NFL's Week 15 Recaps: Bengals and Texans Pull Upsets!

By Wayne Lin.

Washington 13 – Cincinnati 20

The Bengals won a close game this season. The Washington Redskins continue to struggle and have lost five out of the last six games.

Just four weeks ago, the Redskins were in contention to claim the NFC and subsequently a playoff spot, but have fallen hard.

Jason Campbell had a decent day passing with 167 yards and a touchdown, but the Redskins (7-7) lost the turnover battle coughing up the ball on the ground twice and throwing an interception.

Clinton Portis, fresh off a dramatic stint in the press, rushed for 77 yards but no touchdown. Chris Cooley had 51 yards and Santana Moss added 71 and a TD in a losing effort. Despite having good field position all day (35-yard line), the Redskins couldn’t complete the comeback. They were behind 17-0, but couldn’t quite finish it out after scoring 13 unanswered points in a stretch.

The Bengals (2-11-1) showed resilience, too little too late for the playoffs. They beat the Redskins in a close game and knocked them out of the playoff picture. Ryan Fitzpatrick had 209 yards passing and a touchdown to Chris Henry. Fitzpatrick also had a touchdown rushing. The difference in this game was ex Bears RB Cedric Benson whose 73 yards rushing and 88 yards receiving were key in putting the Bengals in scoring position.

Despite not sacking Jason Campbell once, the Bengals’ defense held strong containing the Bengals to 280 total yards. The Bengals will play the Browns and Chiefs to finish the season, but it’s not going to matter much.  

Tennessee 12 – Houston 13

It was only a matter of time before the offensive woes of the Titans would catch up with them.  Only problem was, it was against the Texans, who beat the Titans 13-12.

Could you pin the loss on the Titans offense, or the Texans defense finally living up to expectation?  Either way, the loss does nothing affect the Titans standings, even after a Colts win.

Tennessee remains on top of the AFC South at 12-2, despite an offense that is in the bottom 15 of the league. Kerry Collins passed for 181 yards and an interception and Chris Johnson, standout running back, rushed for 65 yards. The pass rush and secondary stepped up big for the Texans.

The Titans secondary didn’t have an answer for Andre Johnson who had 207 yards and a touchdown, his season-best. Matt Schaub had 284 yards passing and a touchdown to Johnson, but Steve Slaton continues to impress and pad his rookie numbers with 100 yards rushing against a staunch defense. The Texans even their record to 7-7, and will play Oakland and Chicago to finish their season. Even if the Texans can win out, they will still be out of the playoff picture.


Green Bay 16 – Jacksonville 20

The Packers went down again to the Jacksonville Jaguars with under two minutes to go thanks to Maurice Jones-Drew.

MJD had to go-ahead touchdown from two yards out. David Garrard looked comfortable in the pocket for the first time in a long time. He passed for 238 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The offense clicked at moments but faltered at some, but Dennis Northcutt was an offensive player who had an effective day with 127 yards receiving and a touchdown.

The defense sacked Aaron Rodgers three times and picked him off once. Jacksonville had the ball for five less minutes, but made their possessions count.

Green Bay is officially out of the playoffs and it looks like strife is building in Green Bay. The Packers have lost four straight, and the defense is giving up plenty of yards.

Aaron Rodgers did pass for 278 yards with a touchdown and interception but his interception lead to Jaguar points. Ryan Grant mustered 56 yards and a surprising James Jones had 132 yards receiving, surpassing his season total of 101.

Greg Jennings caught his eighth touchdown pass of the season. The Packers will play divisional foes Chicago and Detroit next.

San Diego 22 – Kansas City 21

The Chargers finally showed their brilliance in the fourth quarter coming back from an 11-point deficit to steal a win from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Philip Rivers led the charge in the final quarter with touchdown passes to Malcolm Floyd (67 Yards) and Vincent Jackson who led all Chargers receivers with 89 yards. Antonio Gates rebounded from an awful week 14 with seven catches for 78 yards.

Both two-point conversions failed, but it didn’t matter. LaDainian Tomlinson had 74 totals yards and a touchdown, a six-yard run. Despite Rivers being sacked...

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