# NFL Week 15 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-nfl\ **Created:** [December 9, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554 "2025-12-09T14:42:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/41 "2025-12-10T16:52:13Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > What is the thing with Romeo Doubs’ helmet I believe it’s this: Guardian Caps: Soft, outer shells worn during practice (and sometimes games) that absorb and reduce impact force by up to 20%, acting as a soft barrier before the hard helmet shell. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/42 "2025-12-10T16:52:15Z")
It’s a Guardian Cap, and is mandatory to wear during practices (with exceptions), and is allowed to, but not mandatory, for games. It’s worn for added protection from concussion and repeated concussive hits: "Guardian Caps “will absorb 11 to 12 percent of the force”, and that “if both players are wearing the cap and have a helmet-to-helmet hit, the force of the impact is reduced by around 20 percent”. Also in 2023, Miller shared that there was a “52 percent decrease in concussions suffered by players at positions wearing Guardian Caps, compared to the concussion rate of players at the same positions over the last three years of training camps when Guardian Caps weren’t worn”. From wiki. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/43 "2025-12-10T16:57:46Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > While I agree that Phillip Rivers does not belong in the HofF, I will say he is a way better candidate than Eli Manning It’s just those 2 Super Bowls, and somehow that may make the difference. I know there have been several QB debates here about relative merit and somehow those championships make a difference for some people. It’s why Trent Dilfer will forever be a better QB than Dan Marino ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/44 "2025-12-10T17:06:19Z")
Every Wednesday, one of my first clicks is this site, so I can see what games I’ll be getting (and not getting), which I think you all might find useful and somewhat interesting: [https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2025&wk=15](https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2025&wk=15) Sorry there is not a preview - but it is essentially a map of the US, color-coded by which games are broadcast where. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/45 "2025-12-10T17:06:23Z")
I figured we could probably do a better job of preventing concussions but it might look stupid so no one is willing to do it. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/46 "2025-12-10T17:10:24Z")
I always find the random little enclaves interesting. For example, why does almost all of Arizona get the NE/BUF game? Do New England snowbird transplants make Arizona a market for Pats games? A small sliver of Louisiana gets Baltimore/Cinci, maybe one of the players comes from a college in that area? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/47 "2025-12-10T17:12:33Z")
Here’s a ranking of QBs in the hall compared to the others. Going by their weighted career approximate value, Rivers is above several names already in the hall, including Marino, Elway, Steve Young, Montana, Kurt Warner, and Aikman. The wAV is a bit of a made-up number like anything else, but Rivers still compares favorably on other stats like TDs, completions, and yards. Except championships and name recognition. > **[Pro Football QB Hall of Fame Monitor | Pro-Football-Reference.com](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/hof/hofm_QB.htm)** > > Pro Football QB Hall of Fame Monitor ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/48 "2025-12-10T17:42:32Z")
The former college star thing is definitely a factor (I’d guess that part of Louisiana seeing Cincinnati is because their QB played at LSU. I think that Eugene, OR used to get a lot of Tennessee games because of Marcus Mariota). My guess is that in LA we’re getting Seattle because of playoff implications for the Rams, but comic potential of Grandpa Phil playing for Indy is not enough - that Denver/GB game is much more interesting. Before the Rams and then Chargers returned to LA, the map was much more useful - now I know it will be both of them, like my childhood in NY, where I often heard “Let’s go out to X for the biggest game of the year…except for viewers in NY.” I’ll be mostly on RedZone Sunday AM. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/49 "2025-12-10T18:09:50Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Going by their weighted career approximate value, Rivers is above several names already in the hall, I personally don’t have an issue if Rivers is inducted. Nor if he’s left out. Lots of good players get stuck on unsuccessful teams. But it is unfortunate that for many people, QB value is weighted towards indirect measures like wins and championships, i.e. things that are more dependent on the team around them and less on factors they can directly control about their individual play ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/50 "2025-12-10T20:13:19Z")
I’m surprised Utah isn’t getting the Giants game for Jaxson Dart. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/51 "2025-12-10T20:14:13Z")
\*Wildcat ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/52 "2025-12-10T20:36:16Z")
see Joe Namath ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/53 "2025-12-10T20:39:50Z")
That’s quite useful, thanks ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/54 "2025-12-10T20:47:43Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > Joe Namath Great example. Joe Willy threw more career interceptions (220) than touchdowns (173). That stat alone should have rendered him ineligible for the Hall. His teams made the playoffs exactly twice. 2-0 in 1968 and 0-1 the following year. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/55 "2025-12-10T21:00:03Z")
In his defense, Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, George Blanda, Y.A. Tittle, and Bobby Layne all have more ints than TDs, and they all deserve to be in the HoF. That said, if Eli gets into the HoF, he’ll only be the second worse New York QB in yhere. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/56 "2025-12-10T21:00:05Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Joe Willy threw more career interceptions (220) than touchdowns (173). That stat alone should have rendered him ineligible for the Hall. IMO, there are three reasons why he’s in the Hall: 1. Super Bowl III, and his “guarantee” 2. He was pro football’s biggest superstar in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, though that was at least as much due to his charisma as it was his play 3. He played in New York I’m not saying that he deserves to be in the Hall, just that that is _why_ he’s in the Hall. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/57 "2025-12-10T23:07:32Z")
(Deleted; tried to edit on my phone and it got screwed up) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/58 "2025-12-10T23:31:54Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > It’s why Trent Dilfer will forever be a better QB than Dan Marino Oh so that’s why Trent Dilfer is in the Hall of Fame, but Dan Marino is not. But seriously, you know that the Hall of Fame is not a regular season stats award, right? One thing I will say in defense of Eli is that he carried the team almost single-handedly in the 2011 season on the way to his second championship. [PFF grades the 2011 NYG offensive line 31st in the league.](https://www.pff.com/news/ranking-the-2011-offensive-lines-part-1) Run Rank 24th, Pass Rank 32nd, Penalties Rank 7th > Yes, they won the Super Bowl, but they did so in spite of a line that sieved pressure throughout the year. Our lowest-ranked pass protecting line had problems all over, but nowhere as bad as at the tackle positions (especially once Will Beatty was lost for the year). It wasn’t just the tackles however, with every member of the Giants’ line earning a negative grade. This explains the drop-off in the run game and makes the season that Eli Manning had all the more remarkable. Despite this rickety offensive line, Eli threw for 4933 yards, 4th most in the league. By contrast, the poor play of the offensive line killed the running game where the [Giants ranked 29th in rushing](https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/rushing-yards-per-game?date=2012-02-05). [Pro football reference has the 2011 Giants defense as 25th in the league.](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2011/opp.htm) Although to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how they come up with those rankings. It’s not just yards allowed, where the Giants defense was 27th. Probably points allowed, but they don’t list that stat in the table. So, bad offensive line, no running game, bad defense. 2011 was all Eli. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/59 "2025-12-10T23:57:14Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Oh so that’s why Trent Dilfer is in the Hall of Fame, but Dan Marino is not. But seriously, you know that the Hall of Fame is not a regular season stats award, right? It’s for people that had an impact, and got their name out there, and had a good reputation, and performed well. I think all of those things factor in. It’s like when food critics judge a dish by taste, and appearance, and novelty, and so on. It’s not just taste alone. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554/60 "2025-12-11T02:30:21Z")
Trent Dilfer is not in HoF [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/1025554.md?page=4)