Biggest Stories and Best Highlights from NFL Week 15

We're now down to the final three regular-season weeks of the 2017 NFL campaign. Let's take a look at the biggest stories and best highlights from Week 15 of the NFL season.

Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers Returns After Two-Month Absence

It was an up-and-down day for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers following his two-month absence from the field after suffering a broken collarbone on October 15.

In the face of a ferocious Carolina Panthers pass rush that sacked him three times, Rodgers still managed to throw for 290 yards and three touchdowns. He was elusive in the pocket and made numerous plays on the run. Notably, his touchdown passes to Davante Adams and Randall Cobb were impressive:

However, Rodgers also threw three interceptions, as Panthers cornerbacks Daryl Worley and James Bradberry and safety Colin Jones each picked him off once.

Overall, though, there was more good than bad with Rodgers on the day, especially considering this was his first game following a two-month layoff.

1 p.m. ET Game Recaps

The Carolina Panthers spoiled Aaron Rodgers' return to the field as they beat the Green Bay Packers, 31-24. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton tossed four touchdown passes, running back Christian McCaffrey gained 136 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown, tight end Greg Olsen caught nine passes for 113 yards and one score and wideout Damiere Byrd hauled in two more touchdowns.

Wide receiver Randall Cobb led the Packers with seven catches, 84 yards and one touchdown.

An unexpected shootout took place in the Meadowlands as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants, 34-29, behind four touchdown passes from quarterback Nick Foles, who was starting his first game for the team this year after starter Carson Wentz suffered a torn ACL last Sunday.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning was impressive all game, completing 37 of 57 passes for 434 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Wideout Sterling Shepard caught 11 of Manning's throws for 139 yards and one score.

It was no contest in Minnesota as the Vikings crushed the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-7, and out-gained them 346-161. Linebacker Eric Kendricks returned an interception for a touchdown, and tight end Kyle Rudolph, wideout Stefon Diggs and running back Latavius Murray accounted for the other scores. Running back Gio Bernard scored a late touchdown for Cincinnati.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins tossed two touchdown passes to wideout Jamison Crowder and running back Kapri Bibbs as the Washington Redskins beat the Arizona Cardinals, 20-15. Linebacker Preston Smith had a big first half for the 'Skins, intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble. Phil Dawson kicked five field goals for Arizona.

Running back LeSean McCoy's 96 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the first half helped give the Buffalo Bills a 24-16 win over the Miami Dolphins. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor ran the ball into the end zone for his team's third touchdown. Running back Kenyan Drake was responsible for Miami's only touchdown, as kicker Cody Parkey knocked three field goals home.

The New York Jets surprisingly hung around for most of the game against the New Orleans Saints despite being listed as heavy underdogs beforehand. However, New Orleans eventually won 31-19 thanks largely to two touchdowns and 151 yards from scrimmage from running back Mark Ingram.

Running back Alvin Kamara and wideout Michael Thomas scored for the Saints, while running backs Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire did the same for New York.

Quarterback Joe Flacco rushed for a touchdown and threw another to tight end Ben Watson as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns, 27-10. The Ravens intercepted Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer twice, and defensive lineman Brandon Williams recovered a Kizer fumble for a touchdown. Running back Duke Johnson Jr. hit paydirt for Cleveland.

A star may have been born in Jacksonville as Jaguars rookie wide receiver Keelan Cole caught seven passes for 186 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. Thanks to Cole and a suffocating Jaguars defense that sacked Houston Texans quarterback T.J. Yates four times and intercepted him once, Jacksonville beat Houston 45-7. 

Wideout Jaydon Mickens and fullback Tommy Bohanon each scored two touchdowns for Jacksonville, and running back Corey Grant did so once. Houston Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins led his team with 80 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Late-Game Recaps

Perhaps the most shocking development Sunday was the Los Angeles Rams going to Seattle and stomping all over the Seahawks, 42-7, on the back of Todd Gurley's four total touchdowns. The Seahawks simply had no answer and watched the Rams climb to third in the NFC via a tiebreaker they hold over the New Orleans Saints. 

An encounter between the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers was tame by comparison until late, with Jimmy Garoppolo looking good at home while throwing for 381 yards and a score and then leading a late scoring drive, where a field goal with no time on the clock gave them a 25-23 win. With the loss, the Titans sit in a more precarious position with two games left but would still be a wild card if the season ended today. 

Sunday's biggest game, of course, was an AFC staredown between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers. Both quarterbacks played mostly pristine games, but it was Tom Brady getting the best of Ben Roethlisberger late, throwing a two-point conversion to Rob Gronkowski after a Dion Lewis touchdown with less than a minute left. 

Then JuJu Smith-Schuster happened:

The rookie took a simple short pattern across the middle for 69 yards, and on the ensuing play, Big Ben tossed what looked like a touchdown pass to Jesse James that was overturned. He followed that with a critical mistake, forcing a pass on a fake spike into coverage and watching the Patriots intercept it as he handed the New England a 27-24 win to clinch the AFC East. 

Playoff Picture 

Sunday's early games didn't cause any major movement in the AFC playoff race after Saturday's action featured the Kansas City Chiefs moving past the Los Angeles Chargers to keep control of the AFC West. 

The Baltimore Ravens took care of business against the Cleveland Browns, keeping them just on the outside looking in—Buffalo beat the Miami Dolphins and also holds a tiebreaker over Baltimore. Jacksonville cruised against Houston, keeping a firm grip on the third seed and clinching a playoff berth. 

The NFC was quite a bit more complicated over the course of the 1 p.m. games. Led by Foles, the Eagles moved past the Giants to keep the top seed in the conference and clinch a first-round bye. Minnesota blew out Cincinnati to stick right behind while clinching the NFC North. 

On its own, the NFC South created plenty of drama. The Saints cruised past the visiting Jets, and the Panthers spoiled Rodgers' return, slotting them third and fifth in the conference, respectively, due to a head-to-head win-percentage tiebreaker. 

AFC

1. z New England Patriots
2. z Pittsburgh Steelers
3. x Jacksonville Jaguars
4.  Kansas City Chiefs
5. Tennessee Titans
6. Buffalo Bills
7. Baltimore Ravens
8. Los Angeles Chargers
9. Oakland Raiders
10. Miami Dolphins
11. New York Jets
12. Cincinnati Bengals

NFC

1. * Philadelphia Eagles
2. z Minnesota Vikings
3. Los Angeles Rams
4. New Orleans Saints
5. Carolina Panthers
6. Atlanta Falcons
7. Detroit Lions
8. Seattle Seahawks
9. Dallas Cowboys
10. Green Bay Packers

Z: Clinched Division, X: Clinched Playoff Berth, *: Clinched Division and Bye

Injury Report

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams suffered a concussion in the third quarter after a helmet-to-helmet block from Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis following an interception. He left the game and was later ruled out, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.

Prior to the hit, Adams had accrued five catches for 57 yards and one touchdown.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Marqise Lee left his game with the Houston Texans after suffering an ankle injury. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle provided more details:

Lee did not return. Entering the contest, the former USC Trojan star had accrued 56 catches for 702 yards and three touchdowns.

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown left Sunday's game against the Patriots with a calf injury after a collision and first visited the blue tent on the sideline before needing help back to the locker room. According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, X-rays came back negative and the injury is a calf bruise. The team later reported, though, Brown went to the hospital for further evaluation. 

Top Plays 

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley put on a show as he cruised through the Seattle Seahawks, in the process posting a couple of highlight-worthy plays. 

The most notable was from long range: 

In the other late game, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were making some magic on plays few others could recreate: 

Still to Come

The 7-6 Dallas Cowboys will visit the Black Hole to take on the 6-7 Oakland Raiders on Sunday Night Football. This is a loser-leaves-town match, as the losing team will be all but eliminated from playoff contention.

Dallas has won its last two games by a combined 68-24 score, while the up-and-down Raiders will look to bounce back following a 26-15 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.