# NFL Week 15 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 15, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592 "2017-12-15T23:16:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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 15, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/1 "2017-12-15T23:16:01Z")
Thursday DEN 25 @ IND 13 Saturday CHI @ DET LAC @ KC Sunday early PHI @ NYG CIN @ MIN BAL @ CLE ARI @ WAS GB @ CAR NYJ @ NO MIA @ BUF HOU @ JAX Sunday late LAR @ SEA TEN @ SF NE @ PIT SNF DAL @ OAK MNF ATL @ TB ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/2 "2017-12-15T23:28:59Z")
The Cards have put AP on IR. I wonder if he is done? I assume he will get some looks in the preseason for some team. I doubt it will be the Cards unless there are off season setbacks with David Johnson. I saw on one of the blogs that Peterson is having money problems due to all the kids he’s fathered. That would certainly be an incentive for AP to try to latch onto a team next year, but, aside from one good game, I’m not sure he has anything left. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/3 "2017-12-17T15:25:39Z")
Get the hell up, it’s game day! (we’ll just ignore yesterday). Aaron Rodgers is back, my baby is back, Our Lord and Savior - the Protector of Dom Capers’ Job - is back. Green Bay has a pretty healthy offense, only missing Bulaga and Murphy, but the defense is kinda…hurt. Both starting corners are out, a backup safety/dime back is out, starting OLB and MLB are questionable, and we have a secondary comprised of half worldbeaters, half replacement players. Carolina is hitting their stride, and this could be a doozy. Hopefully the offense shows up if it’s going to be a shootout, unlike the Atlanta game last winter. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/4 "2017-12-17T17:54:44Z")
Andrew Luck may need biceps surgery. I am really wondering if he will ever play again. > **[Report: Andrew Luck may need biceps tendon surgery - ProFootballTalk](https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/12/17/report-andrew-luck-may-need-biceps-tendon-surgery/?sf176584578=1)** > > Colts owner Jim Irsay gave a brief update about quarterback Andrew Luck from the league meetings last week and said that there is “nothing ominous” in Luck’s right shoulder while adding that there’s no surgery planned at the moment.That plan could... ---
**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 17, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/5 "2017-12-17T18:12:31Z")
Marvin Lewis is leaving Cinci at the end of the year. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/6 "2017-12-17T19:53:34Z")
Panthers fans are booing a blatant blind side block penalty to the earhole of Davante Adams, while Thomas Davis is on the sidelines reconsidering his life choices. Stay classy, assholes. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/7 "2017-12-17T21:03:51Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Marvin Lewis is leaving Cinci at the end of the year. It can’t be soon enough, given the way the Bengals have completely, utterly and totally mailed it in. They can’t even score. It’s pathetic. All that talent on the roster for all those years, and Marvin blames it on “his assistants being treated unfairly”. What a joke. Fuck off, Marvin. Only in Cincinnati would this level of mediocrity and suckitude be rewarded and celebrated. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/8 "2017-12-17T21:53:00Z")
Alright, now that the swearing has stopped…shit. That’s the end of the Packers’ playoff hopes. Rodgers definitely had some rust to knock off, and as they’ll be eliminated from playoff contention if Atlanta wins tomorrow, I’ll be curious to see how Green Bay treats the QB position for the rest of the season. Buck and Aikman were calling for Rodgers to be benched to avoid any further injury, but I’d rather not see the team just give up. We have division opponents to finish out the season - how about we beat the crap out of them? After watching how many players get knocked out of games for shitty hits, can the NFL stop lying about caring for player safety and get a fucking targeting rule on the books? There are players unable to get up after nasty helmet to helmet hits with no ejections, seemingly in every game. Words are wind, at this point. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/9 "2017-12-18T02:19:23Z")
Evidently there are 10 teams that are worse than the Redskins… hard to believe… ---
**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 18, 2017, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/10 "2017-12-18T04:45:28Z")
The fumble out the endzone rule sure does produce some unintuitive results. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/11 "2017-12-18T04:50:06Z")
Steelers: We definitely found the worst way to lose this week! Derek Carr: Hold my beer… ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/12 "2017-12-18T13:48:19Z")
Can Cleveland maintain its perfect record? I look forward to their last two games with the same nail-biting tension that I feel watching a particularly large poop being flushed down the toilet. Will it choke at the last minute, or will they manage to flush an entire season down the crapper and leave behind only stains and stink? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/13 "2017-12-18T15:07:54Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Steelers: We definitely found the worst way to lose this week! > > Derek Carr: Hold my beer… That’s funny. Too soon, but funny. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/14 "2017-12-18T15:20:30Z")
I think the league needs to clarify some rules, to make it easier to follow the game. So going forward, getting to within three feet of Brady is unsportsmanlike by definition. 15 yard penalty. And scoring against the patriots is a new violation, called “scoring against the patriots “. No penalty yards, but automatic loss of down. ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/15 "2017-12-18T15:33:37Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > I think the league needs to clarify some rules, to make it easier to follow the game. So going forward, getting to within three feet of Brady is unsportsmanlike by definition. 15 yard penalty. And scoring against the patriots is a new violation, called “scoring against the patriots “. No penalty yards, but automatic loss of down. I’ve been saying for years that I wish they’d just put the “any incomplete pass thrown by Aaron Rodgers is automatic pass interference on the defense” rule on the books. I mean, it’s already there in practice, it would eliminate a lot of confusion to just get it in writing. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/16 "2017-12-18T17:20:48Z")
I really wanted to like Deshone Kizer, but I think it’s clear he’s not good enough. There’s no one better on the current roster. And I don’t love any of the much-hyped QB’s that will be in the draft. The team is awful, no doubt, but the statistical improbability of losing the number games they have over the last 2 years is astounding. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/17 "2017-12-18T17:48:42Z")
In Charlotte, the catch that wasn’t, was. In Pittsburgh, the catch that was, wasn’t. In Cleveland, they just wonder if they’ll ever actually see catches. 😃 I hate to say it, but I have to wonder if the Packers could have won the game with Brett Hundley. Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions, and two of them were simply God-awful efforts that showed both lack of his natural throwing skills and terrible decision-making on his part. The third was just your run-of-the-mill ball not thrown high enough to get over the defense. Hundley couldn’t have done worse, I’m thinking. Also, Greg Olsen is a beast. On one catch, he reached up with his left hand and literally grabbed the ball out of the air as it was sailing over his head. Not cushioned it into his hand, not used some magical stickum to hold onto a ball that hit his hand. He reached up, and grabbed the ball out of the air, like I would grab a tennis ball. Then he turned and ran for a first down (and some more), and after finally being dragged down, got up, patted the poor DB on the head (which was some 10 inches shorter than his own) as if to say, “It’s ok, you tried.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/18 "2017-12-18T18:03:38Z")
Oops, I was wrong. It was his right hand. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/19 "2017-12-18T18:23:13Z")
Ugh, we’re going to be bombarded with stories about some rapper wanting to buy the Panthers and sign some has been quarterback. I’m sure it’s great for clicks, but I think I’ll stay off the sports blogs for a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592/20 "2017-12-19T05:59:24Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > In Charlotte, the catch that wasn’t, was. In Pittsburgh, the catch that was, wasn’t. In Cleveland, they just wonder if they’ll ever actually see catches. 😃 > > I hate to say it, but I have to wonder if the Packers could have won the game with Brett Hundley. Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions, and two of them were simply God-awful efforts that showed both lack of his natural throwing skills and terrible decision-making on his part. The third was just your run-of-the-mill ball not thrown high enough to get over the defense. Hundley couldn’t have done worse, I’m thinking. > > Also, Greg Olsen is a beast. On one catch, he reached up with his left hand and literally grabbed the ball out of the air as it was sailing over his head. Not cushioned it into his hand, not used some magical stickum to hold onto a ball that hit his hand. He reached up, and grabbed the ball out of the air, like I would grab a tennis ball. Then he turned and ran for a first down (and some more), and after finally being dragged down, got up, patted the poor DB on the head (which was some 10 inches shorter than his own) as if to say, “It’s ok, you tried.” 😛 That butt catch still has me confused. I guess, given the slow-motion, you could argue that he might have had possession before that right cheek touched down, but it’s incredibly close. Given that the original call was incomplete, I was surprised they overruled it. Had the original call been complete, I would expect them to uphold it. Rodgers also made several plays Hundley couldn’t. On top of that, Hundley has shown virtually no ability to run a hurry-up, let’s-do-this, 2 minutes to win drill. Rodgers was definitely rusty, but aside from those first two interceptions, he basically looked on point, just not 100% in sync like he’d be if he hadn’t gotten a two month vacation. The lack of a run game was pretty disastrous, too. Averaging over 6 YPC yet having fewer than 20 rushing attempts (and five of THOSE being QB scrambles) is downright criminal, especially when your quarterback is having an off day. Even a day later, it amazes me that Rodgers could throw three interceptions, the defense could leak like a sieve, and the Packers would still have a chance under two minutes to tie the game and send it to OT, IN CAROLINA. The defense, battered as it is, is utterly atrocious, and I’m finally jumping on the “Fire Capers” bandwagon. His playbook requires smart players that have multiple years to learn the scheme before being thrown into the fire - the NFL just isn’t built like that anymore. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-15/804592.md?page=2)