Week 15 of the 2024 NFL season started with a “Thursday Night Football” slog with the Los Angeles Rams prevailing 12-6 on the street towards their heated NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers. That sport was each the primary within the NFL with out a landing this season in addition to the primary in that rivalry with no touchdowns scored, per CBS Sports Research.
Week 15, the beginning of the Fantasy Football playoffs for a lot of, guarantees to be way more thrilling. Here are 5 shocking potentialities in our newest crop of CBS Sports’ NFL daring predictions.
The Detroit Lions are off to their finest 13-game begin in franchise historical past with a 12-1 report, and their 11-game successful streak is their longest in workforce historical past. That successful streak will finish at dwelling on Sunday when Josh Allen and the 10-3 Bills come to city, contemporary off a 44-42 street loss on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14.
Yes, the Bills turned the primary workforce in NFL historical past to lose a sport with six or extra touchdowns and no turnovers dedicated final week, however they’re going to topple the Lions of their Detroit den on Sunday. Why is that? It’s as a result of Allen goes to beat the Detroit Lions’ blitz-heavy protection.
Detroit’s No. 2 scoring protection (18.0 factors per sport allowed in 2024) leans onerous on its blitz. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has blitzed 36.4% of the time this season, the fourth-highest charge within the NFL in 2024, however they’ve generated the seventh-lowest quarterback strain charge when blitzing (38%). In order to make up for the lack of Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who was the early-season favourite to be the 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award earlier than a season-ending leg damage in Week 6, Glenn has turned up the warmth, blitzing 41.1% of the time since Week 7, the best charge in the whole league in that span. However, they’re permitting the bottom passer score within the NFL (67.7) when blitzing partly due to their seven interceptions on such performs, the second-most within the league behind solely the Minnesota Vikings, who’ve 11. Allen’s 123.8 passer score vs. the blitz is the fourth-best within the NFL, and his 14 landing passes when blitzed are the most effective within the league.
Allen is presently enjoying his most effective soccer of his profession, producing his lowest turnover charge (1.4%) and sack charge (3.2%) of his profession. His offensive line has been regular, permitting the Tenth-lowest quarterback strain charge this season (32.2%) in addition to the seventh-lowest within the NFL when being blitzed (36.9%). Allen additionally is not afraid to throw it to anyone: he is thrown a landing to 12 completely different gamers, together with himself, in 2024. The 2024 odds on NFL MVP favourite (-400 per Caesar’s Sportsbook) will play like an MVP on Sunday in Detroit by beating the Lions’ blitz, thus main the Bills to victory.
Steelers snap 10-game street dropping streak at Eagles
The Pittsburgh Steelers have misplaced 10 consecutive street video games towards the Philadelphia Eagles with their final such win coming in 1965. That ends on Sunday for a number of causes.
One being Russell Wilson’s environment friendly play: he is thrown for 12 touchdowns to simply three interceptions this season, which is why the Steelers are 6-1 in his seven begins in 2024. Another is Pittsburgh’s fifth-ranked scoring protection (18.3 factors per sport allowed). The Steelers’ power is defending the run as they permit simply 91.5 speeding yards per sport, the fourth-fewest within the NFL. That’s precisely what’s essential to derail the 2024 speeding yards chief in Eagles operating again Saquon Barkley and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Making Hurts throw after stopping the run is the precise recipe to beat this Eagles bunch as a result of he’s averaging simply 200.2 passing yards per sport this season, which ranks twenty fourth amongst certified quarterbacks, and that determine can be his fewest in a season since turning into a full-time beginning quarterback in 2021. That’s additionally led to No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown averaging Eagles profession lows in catches per sport (4.8) and receiving yards per sport (83.6) in addition to teammate Brandon Graham to take a position on the duo’s friendship amid the passing sport struggles. Pittsburgh jumps throughout that weak spot on Sunday to earn a generational street win towards their in-state foe. The Steelers will rejoice in Philadelphia prefer it’s 1965.
The New England Patriots have gained three in a row (2016, 2020 and 2022) towards the Arizona Cardinals, and that can proceed in 2024 regardless of the Patriots being 3-10 and the host Cardinals being 6-7 and in a struggle for an NFC West crown. This will occur as a result of this sport options two quarterbacks whose manufacturing goes two fully completely different instructions.
Arizona has misplaced three in a row after a 6-4 begin, and that is largely due to Kyler Murray throwing 5 interceptions — tied for probably the most in three-game span of his profession — to solely three touchdowns in the course of the dropping streak.
On the flip facet, Patriots 2024 third total decide quarterback Drake Maye is balling out. He is the fifth quarterback to be averaging over 200 passing yards per sport (209.3) and over 40 speeding yards per sport (41.6) in his first eight begins for the reason that 1970 AFL/NFL merger, per CBS Sports Research. The 4 different members of that membership embody Robert Griffin III (2012), Deshaun Watson (2017), Jalen Hurts (2020-2021) and fellow draft classmate Jayden Daniels (2024). Maye additionally threw for profession highs in completion proportion (24-for-30, 80%) and passing yards per try (7.9) in his final sport in Week 13 towards the Indianapolis Colts, a slender 25-24 defeat.
In Week 15, these traits proceed as Maye outduels Murray and leads the Patriots to victory.
Chiefs blow out Browns for uncommon double-digit win
The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are gasping and wheezing by way of the 2024 season, regardless of what their 12-1 report says. They have the bottom level differential (+56) for a workforce with a 12-1 report or higher of their first 13 video games in NFL historical past, per CBS Sports analysis, and their 10 wins by one by way of seven factors by way of 13 video games are additionally probably the most all time.
Why is that? Patrick Mahomes is each elite and struggling by way of his worst season when it comes to passing yards per try (6.9) and passing yards per sport (245.3). However, he and the Chiefs will surprisingly win a sport simply towards the 3-10 Cleveland Browns. Yes, it is a daring prediction contemplating Kansas City barely beat the 3-10 Carolina Panthers again in Week 12, successful 30-27.
The distinction in Week 15 will likely be that Cleveland will flip the ball over an excessive amount of, thus giving Mahomes too many brief fields. Quarterback Jameis Winston has thrown 9 interceptions since turning into the Browns beginning quarterback in Week 8, which is probably the most within the league in that span.
Alvin Kamara goes eighth consecutive sport with out a TD vs. Commanders
New Orleans Saints five-time Pro Bowl operating again Alvin Kamara has lengthy been one of many NFL’s finest, and he is at it once more in 2024. Kamara is third within the NFL in yards from scrimmage this season (1,423) and third in touches (287). However, he’s stunningly on a seven-game streak with out a landing, the second-longest such drought of his profession. The longest streak of his profession is a nine-game stretch in 2019, and he’ll see his 2024 improve to eight towards the Washington Commanders in Week 15.
That’s daring contemplating Washington has allowed the Tenth-most speeding touchdowns to operating backs this season (36). However, the Commanders have the fourth-lowest missed-tackle charge this season (11.6%), per NFL Pro, so they may preserve Kamara inside their grasp and out of the tip zone.
