National Football League

Cowboys may have found a path forward, and what else we're learning in Week 15

Updated Dec. 15, 2024 5:34 p.m. ET

Ben Arthur and 5 more

FOX Sports' NFL experts provide the biggest takeaways from every Sunday game in Week 15 and what they mean for each team going forward.

Jets: With nothing much to play for the rest of the season, it's all about morale for the Jets. Could we at least see what it was supposed to look like with Aaron Rodgers under center and Davante Adams down the field? Against the Jaguars in Jacksonville, we finally got a glimpse. Adams and Rodgers connected for two scores in the second half. Adams had a vintage-type game, catching nine of 12 targets for 198 yards and two touchdowns. It looked more like the pair were wearing green and gold again rather than green and white. Call it too little too late, but at least we can see that Adams and Rodgers have more left in the tank. The question now is if they empty it next season in New York.

Jaguars: Jacksonville relied a lot on hometown kid Mac Jones against the visiting Jets. Jones fed another big game for receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who had 105 yards and two scores and set franchise single-season records for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns by a rookie. In all, Jones attempted 46 passes and completed 31 of them for 294 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed his last one to the other team, throwing an interception on what Jacksonville hoped would be a game-tying drive to send it into overtime. The Jaguars are largely playing the waiting game now with Trevor Lawrence out and a likely overhaul staff-wise on the horizon this offseason. — Carmen Vitali

Cowboys: They are so much better when they employ a balanced offense and rely on their rushing attack. This game was more proof of that. Running back Rico Dowdle had 25 carries for 149 yards. In the past four weeks, he has averaged 21 carries for 119.5 yards and the Cowboys, not surprisingly, are 3-1 even though they've been playing without QB Dak Prescott. Before this stretch, Dowdle ran the ball more than 12 times just once in nine games. Some of it was because the Cowboys were getting behind early, but not all of it. Since Prescott went down, Mike McCarthy has been forced to lean on his rushing attack a lot more, and the results have been excellent. It's a lesson he needs to remember if he's brought back next year.

Panthers: Bryce Young has shown a lot of improvement over the past month and the future is looking a little brighter in Carolina. But the second-year quarterback still has a long way to go, and the Panthers have some rebuilding to do. Young was 19-of-28 for 219 yards against a struggling Cowboys defense, but 83 of those yards came on one pass near the end of the first half. Young also had two interceptions and two lost fumbles. Granted, it's not all his fault. The Cowboys were able to stuff Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard (10 carries, 32 yards), and without him, the Panthers offense was doomed. Young, despite being in his second season, isn't capable of carrying a team on his shoulders, even against a bad, beaten-up defense. Maybe he eventually will be. But time is ticking away as he heads toward his third NFL year. — Ralph Vacchiano

Commanders: Nobody is going to catch Ja'Marr Chase for the NFL lead in touchdown receptions this year, but Washington's Terry McLaurin is a worthy runner-up, with 11 now after a pair of touchdowns in Sunday's win. Jayden Daniels and McLaurin have a special connection — the rookie QB has 11 scoring passes to McLaurin and six to everyone else on the team. On Sunday, their two scores gave Washington an early 14-0 lead before the Saints slowly clawed their way back. Daniels deserves all the praise heaped upon him as a rookie phenom. On Sunday, he was 25 of 31, which works out to an 81% completion percentage, his third game this season with at least 80% on at least 25 throws. No other rookie in NFL history has ever done that. Justin Herbert is the only other QB with even two such games as a rookie.

Saints: The Saints are a depleted offense in general, but seeing Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler on Sunday, do they have a quarterback of the future on their roster? Those two are fourth- and fifth-round picks, and neither has shown much filling in for Derek Carr this season. Rattler came off the bench Sunday and led New Orleans back from a 17-0 deficit — close enough to go for two to try to win after a touchdown as time expired. The conversion failed, and the Saints took another close loss. The offense's early struggles — 38 total yards in the first half — dug too deep a hole for New Orleans to dig out of with lesser quarterbacks. The Saints have lost their best offensive weapons to injuries, but they've struggled to cobble together much offense with what's left, and now they're 5-9. — Greg Auman

Bengals: The Bengals showed exactly why they're not a playoff-caliber team this year. They committed four turnovers, including safety Jordan Battle blowing a fumble return for a touchdown by losing the ball at the goal line, resulting in a touchback. It's the kind of sloppy play that hurts Cincinnati's already incredibly slim chances of making the postseason. The greatness of individual players can only take the Bengals so far — as evident by career seasons from Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase resulting in a 6-8 record. And Cincinnati could be without one of its best players moving forward, as pass rusher Trey Hendrickson — who entered the week leading the NFL with 12.5 sacks — was ruled out Sunday with a knee injury. The pressure is on to find a more sustainable way to win — and it may not matter at all, as the Bengals don't completely control their playoff destiny anyway.

Titans: Have we officially seen the end of the Will Levis era in Tennessee? It's certainly a possibility, as he appeared to be benched after four turnovers — three interceptions (including a pick-six) and a lost fumble — in Sunday's loss to the Bengals. Mason Rudolph didn't play much better, maybe giving Levis a reprieve, but the nail may already be in the coffin for the former second-round pick's QB1 prospects in 2025. Any confidence the team seemed to have in him over the previous five games, when he showed significant improvement, seemed to evaporate with one of the worst performances of his career. The apparent benching is notable as coach Brian Callahan had previously been adamant about Levis playing, as long as he's healthy, to assure a full evaluation. Most in the scouting community is down on the 2025 quarterback class, and the Titans' current positioning could make it difficult to get Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. So maybe a veteran quarterback is on the table for next season, someone like Russell Wilson or Sam Darnold, assuming they're available. — Ben Arthur

Chiefs: Why were the Chiefs throwing the ball so much in the second half? In a rare case of game mismanagement by Andy Reid, K.C. nearly got Patrick Mahomes killed. The offensive line has never looked worse. But as we all know, there seems to be no ill that can sink the Chiefs, particularly because the defense is so dang good. K.C. won again, but Mahomes didn't finish this game, because of all the pressure and contact he endured — zero sacks but 17 pressures and 12 QB hits. He took an ugly-looking hit with a defensive lineman landing on his ankles. He didn't return to the game after limping off the feld. And while, at the start of the game, it seemed like the Chiefs would win by 40, Kansas City's pass-protection issues were so severe that it kept Cleveland in the game. The left tackle spot has caused the Chiefs the most issues. They had to start Joe Thuney, typically a guard, against Myles Garrett. Thuney allowed six pressures when Mahomes was on the field.

Browns: More bad news for the Browns: Running back Nick Chubb broke his foot, and Cleveland benched Jameis Winston after he threw three interceptions. He actually threw only three incompletions in the second half — but two of them were interceptions. For a while, it seemed like maybe he would be an option for the Browns next year if they wanted a veteran to hold them over until they could get rid of Deshaun Watson in 2026. But after a game like this one, we can see that Winston isn't a good fit with coach Kevin Stefanski in the long term. But then again, that begs the question whether Stefanski is the right coach for the Browns in the long term. This game won't go on anyone's résumé for the Browns. The question is whether it'll get anyone — and/or everyone — fired. — Henry McKenna

Dolphins: However hopeful Miami fans were for the Dolphins keeping their playoff hopes alive, Sunday's loss essentially stuck a fork in that. Miami's slim playoff chances dropped from 20% to 7% with the loss — all but over at 6-8 with three games left. After scoring 30-plus points in three wins in the previous four games, Miami's offense went flat on Sunday, with Tyreek Hill held to two catches on seven targets. Not one of 19 running plays went for more than 7 yards, and no passes went for more than 21. Remember when the Dolphins were the NFL's No. 2 scoring team last year? They ranked 23rd entering Sunday's struggles. Injuries have played a role, but this has been disappointing regardless.

Texans: Houston is in good shape to win a bad division and host a playoff game, but is its defense good enough to be anything more than that? Sunday marked the second-fewest points the Texans have allowed in any game in 2024. Though Miami's offense had been clicking of late, Houston held the Dolphins under 250 yards for an easy win on a day when the Texans offense wasn't sharp. Corner Derek Stingley Jr., who picked off two Tua Tagovailoa passes in the fourth quarter, is an underappreciated up-and-comer. The next two games — at the Chiefs and home vs. the Ravens — should tell us if Houston can be a real postseason presence. The Texans defense ranks in the top five in sack percentage and interceptions, sixth on third downs, and even a split in those two games should give them confidence going into the playoffs. — Greg Auman

Ravens: The Ravens are a run-first team and can devastate opposing defenses on the ground. But they don't have to be because they definitely have enough weapons to be dangerous through the air. Now granted, this was a mismatch and the Giants' secondary is terrible, but New York had no answer for Ravens WR Rashod Bateman (3 catches, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns) or WR Zay Flowers (6 catches, 53 yards). Lamar Jackson ended the day with five touchdown passes, including one to WR Devontez Walker, one to TE Mark Andrews and one to RB Justice Hill (5 catches, 61 yards), proving the two-time MVP has plenty of capable pass-catchers. Running is still Baltimore's bread-and-butter, but this was a good reminder as the Ravens head toward the playoffs that their offense is as diverse as any team in the AFC.

Giants: The Giants are going to draft a QB in the first round come April, which is obvious to everyone. But they really need to find a way to draft or sign an elite cornerback, too. They actually knew that they desperately needed one heading into this season. GM Joe Schoen made that clear on HBO's "Hard Knocks." But New York's secondary has been worse than imagined, and Lamar Jackson had the DBs spinning in circles on Sunday with No. 1 corner, Deonte Banks, out. Banks hasn't been great, so he definitely needs help because the Giants can't stop or even cover anyone. And in a division with receivers such as CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Terry McLaurin, boy do they need to find someone who can cover, and fast. — Ralph Vacchiano

The following writers contributed to this story: Ben Arthur (@benyarthur); Greg Auman (@gregauman); Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis); Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano); Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV); Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams).