It seemed like it would never happen but the New York Jets found a way to win a football game in 2020 and it came against a top team in the NFC.
While this might be good news considering the Jets will avoid becoming the sixth team in NFL history to go an entire season without a win, it might hurt them in the long run. The victory over the Los Angeles Rams actually pushed them ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the standings — via tiebreak — putting the Jaguars in line to pick first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
After Sunday’s game both the Jaguars and Jets have 1-13 records and if they both lose their two remaining games, Jacksonville would retain the No. 1 pick since New York owns the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker. A big win for the Jets now looks like a loss and social media was quick to point that out.
A Jets tradition like no other… pic.twitter.com/FD9zer7Uwz
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) December 21, 2020
how weird is it that even when the jets win, they lose…
— timthetatman (@timthetatman) December 21, 2020
Trevor Lawrence realizing he not gonna be a Jet pic.twitter.com/G5PZRuzjEa
— Jaidan (@jaidvn) December 21, 2020
my brother, a diehard Jets fan, just called and goes “this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my life”
— Nicole Auerbach(@NicoleAuerbach) December 21, 2020
Mahomes, Brees do not disappoint in potential Super Bowl preview
Any game featuring Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees will draw a lot of attention but Sunday’s Week 15 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints earned its billing as the game of the week.
At first, it looked like Mahomes was going to overshadow Bress’ return to the field after the veteran missed four games with 11 broken ribs. The Saints were trailing 14-0 before Brees could complete his first pass.
Going 0-for-6 to start the game, it was the first time Brees went worse than 0-for-5 to start a game in his career. The rust didn’t hold Brees back for long, though, as he finally managed to get things going in the second half and finished the game with 234 passing yards and three touchdowns, a fact even more impressive when you consider he was without top receiver Michael Thomas.
Once again, Mahomes made the plays he needed to when he needed to especially in the fourth quarter with New Orleans rallying. He extended his consecutive games with a touchdown pass streak to 24, which is the longest active stretch in the NFL.
Falcons relive Super Bowl LI nightmare
Just when it looked like the Atlanta Falcons were going to earn a convincing win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Brady decided to remind them of their past miseries.
Trailing 17-0 at halftime, Brady led the Buccs to five-straight scoring drives and earned his fourth career victory while trailing by 17 or more points. The last time he was able to complete a comeback while losing by that wide of a margin was against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI when he helped the Patriots win after trailing 28-3.
It has been a season to forget for a Falcons team that has blown a number of games, including a 20-point lead to the Dallas Cowboys and a 15-point lead to the Chicago Bears.
Brady also moves closer to another NFL record as he earned his 39th fourth-quarter comeback, trailing only Peyton Manning who had 43 in his career.
Patriots reign of dominance offically over
While Brady continues to see success in Tampa, his former team hasn’t been as lucky.
For the first time since the 2008 campaign, the New England Patriots will miss the post-season after losing to the Miami Dolphins Sunday. Not only does it end the longest playoff streak in the NFL but it’s also their first season where they will have a .500 record or worse since 2000.
Ironically enough, the last time they missed the playoffs, Brady tore his ACL in Week 1 but they still managed to finish 11-5, which was not enough to earn a post-season berth that year.
A once dynamic trio of receivers find the endzone
Going into this week, Larry Fitzgerald, Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown all ranked in the top five among active receivers in touchdown catches but on Sunday, they did something that hasn’t happened since 2017. All three recorded a touchdown grab in the same week for the first time since Week 13 of the 2017 season.
Fitzgerald made an incredible catch in the endzone against the Philadelphia Eagles for his first touchdown of the season. With the grab, the 37-year-old has now recorded a touchdown in all 17 seasons he has played which trails only Jerry Rice, who did it in 20 seasons.
Brown recorded his first touchdown catch since Week 3 of the 2019 season when he was a member of the Patriots and Brady was the quarterback. Now teammates in Tampa, Brown continues to show why he wanted to play with Brady and while it has taken time, the Bucs are seeing the relationship start to pay off.
After a tough couple of years, Bryant was finally able to throw up his patented “X” celebration with the Ravens. LeMar Jackson found the former Cowboys receiver for his first touchdown grab since the 2017 season. It has been a tough road for Bryant who had to recover from a torn Achilles in 2018 and getting pulled before a game this season because of a positive COVID-19 test.
Tannehill, Henry and Titans finding their groove
After four consecutive seasons with 9-7 records, the Tennessee Titans have their first 10-win season since 2008 after beating the Detroit Lions Sunday. Much of that has to do with the stellar play of quarterback Ryan Tannehill and MVP candidate Derrick Henry.
Henry reached over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns for a second consecutive season, becoming just thefourth running back in NFL history to do so. Tannehill also had five combined touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) which is only the fifth time a quarterback has done that in the past 10 years.
Both the Titans and Indianapolis Colts sit at 10-4. The Titans have two games left against the Packers and Texans while the Colts take on the Steelers and Jaguars. If the Titans are able to hold on to clinch the division despite their tough remaining games, it would highlight the strong foundation they have built under head coach Mike Vrabel.
