Santiago Leon and Ray Sherrod previews the 2023 NFL Week 15 games.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Ray Sherrod – @ray3473
The Los Angeles Chargers have fired head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco, the team announced Friday.
The move comes one day after a 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders dropped the Chargers to 5-9 on the season. Staley accumulated a 24-24 record with Los Angeles since being hired in 2021.
Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 63-21 in Week 15 of the NFL season. The Raiders scored 42 points by halftime, breaking their franchise’s single-game scoring record. Some say the Raiders’ performance was their best of the season, while others say it may have been the Chargers’ worst defensive performance in franchise history.
The Raiders turned in their best performance of the season Thursday night, responding to Sunday’s 3-0 loss to Minnesota by scoring 42 points by halftime, not letting the Los Angeles Chargers cross midfield until the third quarter and rolling to a record-setting 63-21 victory.
The Raiders led 42-0 at halftime, just three points shy of the NFL record for halftime that was set in 2009 when New England led Tennessee 45-0. The 42-point margin has been matched two other times — by Green Bay over Chicago in 2014 and the Packers over Tampa Bay in 1983. Las Vegas also broke its previous record for a half, which was 38 against the Broncos in that 2010 game.
Aidan O’Connell threw all four of his touchdown passes in the first half, and he finished with 248 yards passing.
Los Angeles quarterback Easton Stick, making his first start in place of the injured Justin Herbert, completed 23 of 32 passes for 257 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Rya Sherrod – @Ray3473
Week 15 Preview
MIN (7—6) at CIN (7-6)
Quarterback Jake Browning and the Bengals’ offense — coming off back-to-back wins — will have to contend with one of the best defenses in the league in this weekend’s matchup. Over the past eight weeks, the Vikings lead the NFL in fewest points allowed per drive (1.4) and fewest points allowed per game (15.3), largely because of a very strong red zone defense.
RS: CIN
PIT (7-6) at IND (7-6)
The Steelers have won eight consecutive games against the Colts including regular-season and postseason games. It’s a remarkable streak that began in 2011, with the Colts’ last win coming in 2008 with quarterback Peyton Manning under center. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin, who was hired in 2007, is 8-1 against Indianapolis and has never lost at Lucas Oil Stadium.
RS: IND
DEN (7-6) at DET (9-4)
The Lions have lost two of their past three games, while the Broncos have won six of their past seven and are looking to climb the AFC West ladder. It will also be a reunion for Lions coach Dan Campbell and his mentor Sean Payton, now the coach of the Broncos. Campbell spent five seasons on Payton’s staff as an assistant head coach/tight ends coach from 2016 to ’20 and also played on teams Payton coached. “I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Sean and everything about him,” Campbell said during Thursday’s practice. “And probably the greatest compliment I can give to him is that he believed in me always and he gave me that shot as a player and a coach.”
RS: DET
NYG (5-8) at NO (6-7)
The Saints’ passing offense has been struggling, and quarterback Derek Carr had only 37 passing yards through most of Sunday’s win against the Panthers before throwing late touchdowns to Jimmy Graham and Chris Olave. He finished with 119 passing yards. Carr and the offense will look to get back on track against a Giants defense giving up 189.7 passing yards per game over the past four weeks.
RS: NO
CHI (5-8) at CLE (8-5)
The last time these two teams met, in 2021, Cleveland’s Myles Garrett had almost as many sacks (4.5) as Chicago quarterback Justin Fields had completions (6). Fields is surging since returning from injury in Week 11 — with a 66.7% completion percentage, 609 passing yards and three touchdowns (one rushing) in three games — but will face a big test operating against the Browns’ swarming defensive line.
RS: CLE
ATL (6-7) at CAR (1-12)
This game matters more for Atlanta, in a three-way tie with New Orleans and Tampa Bay for the NFC South division lead. The Panthers have been focused the past few weeks on establishing the running game to take pressure off quarterback Bryce Young, and the Falcons have a top-15 run defense that has allowed an NFL-low five rushing touchdowns. Young is coming off arguably the worst game (36.1% completion percentage) of his rookie season and is going against an Atlanta defense that intercepted him twice in the season opener.
RS: ATL
TB (6-7) at GB (6-7)
This is the third straight year that Baker Mayfield has come to Lambeau Field — with his third different team. He combined to throw five interceptions (four in 2021 with the Browns and one last season with the Rams) in those two games. However, the Packers have intercepted the ball only six times this season, including just one in the past five games.
RS: GB
NYJ (5-8) at MIA (9-4) The Dolphins’ offense is hurting. Starting offensive linemen have missed a combined 21 games to injury this season, and that number will grow before the end of the year. Guard Connor Williams will miss the remainder of the season, and OT Robert Hunt is not expected to play — although OT Terron Armstead could make his return to the field. Miami could also be without wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who injured his ankle in Monday’s loss to the Titans. His absence would mark uncharted territory as Hill has yet to miss a game since he was traded to the Dolphins in 2022. Can the Jets capitalize on Miami’s injuries? –
RS: MIA
KC (8-5) at NE (3-10)
Patriots coach Bill Belichick is second on the all-time wins list (332, including playoffs), while Chiefs coach Andy Reid is closing ground quickly as his 277 victories rank him fourth all time. This is the first time that two head coaches in the top five in career regular-season wins have faced each other since Week 4 of 1990 when Don Shula’s Dolphins met Chuck Noll’s Steelers. This game was originally scheduled for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” before becoming the first-ever MNF game flexed to Sunday (this is the first year the league has experimented with flexing Monday games), mainly due to the Patriots’ struggles.
RS: KC
HOU (7-6) at TEN (5-8)
The Titans have 10 passing plays of 40-plus yards this season (three-way tie for second place). Rookie QB Will Levis is responsible for five of them in his seven starts. Houston’s secondary is allowing 246.9 passing yards per game (which ranks 26th in the NFL). There should be opportunities for Levis to continue his success at home, where he has 647 passing yards and five touchdown passes in three games.
RS: TEN
SF (10-3) at AZ (3-10)
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray hasn’t played the 49ers since October 2021, a stretch of four games and more than two years, because of injuries. The last time he lined up against San Francisco, he won. Murray is 2-2 since he returned from an ACL injury and refreshed coming off the bye. The Niners don’t have any fresh tape of facing Murray, including tape of Murray in the Cardinals’ new scheme. With the Niners potentially down some players on defense, especially in their front seven, Murray might have an opportunity to upset a potential Super Bowl team.
RS: SF
WAS (4-9) at LAR (6-7)
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has thrown at least three touchdowns in three straight games, tied for the longest streak of his career. The Commanders are the NFL’s worst passing defense in DVOA and have allowed a league-high 30 passing touchdowns. The last Rams quarterback with a longer streak was Kurt Warner, who had four such games in 1999, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
RS: LAR
DAL (10-3) at BUF (7-6)
This is a big game for both teams given the playoff implications involved. But this game could very well come down to which defense dealing with injuries can make more stops against offenses with the potential to put up big points. The Cowboys’ offense leads the NFL in points per game (32.4), while the Bills are fifth (26.8).
RS:
BAL (10-3) at JAX (8-5)
One week after facing the top-ranked defense (Cleveland), the Jaguars get the No. 2 defense with the Ravens. Baltimore leads the league in sacks (49), which is not good for a Jaguars offensive line on its fourth left tackle and third left guard because of injuries. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been sacked 31 times this season, which is one shy of his career high set in 2021.
RS: BAL
Poll Question
What is your favorite kind of tea?
Black Tea – 16.7%, Green Tea 0 33.3%, Heral Tea – 16.7%, White Tea 033.3%
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.
