2022 NFL Week 15 Takeaways

By Jeff Stinger • December 19, 2022

The 2022 NFL season’s playoff picture is slowly unraveling, as the massive Week 15 slate saw several teams secure their spots into the postseason. There were also a ton of contests that went down to the wire this past weekend, with a couple of those games being huge blows in defeat for aspiring playoff contenders.

Nitrobetting is ready to equip its bettors with the latest news, NFL odds, and special features for the entire duration of the 2022 NFL season. Let’s briefly recap the most notable happenings from Week 15 with our three key takeaways from this week’s action.

Top Takeaways from 2022 NFL Week 15

NFL Power Rankings for Week 16: Lamar Jackson-less Ravens continue slide https://t.co/MjqeVktNFD pic.twitter.com/b3RC2nlzpg
— New York Post (@nypost) December 20, 2022

Tickets Punched for the Playoffs

It’s official: the likes of the 49ers, Bills, Chiefs, and Vikings join the Eagles as locks for the 2022 NFL Playoffs with their respective wins in Week 15. San Francisco secured the NFC West division title on Thursday night, followed by Minnesota’s NFC North title win on Saturday and Kansas City lording over the AFC West as of Sunday.

The Vikings’ victory on Saturday was a phenomenal one at that, as they staged the largest comeback in NFL history by rallying down from a 33-point hole at halftime and stunning the hapless Colts in the second half en route to a miraculous 39-36 overtime win. Buffalo and KC also had a tough time closing out their respective Week 15 opponents as well, as the Bills had to fight tooth and nail against the Dolphins in snowy Orchard Park, and the Chiefs needed an extra period as well before dispatching the lowly Texans in Houston.

Five of the 14 playoff spots have been decided, and there are still plenty of intriguing playoff scenarios that will develop before the regular season action comes to a close. But as we’ll get into shortly, not every postseason contender was fortunate enough to secure a win in Week 15 and one mishap, in particular, stood out above the rest this week.

Big Blunder for Belichick’s Boys… and Jerry’s ‘Boys

One could argue that the biggest upset of Week 15 was Dallas’ shocking 40-34 overtime loss against the Jaguars. Dak Prescott threw a pick-six into the arms of Jacksonville safety Rayshawn Jenkins, which led to Dallas having to wait another week before clinching a playoff spot.

Unlike Dallas, which still has a superb chance of making the postseason with an above-average 10-4 record to date, New England’s playoff hopes may have just been snuffed out. Tied with the Raiders at 24 points apiece with just mere seconds left in the contest, the Patriots decided it was wise to lateral their way into a score late, only for Vegas’ defense to capitalize on a lost fumble during the final play of the game with Chandler Jones taking the turnover to the house and send the Sin City crowd into a frenzy.

With that loss, the Pats saw their chances of making the postseason slip from over 60 percent to below 25 percent after this week’s developments, as they drop to 7-7. Meanwhile, the Raiders keep their faint playoff dreams alive at 6-8; a record they share with fellow AFC wild-card hopefuls in the Steelers, Browns, and the aforementioned Jaguars.

Massive Matchup in Maryland

The first meeting between the Giants and the Commanders this season took place just a couple of weeks ago, with the two NFC East rivals ending their bout in a tie. Sunday night set the stage for a crucial rematch in Landover, and there was no way that the upcoming divisional showdown would end in another deadlock.

Thankfully, this pivotal Week 15 bout had a decisive winner, as the G-Men hung on to a tense 20-12 victory, albeit with a little help from a missed call from the officials. Referees overlooked what should’ve been a pass interference penalty on New York defender Darnay Holmes as wide receiver Curtis Samuel was draped and dragged from behind, ultimately failing to haul in the late touchdown for Washington.

The Giants improve to 8-5-1 and now have sole possession of the sixth wild card spot in the NFC. Washington, on the other hand, still has a grasp of the final wild card slot at 7-6-1, but a pair of 7–7 teams in the Seahawks and Lions are still breathing down their necks.

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