2022 NFL: Previewing Week 15

I’m not an aggressive guy. I know, I know. When people look at me, they often think, “wow, what a masculine work of art. How is he NOT someone who takes what he wants when he wants?”

But it’s true. I’m a pretty easy going individual who takes things as they come.

Except when I’m watching football. That’s when I throw caution to the wind. Push all my chips into the center of the table without waiting for the flop. You want some? Get some! And no team has been more of a shining example of that attitude than the Eagles this season.

ProFootballTalk broke down Philly’s penchant for going for it on fourth downs and their success rate has been impressive. Head coach Nick Sirianni has rolled the dice 25 times in 2022 and his players converted a league-high 25 times. That’s what I like to see. Punting is for losers and people who watch “Grey’s Anatomy,” which is somehow still on the air.

That kind of moxie is no doubt one of the reasons why the Eagles are 12-1, own the NFL’s best record and have a first-class ticket on the Super Bowl hype train. What a year.

But let me tell you something about aggressiveness. The bottom can fall out at the worst time. Let me tell you a story.

Way back in January of 2006, Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans took on the Texas Longhorns at the Rose Bowl for the national championship. Many people feel it’s the greatest college football game ever played. It was a thrilling back-and-forth affair that effectively came down to one play.

USC had a fourth-and-2 at its own 45-yard line with 2:13 left in the game and a 38-33 lead. They could have punted and tried to make Texas go the length of the field. But there was no way the Trojans were going to do that. They had won national championships the two previous seasons by ignoring the standard orthodoxy of football because they had so much talent. Fourth down? Please, try and stop us.

In fact, USC fans would chant “Big Balls Pete!” on fourth downs because they knew the Trojans were going to ram it down their opponent’s throat.

So, it was no surprise when they went for it on that fateful play. They handed it off to Lendale White, but this time, the expected result didn’t happen. He was brought down a yard short. And the rest has been written in the annals of Trojan infamy – and that’s a long list.

Vince Young took the Texas offense right down a short field and scored the game-winning touchdown with 19 seconds left. USC’s dreams of a third consecutive national championship were instantly burned in a pile of pure Texas manure.

So, while we’re having fun watching the Eagles show off the size of their … ahem, well … just know that sometimes you can find yourself out in the cold. And when you’re in the freezing weather in late January with the Super Bowl on the line, that’s the worst time for shrinkage. Your aggression that brought you to that point can be the very thing that lets you down.

Anyway, let’s move on.

NFL’S TOP 10

1. Eagles – Let’s worry about how Philly might screw up their Super Bowl dreams later. For now, they’re playing great football, they’re the only team that has clinched a playoff spot, Jalen Hurts is the runaway leader for the MVP award and more injured players are due to return soon. They should have the NFC’s top seed locked up in the next week or two.

2. Chiefs – They shouldn’t have had such a problem beating the Broncos. Three interceptions by Patrick Mahomes are the type of thing that lets bad teams hang around. You do that in the playoffs against better competition and you’re going on early vacation. I’m also a little worried about their defense. Despite all of that, I still have them ranked this high. Maybe it’s because I expect a lot out of them. Like having a child that excels academically. Side note: That wasn’t me in school.

3. Bills – If they played the Jets every week, they might be a .500 team. Like I’ve said before, you can struggle against a certain opponent because it’s just a bad matchup. It happens. But the important part is they’ve won four games in a row and the Bills defense is getting after the quarterback. That’s going to matter in the playoffs.

4. Cowboys – The critiques of Dak Prescott started to seep out after they had to come from behind to beat the Texans. Sure, he made some mistakes, but I don’t think that’s indicative of an overarching problem. If anything, Mike McCarthy’s decision-making is what’s going to destroy this team in the playoffs. They just happened to play down to their competition against Houston. Plus, that betting line was ridiculous. No NFL team should be favored by 17 points. I have no doubt that motivated the Texans at least a little bit.

5. Bengals – Oftentimes a Super Bowl loser goes on to stumble the following season. Not this bunch. They’ve ripped off five straight wins and are a threat to pass the Ravens and win the AFC North. Meanwhile, the Rams are rolling around in the league basement. But I’m not bitter or anything. Kudos to Cincy for flipping the script. It’s fun to watch.

6. 49ers – I should have San Francisco ranked one spot higher. Speaking of aggression, which apparently is a running theme this week, their defense is playing lights out. During their current six-game winning streak, they’ve allowed 17 points or less each week. But the reason I don’t have them ranked above the Bengals is because they’re on their third-string quarterback. Sure, Brock Purdy is playing well, but will this hold up the rest of the way? I have doubts.

7. Ravens – Lamar Jackson can’t get back soon enough. That being said, beating the Steelers with Anthony Brown – also a third-string quarterback – throwing just 5 passes was pretty cool. It seems there isn’t a better head coach at making chicken soup out of spare parts than John Harbaugh. And their defense is really coming together. They better hope that continues because they’ve got someone breathing down their neck in the division.

8. Vikings – A lot of teams that were getting a lot of praise early in the season are falling back to reality. Minnesota is one of them. It’s a good thing they somehow built up a 10-3 record as a cushion because there could be more losses coming up like the one they suffered last week against surging Detroit. Their defense has been exposed.

9. Dolphins – Miami is at a critical moment. They’re sitting at 8-5 and in the playoff bubble, but Tyreek Hill is now banged up a little with an ankle injury and may not play this week. Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa isn’t doing well at all. And their next four games are against the Bills, Packers, Patriots and Jets. This season might end in a disaster.

10. Lions – Yes, the Jets have a better record. But there aren’t many teams in the league playing better than Detroit at the moment. Like I said last week, I’m on board their hype train. Don’t let me down, fellas.

WHAT’S THE CHATTER?

Services not needed: Odell Beckham Jr. had quite the demand for his services. Or at least he thought he did. As Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports pointed out, the veteran wide receiver might have overestimated his worth after being insulted by what he called the Rams’ lowball offer to return to the team. The Cowboys and the Giants kicked the tires on signing Beckham, but have now backed off. It seems as though Odell might have been asking for too much money, even though he’s coming off ACL surgery. Let that be a lesson. It’s not what you think about yourself, it’s about what people are willing to pay you. And it seems the math isn’t adding up here.

Where’d he go? The Falcons decided to bench QB Marcus Mariota this week, which isn’t much of a story in itself. But then Mariota left the team without explanation and the Falcons made cryptic remarks when asked about his whereabouts. Well, it turns out that the veteran has decided to have knee surgery to fix a “chronic” issue and won’t return this season. Huh, that’s weird. He was never on the injury report. Oh well. Moving on!

Baker’s bunch: I’ve got to hand it to the Rams. As we approach the end of a dumpster fire season, they went out and signed Baker Mayfield, giving me a reason to watch this team the rest of the way. I’m also enjoying the “quarterback controversy” talk from the talking heads over the past few days.

Just bums me out: There’s not much worse than seeing someone suffer a bad injury at a meaningless time. The Cardinals aren’t going to make the playoffs, so it was tough to see Kyler Murray go down with a torn ACL on Monday night. He didn’t really need to be out there, especially since the organization has invested so much money in him. Star players should be preserved when the season is lost.

APPOINTMENT VIEWING FOR WEEK 15

49ers at Seahawks: Will the legend of Brock Purdy go on for another week? As if things couldn’t get any worse for the Niners’ quarterback room, even Purdy is now dealing with an oblique issue. But their defense and running game should be enough to get past Seattle, even on the road.

Colts at Vikings: Saturday NFL! I love this time of year. The Great Minnesota Fraud Tour continues at home against Indy. I’m not saying I’m rooting for the Colts … but let’s just say I wouldn’t be upset if they poked another hole in an overrated team.

Ravens at Browns: More Saturday NFL! Like the 49ers, Baltimore should have enough in their running game and defense to get past Cleveland. If they can keep treading water until Lamar Jackson comes back, they’ll be fine.

Dolphins at Bills: A third Saturday NFL game?! What god did I please? And what a fun matchup. Let’s see how Miami adjusts to the freezing conditions in upstate New York. My guess is not good.

Lions at Jets: This will be a real litmus test for Detroit. If they win this game and get back to .500 after starting the season 1-6, Dan Campbell is on the short list for coach of the year. In fact, I’d just give him the trophy.

Cowboys at Jaguars: Dallas didn’t look good last week and they better not sleep on Jacksonville. The Cowboys are favored by 4 on the road. I’m really tempted to put some money on the Jags.

Titans at Chargers: Two teams above .500 with glaring holes. You tell me who wins this game. I’m going with the home team, but only by default. There’s no way I’d bet on this one.

Bengals at Buccaneers: Cincinnati should win, which would drop Tampa Bay to 6-8 on the season. And they’ll still probably win their putrid division and get to host a playoff game. Unreal.

Giants at Commanders: With every passing week, a little more air leaks out of Big Blue’s balloon. They were a nice story for a while, but the hard truth is settling in. Gimme D.C. here.

Rams at Packers: It’s Monday night. What else are you gonna watch?

Enjoy the games!