NFL 2016 Week 15: Live updates, scores and news from around the league

Coming into Week 15, only one team — the Dallas Cowboys — was assured of a spot in the 2017 playoffs. The Seattle Seahawks joined them on Thursday night with a win over the Jeff Fisher-less Los Angeles Rams. They got some company by the time Sunday’s games drew to a close.

First up was the Patriots, who punched their playoff ticket with a win over the Broncos. They also won the AFC East and secured a first-round bye.

Cam Newton’s play isn’t quite what it was last season, but his fashion has definitely been on point this season. Or not, depending on your taste in fashion. Either way, he’s been wearing a variety of hats and outfits that are often a postgame discussion topic.

Newton wore a purple hat and checkered suit to the Panthers’ game against Washington on Monday night. ESPN’s Lisa Salters said on the broadcast that Newton never got a chance to meet Craig Sager, but admired that he wore what he wanted to wear.

The reunion between the Carolina Panthers and Josh Norman wasn’t as fiery as some might have expected. Norman appeared cool with his former Panther teammates, as they handled Washington on the road, 26-15.

The first four drives of the game resulted in a field goal and a punt for both teams, giving us a 3-3 game midway through the first quarter. Then, Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart led the Panthers down the field that concluded with a Ted Ginn Jr. 30-yard receiving touchdown.

Heading into Week 15, the Dallas Cowboys were the only NFC team to clinch a postseason berth. That’s no longer the case.

The Seahawks (9-4-1) wrapped up an NFC West title with a Thursday night victory over the lowly Los Angeles Rams to secure a playoff spot. They’ll play out their season against Arizona and San Francisco while trying to clinch a first-round bye. Seattle made progress there by leapfrogging the Lions for the No. 2 seed on Sunday.

The Cleveland Browns lost, the San Francisco 49ers lost, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost, the Chicago Bears lost, the Los Angeles Rams lost, and the New York Jets lost.

The order for the 2017 NFL Draft has been remarkably consistent in the latter half of the year because the teams at the bottom have all been unable to win games.

Washington was driving down the field in a comeback attempt against the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football, and something went terribly wrong on a Kirk Cousins run.

Cousins was sprinting down the sideline, and was hit by Panthers defensive lineman Kawann Short. He then went flying, and undercut a cheerleader, who fell face flat onto the ground.

Things got heated between the Panthers and Washington on Monday night, and it wasn’t between Josh Norman like you might expect in this particular game.

Washington tight end Jordan Reed was upset with Panthers safety Kurt Coleman when the two were engaged on a run play. Reed held Coleman, and when Coleman tried to get Reed off of him, Reed threw a punch.

Washington’s been having a tough time with a Carolina defense that has resembled the one that took them to the Super Bowl last season.

DeSean Jackson’s catch in the third quarter was so great, that there was really nothing anybody could do to defend it. He somehow kept it from hitting the ground, while holding his right foot in place, while dragging the left.

The Carolina Panthers and Washington are playing in the reunion of Josh Norman and his old team. Early on the game has gone in Carolina’s favor, and Jonathan Stewart has made some great runs.

This one was definitely his best during the game, where he hurdled Norman, and then punished Washington defenders on his way to a first down.

Tom Brady had the worst game of his 2016 season. Rob Gronkowski didn’t play. LeGarrette Blount ran for 31 yards on 17 carries.

And the New England Patriots still beat the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium by 13 points.

Nothing scares newspaper publications than a headline error. Michael Myers could come into the room brandishing a machete, and everyone would still be focused on the incorrect headline. Who in the right mind screwed this one up?

No, the Detroit Lions were not “roped” by the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15. These two teams do not play until Week 16. Detroit lost to the New York Giants, 17-6, in Week 15, though. And the Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26-20.

The Houston Texans’ four-year, $72 million contract to Brock Osweiler has looked laughably bad this season. Osweiler has been inaccurate and uncomfortable. He was benched for backup Tom Savage who, even if he didn’t exactly light up the Jacksonville Jaguars, was certainly better than Osweiler on Sunday.

Osweiler went 6 for 11 for 48 yards and two interceptions. Savage went 23 for 36 for 260 yards. Savage also got superstar wideout DeAndre Hopkins involved, something Osweiler has been unable to do. Hopkins was targeted twice by Osweiler for an incompletion and the interception that sent Osweiler to the pine. After Savage entered the game in the second quarter, Hopkins caught eight passes for 87 yards to lead all pass catchers.

On Monday, Washington cornerback Josh Norman will face the Carolina Panthers for the first time since the team rescinded his franchise tag last offseason.

The Panthers applied the franchise tag to Norman after the 2015 regular season, which culminated in a Super Bowl 50 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Detroit Lions have been on the short-end of plenty of bizarre calls by officials through the years, but a bad call Sunday didn’t cost them too much. Unlike game-changing calls like the one that spurred the “Calvin Johnson rule,” the clear drop by Odell Beckham, Jr. didn’t cost the Lions much.

Still, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell chose not to challenge the play and allowed the New York Giants to pick up a small chunk of yardage as part of a 10-play, 75-yard drive.

The animosity between the San Diego Chargers and their fans has been there for a while, and Sunday may have provided one of the most concrete examples of it.

With a large contingent of Oakland Raiders fans still living in Los Angeles, there was concern within the Chargers organization that Raiders fans would outnumber Chargers fans at a Chargers home game. Seems like their fears may be coming true.

Ezekiel Elliott’s rookie season has been amazing. He came into Sunday night’s game as the NFL’s leading rusher, and an MVP candidate.

The Cowboys got the football after a Jameis Winston fumble, and drove up the field. Elliott capped off their drive with a touchdown, and celebrated by running and jumping into the Salvation Army pot behind the end zone.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston connected with wide receiver Adam Humphries on a 42-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter of Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.

Winston needed a little help from the Cowboys to complete the pass, though.

The Saints and Cardinals played a high-scoring game on Sunday afternoon in the desert, and tempers flared when the Saints scored to make it a 48-34 game.

The tempers weren’t on the field, but on the sideline. Tim Hightower finished off the Saints’ drive by running it in for the touchdown from the goal line, and it appeared that Mark Ingram may have been upset about it on the Saints’ sideline.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a first-and-goal from the 8-yard line on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys, and quarterback Jameis Winston got hit with a 15-yard penalty for head-butting a Cowboys defender.

Winston comes behind Cowboys linebacker Justin Durant and deliberately head-butts him. It was detrimental to his team, and it’s not the type of thing officials are ever going to let go. Of course, Winston got hit with an unnecessary roughness penalty.

Death. Taxes. The Patriots winning the AFC East.

New England won its 13th division title in the past 14 years after beating the Broncos on Sunday. The victory improved the Patriots to 12-2 on the season, secured a first-round bye in the 2017 NFL Playoffs, and pushed Bill Belichick’s team within striking distance of securing home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

The Broncos trailed the Patriots, 16-3, when New England faced a key third down with fewer than four minutes to play. Tom Brady stood in the pocket and delivered a pass to Julian Edelman that went through the wideout’s hands and caromed to the turf.

And then, thanks to safety T.J. Ward’s boneheaded play, the Patriots ended up with a first down anyway.

David Johnson may be one of football’s most underrated players, but he stamped his place in league history Sunday. The Arizona Cardinals’ running back set an NFL record against the New Orleans Saints by gaining more than 100 yards from scrimmage in his 14th straight game.

Johnson currently has 53 yards rushing and 55 receiving in the Week 15 matchup.

Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey wasn’t happy about the officiating in Jacksonville’s 21-20 loss to the Houston Texans, and he was very specific about it.

Ramsey is outspoken, and he’s never shied away from conflict. He’s mixed it up on the field with Steve Smith, veteran wide receiver and noted trash talker. He even called out Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Ramsey has also made it clear that he’s tired of losing, which may be part of the reason Field Judge 104 became the target of his ire.

Four of the fingers on Falcons safety Keanu Neal’s left hand currently point in the same direction. The fifth is looking to leave the group and embark on a solo career.

Neal suffered a dislocated ring finger making a play in the third quarter of Sunday’s Falcons-49ers game. The rookie calmly jogged off the field, where a member of his team’s training staff popped the offending digit back into place.

Bill O’Brien didn’t give Brock Osweiler much of a leash Sunday, and it proved to be the right decision as Tom Savage led the Houston Texans back from a late deficit to outscore the Jacksonville Jaguars 10-0 in the fourth quarter and earn a crucial 21-20 victory.

Osweiler started the game with two interceptions and just 48 passing yards, spotting the Jaguars an early lead. That’s when O’Brien quickly turned to Savage to lead the way, and didn’t pull back on the reins at all — allowing Savage to throw 36 passes in the remainder of the game.