around the league, week 15

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Bills now 10-3, a two-game lead in the AFC East with three games to go. The last time the Bills won the AFC East was 1995, when Josh Allen wasn’t even born yet.

Jeff Howe@jeffphowe
This is the first time in 20 years an AFC East team will finish with more wins than the Patriots.

Twenty. Years.

.@eagles defensive line crushed the @saints in the trenches all afternoon. It was a great Holiday Party in So philly. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/B0zxbdFwfR

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) December 14, 2020

.@WashingtonNFL @youngchase907 is quickly changing this ugly losing culture in Washington. His movement is ridiculously smooth and effortless but violent and effective. Few players in the #NFL can operate like Chase #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/03ePb4Y27Z

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) December 14, 2020

from https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-week-14-pff-team-of-the-week-key-takeaways-player-awards-and-more

THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE

Just two weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers were flying high at an undefeated 11-0 record. Chatter of them being Super Bowl favorites started heating up given that nine of the 12 teams to go 11-0 in a single season in the Super Bowl era went on to play in that year’s final game. But numerous signs told us that this undefeated Steelers team may be a tad overrated — specifically at quarterback — and their Week 13 and 14 losses to Washington and Buffalo showed as much.

During his team’s 11-game winning streak, Ben Roethlisberger ranked 17th in the NFL in passing grade and the passing offense ranked 20th in percentage of pass plays to generate positive expected points added. This passing offense’s success was predicated on quick throws and yards after the catch — not explosive plays deep downfield. And a relatively easy schedule also helps. That’s not to say they aren’t a great team, but it’s just not a sustainable way to win long-term; they wouldn’t fare well against teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills, whom they lost to Sunday night.

Roethlisberger’s 53.4 passing grade in Week 14 ranked fifth-worst among quarterbacks, and he led the Steelers to the fifth-least efficient passing offense against Buffalo. When targeting past the sticks, Big Ben went 5-of-13 passes for 61 yards with a couple of interceptions en route to a 49.0 passing grade. Half of those passes were deemed inaccurate by PFF’s ball-charting process, and that is no different from what we have seen all season. Among 29 quarterbacks with 100 throws past the sticks this year, Roethlisberger is sixth-to-last in the percentage of uncatchable passes thrown.

Again, the Steelers are a great team, but can Big Ben get them over the hump against the Chiefs or Bills come playoff time? As of now, that seems unlikely.

Jason Kelce passionately explains why winning takes precedent in the NFL over everything, including evaluating youth in a down season. pic.twitter.com/x9CyzqQ47e

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) December 16, 2020

Who are some candidates for next season? Wade Phillips’ worst season in the past 8 years is better than any Raider defense in Gruden’s second tenure pic.twitter.com/7oUTgIvIKL

— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) December 17, 2020