Week 15 Top Dogs & Down and Out Teams

 Week 15 Top Dogs & Down and Out Teams

By Josh Olson 

Top Dogs 

 

Jacksonville Jaguars- This team is on a two-game winning streak, with their second win coming against the Dallas Cowboys. They defeated the Cowboys 40-34 in overtime. Trevor Lawrence threw twenty-seven completions for 318 yards, four touchdowns and one pick. Every week he's looking more like the franchise quarterback they drafted first overall in the 2021 draft. Travis Etienne Jr. rushed nineteen times for 103 yards. He also had a fumble that he lost. Zay Jones had six catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jaguars. The Jaguar's defense had three sacks, seven tackles for a loss, five pass deflections, and eight quarterbacks hits. They made Dak Prescott's life a living hell, even picking him off twice and returning one for a touchdown.  With three games left and one game out of the division lead, they look to keep the pedal to the floor and keep the streak going! They travel to New York to play the Jets in week 16 on Thursday Night Football. 

 

Detroit Lions- This team deserves to be in the playoffs! Coming off another win 20-17, against the New York Jets. That's three in a row for the lions. Jared Goff completed twenty-three of his throws for 252 yards and one touchdown. D’andre Swift rushed eight times for fifty-two yards making him the lead rusher on the team. The receiver didn't fare well either in the stats column, with Amon-Ra St. Brown having seven catches for seventy-six yards. The defense played lights out in a hard-fought battle. They racked up four sacks, seven tackles for loss, four pass deflections, and ten quarterback hits. They also picked off Zach Wilson once in the game. The Detroit Lions look to keep the ball rolling when they travel to play the Carolina Panthers. 

 

Cincinnati Bengals- This team just finds ways to win, rallying back from being down 17-3 and winning the game 34-23 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Joe Burrow threw twenty-seven completions for two hundred yards, four touchdowns, and one pick. Samaje Perine had seven carries for twenty-four yards, leading the rush for the team. Ja’marr Chase had seven carries for sixty yards and a touchdown. It was a weird game for the Bengal's offence. The defense had a so-so game with only one sack, one tackle for loss, eight pass deflections, and seven quarterback hits. Again, a weird game but a win and win and they win big! They hope to put this game behind and turn their focus to week 16 when they take on the New England Patriots.

 

 

 

 

Down and Out 

 

Dallas Cowboys- A team that has a top five defense and has Super Bowl dreams for this year, you can’t lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars! You just can’t! At the half, they were up 21-7. With five minutes left in the third quarter, they were up 27-10 and then they gave life to the Jaguars. Dak had two big interceptions in the game that the Jaguars got points off it. He also got sacked three times for a loss of thirteen yards. The defense also imploded letting them get back into the game and lose it in overtime... That hurts because the Jaguars also tried giving this game away when they fumbled twice and got picked off. The Cowboys are going to have to be a lot better if they plan on having a deep playoff run. Look for them to get this back in order when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in week 16.

 

Tennessee Titans- Another week, another loss for the Titans, this one coming at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers. Ryan Tannehill had an underperforming game, throwing for only 165 yards and an interception. He also got sacked four times. Derek Henry rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown. He also had four catches for fifty-nine yards to lead the team in receiving yards. Not good when your running back is the team lead receiver. The defense had a good game with three sacks and two picks, but the offence let them down. Now the Jaguars are one game back of the division lead. The Titans look to rebound and end this losing streak when they travel to Houston to take on the Texans in week 16. 

 

New England Patriots- Wow. What happened? The New England Patriots were tied with the Las Vegas Raiders, and with ten seconds left they ran the ball and decided to do hook and lander play... Jakobi Meyers decided to throw it back to Chandler Jones. Yes, Chandler Jones who played for the Las Vegas Raider, who then took the ball and ran it 48 yards for a touchdown to win the game. Patriots 24. Raiders 30. Why did they decide to do this when they could have taken it over time? No one will ever know the answers. The Patriots need to get their act together if they want to make the playoffs and they hope to change their luck against the Cincinnati Bengals in week 16.