Here’s what we learnt from the past week, which saw the Colts and Broncos seal a playoff berth.
Crazy finish in Baltimore
The Ravens kept their playoff hopes alive with a dramatic win over the Vikings, which had an NFL-record six lead changes in the fourth quarter, and five touchdowns in the last 125 seconds.
Adrian Peterson left the game with an ankle injury, the Vikings were ably led by Matt Cassel and Toby Gerhart, and were in front with 41 seconds on the clock before Joe Flacco took the current champions down the field to win the game.
The Vikings (3-9-1) are now out of the playoffs, and the Ravens (7-6) have the second wild-card spot in the AFC.
Patriots are down, but never out
Once more, the Patriots came back from a deficit against the Cleveland Browns to win – this time from 16 points down.
That’s three weeks in a row the team has been 10 or more points down and won the game. There was bad news, however, as tight end/superstar Rob Gronkowski was lost for the season with an ACL tear on a legal low hit, raising more questions about the NFL’s policy on tackling.
Brees reaches elevated status
In a dominant win over the division rival Panthers, Saints quarterback Drew Brees passed the 50,000 yard mark for his career – just the fifth quarterback to do so, and the fastest (he averages 273 yards per game over his career).
Brees has one championship to his name and from this view is considered equal in stature to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, despite often being placed in the second-tier of NFL quarterbacks.
Shanahan on the hot seat
The Redskins (3-10) have collapsed this season with five straight losses, and were dominated in all three phases on Sunday against the Chiefs (who scored on a punt return and kickoff return).
Coach Mike Shanahan is looking very likely to lose his job, with speculation that owner Daniel Snyder has had enough of Shanahan, who did have a playoff season in 2012.
Quarterback RGIII, for whom the Redskins traded three first-round picks, has looked terrible at times this season and hasn’t been confirmed as the starter for Week 15.
Quick Hits
The Broncos are the first team to have four players with at least 10 touchdowns each…
Matt Prater kicked a 64-yarder in Denver, the NFL record for field goals…
If LeSean McCoy remains the NFL rushing leader at the end of the season, he’ll be the first Eagle to do so since 1949…
Josh Gordon’s 774 yards over the last four games have been the most over four games in NFL history…
If the Chiefs win two more games, they’ll set the NFL record for most wins after a two-win season…
The Eagles have the longest win streak (five) in the NFL…
Last Sunday featured the most touchdowns on any one day in NFL history…
The Colts are the only team with a winning record but a negative point differential…
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