NFL Week 15 preview: Highlighting best QB matchups, including Josh Allen vs. Drake Maye and more

CBS has a historically great Week 15 slate this weekend, with six games -- all with playoff implications -- across the 1 p.m. ET and 4:25 p.m. ET slates. Of the 12 teams, seven are at least five games over .500. That includes the 11-2 Broncos and 11-2 Patriots, making it the first time this millennium that a single network airs multiple teams on 10+ game winning streaks on the same day.

Want more? How about the Chiefs -- who haven't missed the playoffs since 2014 -- in a near must-win against the Chargers? Or the Colts potentially starting 44-year-old Philip Rivers, who hasn't played in five years, against the vaunted Seahawks defense? Or the Ravens and Bengals, who are desperately trying to cling to any playoff hopes? And that's not to mention what might be a Super Bowl preview between the Packers and the Broncos.

NFL Week 15 picks: Our experts face off on Falcons vs. Buccaneers on 'TNF', Packers at Broncos and more

Jordan Dajani

Here's the full slate:

• 1 ET Ravens (6-7) at Bengals (4-9)
• 1 ET Chargers (9-4) at Chiefs (6-7)
• 1 ET Bills (9-4) at Patriots (11-2)
• 1 ET Jets (3-10) at Jaguars (9-4)
• 4:25 ET Packers (9-3-1) at Broncos (11-2)
• 4:25 ET Colts (8-5) at Seahawks (10-3)

With all of those great teams, there are some great quarterback matchups, too. Here's the tale of the tape for Lamar Jackson vs. Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert vs. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen vs. Drake Maye and Jordan Love vs. Bo Nix.

Ravens at Bengals (Lamar Jackson vs. Joe Burrow)

Jackson's key to success: Limit negative plays -- Jackson's 2025 can really be split into three parts: the four games at the start of the season, when he was fantastic but the defense was among the worst in the NFL; the middle of the season, which he missed due to a hamstring injury; and the six games since returning from injury, which have been disappointing. Jackson has long been one of the game's best sack avoiders, but this season, he is taking a sack on 10% of his dropbacks, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL. His turnovers are also way up -- six in the last four games -- and his rushing yards are way down.

Against arguably the NFL's worst defense, though, Jackson has to simply keep Baltimore on track. In Week 13 against the Bengals, Jackson lost two fumbles and threw an interception in a 32-14 loss. The team as a whole had five turnovers. When the Ravens held onto the ball, though, they averaged 6.1 yards per play, and it would have been more if not for Isaiah Likely fumbling at the 1-yard line and an iffy pass interference penalty negating a long Zay Flowers touchdown. Jackson had 43 rushing yards in Week 14, his most since before the hamstring injury, and now facing one of the NFL's worst rushing defenses, Jackson should be able to take advantage with his arm and his legs -- as long as he holds onto the ball.

Burrow's key to success: Keep going deep -- Burrow has returned to his prolific deep passing in the two weeks since coming back from a turf toe injury. During that span, Burrow has completed five passes of at least 20 yards downfield, fourth-most in the NFL, and three of those have resulted in touchdowns, second-most in the league. Now, he faces a Ravens defense that has allowed the sixth-most completions on throws 20+ yards downfield this season. Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase had historic success against the Ravens last season, and they connected seven times for 110 yards in the Week 13 meeting this season. With Tee Higgins in concussion protocol, Burrow should pepper Chase with targets, and once they get into a rhythm on short and intermediate throws, they could try their luck deep.

Chargers at Chiefs (Justin Herbert vs. Patrick Mahomes)

Herbert's key to success: Use play action heavily -- Herbert had surgery on a broken left hand after a Week 13 win over the Raiders and came back a week later to beat the Eagles in Week 14. Not only is he battling through injury, but he's playing behind an offensive line without several players, including stalwart tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. Herbert took seven sacks against the Eagles. Lucky for him, he faces a Chiefs team that has 1) struggled to get pressure and 2) really struggled against play action. Kansas City is allowing an NFL-worst 9.8 yards per play off play action. They are allowing just 4.6 yards (seventh in the NFL) when the opponent doesn't use play action.

Herbert absolutely shredded the Chiefs in Week 1, going 9 for 11 for 169 yards on play action. Getting Herbert on the move could help him stay away from the pockets Chris Jones often collapses and let him take advantage of his athletic ability.

Mahomes' key to success: Take advantage of the Chargers' zone coverage -- The Chargers play the third-highest rate of zone coverage (81%) in the NFL this season. Mahomes has absolutely shredded zone coverage: His 0.20 expected points added per play is fourth in the NFL, as is his 7.9 yards per play. Mahomes will have to be at his best finding Travis Kelce in zones, one of the best aspects of their connection, as well as Rashee Rice, too. Mahomes didn't have Rice for the Chiefs' Week 1 loss to the Chargers, but in seven games this season, Rice has 35 catches against zone coverage, by far the most on the team. The Chargers have one of the NFL's best deep coverage defenses, so Mahomes being precise underneath will be crucial. 

Bills at Patriots (Josh Allen vs. Drake Maye)

Allen's key to success: Take over -- Allen can go through some rough stretches, but when he is on his game, there is no one who can dominate quite like he can. He had six touchdowns in Week 11 against the Buccaneers, and last week, he threw for three touchdowns and ran for 78 yards and a score against the Bengals. Now enter a Patriots team that allows 5.3 yards per carry to quarterbacks, fifth-highest in the NFL. In the first meeting between these teams, Allen ran nine times for 53 yards, and that may be in store again this week.

Maye's key to success: Lean on the run, then crush the play-action pass -- Maye's key is somewhat similar to Herbert's, which makes sense considering they have plenty of similarities. So, too, do their opponents in terms of the biggest weakness for the quarterback to attack. The Bills are one of the worst run defenses in football, and their linebackers and safeties can be a bit undisciplined. That creates many play-action opportunities. Buffalo is allowing the eighth-most yards per attempt on play action (8.7) and the third-most yards per attempt on under-center play action (11.3). Maye went 11 for 13 for 126 yards on play action throws in these teams' first meeting, including a sterling 6 for 6 for 82 yards on under-center play action. The Patriots will hope to be able to run the ball better than they did in that contest, but Maye's athleticism as an on-the-move passer should augment whatever New England can produce on the ground.

Packers at Broncos (Jordan Love vs. Bo Nix)

Love's key to success: Punish man coverage -- The Broncos play the third-highest rate of man coverage in the NFL, and they certainly have the horses to do it with a talented secondary led by 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II.

But Love also has the ability to beat it. His 16 passing touchdowns against man coverage this year rank second in the NFL, only behind Matthew Stafford. Love is also an aggressive downfield thrower in these scenarios, and Christian Watson has blossomed recently as Love's top deep target. The Broncos' defense is certainly a tough nut to crack, but Love has been playing at an MVP level, and completing a deep shot or two could soften the defense just a bit to let a physical ground game go to work.

Nix's key to success: Take what is given -- Nix has thrown nine interceptions this season, and most of them have been when he's trying to extend a play and/or force something that isn't there. He adds a bit of a wild side to Sean Payton's exacting offense; sometimes it's a needed change of pace, and sometimes it can create unnecessary havoc.

Nix's 0.10 expected points added per dropback when he takes three or fewer seconds to throw is 10th in the NFL. When he takes more than three seconds to throw, his EPA per dropback is -0.13. Getting the ball out quickly and accurately can help keep Denver on track, take advantage of a Packers secondary that can struggle, and, perhaps most importantly, avoid a dangerous Green Bay pass rush.