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The long and grueling regular season is slowly ending as Week 15 wrapped up on Monday night. Two teams that picked up a win last week were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys, who will now face off in Week 16. The Bucs took down a strong Chargers team by scoring 40 points, and the Cowboys showed glimpses of life as they beat the Panthers in Carolina.
Let’s look back at each team in Week 15 and then our pick for their matchup on Sunday Night Football.
The Chargers have had one of the best defensive units in football this season, and QB Baker Mayfield and the Bucs scored 40 points against them. Mayfield was on fire and finished 22 for 27 for 288 yards and 4 touchdowns. He found his favorite target throughout the game as WRW Mike Evans hauled in 9 catches for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns. Plus, Mayfield also threw touchdown passes to RB Rachaad White and WR Jalen McMillan.
RB Bucky Irving was questionable to suit up last week due to a few injuries he suffered in Week 14, but the rookie played, and he looked terrific. He carried the ball 15 times for 117 yards, leading Tampa Bay on the ground. White also took 15 carries and ran for 64 yards, so the Bucs are lucky enough to have two solid backs.
The Buccaneers have had one of the most productive offenses this season. With that said, their defense has been extremely subpar. Tampa Bay ranks in the bottom half of the league in points allowed per game, and a big reason for that has been their secondary. That posed a problem in Week 15 since they were facing QB Justin Herbert, but the Bucs defense stepped up and limited Herbert to 195 passing yards with an interception. It was an all-around great win for Tampa Bay.
It’s no secret that it’s been a difficult season for the Cowboys. But there is still time to end the year with a respectable record, and Week 15 was a step in the right direction. The Cowboys were in Carolina to take on the struggling Panthers, and QB Cooper Rush had his best game of the season. He completed 18 of his 29 passes for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns. Rush’s plan was simple: find WR CeeDee Lamb.
Lamb finished with 9 catches on 13 targets for 116 yards and a touchdown. No other Dallas receiver finished with more than 3 catches. The plan of feeding Lamb worked brilliantly because the Cowboys won 30-14 for their 3rd win in the last four games. RB Rico Dowdle has blossomed into an RB1 as he ran for 149 yards on 25 carries. The two-headed monster of Lamb and Dowdle has been the key to success for the offense in the last month, and I’m expecting it to stay that way for the next few weeks.
The Cowboys defense also needs a shoutout because they terrorized Panthers QB Bryce Young. Dallas sacked Young 6 times, recovered 2 fumbles and had 2 interceptions. If the defense can stay at that level, it won’t be easy for opposing quarterbacks.
This matchup is likely going to feature a lot of points. Mayfield and the Bucs offense have looked unstoppable in the last few weeks, and Rush is finally settling into the starting role. The Bucs are in a great position to succeed through the air because the Cowboys’ secondary has been decimated by injuries in the last few weeks and has struggled against star quarterbacks.
That paves the way for Mayfield, who has thrown at least 2 touchdowns in 9 of the 14 games. Expect that trend to continue on this week’s edition of Sunday Night Football.
Keith is a sports writer who has evolved into a sports betting personality across social media in the past several years. He specializes in MLB but also writes about the NFL and NBA.