Week 15 of the NFL season started Thursday night when the Las Vegas Raiders crushed the Los Angeles Chargers 63-21 in what became Chargers' coach Brandon Staley's final game with the team (he, along with general manager Tom Telesco, was fired the following day).
On Saturday, the Cincinnati Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive with a thrilling 27-24 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in overtime. The Indianapolis Colts followed that by scoring 30 unanswered points in a 30-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Detroit Lions made easy work of the Denver Broncos is a 42-17 blowout to wrap up the slate.
Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and picking out who -- or what -- is rising and falling for every team. Let's get to it.
DiSandro pulled Greenlaw off Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith and shouted at him after a reception in the third quarter of Philadelphia’s 42-19 loss to San Francisco on Dec. 3. Greenlaw, who was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play, popped up and reached over two officials to put his hand in DiSandro’s face.
Greenlaw was ejected and later fined $10,927 by the league for the unnecessary roughness penalty. DiSandro also was told to leave and walked to the locker room to a rousing ovation from Eagles fans.
After a 13-point performance that Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown described as "disappointing" and "frustrating" during last week's loss to the Chicago Bears, the Lions responded with a strong win at home over Denver with a solid output on both sides of the ball. St. Brown was coming off a season-low 21 receiving yards while veteran QB Jared Goff committed nine turnovers over a four-game stretch before facing the Broncos. They both stepped up as St. Brown registered 102 receiving yards with a TD while Goff threw five touchdowns without a turnover.
Sam LaPorta. The rookie tight end bounced back from a two-catch game at Chicago to set the franchise's new mark for rookie tight ends with nine touchdowns on the season and three on the night.
The Broncos played their third road game in 13 days and looked every bit travel-weary. The offense clustered three-and-outs early in a sluggish start while the defense, after holding the Lions scoreless in the first quarter, couldn't maintain the momentum with a flurry of missed tackles and poor run fits that followed. It's an NFC loss, so not too damaging in the wild-card hunt, but the Broncos need to find a finishing kick with two consecutive games at home and can't lose again if they want a wild card.
The NFL sent a memo to teams last week reiterating a policy that states non-player personnel are prohibited from making physical contact, taunting or directing insults to opposing players or officials. The memo also said only game officials or coaches should try to break up altercations. The league said any violations could lead to fines or suspensions.
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