Week 15 was a profitable one for the travelling teams in the NFL with the visitors dominating the scoreboard.
Through 14 games prior to the Monday Night Football doubleheader, road teams went 10-4 head to head and 9-5 against the spread with a couple of underdogs scoring some big wins.
The undermanned Cowboys went into Carolina, a team on the rise mostly because they couldn’t sink any lower and controlled that game thanks in large part to the efforts of Micah Parsons.
He couldn’t have made a better case for the Cowboys to give him a whole lot of money in the next couple of months, or another team if Dallas wants to do something really dumb and trade him away.
One team that got a much needed road win was Tampa Bay, who found themselves down 17-13 in Los Angeles against the Chargers, then did this…
Which kick started a 27-0 run for the Bucs as they chase another NFC South title.
It was a big week in the National Football League and we’ve got your recap below.
1 – Belichick Button Hooks NFL World
Yeah, there were games on but this story has to be addressed.
We all thought that Bill Belichick would be coaching again in season 2025, but on Thursday afternoon, the 72-year-old was the subject of an announcement that left many stunned.
11 months after he was fired by the Patriots and later spurned by the Atlanta Falcons, the six-time Super Bowl champion agreed to become the new Head Coach at the University of North Carolina.
It’s hard to work out what was the most surprising thing about this move, Belichick had never coached in college, his buddy Nick Saban left because the players were starting to make some money and it’s not like he is the softest, most player friendly coach in the world.
We’ll avoid making the jokes about his current girlfriend mostly because everyone else has already taken all the good ones and done them to death.
Although the AD Bubba Cunningham (great name), did produce a funny moment during the press conference, showing up with the sleveless suit jacket.
But it did raise all sorts of questions, why college, why THAT college and why now, a month before the NFL hiring cycle got started?
For better or worse, Belichick has a rather large ego, which served him well dialling up great defensive game plans like holding Sean McVay and the Rams to three points in the Super Bowl.
But it also worked against him, thinking he could let Tom Brady walk and replace him with the shell of Cam Newton and the noodle-armed tennis brat Mac Jones.
That ego took a massive blow last January when he hit the open market and only the Atlanta Falcons were interested in hiring him, before giving the job to Raheem Morris.
So maybe there were some feelers out in NFL circles, and Belichick realised he could have been set up for further hurt when not one of the vacant jobs would be offered to him.
So rather than waiting to be dumped by the league, he pre-emptively broke up with them and told his full story to Seth Wickersham.
By the way, not to go too heavy on the source guessing but it doesn’t take a genius to work out that this “Belichick confidant” is either Belichick’s media mouthpiece Mike Lombardi or Bill himself.
For a guy who acts like he hates the media, he’s more than happy to work it to his advantage either on screen or through back channels.
That’s not to say the guy is done with the league for good, what better way to rebuild your reputation than going to college for a year or two, turn the Tar Heels into a 10-win team and march back to the NFL feeling pretty good about himself.
Because the guy can still coach, that much is certain, but he needs to remind everyone of that after his personnel decisions lead to an ugly end in New England.
2 – LA Wins Ugly
The opening game of Week 15 was a flashback to the dark days of Thursday Night Football when teams were learning how to play on short rest.
No touchdowns, six field goals and a whole lot of really bad mistakes were the main features of San Francisco and the LA Rams in an NFC West battle.
In a cruel twist of fate, Deebo Samuel had a chance to make some plays immediately after complaining about not getting enough targets only to produce this.
It perfectly encapsulated the night for both offences as they struggled through all four quarters.
On the plus side though, the Rams responded very well four days after a draining win over the Buffalo Bills, doing just enough to see off a division rival that was fighting for its season.
Considering this team’s deficiencies in the talent department, at least when compared to the truly elite in the NFL, they are going to have to win games like that to advance in the postseason.
3 – The Fumble Touchback Rule Is Fine
One of the more hotly debated topics in the NFL is whether or not the fumble touchback rule needs to be “fixed”.
Sure it’s a harsh punishment when a ball carrier is reaching for the goal line, loses the ball through the back or side of the end zone and it results in a turnover and touchback, but they are going for the ultimate goal of a touchdown, so the risk-reward kind of makes sense.
But as we saw this weekend, there is the another argument in favour of this being an appropriate punishment for the team in possession.
Not once, but twice did a ball carrier fail to do his job, dropping it before crossing the goal line and in both cases, the punishment for the error seems more than fair.
The first instance took place in Cincinnati, when Jordan Battle thought he had a defensive touchdown, but got careless at the goal line.
Apparently that was not seen in the Indianapolis Colts locker room though, because a few hours later, he made the exact same mistake on a breakaway run.
That came on their first possession of the second half and would have given them a two-score lead.
Instead, it was a disaster-class in game mismanagement from the Colts after that play, perhaps saving Taylor from taking all of the blame for that loss, because there were some other boneheaded moments after that.
It is a harsh punishment but more often than not it does fit the magnitude of the mistake.
4 – Mahomes Will Be Fine
Patrick Mahomes drops back to pass, gets the throw away and his leg gets rolled up on, forcing him out of the game.
If that sounds like a familiar storyline then it should, we have been here before.
Two years ago the Chiefs superstar quarterback suffered an ankle sprain in the Divisional Playoffs against Jacksonville and despite it being a bigger storyline than Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, he shrugged it off over the next few weeks to lead them to a Super Bowl win.
When the chips were down in both the AFC Championship and Super Bowl, that ankle didn’t hurt as much as it seemed as he still was able to move around.
Perhaps it is down to his training regime, or the fact he is able to combine his remarkable skill with some good fortune to avoid major injury.
Which is why the comments from Andy Reid after the game should be far more reassuring for his health going into the most important time of the year.
It might not be easy with their next two games on short rest against good opponents, but you can rest assured that when he needs to make a play, Mahomes will be able to tolerate whatever pain he is going through.
5 – Spare A Thought For Josh Jacobs
A number of big name running backs changed teams in the offseason, with Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley stealing the spotlight.
Which makes sense given the two players have been insanely successful, but spare a thought for Josh Jacobs, who has put together an impressive season.
Jacobs currently sits fourth in the league in rushing yards and is on course for the second best production of his career.
Were it not for the exploits of Barkley and Henry, Jacobs would be getting a lot more press, because just like the Packers, he has gone a bit under the radar.
On the opening drive of the game, Jacobs lead the way to set the stage for a very important win in Green Bay’s push for a playoff spot.
At 10-4, they would be leading the NFC South and West by two games but because they are in the North, they are behind the Vikings and Lions and will have to settle for a wild card spot.
Sometimes you just get stuck behind some really good players and some really good teams.