The NFL Roundup 2017: Week 15 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

Boy, they really saved the best games for the end of the NFL season, didn’t they? I say that, simply because this weekend was once again filled to the brim with incredible games that took our breath away and honestly, I did not expect any of the surprises that came our way. So really, let’s not waste any time today since there’s plenty to discuss, so let’s break down what we learned from Week 15 in the NFL.
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Marvin Lewis is saying goodbye to the Cincinnati Bengals at the end of the season.
While the NFL is widely viewed as a constantly evolving league where change is the only daily norm, some teams feature fixtures if you will when it comes to players and coaches and Cincinnati is one of those teams, thanks to Head Coach Marvin Lewis who has guided this team to plenty of success for the past 14 years. But alas, all good things must come to an end and at the end of the season, Coach Lewis is moving on to explore the next chapter in his life and his football career as well and well, I have to say, this is quite the loss for the Bengals. Yes, I know Marvin’s playoff record is atrocious, but Coach Lewis turned an awful franchise into a winning one. Either way, I hope Marvin finds success in whatever he chooses to do next, and that the game looks fondly upon a man that brought stability and a winning culture to a franchise that so many looked down upon years ago.
 
The Philadelphia Eagles are going to be just fine without Carson Wentz.
Adversity is truly the greatest opponent that any team or individual will face and this past week, the Philadelphia Eagles were facing plenty of it. They were without their star quarterback on the road, they were down against the New York Giants and it seemed for a moment there, that the Eagles were about to collapse. But instead, they handled adversity in epic fashion, rallied together and played as a team and the end result? Another wonderful win, and the fact that Nick Foles was able to throw for four touchdowns and help lead this team to another victory, speaks volumes to the coaching these players receive and that…when they put their minds to it, they can achieve wonders and because of what I saw on Sunday; I think it’s safe to say that they will be just fine going forward without Carson Wentz at the helm…
 
Aaron Rodgers melted down in his first game back from injury.
You know, I truly expected Aaron Rodgers to come out and perform wonders on Sunday because he’s a damn good quarterback. But alas, we learned on Sunday that he’s not a superhero, but a mere mortal like the rest of us because he clearly needed more recovery time before taking the field. He was not only painfully rusty early on in the game, but plenty of his throws just didn’t look right, and considering the fact that he threw for three interceptions in this game, it’s clear that Green Bay rushed him back to the field before he was remotely ready. So, for starters, my bad in thinking he could pull off a medical miracle, and I do hope the Packers take their time with him this week and sit him down if necessary since the playoffs aren’t looking like a sure thing for Green Bay.
 
The Jacksonville Jaguars, are playoff bound once again.
There was a time when the Jacksonville Jaguars were a force to be reckoned with in the NFL. In fact, I distinctly recall their incredible upset of the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round back in 1997, and for the next ten years, this team found ways to win and returned to the postseason on a fairly consistent basis…and then came the dark ages. Because for the next ten years, the Jaguars learned how to lose and lose big. But after stumbling about in the darkness for a decade, something magical happened this year. They found the right coach, they have the right talent and wouldn’t you know it? They’re back in the playoffs once again and I tip my hat to them, because they’ve earned it. They’ve played incredible football this year, and now they have a shot to go as far as they want in the playoffs, if they continue to play with this level of heart, and this level of fearlessness. But in the here and the now, I hope they’re living it up in Jacksonville, because the Jaguars are playoff bound once again and in a couple of weeks, teams need to take them seriously when the tournament gets underway.
 
The New England/Pittsburgh game was one for the ages.
You always hope, that when two teams square off with big stakes on the line that you get a quality game, and thankfully, Pittsburgh and New England went above and beyond on Sunday by delivering a true thriller for the ages. All game long it was touchdown after touchdown, and lead change after lead change and my goodness, I was standing in front of my television pacing in those final few moments of the game, wondering whether or not the Patriots would hang on for the win. Either way, I can only hope that this game was a preview of what we can all expect from the playoffs, because to see anything less than the wonder we enjoyed in this game in a couple of weeks, would be supremely disappointing. 

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