Just two weeks remain in regular season competition for the NFL, and while the Detroit Lions’ narrow victory over the Green Bay Packers last Thursday sees them remain at the top after their similar escape against Chicago, the Philadelphia Eagles are looking more deserving of the number-one spot. The Lions’ 34-31 win over the Packers and the aforementioned 23-20 win over Chicago is a far cry of the team’s performance in the prior two weeks, easily sweeping aside Jacksonville and Indianapolis by double digits.
The Eagles, meanwhile, have continued winning consistently, with their most recent outing a hard-fought 22-16 victory over Carolina. Perhaps the team was a little worn after their similarly tough Baltimore game, which they pulled out 24-19. So besides the two best teams in the NFC, who else makes up the best 10 teams for Week 15?
1. Lions (12-1, def GB 34-31)
Like the Eagles, Detroit continues to rack up wins, but at a slightly less consistent rate, which may explain why their perpetual #1 ranking is about to slip. Maybe it’s not, but up until about Week 9, the Lions were one of the strongest teams in the NFL when it came to consistent wins by decent margins. Detroit does still lead the NFL in points per game with 32 but has managed five less total in their last three games alone. The Eagles come in eighth in the NFL with 26 points per game, and that’s about how many they’ve also put in during their last three contests.
Detroit’s strong passing offense continues to work, throwing the fourth most total passing yards in the NFL (244) compared to Philadelphia (180.6), 31st in the league. Clearly, the Eagles run it far more times than they throw it, which perfectly explains their rank of 1st in the NFL in total rushing yards per game, carrying the ball for 190 yards, way more than second place Baltimore (179). Detroit comes in fourth in the NFL in rushing yards/game with 151 behind its dual threat of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
2. Eagles (11-2, def CAR 22-16)
Philadelphia is on the rise with their league-best rushing offense and top 10 offensive yards totals as well as their points per game. Additionally, the Eagles’ ninth straight win from last week tied an all-time franchise record. There is just one problem with all of this, and it falls on QB Jalen Hurts. Hurts once again relied on RB Saquon Barkley to do most of the heavy lifting, and while that might not seem like a bad idea on paper, his receivers were more than left high and dry. AJ Brown, Philly’s WR1, was almost not targeted the entire game while WR2 Devonta Smith continues to suffer from a lack of targets from Hurts.
Running the ball this much against so many different opponents can’t work for much longer and it’s surprising just how long the Eagles have managed to keep that ship afloat. Saquon is a killer RB and definitive MVP candidate, but if you were to pick team MVP for the entire Eagles squad, he might not get the most amount of votes.
3. Chiefs (12-1, def. Chargers 19-16)
Another dramatic escape to cap an otherwise boring game? Kansas City has really gotten themselves a bad habit of ugly winning. One or two on the entire season is fine, relatively speaking, but doing so on a week in and week out basis just doesn’t feel right. It’s the third straight game where the Chiefs have pulled some sort of magic to win and lock up the AFC West title for a ninth year in a row, but in my opinion, they could’ve done so and honestly should’ve done so with an actually convincing win. Watching this team will get you frustrated beyond belief.
The good news is that they still actually win- they just do it in the most cynical way possible. As a fan of them myself, that really turns me off.
4. Bills (10-3, fell to LAR 44-42)
This one might sting for a while. Josh Allen had almost 350 passing yards and three touchdowns, all of which came on the ground from a yard out? And he got fantasy managers 51 points with that effort? All that and he still lost? Buffalo may already have the AFC East in hand so they have nothing else to lose, but they might want to be a little more careful in the coming weeks. Maybe the transition from the latest Buffa-snow game to balmy LA razzled them a little.
The Rams’ offense itself did cook a little like Allen, with QB Matthew Stafford racking up 320 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, though it was RB Kylen Williams who actually found the end zone on those. And after all of this, Buffalo heads up north to the Motor City to face the Lions in what might be the game of the week for Week 15.
5. Vikings (11-2, def. ATL 42-21)
A dominant performance by QB Sam Darnold and WR2 Jordan Addison, totaling 347 passing yards and five touchdowns. Five. Three of that quintuplet went to Addison, who outshined the usual star power of WR1 Justin Jefferson. Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins did alright as well, but the two interceptions definitely hurt. He did have the same number of passing yards as Darnold against his former team, but wasn’t able to find the end zone at all against the Purple People Eaters (the Vikings’ rock solid defense)
The Vikings next play struggling Chicago, the team that keeps finding more and more creative ways to lose. And you thought the Dallas Cowboys had the most embarassing loss of Week 14- just be glad the Falcons’ defeat didn’t cost your opponent’s team in fantasy!
The remaining top 10 teams for Week 15 are the Steelers (10-3) with the Eagles on the road next on their menu, followed by the Packers (9-4), Ravens, Chargers and Broncos, all at an 8-5 record, with most of their own power rankings from Week 14 remaining unchanged.
Related: The Pressure is On Jalen Hurts Ahead of Steelers Showdown