Fourteen years ago the late Dennis Green, then head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, gave us those words we'll never forget: "The Bears are who we thought they were." During the Chicago Bears' six game losing streak from Week 7 to Week 13, we thought we knew who the Bears were. As it turns out, teams can change. Chicago was a solid defensive team, completely directionless on offense. But after Week 15, the Bears are winners of two straight and assuming a new identity. In this week's numbers to know, we'll take a closer look at the offensive success Chicago has experienced the past few weeks.
Another team we'll examine is the Seattle Seahawks, who are doing something similar to the Bears — but on the defensive side of the ball. Earlier this year, the Seahawks were rolling. They were able to put up points in droves, allowing them to win games despite fielding a historically leaky defense. Those issues on defense caught up to them in the middle of the season, and the Seahawks started slumping. Now, they are winning again, but in a different way than they were earlier in the season. Seattle's reinvigorated defense deserves a deeper dive.
Let's break down the numbers to know regarding Chicago's offense, Seattle's defense and more from around the NFL.
1
Week 15 was a big one for next year's NFL draft. That's because the projected No. 1 overall pick changed hands from the New York Jets to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jets and Jaguars have identical 1-13 records after New York's shocking 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but Jacksonville owns the tiebreaker due to strength of schedule. With two weeks left in the 2020 season, the race to the bottom is on between these two floundering franchises.
New York's last two games of the season are at home against the Cleveland Browns and on the road against the New England Patriots. Jacksonville has the Chicago Bears at home and the Indianapolis Colts on the road. While the Jets looked like they were destined to go 0-16 before this week, the Jaguars might be the worse team at this point. They have not won a game since Week 1 and have lost 13 games in a row, including a 40-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. They've allowed at least 24 points in all 13 of their losses, which is the longest streak in NFL history. The Jags are careening toward the No. 1 pick and, in all likelihood, have their sights set on quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of Clemson.
It was a wild Week 15 Sunday and there's a lot to go over. Pick Six Podcast host Will Brinson and the Superfriends are here to break it all down; listen below and be sure to subscribe for daily NFL goodness.
2
The Dallas Cowboys were without starting running back Ezekiel Elliott on Sunday, but that wasn't much of a problem. Backup running back Tony Pollard scored two touchdowns in a 41-33 victory against the San Francisco 49ers. Elliott hasn't scored two touchdowns in a game since Week 5, which was the last time Dak Prescott played in a game this season. In fact, Elliott hasn't scored a single rushing touchdown since that game. That's not good, since Zeke is on a $90 million contract (six years) and Pollard makes an average of less than $800,000 per year.
Pollard showed more burst on Sunday than Elliott has in weeks. He finished the game with 132 yards from scrimmage (69 rushing, 63 receiving) on 18 total touches. Elliott has a season-long average of 3.9 yards per carry, while Pollard's average is 4.7 yards per carry. The Cowboys may not be experiencing buyer's remorse just yet, but the Elliott-Pollard situation is just the latest example of how running backs who are perceived as elite can often be replaced by far cheaper options.
3
The Chicago Bears are experiencing an offensive renaissance of sorts. They beat the Minnesota Vikings 33-27 on Sunday and have now scored at least 30 points in three straight games (the team's longest streak since 2013). Chicago's offense, which was abysmal during the team's six-game losing streak, has been a lot more efficient since making a switch back to Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback. He has completed more than 70 percent of his pass attempts in three straight games, and the Bears have emerged victorious in each of the past two.
Another huge factor leading to Chicago's offensive explosion has been the ground game. Running back David Montgomery has eclipsed 100 rushing yards in three of his past four outings and rushed for a career-high 146 yards against the Vikings on Sunday. He found the end zone twice in the win and has now scored five touchdowns in the past three weeks. The Bears are clinging to their playoff hopes at 7-7. Their recent success on the offensive side of the ball may not save their season, but it could save the job of embattled head coach Matt Nagy.
4
While the Bears have undergone a transformation on offense, the Seattle Seahawks have done something similar on defense. They took down the Washington Football Team 20-15 on Sunday and have now held each of their past four opponents to 17 points or fewer. They've won three of those four games, putting them at 10-4 on the season and helping them reclaim sole possession of first place in the NFC West.
There was more hype around the Seahawks when quarterback Russell Wilson was "cooking" and leading the MVP race, but the old adage tells us that defense wins championships. This version of Seattle appears to be more battle tested and may be better equipped to go on a playoff run. The defense was a major liability over the course of the first 10 games of the season, as the unit was getting gashed for an average of 448.3 yards per game. Over the past four games, the Seahawks have only allowed 269.5 yards per game. That's a pretty drastic difference of 178.8 yards per game. Don't sleep on Seattle, as head coach Pete Carroll and company may be rediscovering an identity that has delivered this team to the Promised Land in the past.
6
The Kansas City Chiefs keep winning but not by a lot. Their 32-29 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday was their sixth straight game which they've won by six points or fewer. The Chiefs are the first team in NFL history to win six consecutive games by such a narrow margin. While Kansas City advanced to 13-1 and looks like the clear favorite to win the Super Bowl, New Orleans deserves some credit for keeping this game so close. It was the first game back for veteran quarterback Drew Brees (ribs), who uncharacteristically completed less than half of his pass attempts, and the Chiefs ran 40 more plays than the Saints did (92 to 52).
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was held under 300 passing yards for the first time since Week 7, but he still threw three touchdown passes. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was on the receiving end of one of those scoring strikes, brining his season total up to 17 total touchdowns (15 receiving, two rushing). That is the most touchdowns scored by a wide receiver since Randy Moss scored 23 touchdowns for the 2007 New England Patriots. It's also what makes the Chiefs so scary on offense. Even if you manage to bottle up that unit for most of the game, all it takes is one explosive moment from Mahomes and Hill to provide the game-breaking play.
7
Tom Brady will continue to haunt the Atlanta Falcons for the rest of eternity. Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-27 win over the Falcons on Sunday after trailing 17-0 at the half. Brady now has seven career wins after trailing by at least 17 points, tying Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning for the most in NFL history. The Falcons would have preferred Brady to tie this record against anyone but them, as Sunday's comeback reminded everyone of their infamous 28-3 collapse versus Brady's Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
Brady pulled off this latest comeback by throwing for a season-high 390 yards. He threw two touchdown passes, including a 46-yarder to wide receiver Antonio Brown (his first of the season) in the fourth quarter that turned out to be the game-winning play. Running back Leonard Fournette, who was a healthy scratch in Week 14, also crashed into the end zone for two rushing touchdowns. The Bucs still seem to be a step below the NFL's elite teams at 9-5, but a couple of their high-profile pieces are finally trending in the right direction here in the home stretch.
12
While Tom Brady is still playing at a high level down in Tampa, the New England Patriots are struggling without him. They lost to the Miami Dolphins 22-12 on Sunday, a defeat which dropped them to 6-8 on the season and eliminated them from playoff contention. This will be the first time in 12 years that the playoffs will go on without Bill Belichick and the Patriots. New England also clinched its first non-winning season since 2000, which was Belichick's first season as the team's head coach.
Had the Patriots managed to finish this season above .500, they would have tied Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys for the most consecutive seasons with a winning record (20 seasons, 1966-1985). New England's dynasty is officially on pause now, as the franchise will have to regroup this offseason. The answer at QB is not clear. Veteran Cam Newton does not look like anything more than a one-year rental, but the Patriots are currently projected to pick in the middle of the first round. They may not be in position to draft a potential franchise quarterback, unless they are willing to trade up in the order. This coming offseason could be a monumental one for Belichick's legacy, as his success (or lack thereof) will always be compared to what Brady is doing with the Bucs.
401
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts did not win on Sunday, but he deserves a shoutout for his performance in a 33-26 loss to the Arizona Cardinals which came down to a Hail Mary on the final play of the game. Hurts put Philadelphia on his back, accounting for 401 total yards (338 passing, 63 rushing). He threw three touchdown passes and rushed for a fourth, becoming the first Eagles quarterback to accomplish this feat since Michael Vick did it in 2010. Carson Wentz, for comparison, hasn't had a four-touchdown game since his 2017 breakout campaign.
The Eagles are 1-1 with Hurts as their starter, but they look like a completely different team. The rookie signal caller has breathed life into Philadelphia's offense, and the entire team is playing better as a whole. Wentz signed a big contract extension just last year, so he's tied to the team for the foreseeable future. That is unless the Eagles — and a willing partner — can swing a potential trade next offseason. No one would've considered this a realistic possibility just a few weeks ago, but Hurts' immediate impact has totally shifted the narrative. The future of Philly's QB position is up in the air a lot sooner than anyone expected it to be, and that could be great fodder for offseason talk.