NFL Week 15 of the 2024 NFL season started with a “Thursday Night Football” slog with the Los Angeles Rams prevailing 12-6 on the avenue against their heated NFC West competitors, the San Francisco 49ers. That game used to be both the first in the NFL with out a touchdown this season to boot to the first in that opponents with out a touchdowns scored, per CBS Sports actions Evaluate.
Week 15, the open of the Delusion Football playoffs for many, guarantees to be worthy more thrilling. Listed below are 5 surprising possibilities in our most modern reduce of CBS Sports actions’ NFL fearless predictions.
Josh Allen leads Bills to upset avenue catch over 12-1 Lions
The Detroit Lions are off to their ideal 13-game open in franchise history with a 12-1 sage, and their 11-game winning mosey is their longest in group history. That winning mosey will discontinuance at home on Sunday when Josh Allen and the ten-3 Bills reach to town, fresh off a 44-42 avenue loss on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14.
Sure, the Bills modified into the first group in NFL history to lose a game with six or more touchdowns and no turnovers dedicated closing week, but they’re going to drop the Lions in their Detroit den on Sunday. Why is that? It be because Allen goes to beat the Detroit Lions’ blitz-heavy defense.
Detroit’s No. 2 scoring defense (18.0 facets per game allowed in 2024) leans exhausting on its blitz. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has blitzed 36.4% of the time this season, the fourth-very top price in the NFL in 2024, but they like got generated the seventh-lowest quarterback stress price when blitzing (38%). In divulge to originate up for the loss of Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who used to be the early-season favourite to be the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the one year award sooner than a season-ending leg injury in Week 6, Glenn has turned up the heat, blitzing 41.1% of the time since Week 7, the ideal price to your complete league in that span. Then again, they’re permitting the lowest passer rating in the NFL (67.7) when blitzing in portion thanks to their seven interceptions on such plays, the second-most in the league in the abet of fully the Minnesota Vikings, who like 11. Allen’s 123.8 passer rating vs. the blitz is the fourth-ideal in the NFL, and his 14 touchdown passes when blitzed are the ideal in the league.
Allen is on the second playing his most atmosphere friendly soccer of his profession, producing his lowest turnover price (1.4%) and sack price (3.2%) of his profession. His offensive line has been regular, permitting the tenth-lowest quarterback stress price this season (32.2%) to boot to the seventh-lowest in the NFL when being blitzed (36.9%). Allen moreover isn’t any longer truly panicked to throw it to anyone: he is thrown a touchdown to 12 varied gamers, including himself, in 2024. The 2024 odds on NFL MVP favourite (-400 per Caesar’s Sportsbook) will play fancy an MVP on Sunday in Detroit by beating the Lions’ blitz, thus leading the Bills to victory.
Steelers snap 10-game avenue losing mosey at Eagles
The Pittsburgh Steelers like lost 10 consecutive avenue video games against the Philadelphia Eagles with their closing such catch coming in 1965. That ends on Sunday for a pair of causes.
One being Russell Wilson’s atmosphere friendly play: he is thrown for 12 touchdowns to valid three interceptions this season, which is why the Steelers are 6-1 in his seven begins in 2024. One more is Pittsburgh’s fifth-ranked scoring defense (18.3 facets per game allowed). The Steelers’ strength is defending the urge as they permit valid 91.5 rushing yards per game, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. That’s precisely what’s critical to derail the 2024 rushing yards chief in Eagles working abet Saquon Barkley and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Making Hurts throw after stopping the urge is the specific recipe to beat this Eagles bunch because he is averaging valid 200.2 passing yards per game this season, which ranks Twenty fourth amongst certified quarterbacks, and that figure would be his fewest in a season since changing staunch into a fats-time starting up quarterback in 2021. That’s moreover led to No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown averaging Eagles profession lows in catches per game (4.8) and receiving yards per game (83.6) to boot to teammate Brandon Graham to invest on the duo’s friendship amid the passing game struggles. Pittsburgh jumps all the procedure by that weak point on Sunday to construct a generational avenue catch against their in-declare foe. The Steelers will like a honest appropriate time in Philadelphia fancy or no longer it’s 1965.
Patriots (3-10) upset Cardinals (6-7) in Arizona
The New England Patriots like acquired three in a row (2016, 2020 and 2022) against the Arizona Cardinals, and that can continue in 2024 no matter the Patriots being 3-10 and the host Cardinals being 6-7 and in a fight for an NFC West crown. This could well well happen because this game formulation two quarterbacks whose production goes two fully varied directions.
Arizona has lost three in a row after a 6-4 open, and that’s the reason in gigantic portion thanks to Kyler Murray throwing 5 interceptions — tied for the most in three-game span of his profession — to fully three touchdowns all the procedure by the losing mosey.
On the flip facet, Patriots 2024 third overall pick quarterback Drake Maye is balling out. He is the fifth quarterback to be averaging over 200 passing yards per game (209.3) and over 40 rushing yards per game (41.6) in his first eight begins for the reason that 1970 AFL/NFL merger, per CBS Sports actions Evaluate. The four varied individuals of that membership encompass Robert Griffin III (2012), Deshaun Watson (2017), Jalen Hurts (2020-2021) and fellow draft classmate Jayden Daniels (2024). Maye moreover threw for profession highs in completion percentage (24-for-30, 80%) and passing yards per attempt (7.9) in his closing game in Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts, a narrow 25-24 defeat.
In Week 15, these trends continue as Maye outduels Murray and leads the Patriots to victory.
Chiefs blow out Browns for rare double-digit catch
The two-time defending Spacious Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are gasping and wheezing by the 2024 season, no matter what their 12-1 sage says. They’ve the lowest level differential (+56) for a group with a 12-1 sage or greater in their first 13 video games in NFL history, per CBS Sports actions analysis, and their 10 wins by one by seven facets by 13 video games are moreover the most all time.
Why is that? Patrick Mahomes is both elite and struggling by his worst season by passing yards per attempt (6.9) and passing yards per game (245.3). Then again, he and the Chiefs will surprisingly catch a game with out anguish against the 3-10 Cleveland Browns. Sure, right here’s a fearless prediction pondering Kansas City barely beat the 3-10 Carolina Panthers abet in Week 12, winning 30-27.
The adaptation in Week 15 will seemingly be that Cleveland will flip the ball over too worthy, thus giving Mahomes too many quick fields. Quarterback Jameis Winston has thrown nine interceptions since changing into the Browns starting up quarterback in Week 8, which is the most in the league in that span.
Alvin Kamara goes eighth consecutive game with out a TD vs. Commanders
New Orleans Saints 5-time Pro Bowl working abet Alvin Kamara has lengthy been one of many NFL’s ideal, and he is at it again in 2024. Kamara is third in the NFL in yards from scrimmage this season (1,423) and third in touches (287). Then again, he is stunningly on a seven-game mosey with out a touchdown, the second-longest such drought of his profession. The longest mosey of his profession is a nine-game stretch in 2019, and he’ll behold his 2024 improve to eight against the Washington Commanders in Week 15.
That’s fearless pondering Washington has allowed the tenth-most rushing touchdowns to working backs this season (36). Then again, the Commanders just like the fourth-lowest missed-take care of price this season (11.6%), per NFL Pro, so they’ll relieve Kamara internal their take and out of the tip zone.
Source: CBS News
