Ravens also have a player who apparently feels no contractual obligation to perform at all times, although WR Diontae Johnson was suspended for Sunday’s game after refusing to participate in the Week 14 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Baltimore barely missed him… but more on that in a moment.

4. Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s career-high number of turnovers (3 INTs, fumble) in Sunday’s loss to the Texans – one that effectively ended the Fins’ already weak playoff prospects.

4a. A career-high number of turnovers (2 INTs, 2 fumbles) by Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys – one that officially ended the Panthers’ extremely slim playoff prospects.

4b. Tennessee Titans QB Will Levis’ career-high number of turnovers (3 INTs, fumble) in Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals – one that didn’t have much of an impact other than the long-departed Titans’ draft position.

5. The number of TD passes thrown by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on Sunday, which appeared to be the case quite Hamstring injury caused by Johnson’s absence.

6. That’s how many times in his career Jackson has passed for five touchdowns in a game and has done the trick twice in 2024 – when he’s still a bona fide MVP candidate.

6(001): Jackson’s number of career rushing yards after surpassing the 6,000-yard plateau on Sunday. He needs 109 more to surpass Michael Vick’s all-time record for quarterbacks.

7. Speaking of MVP candidates, Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen certainly could have secured the award on Sunday after defeating Jared Goff’s Detroit Lions 48-42 at Ford Field in a game that wasn’t that close , as the result suggests. Neither team saw an exciting interconference duel change their seedings on Sunday. But by adding four more touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing) to his season tally while also amassing 430 yards of offense, Allen almost certainly left Goff, one of his obvious pursuers, in the lurch.

7a. Allen is the first player in NFL history to have multiple passing and rushing TDs in consecutive games in a season.

8. That’s how many times the New Orleans Saints have sacked QB Jayden Daniels from the Washington Commanders, but some of them were due to the rookie going out of bounds. Still, the penalty seemed to take its toll, as the Commanders scored just six points in the second half and nearly jumped out to a 17-0 lead before surviving on the final play of the game – when the Saints’ two-point attempt failed 20-19 Defeat.

8a. And the Saints got some home cooking from the clock operator on Sunday at the Superdome.

9. On Sunday, Saints RB Alvin Kamara became the fourth player in league history with 50 rushing TDs and 25 receiving TDs. Is he a Hall of Famer? The other players on the list are Niners RB Christian McCaffrey and HOFers Marshall Faulk and Lenny Moore.

10. The number of turnovers (4 by Levis, 3 by Cincy QB Joe Burrow) in the Cincinnati Bengals’ loss to the Titans, the most in a game in 17 years.

11. The craziest one was Bengals SS Jordan Battle, whose premature celebration as he crossed the Tennessee goal line with a 60-yard fumble return resulted in a fumble of his own.

11a. A similar scenario would happen a few hours later – with a much better known player, Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor – with far greater implications for the fantasy (and NFL) playoffs.

12. A few more gems from an unusually entertaining game that the Bengals won 37-27… although the game really wasn’t as hard-fought as the score would suggest. The teams combined for 49 first downs, 129 plays, 744 yards… and 26 Penalties (for 223 collective yards).

13. But those numbers were just a prelude to the Bills-Lions game. Detroit and Buffalo combined for 90 points, 58 first downs, 145 plays and 1,080 yards – both clubs surpassed .500.

14. The Chiefs’ margin of victory on Sunday is their largest of the season.

15. The Chiefs’ total in their last five wins.

16. Raise your hand if the New York Jets’ 32-25 win at Jacksonville was the most entertaining game of the weekend in a battle of teams that started 3-10 on Sunday.

17. The jersey number of Jets WR Davante Adams, who scored his 100th and 101st career touchdowns in the win. He also had 198 receiving yards, 8 shy of his career high.

18. As disappointing as the Jets were in 2024, Rodgers has been playing well of late… albeit when it least matters. He has eight TD passes (against 1 INT) in the last four games and had a passer rating of at least 100.0 in three of them. He even had a team-high 45 rushing yards against the Jags. Still, Sunday’s victory was the Jets’ only win of that stretch.

19. The Jets’ 32 points were a season high – and Rodgers continually emphasized the need to score at least 30 points all season. And people say he’s gone crazy…

20. The Rodgers-Adams connection has also brought about the recent heyday in Green Bay, the NYJ has just peaked…too late for it to make the difference it could have.

21. The Jets sacked Jacksonville QB2 Mac Jones twice – definitely an inadequate total, two days after ESPN featured the team’s famous/infamous “New York Sack Exchange,” which received its own “30 for 30” episode.

22. And yet the play of the day may have been the backflip by Jacksonville DT Jeremiah Ledbetter, 6-3, 299 pounds, after sacking Rodgers.

23. How good is Denver’s defense? It generated five takeaways and a TD on a day when the Broncos’ offense didn’t even manage 200 yards against Indianapolis. More than enough to crush the Colts and all but secure the franchise’s first playoff spot since QB Peyton Manning and Co. won Super Bowl 50 nine years ago.

24. And don’t discount Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto for Defensive Player of the Year. He’s up to 11½ sacks and managed a 50-yard dash to the house for his second touchdown of the season… despite being warned for the latest “Marshawn.”

25. Still, Taylor’s fumble could ultimately be seen as the moment that sent the Colts to the glue factory in a season filled with problems.

26. How good is the Los Angeles Chargers defense? Twitch. For those of us who thought this team was overrated – or at least unproven – based on their previous schedule, the equally mediocre Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a real wake-up call for Bolts fans on Sunday. The Chargers were the lowest-scoring D players in the league at the start of Week 15, allowing just 15.9 points per week before the Bucs gave up almost three times as many points with a 40-17 win. Tampa Bay’s 506 yards of offense were also by far the most allowed by freshman HC Jim Harbaugh’s team in 2024.

27. Things didn’t go much better offensively. QB Justin Herbert’s string of interceptions ended with 11, a league record, and 357 passes.

28. On the other hand, Buccaneers WR Mike Evans had his biggest game of the season with 159 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He needs to average 84 yards over the next three weeks to extend his string of 1,000-yard campaigns to 11.

29. Houston’s Derek Stingley tackled Tagovailoa twice in the fourth quarter and effectively picked off Miami WR Tyreek Hill, further solidifying his reputation as one of the league’s best cornerbacks in his third NFL season. 30. Number of yards Titans rookie NT T’Vondre Sweat, who is 6-4 and 366 pounds, recovered a fumble on Sunday. According to NFL Media, it is the longest return by a player weighing at least 350 pounds since at least 1991.

31. Cowboys K Brandon Aubreys very disappointing The sophomore season resumed Sunday after he missed his sixth field goal attempt of the year — missing one 70-yarder at the end of the first half. Come on, dude. We joke, we joke…and the idea of Dallas trying FGs for so long is pretty crazy. Maybe he won’t go 36-for-38 like he did as a rookie, but we would find room for Aubrey on our roster – like we were starting a team.

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