One week before Santa Claus takes flight, the NFL playoff picture is coming into focus.
The Philadelphia Eagles, before playing the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, and the Dallas Cowboys, prior to having their doors blown off by the Buffalo Bills, each clinched playoff berths on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers continued to separate themselves as the team to beat across the entire league.
After surviving an initial flurry from the Arizona Cardinals, Brock Purdy orchestrated a flawless performance passing for 242 yards with four touchdowns and an almost perfect 135.3 passer rating, winning a hat and t-shirt as NFC West champions.
In Miami, the Dolphins drove the final nail in the coffin of the NFL worst 13th consecutive season without a playoff appearance for the New York Jets and likely any chance of Aaron Rodgers suiting up in 2023, in the process with a dominant 30-shutout win.
Amid a weekend of blowouts, several big picture themes shone bright.
Here's a look at the biggest takeaways, and awards, from a wild Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season.
First Down: Revisiting Christian McCaffrey Trade
Forget for just a moment that Brock Purdy leads the NFL in passer rating and that the MVP recently has become a quarterback-driven award, because Christian McCaffrey might ultimately be the most valuable player on the NFL's most dominant team.
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Sunday afternoon in Arizona, McCaffrey was once again spectacular, rushing for 115 yards and one touchdown, while adding a team-high five catches for 72 yards and two more touchdowns in a 45-29 victory over the Cardinals.
Given the transcendent impact McCaffrey has made on the 49ers' offense, it's almost difficult to remember that he was a Carolina Panther until 49ers general manager John Lynch dealt four draft picks in exchange for the electrifying running back.
McCaffrey has now appeared in 23 games for the 49ers and scored 30 total touchdowns from scrimmage, since arriving in the Bay Area.
There's a legitimate argument that McCaffrey should be the MVP of the league this season. Likewise, the trade that brought him to San Francisco is one of the most impactful trades of at least the past half decade, if not longer.
It has become cliche to suggest that running backs don't matter, or aren't worth significant draft capital. However, since trading for McCaffrey, the 49ers are 20-4. Meanwhile, the players that the Panthers currently have on the roster from the McCaffrey trade (after trading one of San Francisco's picks as part of the package to move up to No. 1 overall to select Bryce Young, another to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and another to the Pittsburgh Steelers) is D.J. Johnson.
San Francisco's roster is obviously loaded with talent, including Purdy dramatically outplaying his rookie contract, and the likes of Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa, Chase Young, Javon Hargrave, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk all among the premier players at their positions. However, McCaffrey's contributions have been paramount to the 49ers' success on offense.
Second Down: Buffalo Bills Cook Up Their Identity
Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images
The Buffalo Bills became James Cook's team in a must-win game against the Dallas Cowboys.
As the weather deteriorated into an old fashioned Buffalo December monsoon, the Bills leaned into Cook and the running game to punish a speedy Cowboys defense that had no counter-punch in a 31-10 blowout victory.
Cook delivered both a wake up call for the previously surging Cowboys and the knockout blow in Sunday's contest.
On his 26th carry of the game, a 24-yard mad dash to the end zone through the heart of Dallas' defense, Cook looked explosive as his first. The second-year back rushed for 179 yards with a touchdown, while catching two passes for 42 yards and another score, en-route to a 221 yards from scrimmage outburst.
How impressive was Cook? He finished with 26 more yards than the Cowboys' 195 of total offense.
Cook's big game set an early tone against a Cowboys' defense more accustomed to defending leads than needing to stop the run to get off the field and stop the bleeding.
Buffalo's victory was a big step towards digging out of the hole it dug for itself in the postseason race, improving to 8-6 keeping flickering hopes for either the AFC East crown or an AFC Wild Card berth alive. If the Bills are going to make the playoffs, and once they do if they wind up in the tournament, it is going to be time to let James Cook.
Third Down: The Chiefs May Need to Cut Their Kadarius Toney Losses
For much of this season it has been obvious that the Chiefs' wide receiving corps is dragging Patrick Mahomes down, potentially lowering the ceiling on Kansas City's potential to repeat as Super Bowl champions. But, no player has found himself on the wrong end of more game-altering plays than Kadarius Toney.
Seven days after Toney lined up offsides by about half a yard in the final moments of a loss to the Buffalo Bills that negated what would have been the go-ahead touchdown on a lateral from tight end Travis Kelce, Toney had a ball bounce off his hands that was intercepted by Patriots Jahlani Tavai.
This wasn't the first dropped ball interception off Toney's unsteady hands, of course.
Toney's opening night drop that was intercepted by rookie safety Brian Branch and returned for a touchdown proved pivotal in the Lions' upset victory of the Chiefs.
Originally chosen by the New York Giants with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Chiefs acquired Toney in exchange for a third-round and sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Since the trade, Toney has caught 39 of 51 targets for 335 yards and three touchdowns.
"He just isn't making progress at the NFL level," an AFC Scout told FanBuzz. "What teams like the Chiefs see in him, though, is the stupid athleticism. He teases you with that. That athleticism just never translates."
Deflected and picked off by the @Patriots defense
?: #KCvsNE on FOX
?: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/kw7mays4qU pic.twitter.com/mkIJBSjcrD— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2023
Toney's gaffe didn't cost the Chiefs Sunday, who departed Foxboro with a closer than it needed to be 27-17 bounce back win.
However, how long can the Chiefs hold onto the memory of Toney's punt return touchdown to sink the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII while watching him torpedo games or come up small when called upon in big spots?
Obviously, Veach and Kansas City hoped that Toney's tantalizing speed and athletic upside could help him develop into a field-stretching weapon for Mahomes. That simply hasn't happened, and more often than not he has hurt the Chiefs' chances of winning rather than helped.
It might be time for general manager Brett Veach and the Chiefs to cut their losses and move on from Toney.
Fourth Down: Is Ron Rivera Firing Imminent?
Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Friday afternoon, Brandon Staley became the third head coach to be fired this season, will Ron Rivera become the fourth less than a week before Christmas?
The Commanders didn't come out ready to play, falling behind the Los Angeles Rams 20-0 and again 28-7 before ultimately falling 28-20 in SoFi Stadium for a fifth straight loss and seventh defeat in the past eight games. How much longer can Rivera survive that?
"It's coming," a league source told FanBuzz, of Rivera's possible firing.
But, unlike the situations in Carolina, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles, the Commanders all but officially surrendered on the season when Washington traded top pass-rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat hours before the NFL trade deadline, back on Halloween.
"What did that front office think would happen?" Said the source.
While it seems obvious Rivera is coaching his final games on the Commanders' sideline, he might actually make it to season's end. That is, unless Washington's new ownership group would like to get a look at offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy in an interim role for at least two weeks.
Week 15 MVP of The Week: Gardner Minshew, QB, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts have gone from a fun sideshow story in the AFC South to suddenly a legitimate playoff contender, in large part because of Gardner Minshew's strong play over the second half of the season.
Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers might have been the finest performance of Minshew's career.
Even with Jonathan Taylor sidelined, and star wide receiver Michael Pittman knocked from the game following a brutal hit in the first half, Minshew sliced and diced the Steelers' defense for 215 yards with three touchdowns on 18-of-28 passing en-route to a 123.4 passer rating while leading a 30-13 victory.
Minshew followed head coach Shane Steichen from Philadelphia to Indianapolis, presumably to serve as the backup quarterback and a coach on the field to help a young quarterback, ultimately Anthony Richardson, learn the scheme. However, Minshew has played the Colts into the throes of the division race.
Over the past six games Minshew has posted a 87.4 passer rating with 1,339 yards, seven touchdowns, three interceptions and a 5-1 record over that span. Mineshew has steadied the ship for the Colts, is gaining confidence, and as a result this is a team that looks capable of playing spoiler — and maybe more, as the postseason nears.
Week 15 Team of The Week: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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During what amounted to a de-facto playoff game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' aggressiveness shone through in all phases in an upset victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
The Buccaneers leaned into their stars, on both sides of the football, and walked out of frigid Green Bay with a 34-20 victory that could prove pivotal should Tampa slip from its perch atop the NFC South and face a tiebreaker situation against the Packers in the wild card chase.
"We have a really good balance on offense right now," a Buccaneers front office executive told FanBuzz immediately following Sunday's game in Green Bay. "Baker is playing really well the last few weeks, and the defense is getting healthy."
For Tampa, quarterback Baker Mayfield became an explosive play dealer as the offense produced eight plays of over 20 yards with Mayfield completing passes of 52, 25, 26, and 22 yards while posting four touchdown passes en-route to a 158.3 passer rating. Mayfield posted a season-high 381 passing yards as the offense dictated to the Packers from start to finish. Meanwhile, wide receiver Mike Evans moved into 12 on the all-time receiving touchdown list with his 11th of the season.
Defensively, veteran linebacker led the charge with nine tackles, half a sack, one quarterback hit and one pass breakup as the Buccaneers' offense held Jordan Love and the Packers' offense to just 5.5 yards per carry.
Sunday's victory significantly boosts the Buccaneers' playoff hopes, especially combined with the Falcons' loss to the lowly Carolina Panthers. Beyond the result, head coach Todd Bowles' team seems to have discovered a winning formula of pairing an aggressive and swarming defense with an offense that takes more than its share of shots downfield that has the Buccaneers punching above their weight.
Week 15 Breakout Star: Ty Chandler, RB, Minnesota Vikings
As far as first career NFL starts go, they don't get more impressive than Vikings running back Ty Chandler's on Saturday.
The Vikings came up short against the Bengals, falling 27-24 in overtime, but Chandler ran roughshod over Cincinnati for 132 yards with one touchdown, while averaging an explosive 5.7 yards per carry.
"It felt good to get out there and get into a rhythm," Chandler told FanBuzz on Sunday. "The offensive line did a great job opening up holes, and all I had to do was be patient and let the holes open up."
Unfortunately for the Vikings, Chandler's breakout performance didn't translate to an eighth victory.
"We really hate that we let that one get away," Chandler lamented. "But, we are excited to get back together and clean some of those things up with some key division games left, we know we can finish strong and make the playoffs."
Chandler certainly made the most of his opportunity as the Vikings' lead back, with Jordan Addison sidelined and at minimum seemed to show he's capable of shouldering a bigger piece of the workload in Minnesota's backfield. Especially because the former fifth-round pick also added 25 receiving yards.
"I'm excited to do whatever they ask of me," Chandler said of his role. "And, when my number is called, I'm going to continue to build off what we were able to accomplish running the ball this weekend."
