The battle by the Mississippi River in St. Louis never really materialized.
The Rams reverted back to their 1999 form while the Vikings had several of their weaknesses exposed, as St. Louis threw for 346 yards and sacked Daunte Culpepper four times.
Minnesota will have to wait another week to attempt to win the NFC Central and secure home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs. Meanwhile, St. Louis kept its hopes alive to make a return trip to the postseason and defend its title, but with games remaining at Tampa Bay and at New Orleans, the Rams still have a lot of work to do.
| Week 15 NFL Recap |
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| Ravens 24 (10-4), Chargers 3 (1-13) |
Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
128: Total yards gained by the Chargers -- 64 passing and 64 rushing. |
| Player of the Game |
| Jamal Lewis, RB, Baltimore: Ravens rookie had to work hard for his yards, but finished with 29 carries for 91 yards and one touchdown. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Ravens had lots to celebrate Sunday: owner Art Modell's 40 years in football, another good game from quarterback Trent Dilfer and the team's first playoff berth. Baltimore never was challenged by lowly San Diego, but the Ravens' offense wasn't quite in the groove that it had been recently. Dilfer finished with 187 yards passing and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions. Lewis' 91 yards upped his season total to 1,186 and gave him 749 in the past six games. Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf completed only 9 of 23 for 78 yards and one interception, dropping his season completion percentage to 49.2. |
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| Eagles 35 (10-5), Browns 24 (3-12) |
Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
58.0: Season completion percentage for Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, an impressive improvement from the 49.1 percentage of his rookie campaign. |
| Player of the Game |
| Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia: Emerging second-year superstar had the best day of his young career, completing 23 of 36 passes for 390 yards and four touchdowns. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Browns resorted to trickery to try to even the playing field against the more talented Eagles, using wide receivers Kevin Johnson and Dennis Northcutt at quarterback for several plays each. Cleveland's starting quarterback, Doug Pederson, fared well when head coach Chris Palmer wasn't trying to get cute, completing 29 of 40 for 309 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Despite the Browns playing their best game in a month, the Eagles had little trouble beating them through the air. McNabb spread the ball around to seven receivers, with tight end Chad Lewis leading the way with five catches for 100 yards, and wide receivers Charles Johnson (five catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns) and Torrance Small (seven catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns) pitching in with big games as well. |
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| Packers 26 (7-7), Lions 13 (8-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
26-0: Packers' record at home with quarterback Brett Favre when the temperature at game time is 34 degrees or less. |
| Player of the Game |
| Ahman Green, RB, Green Bay: Never had a lot of room to run, but the Packers stayed committed to the running game and Green finished with 118 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries. |
CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Packers beat the Lions for the 10th consecutive time in Wisconsin despite struggling to find the end zone after forcing five Detroit turnovers. Lions quarterback Charlie Batch played a terrible game, completing only 17 of 33 for 190 yards with three interceptions. Favre's completion percentage was ugly (41.7), but he marched the Packers down the field efficiently and found the open receivers in the fourth quarter when Green Bay needed a boost. The teams combined for 24 points in the final eight-plus minutes of the game after scoring only 15 points between them through the first 52 minutes. Packers kicker Ryan Longwell hit 4 of 5 field goals, putting points on the board for Green Bay when its offense repeatedly stalled in the red zone. |
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| Chiefs 15 (6-8), Panthers 14 (6-8) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
196: Advantage in total yards for the Chiefs (453) over the Panthers (257). |
| Player of the Game |
| Tony Gonzalez, TE, Kansas City: Dropped two potential touchdowns, but passed the 1,000-yard mark by catching 10 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown, giving him a team-record 84 grabs for 1,071 yards and eight touchdowns this season. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Chiefs had no problem moving the football, but four turnovers in their first four possessions were costly and kept the Panthers in the game. Chiefs quarterback Elvis Grbac carried over his poor decision making in the first half from the Monday night loss at New England, throwing two interceptions in the red zone that allowed Carolina to take a 7-3 lead into the half. Carolina gained only 23 yards on the ground, with Kansas City linebackers Donnie Edwards, Mike Maslowski and Marvcus Patton filling the holes well to defend against the run. Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad had his fourth 100-yard game of the season, catching eight passes for 102 yards, leaving him only 3 yards shy of his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. |
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| Buccaneers 16 (9-5), Dolphins 13 (10-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
83.9: Career field-goal percentage (52 of 62) for Bucs kicker Martin Gramatica after connecting on 3 of 4 tries Sunday. |
| Player of the Game |
| Martin Gramatica, K, Tampa Bay: Hit two field goals in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning 48 yarder with 8:12 to play, to lift the Bucs past their cross-state rivals. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Five turnovers by the Dolphins kept Miami from clinching a playoff spot by its own doing, though the Fish can still get in this week with a Colts loss Monday night. Miami quarterback Jay Fiedler completed only 13 of 28 for 175 yards and four interceptions. Bucs middle linebacker Jamie Duncan ran back a pick 31 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter and outside linebacker Shelton Quarles set up a Gramatica field goal just before the half with his pick and short return. The Dolphins held Warrick Dunn to 59 rushing yards on 28 carries, but he chipped in with six catches for 84 yards. |
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| Titans 35 (11-3), Bengals 3 (3-11) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
272: Advantage in total yards for the Titans (443) over the Bengals (171). |
| Player of the Game |
| Yancey Thigpen, WR, Tennessee: Signed in 1998 to be a big-play threat, Thigpen had only 147 receiving yards this season, but caught two passes for 89 yards and a 56-yard first-quarter touchdown against the Bengals. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Titans moved to 15-1 at Adelphia Coliseum and earned a return trip to the playoffs by shutting down a player who had hurt them in the past, Bengals running back Corey Dillon. Tennessee limited the explosive back to 42 yards on 18 carries, some 56 yards less than his 98.3 average. Titans quarterback Steve McNair completed 16 of 26 for 229 yards and three touchdowns, his first three-touchdown game since a Week 5 win against the Giants. Tennessee running back Eddie George averaged only 3.4 yards per carry (24 rushes for 81 yards), but scored three touchdowns (one rushing, two receiving) to give him 13 touchdowns this season, one shy of his season-high of 14 set in 1999. |
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| Bears 24 (4-10), Patriots 17 (4-10) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
8.5: Average yards per passing attempt for the Bears under quarterbacks coach John Shoop, who took over the play-calling duties this week when offensive coordinator Gary Crowton took the head-coaching job at BYU. |
| Player of the Game |
| Shane Matthews, QB, Chicago: Former third-stringer completed 81.4 percent of his passes (22 of 27) for 239 yards and two touchdowns. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Pats' bid to force overtime was squelched when an illegal motion penalty with 10 seconds left ended the game, as NFL rules stipulate an offensive penalty by a team with no timeouts remaining with less than two minutes to play costs the team 10 seconds on the clock. Tough way for Bill Belichick's team to get a refresher on league rules. Bears running back James Allen carried 37 times for 97 yards to surpass 1,000 yards for the season, the Bears' first 1,000-yard season since Raymont Harris rushed for 1,033 yards in 1997. Chicago wide receiver Eddie Kennison stepped up with Marcus Robinson out for the season with a back injury, recording his first 100-yard receiving game with the Bears by grabbing eight passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. |
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| Giants 30 (10-4), Steelers 10 (7-7) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
64.3: Giants' third-down conversion percentage (9-of-14), compared to only 38.5 percent (5-of-13) for the Steelers. |
| Player of the Game |
| Amani Toomer, WR, New York: Caught nine passes for 136 yards and one touchdown. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| I guarantee Giants head coach Jim Fassel is breathing a bit easier after his team won its third consecutive game. For two running teams, the Steelers and Giants threw a lot of passes. Both defenses did an excellent job stopping the run, forcing 69 combined passes to be thrown. New York gained 68 rushing yards while Pittsburgh was held to 47, giving them a combined 164.3 fewer rushing yards than they were averaging. New York running backs Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne combined for 42 yards on 23 carries, and Pittsburgh's Jerome Bettis gained only 39 yards on 17 carries. Giants quarterback Kerry Collins played a spectacular game, completing 24 of 35 for 333 yards and two touchdowns. |
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| Jaguars 44 (7-7), Cardinals 10 (4-10) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
174: Advantage in rushing yards for the Jaguars (214) over the Cardinals (40). |
| Player of the Game |
| Fred Taylor, RB, Jacksonville: Carried 23 yards for 137 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 656 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in the past four games. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Taylor recorded his eighth consecutive 100-yard game and has been the best running back in the NFL since returning in Week 4 from a preseason knee injury. Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell threw only 18 passes, but with Taylor running like he has been, Jacksonville doesn't need to put the ball in the air too often. The Jaguars held the ball for 34:56 and produced 25 first downs to only 11 for the lowly Cardinals. |
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| Broncos 31 (10-4), Seahawks 24 (5-9) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
2,583: Combined receiving yardage this season for Broncos wide receivers Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey. |
| Player of the Game |
| Mike Anderson, RB, Denver: Carried 29 for 131 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 577 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in the past three games. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Broncos failed to score exactly 38 points for the first time in almost a month, but 31 was enough to beat the Seahawks. Broncos quarterback Gus Frerotte improved to 4-0 as a starter since replacing injured Brian Griese, and Denver won its six in a row and its eighth in the past nine games. Seahawks running back Ricky Watters gained 57 yards on 16 carries to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the seventh time in his nine seasons. Seahawks quarterback Jon Kitna completed 26 of 41 for 298 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions. |
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| Cowboys 32 (5-9), Redskins 13 (7-7) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
7: Consecutive victories by the Cowboys against the Redskins, the most wins in a row by either team in the 80-game history of this storied rivalry. |
| Player of the Game |
| Emmitt Smith, RB, Dallas: Carried 23 times for 150 yards and one touchdown, tying Barry Sanders' record by surpassing 1,000 yards for the 10th consecutive season. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Cowboys threw only eight passes, largely because inexperienced Anthony Wright replaced Troy Aikman after he was injured in the first quarter. Dallas played aggressively on defense, stacking the line of scrimmage against the run and blitzing effectively to slow Redskins running back Stephen Davis to 57 yards on 16 carries. So much for the newfound discipline the Redskins were going to exhibit under interim head coach Terry Robiskie, as Washington committed 11 penalties for 121 yards. |
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| Saints 31 (9-5), 49ers 27 (5-9) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
1,164: Receiving yards for Saints wide receiver Joe Horn this season, surpassing his previous four-year career total of 879 yards by 285 yards. |
| Player of the Game |
| Terry Allen, RB, New Orleans: Veteran excelled in his first action for the Saints, carrying 18 times for 80 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 46 seconds to play. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| You have to get lucky to go places in the playoffs, and New Orleans had lady luck on its side down the stretch against San Francisco. The Saints got two favorable officiating calls in the fourth quarter to help them polish off a comeback win against the 49ers. Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks completed only 12 of 29 for 203 yards and two touchdowns, but also scrambled 11 times for 108 yards. Brooks was bothered by San Francisco's pass rush, as the Niners recorded five sacks and forced Brooks to get rid of the ball sooner than he wanted to on many occasions. 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia threw for 302 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and wide receiver Terrell Owens caught six passes for 129 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort.
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| Rams 40 (9-5), Vikings 29 (11-3) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
196: Advantage in total yards for the Rams (508) over the Vikings (312). |
| Player of the Game |
| Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis: Carried 25 times for 135 yards and four rushing touchdowns, giving him his sixth career 1,000-yard rushing season and a league-leading 19 touchdowns this season. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Watching the game film of their 49-37 playoff win against the Vikings last January must have helped the Rams, because this one looked quite similar to that 12-point win. Faulk continued to solidify his MVP candidacy with his second four-touchdown game this season. Rams quarterback Kurt Warner torched the Vikings' porous secondary for an 84.4 percent completion rate and 346 yards. Wide receiver Torry Holt was Warner's favorite target, grabbing nine passes for 172 yards. Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper completed 21 of 33 for 221 and three touchdowns, but Minnesota managed only 104 yards on the ground. Middle linebacker London Fletcher led St. Louis' defensive effort with nine tackles and two sacks, giving him 3 1/2 sacks in the past three games. |
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| Raiders 31 (11-3), Jets 7 (9-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
15-4: Raiders' postseason record at home, underscoring the importance of their quest in the final two weeks for home-field advantage, or at the very least a home game, in the AFC playoffs. |
| Player of the Game |
| Eric Allen, CB, Oakland: Veteran defensive back picked off two passes, including one that he took back 50 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, the second consecutive game Allen has run back a pick for a score. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| After last playing in the postseason in 1993 while in Los Angeles, the Raiders clinched their first playoff berth while calling Oakland home since 1980. The Jets continued their struggles in Oakland, falling to 0-10-1 in their last 11 regular-season road games against the Raiders in the Bay Area. One week after running for a career-high 203 yards against the Colts, Jets running back Curtis Martin was held to 11 yards on 17 carries. Oakland rushed for 180 yards, with Tyrone Wheatley leading the way with 18 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown. Raiders linebacker William Thomas made a team-high eight tackles and picked off two passes to give him six interceptions this season. |
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| Colts 44 (8-6), Bills 20 (7-7) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
49: Points scored in the second half after a sluggish first half that produced only 15 points. |
| Player of the Game |
| Edgerrin James, RB, Indianapolis: Carries 27 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns, for his seventh 100-yard game this season. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Stick a fork in the Bills, they are done. Buffalo's sloppy performance cost them what was only a very remote shot at the playoffs, and though Indianapolis remains mathematically alive, the odds that the Colts will make it are very slim. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw for a career-low 132 yards, but the Colts' defense was doing the dirty work, allowing Manning to have an ordinary game for a change. Indianapolis had nine sacks, with defensive end Brad Scioli and linebacker Cornelius Bennett recording two each. Colts cornerback Jeff Burris ran back an interception for a touchdown, and added a sack that forced the fumble that defensive end Bernard Holsey returned for a touchdown. |
