Who's up after Week 15 in the NFL? The Vikings' next opponent

Giants rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux had a dominant game against Washington right before a trip to Minnesota to play the Vikings.

December 20, 2022 at 10:43PM
Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) had three tackles for losses and a fumble recovery for a touchdown Sunday against Washington. (Susan Walsh, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

THREE UP

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Giants edge rusher: In Sunday's prime-time breakout game against Washington, the rookie No. 5 overall pick joined former Bills linebacker London Fletcher as the only players since 2000 to post at least 10 tackles, three for losses and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the same game. Next up: at Minnesota on Saturday.

Eagles pass rushing depth: No one can match Philly's defensive line when it comes to depth. Javon Hargrave had two sacks in a win over Chicago, giving him 10 on the season. Haason Reddick also added two more, giving him 12. Josh Sweat, another guy who had two sacks against the Bears, stands at 9.5. Brandon Graham is at 8.5, giving the Eagles a shot at becoming the first team to have four defenders with 10 or more sacks in the same season.

Lions grit: They can't win the NFC North, but the 7-7 Lions still have a chance to join the 1970 Bengals as the only team to make the playoffs after starting 1-6. That Bengals team, which had Paul Brown as head coach and Bill Walsh as receivers coach, finished 8-6 and lost its playoff opener 17-0 to the Baltimore Colts.

TWO DOWN

AFC South: We interrupt the NFC South bashing to bring you the AFC South, which is led by a 7-7 Titans team that's lost four straight and certainly can't afford to overlook the 1-12-1 Texans this week. Houston nearly upset Dallas and Kansas City the past two weeks.

Patriots' Situational Disasters duo: Rhamondre Stevenson and Jakobi Meyers need to be rushed by ambulance to the nearest Kevin O'Connell-sponsored Situational Masters meeting. In that meeting, they might want to learn that the NFL has had an overtime period since 1974. As the entire football world has seen by now, the two Patriots went into full-throttle hot-potato mode on the final play of regulation in A GAME THAT WAS TIED. Stevenson lateralled to Meyers, who freaked out and launched a backward pass that was snagged by former Patriot Chandler Jones for the Raiders' walkoff touchdown. It might be impossible to top this as the NFL's Bonehead Play of 2022.

RANKING THE 11-3 VIKINGS

6 (Last week: 7). The top 5: Eagles, Chiefs, Bengals, 49ers and Cowboys.

STATS OF THE WEEK

1-112: Jacksonville's record when trailing by at least 17 points, heading into this season. They're 2-2 in such games this year.

89-0: Tom Brady's career record when leading by at least 17 points before his Bucs blew a 17-0 lead in a loss to the Bengals on Sunday.

WEEK 16 SNEAK PEEK

Eagles (13-1) at Cowboys (10-4): Six teams have clinched playoff berths. Three of them – Chiefs, Vikings and 49ers – have clinched their division. The Eagles and Bills, who are at Chicago, can join that list with a win this week. Philly, who beat Dallas 26-17 at home on Oct. 16, might be without MVP front-runner Jalen Hurts in Saturday's rematch.

about the writer

Mark Craig

Sports reporter

Mark Craig has covered the NFL nearly every year since Brett Favre was a rookie back in 1991. A sports writer since 1987, he is covering his 30th NFL season out of 37 years with the Canton (Ohio) Repository (1987-99) and the Star Tribune (1999-present).

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