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We’re firmly in the home stretch of the 2024 NFL season and there’s everything that matters.

Multiple division titles remain to be decided and home-field advantage in the playoffs is at stake with multiple teams at the top in each conference.

The postseason picture is becoming a little clearer every week, but with a handful of teams still in the hunt, fans will have to wait and see how the seedings shake out. And of course, the MVP race is still in full swing, although a quarterback may have a hand on the trophy after another outstanding performance.

Here’s a look at the biggest storylines from Week 15’s action on Sunday.

Josh Allen and the Bills race past the Lions in a tense thriller

In a battle between two of the NFL’s best teams, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen delivered another masterful performance, leading the Bills to a 48-42 victory on Sunday, breaking the Detroit Lions’ franchise-record 11-game winning streak.

Allen completed 23 of 34 passes for a season-high 362 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 105 and two more touchdowns, further solidifying his MVP candidacy.

“Difficult victory. We thought that would be the case here. “It’s a really good football team, a well-coached team that we have a lot of respect for,” Bills head coach Doug McDermott said after the game.

The dual-threat quarterback has been on an incredible streak of late for the Bills, scoring 16 total touchdowns – eight through the air, seven on the ground and one reception – and racking up 1,114 passing yards and 223 rushing yards in the last four games , and all with a single transaction.

“It’s the best I’ve ever seen from him and I’m not surprised. When he sets a goal for himself or the team, he’s hard to stop,” McDermott added. “People have tried, they will continue to try, that’s what we do in this league. I mean just incredible performance week after week.

“What more can you say? Every week we see an incredible player playing incredibly consistently week after week.”

In the last four games, the Bills also inflicted their only loss of the season on the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Sunday’s win came against a Lions team that entered the game as the favorite to win the Super Bowl and had an 11-game winning streak with the best record in the NFC.

The victory didn’t come easy for the Bills as they faced a Lions team led by quarterback Jared Goff. The Lions’ signal-caller outscored his counterpart, throwing 38 of 59 for 494 yards and scoring a career-high five touchdowns in the loss.

After building a 21-14 lead in the first half, the Bills began to pull away in the third quarter when James Cook had a 41-yard rushing score and Allen connected with Khalil Shakir for a short three-yard touchdown for a lead of 35 -14 to score.

However, Detroit responded with two touchdowns, cutting the deficit to 38-28.
Although the Lions were able to keep up with the Bills point for point from that point on, they never really looked like a threat to knock out Buffalo.

The Bills’ win puts them in second place in the AFC at 11-3 behind the Chiefs, who beat the struggling Cleveland Browns 21-7.

Despite only losing one game this season, Kansas City looks much more vulnerable than in recent years. The Chiefs have escaped with a win in several close games, and on several occasions uncanny luck seemed to get them out of trouble.

Although it hasn’t exactly been an offensive masterclass in recent seasons, Kansas City got the comfortable win it so longed for, winning by more than a point for the third time this season and improving to 13-1.

Although the manner of the win was much needed, Chiefs fans are much more likely to spend time fretting over the health of superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes after the two-time MVP left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

Less than seven minutes into the quarter, Kansas City tried to go for it in the 4th and 3rd minutes when Mahomes was surrounded by the Browns defenders on the play. His pass fell incomplete, he limped off the field and was replaced by Carson Wentz for the team’s next offensive possession.

Mahomes is currently being considered week-to-week with a right ankle injury.

“I tried to make a play possible,” said the Chiefs’ star QB after the game. “When I threw the ball I got hit and I didn’t see it – it felt like someone hit me from behind too, so I kind of got rolled up.” That kind of happens in football. Try to jump back up, but obviously it hurt a little. Now we’ll get the rehab part over with and try to be ready for next week.

“It’s hard to say at the moment,” he added when asked about the condition of his ankle. “Obviously still an adrenaline rush. You usually get a good feeling about it the day after. I feel like I could have finished the game under different circumstances.”

Mahomes completed 19 of his 38 pass attempts for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Kansas City also relied on the running game, with five different players combining for a total of 132 yards on the ground.

It was also a complete performance from the Chiefs defense, which punished an error-prone Browns unit, recording six sacks and forcing two fumbles.

The defense also sacked Cleveland QB Jameis Winston three times before he was replaced later in the game by Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who also threw his own interception on his second drive.

The Browns have failed to look competitive all year and are now 3-11 in what has been a forgettable season.

It appears that it’s sunny in Philadelphia once again. The Eagles won in front of a raucous Philadelphia crowd at Lincoln Financial Field in an interstate battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers that could have huge implications for the battle for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts was outstanding in the 27-13 win, throwing 25 of 32 for 290 yards and two touchdowns.

It represents an incredible turnaround from Week 14, when the Eagles struggled offensively in a surprisingly hard-fought 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. Hurts only threw for 108 yards in that game and wide receiver AJ Brown criticized the passing offense after the matchup. Defensive player Brandon Graham also told SportsRadio 94WIP that the two “were friends, but things changed.”

Graham later walked back his comments, but Hurts and Brown appeared determined to prove his original comments wrong on Sunday.

Brown was targeted 11 times during the game and made eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.

The receiver was asked after the game if his comments about the passing game had an impact on the unit’s performance.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I said it for a reason. I had no bad intentions behind it. It wasn’t my job to get the ball. It was about getting everyone on the same page and doing our best. It wasn’t our standard. We talked about it. But it’s just crazy because everyone in the locker room says the same thing. I was kind of crucified for it. But it’s cool.”

The Eagles took a 17-13 halftime lead and the defense stepped up after the break, holding off the Pittsburgh offense over the next two quarters. A Jake Elliot field goal extended the lead by three points before a Brotherly Shove touchdown extended it further.

With the win, Philadelphia improved to 12-2 and tied with the Lions for the best record in the NFC. The 11-2 Minnesota Vikings have a chance at a three-way tie for the No. 1 seed if they defeat the Chicago Bears on Monday night.

It was a tough loss for the 10-4 Steelers, who were led by a resurgent Russell Wilson under center and head coach Mike Tomlin’s stellar defense.

The Steelers face difficult duels against the Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals at the end of the regular season, but their fans can breathe a sigh of relief. With losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh secured a postseason berth on Sunday.

Away at Home (winners in bold)

Kansas City Chiefs 21-7 Cleveland Browns

New York Jets 32-25 Jacksonville Jaguars

Cincinnati Bengals 37-27 Tennessee Titans

Miami Dolphins 12-20 Houston Texans

Baltimore Ravens 35-14 New York Giants

Dallas Cowboys 30-14 Carolina Panthers

Washington commanders 20-19 New Orleans Saints

New England Patriots 17-30 Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills 48-42 Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts 13-31 Denver Broncos

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 40-17 Los Angeles Chargers

Pittsburgh Steelers 13-27 Philadelphia Eagles

Green Bay Packers 30-13 Seattle Seahawks