Among the 50 things we learned: Redskins making noise,
In honor of Super Bowl 50, here are 50 things we learned in Week 15:
1. Odell Beckham Jr.’s act. Embarrassing.
2. Your move on that suspension, NFL.
3. But we digress. On to teams that showed a bit more class Sunday:
4. Brandon Weeden might be the starting quarterback for a playoff team (Texans) in three weeks. There is a Santa Claus! 5. Break up the Redskins.
6. Brock Osweiler. Peyton Manning has a bad foot, but I guess it still creates footsteps. At least that’s the way it looked in the first half.
7. Maybe Peyton pulled him aside at halftime and told him to take the second half off. Just kidding.
8. You can stop sending us votes now. Matt Hasselbeck gets the Courageous Award for the season. He just keeps getting beaten up, and he keeps getting up and lining up behind center.
9. For the record, Hasselbeck in the last three weeks has injured his neck, back, ribs and jaw. Old guys are tough. That is all.
10. The smile on the face of the young fan who got a fistbump from Cam Newton after a Panthers touchdown in the third quarter. That wins the week.
11. Rex Ryan’s latest trick: Forget to tell your players the game is at 1 p.m. ET and then watch them put in a performance like they did vs. the Redskins.
12. Is that act getting old in Buffalo yet?
13. Teddy Bridgewater, 17for-20. Four TD passes. Yep, the draftniks were right. This guy is never going to make it on Sundays. D’oh.
14. That might be the last game the Chargers play in San Diego. Sad.
15. And Danny Woodhead had his own going-away party with four touchdowns.
16. The Patriots have won 15 in a row against AFC South teams. Yawn.
17. Saturday flashback I: Each time a kick went left or right and kept the outcome in doubt, you could hear Jets fans everywhere mutter, “Same old Jets.”
18. Of course, that reaction must just have been delayed 24 hours. They need the Steelers to lose to help secure a playoff spot. And there was that big lead by the Broncos in the first half. But then ...
19. Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson has 19 TD receptions of 50 yards or longer, and that’s better than anyone else who entered the league the year he did (2008).
20. The Texans showed early they were going to take gambles against the Colts, going for it on fourth-and-1 near midfield on their first drive. And they got it.
21. The Falcons were the first team to score in the early games. Wanted to record that because, other than that, the Falcons have become meaningless. Wait. They won? Stop the presses!
22. As if you needed a reason to not watch the Ravens, they roll out the mustard-colored pants. Ewww.
23. The Chiefs didn’t want to get close to those pants, it seems, and let the Ravens complete a Hail Mary at the end of the half.
24. The Bills punter tried a drop-kick. Or forgot to kick the ball until it almost hit the ground. Whatever it was, it went 17 yards. We blame Rex.
25. The Redskins honored a fan who is 102. So she is the one who was around the last time they won back-to-back games. C’mon, that was funny.
26. Maybe things will be OK with the Bengals. AJ McCarron capitalized on opportunities provided by the defense, turning three first-half takeaways into two TDs. Also, his deep ball down either sideline has been very nice. Dimes to A.J. Green and Marvin Jones.
27. Then again, you can’t play the 49ers every week.
28. Ron Rivera watched Cullen Jenkins nail Cam Newton in the chest and had to think, “Screw undefeated.”
29. By the way, that probably was the biggest hit Newton has taken all season. He was, uh, in the pocket. Noted.
30. If the Steelers season had “ended” with that last Ben Roethlisberger interception, it would have made for one loooong offseason in Pittsburgh. Not sure there would be enough Iron City to go around.
31. More Rex fun: The Bills needed to call a timeout just 3:58 into the second half. Which is an improvement over the first half, when they needed one after 1:47.
32. Ted Ginn Jr. had another good day but dropped a long TD pass when he was wide open. Consistent, at least.
33. The Ravens went for it on fourth-and-9 from their 17-yard line. Uh, they didn’t get it.
34. And we are forced to remember John Harbaugh was once an assistant for Andy Reid. Just sayin’.
35. So cute to hear the Redskins crowd chant “You like that?” when Kirk Cousins does something well.
36. Saturday flashback II: Notice the empty seats in Dallas? Not unusual when the Cowboys are struggling.
37. In the first half, the Giants dropped a sure TD pass and a sure pick-six. And that, folks, is the Giants season in a nutshell.
38. Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters did the Ray Lewis dance in Baltimore after a pick-six. Funny.
39. Tweet of the day: Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated: “Dooooon’t stop B Weeeden”
40. Sign of the day, in Seattle: “Johnny — the party ends here”
41. Newton has accounted for 27 TDs (24 passing, three rushing) in the last eight games. Wow.
42. This was the first time the Texans have won in Indianapolis after 13 consecutive losses.
43. Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin caught two more TD passes from Russell Wilson. That’s 10 in the last four weeks.
44. After not scoring a TD in 24 consecutive possessions, the Broncos scored TDs on four possessions in a row in the first half against the Steelers.
45. Of course, getting shut out in the second half for the third consecutive game showed old habits die hard.
46. 49ers coach Jim Tomsula finally won a replay challenge after going 0-for-6 this season. So he has that.
47. The Raiders outgained the Packers 225-97 in the first half. But trailed 14-13. Ah, growing pains.
48. Thursday flashback I: If we were supposed to use that game to decide our rookie of the year pick between Rams running back Todd Gurley and Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston, we select neither.
49. Welcome back to Vikings wideout Stefon Diggs with two TD catches.
50. Amari Cooper had two TDs against the Packers. Is he being given enough mention in this rookie of the year thing?