Ho-ho-ho, holy shit was that a great weekend of football. The Vikings sucked to a new low for one half and then just put together a casual record setting 33 point comeback. At this point, should anything that happens with Minnesota be surprising? One of the strangest seasons from a particular team I can remember.
Minnesota’s game against the Colts was the shocking moment of the week, but there was plenty else to enjoy. Close games and upsets galore, especially in the first Sunday slate of games. We’ve got plenty of playoff position shuffling to go along with some unexpected victories. Many of us were already nearly dead from watching maybe the craziest soccer game of all time in the World Cup Final. It’s amazing us sports fans survived this insane weekend of football (and fútbol).
Vikings Disaster Start Ends in Historic Comeback
It was a wild NFL weekend, but nothing was crazier than the Minnesota Vikings record setting comeback victory against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. The Vikings overcame a 33-0 halftime deficit to take the game to overtime, eventually winning 39-36 on a Greg Joseph field goal and now claiming the largest comeback victory in the history of the NFL.
The Vikings first half already sounds abysmal just looking at the score, but I can assure you it was so much worse. As a 33 year old fan of the Vikings, I’ve seen some bad football but this was quite possible the worst 30 minutes I’ve ever seen watching my favorite team. Minnesota gave up points to the Colts on five of six first half drives while the Vikings drives consisted of the following: a blocked punt touchdown for the Colts, turnover by fumble, turnover on downs on own 31 yard line, turnover on downs on own 31 yard line (this time on a easily contested fake punt pass), punt, pick six touchdown for Colts, and another punt. Not only did the first half have me tweeting about how fraudulent this Vikings team was, I nearly decided to start snow blowing my driveway instead of watching Saturday football. Fortunately, I continued to watch.
The second half version of the Vikings might have been the most complete the team has looked all season. A defense that has been so bad, they look like they couldn’t stop an offense in which every player is wearing a ball and chain, held the Colts to only three points the remainder of the game. Offensively, the Vikings found the end zone five separate times as part of their second half turnaround. This wasn’t Clark Kent turning into Superman from one half to the next. This was like Steve Urkel suddenly gaining all of the infinity stones.
The Vikings would tie the game at 36 with 2:15 remaining in the game after Dalvin Cook broke a 64 yard touchdown run on the opening play of a drive. The comeback was completed when they succeeded on the two point conversion on a Kirk Cousins pass to T.J. Hockenson.
In overtime, both teams opening drives would fall off after 8 plays, but the Vikings finally ended the game on Joseph’s field goal as time expired.
The wild thing is that despite the terrible first half, statistically the Vikings completely outplayed Indianapolis on the game. Not only did the Vikings gift wrap two touchdowns to Indy and give them great field situations in the first half, the Vikings also had two separate would-be Chandon Sullivan defensive touchdowns never happen because of the referee’s quick whistle and terrible judgement. Minnesota posted 518 totals yards to Indy’s 341, won the first down battle 32-20, and sacked Matt Ryan seven separate times. Despite two interceptions that were more on Jalen Reagor quitting on routes, Kirk Cousins played unbelievable in the second half, finishing the game with 460 yards passing and four touchdowns.
This was a massive game for Minnesota as it keeps firmly sitting by themselves as the number two seed in the NFC right now. With San Francisco on a roll and catching Philadelphia unrealistic, earning the second highest seed and setting themselves up for potentially multiple home playoff games is crucial for a team that seems asleep at the wheel in many games.
As someone who watches this team every week, it’s hard to believe that Minnesota’s playoff future holds much more than maybe one or two games, but as the Buffalo game earlier this season showed us and now this game, this team will not quit no matter what the circumstances. They may get blown out by a team like Dallas, but the effort and belief that they are never truly out of a game is something that should be appreciated, even if they have proven that they don’t deserve to be trusted as a truly elite team this season.
It has taken 15 weeks, but it seems like we’ve finally received our answer as to what this Minnesota team is and that’s that we will never really know. They could be lifeless, great, opportunistic, clutch, lucky, terrible, flat, or any football adjective you can think of. The 2022 Minnesota Vikings are a shitshow, but sometimes in all of the best ways. They likely won’t be favored in many potential playoff matchups, but before their opponents attempt to bury them, they better make sure they are dead.
49ers Keep Finding Gold in Purdy
As mentioned, Minnesota has their head on a swivel as they attempt to hold onto the NFC number two seed with the San Francisco 49ers breathing down the back of their neck. After clinching the NFC West title for their seventh straight win and another efficient game from Brock Purdy, there might not be a team in the entire league playing better football than San Francisco.
San Francisco clinched their third playoff berth in four years with their 21-13 Thursday night road win over Seattle. Despite the Seahawks now seemingly floating in the middle of the ocean without a lifejacket after a great first half of the season, the win should brew even more confidence as Purdy impressed in another start, this time on a short week in a tough divisional rival environment.
The beauty of this San Francisco offense continues to be the variety of weapons and the fact that whoever steps in at quarterback doesn’t need to be a primary playmaker. Purdy has made throws that are beyond the capability of a “game manager”, but the reality is that as long as he continues to take care of the ball, move the chains, and allow players like Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk to make plays, San Francisco can gain and hold leads behind the play of their defense that might be playing better than anyone right now.
The Niners also have the benefit of splitting the load offensively. This week it was a heavy dose of McCaffrey and Kittle. Other weeks it might be Aiyuk. Obviously once Deebo Samuel returns, he is another huge piece that defenses have to be accountable for. This isn’t a team like the previously mentioned Vikings. Defenses know that Justin Jefferson is going to get the ball every game. They can either let Jefferson get his and focus on shutting down the rest or double team him into oblivion and make Adam Thielen or K.J. Osborn beat you. San Fran is like an elite level UFC fighter. They can take you to the ground and tap you out or force you to stand and knock you out that way.
Obviously, the big “if” for San Francisco is what happens if and when Purdy has a stinker game. If it comes, will his confidence be shaken? Will teams eventually figure out how to make things difficult for him? Are the 49ers always at risk that the shoe just drops for one game and that one game happens in the playoffs? There’s no doubt these are understandable concerns, but let’s say Purdy keeps doing what he’s doing, limiting mistakes and picking his spots while getting the ball in the hands of the elite Niners playmakers. If he can continue to do that, San Francisco might be the most playoff built team in the NFL.
A Weekend of Tight Game Thrillers
This may have been the most enjoyable week of football of the entire season. We had the historic Minnesota comeback, three overtime football games (none ending in a tie), 12 single score games, and five fourth quarter comebacks.
Arguably the best game of the weekend and one that had its limelight stolen by the Vikings comeback was the game between Buffalo and Miami on Saturday night where Josh Allen led a game winning drive through the snow for a Bills 32-29 victory. This was a great back and forth game between the two strongest teams in the AFC East. Even though the Dolphins have slid down the playoff seeds, both teams should feel good about themselves as the end of the regular season nears.
There was the unexpected challenge that Chicago gave Philadelphia in the Eagles 25-20 win. Justin Fields made some great plays as he continues to play one on eleven against opposing defenses. It was one of Philly’s ugliest games, but they showed they can still win on their bad days.
Detroit went into New York and came about with a huge victory over the Jets, 20-17. The Lions are following the lead of Dan Campbell and feel like they can play with anyone right now. It’s starting to feel more and more like this team might make the playoffs. We also saw Zach Wilson return which had it’s moments, both good and bad.
Much like the Lions, the Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the late season surging teams when they knocked off Dallas in overtime, 40-34. Rayshawn Jenkins overtime pick six was the big moment, but the story is the late season play of Trevor Lawrence. He is starting to look like the potential franchise quarterback and number one pick the Jaguars were hoping for. He will have a chance to prove that even more in some big spots as they are right in the middle of the AFC South race.
There was the unbelievably bad New England loss to Las Vegas, not because Las Vegas is much worse than them, but because Jakobi Meyers lateral passed a ball right to Chandler Jones who ran it in for a walk off touchdown. Oh, did I mention the game was in overtime and the Patriots should have just ran the clock out?
It really seemed like Tampa Bay had put all of the pieces together for a game, but unfortunately that game only lasted one half as they were outscored 31-6 in the second half by the Cincinnati Bengals on the way to the Bucs’ 34-23 home loss. This was like a dream in which Tampa Bay looked like the 2020 Super Bowl version of themselves until you woke up and saw the same 6-8 team they’ve been all year.
Finally, we saw the New York Giants go into Washington and get a 20-12 win over the Commanders, giving them a game up on them in the NFC playoff race with just three games remaining. Unfortunately, bad referring added to the drama.
On paper, Week 15 didn’t look like the greatest week of matchups, but it provided in a multitude of ways. It’s a reminder that in the NFL, a league with so much parity, unbelievable games can be found in unexpected places
Questions After Week 15
In a week of insane NFL games, what were the wildest things to take place?
Beyond just great games, there were a couple things that have never been seen before in an NFL game. There was also upsets, near upsets, and major playoff position shuffling. Here are the six (I couldn’t eliminate one to make only five) wildest or unexpected things to come from this weekend in my opinion:
5b. Tennessee Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Tennessee may have lost to the Los Angeles Chargers, but don’t let that take away from the fact that they provided one of the most amazing interceptions and heads up plays I’ve ever seen. Why explain it when you can just watch it:
5a. Saturday Night’s Alright for Snowball Fights: With all of the concern about the snow and lake effect in Buffalo, the weather didn’t really start to get crazy until the final quarter. When it did though, it made for a fun visual in a very good matchup between the top AFC East teams. Fans throwing snowballs in the stands, including some throwing them at players on the field, and a flurry filled field for the last couple drives ended with a Josh Allen game winning drive and Tyler Bass walk off field goal. This was a great game.
4. Jacksonville’s Overtime Pick Six: Dallas had Jacksonville dead to rights with a. 27-10 third quarter lead, but the Jaguars would go on a 30-7 scoring run between the remainder of the second half and overtime. The chef’s kiss? Dallas marching on what looked like a game winning overtime drive until a Dak Prescott pass went off Noah Brown’s hands and landed in Rayshawn Jenkins hands who took it to the house for the 40-34 win. An upset win that came out of nowhere and has the Jags in the playoff discussion.
3. Tampa Turning Back the Clock…for One Half: The Buccaneers are basically the junior and opposite version of what Minnesota did in their game. Welcoming a red hot Cincinnati team, the Bucs looked better than they have all season in the first half. The offense was moving the ball and the defense looked like the unit that was the integral part of a Super Bowl just two seasons ago. Then the second half and a flurry of turnovers happened. Joe Burrow had the worst half of his career, but then started getting the ball in Bucs territory. Don’t give Burrow the ball in an opponent’s territory. It will end badly.
2. Patriots Inexplicable Walk Off Loss: Has anyone seen Rhamondre Stevenson or Jakobi Meyers since the end of the New England game? Considering the look on Bill Belichick’s face when heading to midfield to hug Josh McDaniels, they may shortly arrive on a missing persons list. A game that was tied with 10 seconds remaining and New England on their own 45 yard line, looked like it was definitely heading to overtime until Steven and Meyers decided to play the pass back lateral game as if they were down by a touchdown. This ended with a score, but of course that score would be by Chandler Jones, Las Vegas defensive end and former Patriot. Game over, Vegas wins, and New England’s playoff chances take a heavy hit. Never seen anything like it. One of the dumbest ways to ever lose a football game.
1. Minnesota’s Historic Comeback: Easy #1 and enough has been said about it already in this particular blog. No team has ever comeback to win down 33 points. It’s completely crazy that two NFL teams can essentially switch bodies during halftime in the most extreme way possible. It’s the craziest thing from this weekend and maybe the entire 2022 season.
“Everybody Loves to Hate-read Power Rankings so Go Ahead and Hate-read” Power Rankings
- Philadelphia Eagles (13-1)
- Buffalo Bills (11-3)
- Kansas City Chiefs (11-3)
- Cincinnati Bengals (10-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
- Dallas Cowboys (10–4)
- Minnesota Vikings (11-3)
- Miami Dolphins (8-6)
- Los Angeles Chargers (8-6)
- Baltimore Ravens (9-5)
- New York Giants (8-5-1)
- Detroit Lions (7-7)
- Washington Commanders (7-6-1)
- Tennessee Titans (7-7)
- New York Jets (7-7)
- Las Vegas Raiders (6-8)
- Seattle Seahawks (7-7)
- New England Patriots (7-7)
- Green Bay Packers (6-8)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6-8)
- Cleveland Browns (6-8)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-8)
- Carolina Panthers (5-9)
- New Orleans Saints (5-9)
- Atlanta Falcons (5-9)
- Denver Broncos (4-10)
- Arizona Cardinals (4-10)
- Indianapolis Colts (4-9-1)
- Los Angeles Rams (4-10)
- Chicago Bears (3-11)
- Houston Texans (1-12-1)
Week 16 Game Watchability Rankings
16. Broncos vs Rams: YUCK. Who will watch this game? And that includes Broncos and Rams fans.
15. Saints vs Browns: Deshaun Watson hasn’t played well, but if Cleveland can win out they have a small chance to make the playoffs. Still, very unlikely. That being said, New Orleans is one of the worst seven or eight teams in football this season. Cleveland should win this game and hope a lot of other things fall their way.
14. Bills vs Bears: Let’s just call this the Buffalo Bills vs Justin Fields. Chicago’s offense just seems like they ask Fields to take the snap and figure out where to go from there. The Bears played Philadelphia tough in Week 15 and they will get another challenging opponent this week against the top ranked team in the AFC. Buffalo controls their own destiny. If they win out, the Bills will have home field throughout the playoffs. Losing to this horrendous Chicago team would be unacceptable.
13. Raiders vs Steelers: It’s too bad this Las Vegas team couldn’t squeeze out more close games. There is a decent football team in their somewhere, but they’ve just had too many blown opportunities. It’s not completely over, but the Raiders would need to go undefeated the rest of the way just to get to 9-8. Pittsburgh continues to play better football as of late and should challenge the weapons the Raiders have. This may be a decent game, but won’t likely hold any playoff weight.
12. Texans vs Titans: Four weeks ago, it looked like Tennessee would be running away with the AFC South. All of the concerns about them being a weak division winner are now coming to the fold and they may not even win that very division. There is a real possibility that their game against Jacksonville in the final week of the regular season will be a win and in game. Houston has had two consecutive weekends of playing playoff teams extremely close, but have fallen short. Could the Texans finally complete an upset against their division foe?
11. Chargers vs Colts: Sunday’s win against Tennessee has moved Los Angeles, a team who was injured and inconsistent most of the season, into the second wild card position. With games remaining against Indianapolis, Los Angeles Rams, and Denver, the Chargers have a great opportunity to hold on to their position or even surpass Baltimore for the first wild card. They could also return to their inconsistent ways against one of the toughest watches in the NFL in Indy. After their historic loss to Minnesota, this Colts team may be completely lifeless.
10. Falcons vs Ravens: Baltimore is urgently awaiting the return of Lamar Jackson. With Tyler Huntley not able to recapture his high quality level of play from last season when he filled in for Jackson, the Ravens need their former MVP quarterback back before they play themselves right out of the playoff picture. Speaking of playing themselves out of the playoffs, Atlanta may have just done that in their loss to New Orleans. The NFC South is up for grabs, but nothing about Atlanta looks like playoff team. Then again, that’s the case for everyone in that division.
9. Buccaneers vs Cardinals: Tampa Bay looked the best they had looked all season in their first half against Cincinnati. The offense was getting into third and shorts for easy conversions and the defense looked like it’s former dominant self. Then the second half happened and the wheels fell off once again. Tampa Bay is not a good football team, but they better be good enough to beat this Arizona team that has lost four straight and may need to start Trace McSorley at quarterback.
8. Lions vs Panthers: Few teams have as much momentum as Detroit does right now. They’ve won three straight and are just out of a playoff spot. If they can continue their level of play, it’s looking more and more like they will return to the postseason for the first time since the 2016 season. Carolina is still only a game back of Tampa Bay in the NFC South division title race. With a game against the Bucs in Week 17, a win against Detroit would guarantee they are playing for the division lead in that game. This could be a fun game between unexpected potential playoff teams.
7. Seahawks vs Chiefs: It’s looking more and more like Seattle’s amazing first half of the season won’t even be sustained enough to the point they even earn a wild card spot. The Seahawks are in free fall and now head to Kansas City against a Chiefs team who barely escaped Houston with a victory and still has plenty to play for. If Seattle can find some magic again, they can make this a game.
6. Bengals vs Patriots: Despite a terrible first half against Tampa Bay, Cincinnati put together a great second half to recover and keep their current hot streak going. New England’s brain fart of a loss on the final play of their game against Las Vegas put them into the first team out of the playoffs in the AFC as it stands right now. No matter who wins this one, it will cause some shuffling in the AFC playoff picture.
5. Packers vs Dolphins: Green Bay needs to win out in order to have a chance at sneaking in the playoffs. This Christmas Day game against Miami will likely be their toughest test in that goal. It doesn’t help that Miami has equal reason to win this game as they are not a guarantee to make the AFC playoffs anymore. Even though the Dolphins are sliding down the standings, they shouldn’t necessarily be upset with how well they played Buffalo on the road in inclement weather. Massive stakes in this one and one team’s fanbase will have a rough holiday season.
4. Jaguars vs Jets: This could potentially be a loser goes home game when it is all said and done. Both Jacksonville and New York are on the outside looking in of the playoffs right now. With so much traffic around the final wild card spots, these two teams can’t afford to lose to one of the teams they are competing with. Jags and Jets playing meaningful football games in December. It has been some time since we’ve said that.
3. Giants vs Vikings: Two teams that have good records, but few people believe in. No one will pick New York or Minnesota to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, but it’s hard to imagine either team would rather have it any other way. Both will be coming off of huge Week 15 wins with New York separating themselves from Washington and the Vikings having the greatest comeback in NFL history. This should be a Christmas Eve treat with plenty of chaos.
2. Commanders vs 49ers: Washington blew a really great opportunity to put themselves in a primo position to make the playoffs with their home loss to New York. Things aren’t going to get any easier when they travel to San Francisco to play a 49ers team that looks as good as anyone right now. Brock Purdy is going to face a desperate Commanders defense.
1. Eagles vs Cowboys: Philadelphia is playing to clinch the NFC East title and NFC number one seed. Dallas is playing to clinch a playoff spot and give themselves an unlikely chance at stealing the division from their division rivals. Still the best game of the week, but could’ve had a lot more on the line if Dallas didn’t lose to Jacksonville. There’s also concern that Jalen Hurts may not play with a shoulder injury as well, meaning these teams won’t have a game in which both Hurts and Dak Prescott play in the same game unless it happens in the playoffs.