THE NFL STORY: WEEK #15

So the Denver Broncos are the team everyone wants to watch. Well, in the 4th quarter, anyway.

THE SCORE:
Jacksonville (4-10) 14
ATLANTA (9-5) 41
THE STATS: Atlanta WR Roddy White 10-135-2 TD.
THE STORY: Sometimes, you're happy that you can't watch a game because it is carried on the premium channel NFL Network. This was one of those weeks.


THE SCORE:
DALLAS (8-6) 31
Tampa Bay (4-10) 15
THE STATS: Dallas 399 total yards to 190; 28 first downs to 7; time of possession 37:59 to 22:01.
THE STORY: Dallas' win puts them in position to clinch the division this weekend -- or sets them up for another epic choke.


THE SCORE:
CINCINNATI (8-6) 20
St. Louis (2-12) 13
THE STATS: Cincinnati returner Brandon Tate 4-101 (25.3 avg) kick returns; 2-71 (35.5) punt returns.
THE STORY: St. Louis offense has scored just 14 TDs in 14 games.


THE SCORE:
MIAMI (5-9) 30
Buffalo (5-9) 23
THE STATS: Teams combined for 6 turnovers, 16 penalties, 14 punts.
THE STORY: Miami started the season 0-7; Buffalo has now lost 7 straight, including every game since the Miami streak ended. Gotta love the symmetry.


THE SCORE:
WASHINGTON (5-9) 23
NY Giants (7-7) 10
THE STATS: Washington just 2 penalties (to 8 for Giants).
THE STORY: Giants now face a critical showdown this weekend, on the world's shortest road trip -- to their own stadium to play the Jets.


THE SCORE:
Tennessee (7-7) 13
INDIANAPOLIS (1-13) 27
THE STATS: Colts win with just 10 first downs, 3-12 on 3rd down conversions.
THE STORY: With their 1st win, Colts have not clinched, still have some work to do earn the 1st pick in the draft.


THE SCORE:
SEATTLE (7-7) 38
Chicago (7-7) 14
THE STATS: Seattle outscores Chicago 31-0 in the 2nd half.
THE STORY: Chicago's 4th loss in a row; they can't clinch next week, but they can be eliminated.


THE SCORE:
Green Bay (13-1) 14
KANSAS CITY (6-8) 19
THE STATS: Kansas City defense holds Aaron Rodgers to 48.6%, 5.5 yards per pass play, sacked 4 times.
THE STORY: Children in Nigeria now wearing green "19-0" shirts.


THE SCORE:
CAROLINA (5-9) 28
Houston (10-4) 13
THE STATS: Carolina punting: 5 punts-50.4 yard average to just 2-29.5 average for Houston (3 turnovers).
THE STORY: Nevermind the Green Bay loss and the Indianapolis win; this game might have been the biggest upset of the weekend.


THE SCORE:
NEW ORLEANS (11-3) 42
Minnesota (2-12) 20
THE STATS: New Orleans RB Darren Sproles 33 yards rushing, 79 yards receiving (TD), 75 yards kick returns, 45 yards punt returns.
THE STORY: Vikings want a new stadium, or they might move. Coincidentally, many of the fans now like the latter idea.


THE SCORE:
DETROIT (9-5) 28
Oakland (7-7) 27
THE STATS: Detroit WR Calvin Johnson 9-214-2 TD.
THE STORY: Let me see if I have this straight. Detroit clinches a wild card spot with a win or tie, OR a Chicago loss or tie and an Arizona loss or tie, and a Seattle loss or tie, and a Dallas loss or tie OR a Chicago loss or tie, and an Arizona loss or tie and a Seattle loss or tie and a New York loss or tie, OR a Chicago loss or tie and an Arizona loss or tie and a Seattle loss or tie and an Atlanta win or tie. Simple.


THE SCORE:
Cleveland (4-10) 17
ARIZONA (7-7) 20
THE STATS: Last 5 Cleveland possessions of the game: Punt, Fumble, Punt, Punt, Punt.
THE STORY: Overtime win by Arizona after starting the 4th quarter down by 10 points; may have been the best game of the week. Meaningless, but the best game.


THE SCORE:
NY Jets (8-6) 19
PHILADELPHIA (6-8) 45
THE STATS: Philadelphia RB LeSean McCoy, 18-102-3 TDs, team record 20 TDs on the season.
THE STORY: Eagles are still alive? Next you're going to tell me that the Colts won a game.


THE SCORE:
NEW ENGLAND (11-3) 41
Denver (8-6) 23
THE STATS: Tebow: 80.5 rating; Brady: 117.3 rating.
THE STORY: Tebow magic falls short to a superior team.


THE SCORE:
Baltimore (10-4) 14
SAN DIEGO (7-7) 34
THE STATS: Chargers 3rd win in a row.
THE STORY: The Chargers' usual late-season run came a little late this year. But too late too little?


THE SCORE:
Pittsburgh (10-4) 3
SAN FRANCISCO(11-3) 20
THE STATS: 2 power outages for 35 minutes.
THE STORY: Conspiracy theories abound about the lights going out in San Francisco, as a ploy to get a new stadium. Yeah, I'll believe that when an earthquake hits the Bay area during the World Series.

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