No, it’s not just recency bias to suggest Week 15 was the wildest weekend of NFL football. It actually was a ridiculously entertaining and close weekend.
Through Thursday, Saturday and Sunday’s action, 12 of 15 games were decided by one score, and all 15 games were decided by 11 points or fewer. According to NFL Research, both of those marks are tied for the most in a single week in NFL history.
We’ve got one game left Monday night between Aaron Rodgers’ Packers and Baker Mayfield’s Rams to break the tie.
The Vikings, Jaguars and Bengals all overcame deficits of at least 17 points to win in Week 15, the first time in NFL history that three teams overcame 17-plus point deficits to win in the same week. Minnesota's 33-point comeback was the largest in NFL history.
It started Thursday with the 49ers fending off a Seahawks comeback behind seventh-round rookie quarterback Brock Purdy.
Saturday brought a historic Vikings comeback from down 33-0 at halftime to beat the Colts, 39-36, in OT, while Buffalo overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Miami on the final play.
Then Sunday brought more ludicrous endings:
- The 11-3 Chiefs needed overtime to moonwalk over the one-win Texans.
- Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins intercepted Dak Prescott in OT to walk off with a 17-point comeback victory over the Cowboys.
- Detroit took a 51-yard pass on fourth-and-inches for a TD, then hung on to beat Zach Wilson and the Jets.
- The Bengals forced four Tom Brady turnovers and Joe Burrow cashed in, as Cincy scored 34 consecutive points to turn a 17-0 deficit into a 34-23 win in Tampa Bay.
- New Orleans forced a Drake London fumble following a fourth-down catch against Atlanta to avoid another collapse.
- Justin Herbert played magician, hitting Mike Williams on the move to set up a Chargers game-winning field goal against Tennessee.
- The Giants made a fourth-down stand Sunday night against Washington that included controversy.
- And the coup de grâce of this wild weekend came in Las Vegas, where a mind-boggling pitch play from the Patriots led to a walk-off Chandler Jones touchdown.
You’re up, Rams and Packers.