Chiefs miss out & Packers’ Parsons pain – NFL week 15 round-up

It was all happening in week 15 in the NFL, with the Kansas City Chiefs missing the play-offs, and Patrick Mahomes suffering an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury.

The Broncos and Rams punched their post-season tickets but the play-off picture is far from clear.

The Green Bay Packers could be in trouble after a big injury of their own, while the Buffalo Bills stunned the Patriots with a comeback win that keeps alive their divisional fight.

The first play-off miss of his career and a torn ACL – it was a true nightmare for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs as their run of 10 straight post-seasons came to a shuddering end.

With nine straight division titles, seven straight AFC Championship games and five Super Bowls, three of them won, it’s been an incredible run for Mahomes – who has never previously ended a season before overtime in the AFC title game.

And so the Chiefs’ inquest begins, starting with questions of when Mahomes will be fit to return and whether 36-year-old tight end Travis Kelce or head coach Andy Reid, 67, will return at all amid retirement rumours.

But where did it all go wrong?

Firstly their big strength has become their biggest weakness – winning tight games. After an NFL-record 11 one-score wins last year, the Chiefs have won one and lost seven that way this season.

And everybody has been at fault, including Mahomes for throwing some costly red zone interceptions. Reid has made some bad calls and Kelce and his fellow receivers have literally dropped the ball.

Fatigue could be a factor. Since Mahomes became starter, the Chiefs have played just two games under the maximum, and the constant deep play-off runs and Super Bowls can take its toll.

The defence has been excellent again, but the offence has been guilty of making the wrong play at the wrong time.

The other main issue has been protecting Mahomes, with offensive line issues a theme over the past few seasons.

Mahomes has taken the most quarterback hits in the NFL this season with 65, has been forced to attempt the joint-most scrambles with 52 and been pressured the third-highest number of times with 135.

In short, Mahomes just hasn’t had the protection, and even when he gets his throws off, he’s had the second-highest number of dropped catches with 26. For his own part, he’s second on the list for bad throws with 81.

The two-time league MVP is the best quarterback of his generation, but while he’s made mistakes, the team just haven’t helped him.

Green Bay also suffered a huge injury blow as defensive giant Micah Parsons went down with a suspected ACL injury during their damaging defeat in Denver.

The Broncos booked a play-off spot with the win and look the team to beat from the AFC. The Packers held that title in the NFC after four straight wins – but Parsons’ injury could severely damage their Super Bowl hopes.

Green Bay handed two first-round draft picks to Dallas to sign Parsons in a blockbuster trade – and he’s responded with 12.5 sacks in 14 games and a league leading 83 quarterback pressures.

He’s often double-teamed to allow his team-mates more freedom to attack, and the Packers’ defence drops from 10th to 22nd in quarterback rating allowed when he’s not on the field.

More importantly, Parsons is one of those big-moment players who pops up with the big play at the right time, which can win you games when it matters most.

The Jaguars and Texans will battle it out down the stretch for the AFC South – on current form, both are likely to be play-off teams. The Jaguars have won five in a row, the Texans six.

Both hit 40 points in Sunday wins, with Trevor Lawrence having a huge game as the first player ever with 300-plus passing yards, five touchdown passes, 50 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a single game.

Yes, it was against the New York Jets, but it was still impressive.

Houston’s defence continues to lead the league and power their play-off push, conceding just 16.3 points per game and allowing just two teams to score over 20 points this season.

The Los Angeles Rams were the first team to clinch a play-off spot as they beat Detroit – a result which leaves the Lions outside the wildcard spots as it stands.

Denver beat Green Bay to secure the first AFC place, overtaking the Patriots after a remarkable comeback by the Buffalo Bills stunned the home fans in New England.

Josh Allen rallied his team from 21-0 down to win a thriller 35-31 in the game of the weekend – and one that blew the AFC East race open.

The Chicago Bears hammered the Cleveland Browns 31-3 to swap places with the Packers – one of several fascinating battles as one will likely be the second seed while the other is sweating on making the play-offs at all.

Thursday Night Football is a belter this week, with the Rams and Seahawks both 11-3 in the NFC West before they meet in Seattle.

There are two Saturday night games this week including what could be the NFC North decider as the Packers visit the Bears, who just continue to surprise now at 10-4.

It’s a similar story on Sunday as the Buccaneers and Panthers fight for the NFC South in Carolina before Jacksonville and Denver play a huge AFC game.

The Seattle Seahawks won a game for just the fourth time in their history without scoring a touchdown – Jason Myers kicking six field goals as they edged the Indianapolis Colts at home.

It was a Colts team led by 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers, who performed admirably less than a week after ending his five-year retirement as he nosed his side in front inside the final minute, before the Seahawks won it.

“It was exciting,” said Rivers. “Shoot, it was exciting to take a 13-3 lead. Obviously, you throw in the fact that it’s been 1,800 days since throwing a touchdown or interception for that matter. So, yeah, both of those boxes were checked.”

Baltimore stayed alive in the play-off race with a 24-0 shutout of the Bengals in Cincinnati – their first shutout loss since 2017 (also against Baltimore) and the first of Joe Burrow’s career.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor could be in trouble after being eliminated from the play-offs for the third straight year.

Brock Purdy had a 140.3 quarterback rating as the 49ers beat the Titans to move to 10-3 ahead of one of the toughest finishes in the league.