Key takeaways and analysis from Week 15 in the NFL

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Choose your fighter

This MVP race is as good as it gets.

In one corner you have Josh Allen. He's been spectacular throughout the year, taking his game to even greater heights from seasons past, but his recent form has been particularly special.

A season-high 362 passing yards led Buffalo to a statement win over the Super Bowl-favorite Detroit Lions this week. With another two scores each through the air and on the ground, the Bills quarterback accounted for 10 total touchdowns in an unfathomable two-week stretch. In the middle of fantasy playoffs, too.

And then there's Lamar Jackson. Don't let previous MVP honors allow you to take what he's done this season for granted. Sunday's win over the Giants saw the Ravens star post his second five-score game of the season. He's now thrown 34 touchdowns and just three interceptions on the year.

Jackson is the NFL's runaway leader by EPA/dropback at 0.33, which is tied with for the eighth-best season from a quarterback since 2000 (minimum 300 pass attempts), according to TruMedia.

Allen's signature wins have come against the Chiefs and Lions, the top seeds in each conference. Jackson has more losses on his resume, but that record could look a whole lot different if not for some bizarre kicker issues in Baltimore. His signature win was a blowout over Allen and the Bills in Week 4.

If you want to focus on narratives, and really dig into the "value" aspect of the conversation, Allen is probably your guy. This was supposed to be a reset year for a Bills team that had to do more subtracting than adding because of salary cap issues. The state of the receiving corps certainly reflected that prior to the Amari Cooper trade. But these Bills might have their best chance yet at a Super Bowl because Allen had no interest in anyone's expectations.

Those who see this more so as an award meant to honor the best player, no matter what it's called, may find themselves backing Baltimore's quarterback. The numbers are that good. The arrival of Derrick Henry has helped the offense, to be sure, but Jackson has also managed to equal his 2019 unanimous MVP season despite the Ravens defense ranking 24th in scoring, their lowest since 1996.

You really can't go wrong, and it'll be fascinating to see if Allen or Jackson can truly separate themselves over the last three weeks of the season. As things currently stand, it seems as if we could be headed for the closest vote in recent memory.

What drama?

It had to be an exhausting week in Philadelphia.

A rough performance from Jalen Hurts against the Panthers raised some legitimate concerns about the state of the Eagles' passing game. Several postgame quotes created the impression of some perhaps not-so-legitimate drama between the team's most important players.

The Eagles knew they had to send a message in a big game against the Steelers. They did exactly that.

Hurts was fantastic in a commanding win, completing 25 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, adding another 45 yards and one score on the ground. More important than the numbers, though, he was comfortable and decisive at the controls of the offense - a far cry from his 108-yard day a week prior.

The bounce-back effort saw Hurts post his second-most EPA/dropback in a game this season, according to TruMedia. Considering his season high came against a Bengals defense that has been virtually non-existent, we'll go ahead and chalk this one up as his best game of the year.

Philly will have to string together multiple such performances to truly silence the doubters heading into the playoffs, but this was an incredibly promising example of what the offense can (and should) be on a weekly basis. It simply has far too much talent across the board, including at quarterback, to be sweating out games against basement-dwellers like the Panthers.

The Eagles consistently pairing this kind of passing attack with a record-chasing ground game would give them every opportunity to get back to the Super Bowl. And with injuries continuing to pile up on the Lions defense, it could very well make them Philly the team to beat in the NFC.

Quick slants

Too bold

You're never going to catch me criticizing Dan Campbell's fourth-down decision-making - some of which, as we saw last week, even goes beyond what analytics recommend. But that's part of what makes the Lions so good. Overaggressiveness in other areas can be a different story. The Detroit head coach made the stunning decision to try for an onside kick trailing by 10 with 12 minutes left against the Bills. Granted, the defense wasn't having much luck getting Josh Allen off the field. But with so much time remaining, turning to a play that was successful on three of 45 attempts league-wide coming into this week can't be the answer. Find a way to get a stop and save the desperation for when you truly have no other choice.

In-Evans-able

It seemed likely heading into this week that Mike Evans' streak of 1,000-yard seasons would finally come to an end. The Bucs wide receiver clearly has other ideas. Evans was the star of Sunday's statement victory over the Chargers, recording two touchdowns and a season-high 159 receiving yards. The monster performance puts him just 251 yards shy of 1,000 with three games to play. Accomplishing the feat for an 11th consecutive season to start his career would further cement Evans' legacy as one of the most consistent, yet somehow underrated, playmakers of this generation.

Rams in driver's seat

Seattle falling to Green Bay on Sunday night pushes the Rams to the top of the NFC West by way of a head-to-head tiebreaker. The Seahawks will have an opportunity to even that up, and potentially pull back ahead, when the two teams meet in the regular-season finale. But it'll be an uphill battle to remain within striking distance until then. Geno Smith's status is up in the air after leaving Sunday night's game with a knee injury. That's not ideal with the 11-2 Vikings in town next week and a Thursday night trip to Chicago on tap just days later. The Rams, meanwhile, have games against the Jets and Cardinals before hosting Seattle in Week 18. This division could be wrapped up before that meeting if Smith is forced to miss time.

Pickens the key

The Steelers' offense was able to work around the absence of George Pickens in last week's win over the Browns. That was far too much to ask in a matchup with the Eagles. Russell Wilson posting a season-low 128 passing yards, including just eight completions to wide receivers, drives home the importance of Pickens to this offense. An already thin group of pass-catchers becomes arguably the worst in football without its top target. So while the Steelers would love to get him back as soon as possible, they should focus on making sure he's fully healthy for the playoffs. This passing game doesn't stand a chance without him.

Davante's still got it

The Jets are bad. Awful, even. A win over the Jaguars does little to change that. But we can still appreciate elite players when we see them. Davante Adams continues to show he belongs in that category. The veteran wideout took the game into his own hands this week, racking up nine catches for a season-high 198 yards and two touchdowns. It's easy to criticize the Jets' process in giving up draft capital amid a disastrous season, but it's not difficult to understand what they were trying to accomplish in reigniting the Adams-Aaron Rodgers connection. This all sets the stage for a fascinating offseason storyline. Adams is probably too expensive for the Jets to justify bringing back during a rebuild. And he likely wouldn't want to be back with Rodgers on his way out, anyway. A contending team is going to have a chance to add a future Hall of Famer who still has what it takes to put them over the top.

The party's over

The Browns' offense enjoying a significant bump in production (and fun) with Jameis Winston taking over for Deshaun Watson predictably created this idea that Winston could be brought back as the starter next year. Cleveland can't go back to Watson, no matter how much he's getting paid, but Winston can't be the move, either. Another three interceptions in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs gives him 12 in just seven starts. This time, the turnovers were enough to get him benched. While it's true that Winston's ability and willingness to push the ball downfield has unlocked an element that was previously missing from the Browns' offense, it's probably also true that a lot of passers could have done the same - many without averaging nearly two interceptions per game. Cleveland needs to capitalize on its favorable draft position and take a chance on a young quarterback. That might be the only way out of the cap nightmare created by the Watson blunder.

Finding a way to lose

Bo Nix did everything he could to hand the Colts a win, but they simply would not be denied in their efforts to give this game away. There were plenty of Anthony Richardson mistakes - a far too common occurrence during a rocky sophomore season. Then there was Jonathan Taylor dropping the ball before the end zone on a long run that would have given Indy a 19-7 lead. Michael Pittman's fumble promptly wasted Nix's third interception of the day. And then the cherry on top: an all-time trick-play disaster that saw the Broncos step in front of a double-pass attempt and run it all the way back to ice the game. A win would have given the Colts a chance to sneak into the playoffs. Instead, an embarrassing loss effectively ends their season.

OROY clarity

Speaking of Nix, we can all agree to ease up on the Offensive Rookie of the Year hype now, right? If a quarterback is taking home this award at season's end, it should probably be Jayden Daniels, who is posting the sixth-most EPA/dropback from a rookie QB since 2000, according to TruMedia. Nix is tied for 31st with names like Mike Glennon and Brandon Weeden. If voters are willing to open their minds beyond one position, Brock Bowers and Brian Thomas Jr. are incredibly deserving candidates. Either way, excitement for the arrival of a young passer doesn't need to slip into egregious quarterback bias in award season.

Curtains for Levis?

Will Levis under center has created some brief moments of excitement in Tennessee. Unfortunately for the Titans, those glimmers have been completely overshadowed by some baffling mistakes. Levis was particularly bad this week against a dreadful Bengals defense, serving up three interceptions and a fumble before getting benched for Mason Rudolph. The Titans can't afford to go into another season hoping he'll finally put it all together. They'll have an opportunity to land a quarterback with an early pick in this year's draft, and taking another swing is the only way to potentially get this organization headed back in the right direction.

Stingley soaring

Derek Stingley Jr. continues to be a bright spot in an up-and-down season in Houston. The Texans cornerback has taken the next step toward elite status in his third year after joining the club as the No. 3 overall pick. He was the key to putting away a crucial win over the Dolphins this week, notching a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions on passes intended for Tyreek Hill. Stingley doesn't yet get the same national attention as fellow 2022 first-rounder Sauce Gardner, but he should be right there with the Jets star in looking to reset the cornerback market. Both will top Patrick Surtain's record-setting deal sooner than later.

Stat of the week