The NFL Roundup - Week 15

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There are only three weeks left in the 2015 NFL Regular Season and you would think by now the playoff picture should be crystal clear but that is simply not the case. The leader of the NFC West and AFC South have yet to be decided, and at this point it's just about anyone's guess as to who will be the Wild Card teams in both conferences. With that many teams fighting for their postseason lives, we can expect the unexpected this weekend and that makes for some compelling stories, and here the top ones we are keeping an eye on this week.

Will the Giants finally be the team to hand a loss to the Panthers?
If there is one thing that the New York Giants do incredibly well, is play the spoiler. They have on several occasions over the years toppled some top tier teams at just the right time, most notably the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and well, they just so happen to host the undefeated Carolina Panthers this weekend and you have to wonder...will they play the spoiler and hand the Panthers their first loss of the season? Well, sadly it's hard to say. They came close to beating the undefeated Pats earlier this year but the Giants are a team in flux right now. They are having major trouble finishing games, despite having a solid lead and that kind of bad habit is something the Panthers will take full advantage of. But, when the Giants are good, they are damn good and don't be surprised if they do indeed stun Carolina.

Will the Denver Broncos offense finally come together this weekend in Pittsburgh?
So now we know that the quarterback situation isn't the only problem in the Mile High City when it comes to offense. The Wide Receivers have a nasty habit of dropping footballs and the offensive line at times is simply offensive with its sub par play, and while the Pittsburgh Steelers aren't exactly a top tier team this year, they're going to attack those weaknesses all day long. Which means if the Broncos want the win, they have to play mistake free football when the offense is on the field, and it's odd that we still have to be talking about this portion of Denver's game this late in the season. After all, we have seen what this unit can do, they beat the Patriots for Heaven's sake, so here's to hoping they finally pull it together and figure it out or the playoff picture is about to get a whole lot crazier. 

Can Cincinnati win this weekend without Andy Dalton?
For some teams, it doesn't matter who the heck is at quarterback, the team will do what they do. But for the Cincinnati Bengals, the sheer value and importance of Andy Dalton at the helm is grossly misunderstood. He really is the true leader of that offense and knows exactly how to get the absolute best out of his fellow teammates and well, A.J. McCarron does not. It doesn't mean A.J. is a bad quarterback by any means, he's simply untested, this is his first start coming up after all. Which means he will either do a fine job managing the game, or display some serious growing pains. Either way, Cincinnati is another team fighting for a bye week in the playoffs and if A.J. doesn't deliver at least a decent game, the season just became all the more difficult for the Bengals. 

The Texans and Colts game may finally decide the fate of the AFC South.
Sure their records are rough. Sure they are both missing their starting quarterbacks, but when the Colts host the Texans this week, we may finally have a definitive answer as to who will win the AFC South Divisional Crown. After all, this is the second meeting this season between these two teams and the last go round Indianapolis walked away the winner. But let's be honest, this is anyone's game. Both teams have exhibited flashes of brilliance and executed mountains of mistakes and that's why they are both 6-7. Either way, this is an important one to watch for the simple fact that the playoffs are on the line and seeing a Division leader at last will help bring some focus to an already wild playoff picture in the AFC. 

Which of the potential AFC Wild Card teams will help their cause this weekend?
Three teams in the AFC are currently 8-5 and hoping for a chance to make the playoffs as a Wild Card team in a tournament that only has room for two which means those squads, the Steelers, Jets and Chiefs have to play some amazing football to make sure they make it in and this weekend is another critical test toward that goal. The question is who will show off their playoff worth? The Steelers are facing off against one of the best defenses in the league in Denver. The Jets are taking on an awful Dallas Cowboys squad and the Chiefs are headed to Baltimore to face their decimated squad. I'd say the Steelers are the team that needs to be concerned, but you never quite know what to expect when game time rolls around. 

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