NFL overreactions Week 15: Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills have peaked too early
If the NFL season ended this week, Josh Allen would win his first NFL MVP and the Buffalo Bills would finally be Super Bowl champions.
Those are two prevailing feelings after Week 15, which saw the Bills outlast the Detroit Lions — the best team in the NFC — in a 48-42 clash of NFL heavyweights Sunday.
Allen and the Bills have beaten two of the best teams in the NFL, snapping the Lions' 11-game win streak and handing the Chiefs their first loss of the season in Week 11.
Paste BN Sports’ NFL overreactions begin this week with the Bills, who have simply peaked too early with eight weeks to go. It’s fine to be the Super Bowl favorite after Week 15, but anything can happen in the two months leading to the big game.
Just ask the Chiefs, who must navigate another high-ankle sprain for star quarterback Patrick Mahomes during the final three weeks of the regular season.
And ask the Lions, who must find additional replacements on defense after coach Dan Campbell said defensive tackle Alim McNeill (knee) and cornerbacks Khalil Dorsey (leg) and Carlton Davis III (jaw) may not return this season.
The Bills appear to have a relatively easier road to end the season: They host the Patriots Week 15, the Jets Week 16, and end the season in New England Week 17.
If all goes well, the Bills should still be able to lock up the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff race – unless our next overreaction comes true.
Anything can change when the postseason begins. That’s when Buffalo – and its MVP favorite quarterback – must really shine.
Mahomes' injury could lead to Chiefs losing No. 1 seed
The Chiefs (13-1) have been here before. Mahomes has a high ankle sprain he must navigate. This time, it comes in the final three games of the regular season before a postseason that could — or could not — lead to Kansas City’s third straight championship.
Prediction: Kansas City will drop not one, but two of its remaining three games and lose the top seed in the AFC playoff race.
The Chiefs host the Texans on Saturday, visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas, and end the season in Denver against the Broncos on Jan. 5.
Mahomes and the Chiefs have made a habit of pulling out one-score games to remain with the best record in the NFL, but Mahomes is a different player when he’s injured.
He'll have a hard time pushing the ball down the field and scrambling to extend plays. We’ve seen both attributes unfold in Kansas City’s 2023 playoff win over the Jacksonville Jaguars before he eventually improved to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.
If the Chiefs drop two games, they’ll lose any tiebreaking scenarios with the Bills because of the Week 11 loss. The good news for Mahomes and the Chiefs: Even if they lose the top seed, they’ll still be the most feared team to face in the postseason.
The Eagles’ passing attack is back
Yes, Jalen Hurts. That’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Hurts rebounded from two straight games with barely 100 yards passing to lead the Philadelphia Eagles with 290 yards passing, two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a dominant 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Hurts rekindled his connections with touchdowns to receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, who were both vocal about the shortcomings in the passing game last week. Saquan Barkley also paced the offense with 65 yards rushing in the win.
If the Eagles are going to make another Super Bowl push, they will need Hurts to keep playing at an MVP level with his playmakers.
The Eagles will face all three of their NFC East rivals – visiting the Commanders, before hosting the Cowboys and Giants – in the final three games.
Any of those teams – okay, maybe the Cowboys more than the Giants – could trip up Philadelphia. So, the rest of the season won’t be a cake walk. But the No. 1 seed is within reach.
Detroit and Philadelphia are both 12-2 atop the NFC playoff picture, but Detroit has a slight edge with a better conference record (8-1 vs. 7-2) in the standings.