If you came looking for upsets, Week 15's NFL betting action was definitely the place that you were going to find them, as there were some tremendous shocks of all kinds that had a tremendous impact in the chase for history and for the Lombardi Trophy.
Of the 13 games that were played on Sunday, the favorites went 7-6... straight up. Underdogs had a tremendous weekend in general, and if you blindly bet every single dog, you made a killing. The end result really shook up the playoff picture and could make things tremendously interesting in the two weeks to come.
The biggest upset came at Arrowhead Stadium. Head Coach Todd Haley was fired earlier in the week, giving way to Romeo Crennel as the interim coach. He took one big time step towards becoming the full time coach on Sunday, guiding his Kansas City Chiefs to the biggest upset of the year over the previously perfect Green Bay Packers in a tremendous defensive showdown. It was the worst game of the year for QB Aaron Rodgers by a country mile, and it may have ended his chances of breaking all of the passing records on the books. Green Bay is no longer perfect, and it still has some work to do to clinch up the top seed in the NFC. KC kept its dim playoff hopes alive in the process.
The 1972 Miami Dolphins have popped the cork, and it was only a matter of a few minutes later that the 2007 Detroit Lions did the same thing. The Indianapolis Colts, who were ironically led by a member of that 0-16 Detroit team, QB Dan Orlovsky, pulled off their first victory of the season after 13 straight defeats when they beat the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Field. The win didn't hurt Indy, as it still has the top pick in the NFL Draft wrapped up with two more losses, but the loss did cripple the Titans, who are still a game back with two to play.
Of course, the good news for the Titans is that seemingly anybody who was an anybody was beaten on Sunday. The Cincinnati Bengals were the rare exception, though they had to scratch and claw to win a game on the road against a St. Louis Rams team who only brought in starting QB Kellen Clemens a few days before he was asked to take the field. However, the New York Jets were beaten by the Philadelphia Eagles in an ugly 45-19 game, certainly the biggest beating of the weekend.
Even right at the top, there were some major problems. On Sunday, the Houston Texans lost control of their destiny for the top seed in the AFC when they were upset by the Carolina Panthers by two touchdowns in their first home game after clinching their first postseason bid in franchise history. That left control to the Baltimore Ravens, who squandered their chance by getting destroyed by the San Diego Chargers. And that left control to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were decimated 20-3 on Monday Night Football by the San Francisco 49ers.
The Denver Broncos had a chance to eliminate a ton of team on Sunday, but they couldn't get the job done and ended up losing to the New England Patriots by 18. The Pats, who were the only team that didn't control their own destiny coming into this week, now are the only team that knows they can lock down a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs as soon as next weekend.
Denver did get a helping hand from the Detroit Lions though, as they rallied to knock off the Oakland Raiders by a single point in one of the two games of the weekend that ended with a push on the NFL betting odds (the other being Cincinnati beating St. Louis by exactly seven).
In the NFC, things were a heck of a lot different. The Atlanta Falcons destroyed the Jacksonville Jaguars to start the week off, while the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys were all easy winners in spite of the fact that they all had tricky games.
The big loser of the weekend was the New York Giants, who couldn't keep serve with the rest of the teams in the NFC playoff race. The G-Men were killed by the Washington Redskins for the second time this year, and they now know that they have to win their last two games to get into the playoffs. The Chicago Bears were also crushed in the second half at home against the Seattle Seahawks to likely end their playoff push.
At this point, there haven't been any more head coaches that have been fired. However, in a year in which Norv Turner, Jack Del Rio, Tony Sparano, and Todd Haley have already been dismissed (though Turner is finishing up the season), Steve Spagnuolo and Raheem Morris are both likely headed out the door. Marvin Lewis, Lovie Smith, and Tom Coughlin are all still sitting on very warm seats that are only getting hotter as the days go by, and while others like Andy Reid, Chan Gailey, Mike Shanahan, Jason Garrett, and Ken Whisenhunt are all on notice still as well.
The playoff picture in the NFC seems to be just about set in terms of who is getting into the playoffs. The Packers need a win to clinch the top seed in the NFC. The Niners need a combo of two wins or New Orleans losses to get the other first round bye. The Saints need a win or an Atlanta loss somewhere along the way to lock up the NFC South and no worse than the No. 3 seed. Atlanta and Detroit both need just one win or a combination of losses to get in as Wild Cards. The Cowboys need either a win and a Giants loss this week or a win in Week 17 against the Giants to win the NFC East. The Giants need two wins to get in, or a loss this week, a win in Week 17, and a Philly loss in Week 17. The Eagles need two wins, a New York loss this week, and a Dallas loss next week in the Meadowlands to improbably win the NFC East. Seattle, Arizona, Chicago, and Dallas are all still technically in the Wild Card race in the NFC, but they all need at least one of Detroit and/or Atlanta to lose twice.
The AFC is a heck of a lot more complicated. New England controls its own destiny for the top seed. If it loses, control goes to the Texans. If they lose, control goes to the Ravens. And if they lose, control goes to the Steelers. Baltimore needs a combo of two wins or Pittsburgh losses to clinch the AFC North title. Denver needs a win in Week 17 over the Chiefs to clinch the AFC West, or it can win the division with a win this week and an Oakland loss. San Diego and Kansas City both need to win twice and have Denver to lose twice, while the Chiefs also need the Chargers to lose in Week 17 to win the AFC West.
The AFC Wild Card possibilities are far too numerous to list. Right now, the Jets have control of that No. 6 seed, while Cincinnati will be the next in line if New York slips. After that, Pandora's Box essentially opens, as the Titans, Raiders, and Chargers are all just a game back, and the Chiefs are still in the discussion as well at just 6-8.
