Storylines From Around the NFL: 

• There are currently over 100 active COVID-19 cases around the league, causing the Las Vegas Raiders-Cleveland Browns game to be postponed from Saturday to Monday, and the Seattle Seahawks-Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Football team-Philadelphia Eagles games to be postponed to Tuesday. Some of the biggest names who’ve tested positive are New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, and Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Baker Mayfield. In fact, the Cleveland Browns were without eighteen of their players, who’d all tested positive, and their head coach. 
• New England Patriots have a tough game against the Indianapolis Colts, playing not even close to their best, and losing on the road by ten points
• The worst team in the league beats the best: Detroit Lions, who have a 2-11-1 record, beat the Arizona Cardinals, who are now 10-4. The Cardinals were 7-0 for the first seven games, and have a record of 3-4 for the second seven
• During the Denver Broncos’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Broncos’ quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down with what looked to be a very scary injury. While running with the ball, Bridgewater took a hard hit, which combined with the impact of hitting the turf, was enough to knock him unconscious. He was carted off of the field on a backboard, and taken to a local hospital. He has movement in all of his extremities but was kept in the hospital overnight for precautionary measures
• Once again, the Baltimore Ravens learned that one small mistake can change the entire outcome of the game: The Baltimore Ravens scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, bringing it to a 31-30 score. They needed to make the extra point kick to tie, or a two-point conversion to win. However, said two-point conversion came with risks because if they didn’t get it, they’d lose. Spoiler: They got cocky and went for the two points, and no, they didn’t get it, meaning that they lost by one point. This happened to them a few weeks back when they played against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the exact same scenario went down, and they lost that game, 19-20. 
• During warmups, Carolina Panthers kicker Zane Gonzalez got injured, and wouldn’t be able to play in the game. Therefore, before the game, the team had to hold “auditions,” to find someone who could kick field goals, and kick kickoffs well enough. Usually, in these situations, the punter would fill in. However, the Panther’s punter is Australian, meaning that he had no experience kicking field goals, or kickoffs. Instead of going for field goals, the team ultimately used the fourth downs to try and get the first. Instead of kicking extra points after touchdowns, they went for the two-point conversions. For the unavoidable kickoffs, wide receiver Brandon Zylstra filled in for the injured kicker.

Week 15 Final Scores:

• New England Patriots versus the Indianapolis Colts (played in Indianapolis) — Colts win 27-17
• Kansas City Chiefs versus the Los Angeles Chargers (played in Los Angeles) — Chiefs win 34-28
• Las Vegas Raiders versus the Cleveland Browns (played in Cleveland) — Raiders win 16-14
• Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants (played in New York) — Cowboys win 21-6
• Houston Texans versus the Jacksonville Jaguars (played in Jacksonville) — Texans win 30-16
• Tennessee Titans versus the Pittsburgh Steelers (played in Pittsburgh) — Steelers win 19-13
• New York Jets versus the Miami Dolphins (played in Miami) — Dolphins win 31-24
• Washington Football Team versus the Philadelphia Eagles (played in Philadelphia) — Eagles win 27-17
• Arizona Cardinals versus the Detroit Lions (played in Detroit) — Lions win 30-12
• Carolina Panthers versus the Buffalo Bills (played in Buffalo) — Bills win 31-14
• Cincinnati Bengals versus the Denver Broncos (played in Denver) — Bengals win 15-10
• Atlanta Falcons versus the San Francisco 49ers (played in San Francisco) — 49ers win 31-13
• Seattle Seahawks versus the Los Angeles Rams (played in Los Angeles) — Rams win 20-10
• Green Bay Packers versus the Baltimore Ravens (played in Baltimore) — Packers win 31-30
• New Orleans Saints versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (played in Tampa Bay) — Saints win 9-0
• Minnesota Vikings versus the Chicago Bears (played in Chicago) — Vikings win 17-9

Kristina Klauzinski ’24, Staff Writer

24kklauzinski@montroseschool.org