Tales Of The Week – NFL Week 15 Edition (12-19-23)
By: Tyrone Montgomery Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Tork Mason-USA Today
Tampa Bay Will Be A Sneaky Playoff Team
It is never good to get too high or get too low despite wins and losses of the NFL Season. The best thing you can and should do is weather the storm. There may be times that the running game is going well. That offensive line may be doing their job at a high level. Then, there may be times that the passing game is hit or miss with consistency. That has been the case for the 7-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their offense has been inconsistent. Despite those struggles, the Bucs still may be heading into the playoffs and they will be a team nobody would want to face. Baker Mayfield has done enough to return as a starting quarterback somewhere next season. He can be a bit inconsistent at times, but he feels like a starting quarterback in the NFL. There are still weapons in Tampa that include Chris Godwin and Mike Evans who gets over 1,000 receiving yards every year. Evans also is second in the league in receiving touchdowns. Then, there’s the running game lead by Rachaad White who seems to be improving week after week. The defense will be fine as it has been all season long. If the Bucs are running the ball well, Baker playing not great, but well, and the defense getting stops on third down, this Bucs team may very well upset someone in the playoffs this season.
Head Coach Who Deserves Coach of the Year Considerations
Through 15 weeks of football in the NFL, if I were to tell you the Cleveland Browns would have a winning record, you would think Deshaun Watson was having a season similar to his time with the Houston Texans. You would also think that Nick Chubb is leading the league in rushing yards too. You then would think that Amari Cooper may be a leader in touchdowns this season as well. None of those scenarios are the case for the Cleveland Browns. Now with those being the current circumstances, if I were to tell you the Browns still had a chance at winning their division, you really would think I’m crazy. The Browns have been phenomenal all season long. A big reason has been their defense. They force a lot of turnovers and they just shut you down too. It’s hard to score on them. Myles Garrett is a top 10 player in this league and he hasn’t even been healthy all season long either. A huge reason for their success has to go to Head Coach Kevin Stefanski! He has kept this team together! Deshaun Watson went down fairly early and just didn’t look like himself either. He looked washed all season long. Nick Chunb went down early too. His knees are fragile. Also, this team has shuffled their lineups on both sides of the ball. They have had a number of different guys starting for them at the Quarterback position. Despite their challenges, they seem to be heading to the playoffs. Kevin Stefanski should be our NFL Coach of the Year this season.
