Only three weeks remain in the 2019 NFL season. Last week, the NFL provided many great games involving playoff teams. Entering week 15, the schedule doesn’t pop out and scream excitement like last week. There are a dozen or so teams with nothing to play for as they’ve seen their playoff chances vanish. But fear not, week 15 still has many games on the schedule with stakes involved. So let’s take a look at the four NFL games with the most on the line and that you should be watching.
NFL Games With The Most On The Line In Week 15
Texans vs Titans
When the Indianapolis Colts lost in week 14, the race for the AFC South became a two-team race. Both the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans enter the game 8-5. The Texans are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Denver Broncos in week 14 in which they trailed by 35 at one point. On the flip side, the Titans dominated on offense last week and have won six of their last seven games. It is fair to wonder if Ryan Tannehill is playing better than Deshaun Watson currently. When Will Fuller isn’t on the field, Watson and the Texans offense isn’t as efficient. The matchup to watch, however, will be Derrick Henry against the Texans run defense. Over the last 12 months, Henry has been quietly the most productive running back in football. Henry is second in the league in rushing yards, while Houston ranks 18th in stopping the run.
Rams vs Cowboys
A week ago, the Los Angeles Rams weren’t even in the playoff picture. But after upsetting the Seattle Seahawks in primetime, the narrative has shifted. Suddenly, the Rams are alive and offensively in sync at 8-5 and get a struggling Dallas Cowboys team at the right time. NFL Research tweeted that over their three-game losing streak, Dak Prescott is playing very poor against the blitz, and the Rams are a top ten blitzing team. The Rams need help from the rest of the NFC to make it into January. On the other side, the Cowboys still control their own destiny. They are now tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for first place in the NFC East. The Eagles face one of the worst teams in the league, the Washington Redskins this week. If Philadelphia wins and Dallas loses this week, the pressure on the Cowboys in week 16 would be massive.
Bears vs Packers
If you would’ve told me the Chicago Bears would win four of their next five games after they were 3-5, I’d call you crazy. Yet somehow the Bears have climbed their way back into the mix thanks to improvements from Mitch Trubisky. Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller have played great in the last couple of games, and it appears the offense is finally competent. But standing in their way is the 10-3 Green Bay Packers. Put simply, this game is a must-win for both teams. If the Bears lose this one, they can kiss their postseason goodbye. For Green Bay, they face off against the trailing Minnesota Vikings in week 16. To this point, you can argue the Vikings have been the better team than the Packers, and have a winnable game against the Los Angeles Chargers this week. The Packers need to win to keep ahead of the Vikings but also need to prove they’re capable of being competitive with the elite teams in the NFC come January.
Bills vs Steelers
Taking place under the bright lights on primetime TV, both the Texans and Titans will be watching this game closely. The AFC wild-card race is super competitive, and the current fifth and sixth seeds will face off when the Buffalo Bills meet the Pittsburgh Steelers. This game has the potential to be a low scoring contest, as the Bills possess the third-ranked defense, and the Steelers the fifth-ranked defense statistically. The biggest thing separating the teams is their ground game. Buffalo ranks fifth in rushing yards, while Pittsburgh is 25th. After missing the last three games, Mike Tomlin wasn’t willing to say whether star players James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster would be available to play this week. The team with the most to gain is the Bills. They are only one game behind the New England Patriots for first place in the division and will face off in week 16.
Week 15 Has A Lot On The Line
As we’ve established, the playoff race is as tight as ever, and there’s a lot on the line this week. Week 16 will provide another slate of incredible games that will have massive playoff implications. And how this week’s games unfold will determine just how much more or less the games mean next week. It isn’t playoff football quite yet, but the games are certainly starting to carry the atmosphere of it.
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