10 burning questions heading into second half of NFL season

by | Nov 6, 2015

The 2015 NFL season has reached its halfway point. The race for playoff spots, and a few coaching seats, are heating up as the weather gets colder.

The temperature has risen to a burning point in some cases, and these burning questions beg for answers in the second half of the season.

Will anyone beat the Patriots?

The Patriots could be 10-0 when they visit Denver for a Sunday Night Football matchup on Nov. 29. The unbeaten Packers came to the Mile High City Sunday night and left with a 29-10 loss.

The Broncos have the NFL’s top overall defense and top passing defense. They’re also fourth against the run. They held Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to their lowest point total of the season. But the Packers are averaging just 332.1 yards per game, 28th in the NFL. The Patriots are fifth with 414.6 yards per game and are averaging a league-high 35.6 points per game.

However, the Patriots lost their only game at Denver since Peyton Manning came to the Broncos. Their last win at Denver came against Tim Tebow in 2011.

If the Patriots get by the Broncos, two more hurdles to perfection loom in weeks 16 and 17 when they visit the Jets and Dolphins. Both of those teams might have something to play for.

Will the Bengals win a playoff game?

The Bengals (8-0) have pretty much snuffed out any burning questions when it comes to the regular season.

If they go 4-4 the rest of the way and one of those wins comes against the Steelers at home in Week 14, they win the AFC North. Even if the Bengals go 4-4 in their remaining games and the Steelers beat them in Cincinnati, the Steelers (4-4) would have to run the table without Le’Veon Bell to have any shot at winning the division.

The AFC North belongs to the Bengals. But the heat from this burning question will make the Bengals sweat a little more every week.

Can they finally win a playoff game?

The Bengals have made the playoffs in each of the last four seasons but lost the wild-card game every time. Andy Dalton has thrown one touchdown pass and six interceptions in those games.

Dalton is having a career year with 18 touchdown passes and four interceptions, including three touchdowns without a pick in Thursday night’s 31-10 win over the Browns.

But he has to prove he can do it in January.

Can the Steelers make the playoffs without Le’Veon Bell?

The Steelers are 1-5 without Le’Veon Bell since he was drafted in 2013, and that one win came at home against the woeful 49ers.

Bell’s season ended Sunday when he suffered torn MCL after being tackled by Vontaze Burfict in a 16-10 loss to the Bengals. Bell led the AFC with 1,361 rushing yards last year. He leaves a big void. But the Steelers still should be able to move the ball on the ground with DeAngelo Williams. He ran for 204 yards and three touchdowns when he filled in during Bell’s two-game suspension at the start of the season.

The Steelers defense, which is maturing faster than expected, could even steal a win or two. The Steelers are allowing 18.4 points per game and have 22 sacks, fifth in both categories. The Steelers (4-4) probably won’t catch the Bengals (8-0) in the AFC North, but a wild-card spot is realistic even without Bell.

Will Peyton Manning have anything left for the playoffs?

The Broncos are 7-0 largely because of their defense. It seems inevitable that they’ll make the playoffs.

But will Peyton Manning’s arm be hanging by a thread by then?

Manning threw for 340 yards Sunday against the Packers, his best output of the season. He completed 21 of 29 passes for a completion percentage of 72.4, his second-highest of the season. He even completed four of six deep passes for 119 yards. He did throw an interception and has 11 for the season. Only Andrew Luck has more.

Statistically, the 39-year-old Manning showed signs that he could overcome his rough start to the season. However, he had a bye week to rest up. He’ll need to improve that performance and sustain it week to week to prove that he’s not playing a year too long.

Will the Seahawks make the playoffs?

If the season ended at the halfway point, the Seahawks (4-4) would be out of the playoffs.

The two-time defending NFC champs have some work to do if they want to make their fourth straight postseason.

The Seahawks might seem beatable this year, but two of their losses have come to the Bengals and Panthers. No one has been able to beat either of those teams.

This is still a championship-caliber defense, especially with Kam Chancellor back. The Seahawks are second in passing yards allowed per game (186.4) and total yards allowed per game (284.9) and third in points allowed per game (17.5).

Two key games loom in the Seahawks’ quest for a playoff berth. They go to Minnesota (5-2) in Week 13. The Vikings currently occupy the final wild-card spot in the NFC. The Seahawks also are looking up at the Rams (4-3) in the NFC West. They host them in Week 16 and will want to avoid a head-to-head sweep that could hurt them when it comes to tiebreakers.

Can Tony Romo save Cowboys’ season when he returns?

Dez Bryant returned from his foot injury last week, but he caught just two passes for 12 yards. Like most receivers, he needs a competent quarterback throwing to him.

The Cowboys won’t have a competent quarterback until Week 11, when Tony Romo is eligible to return from a broken collarbone. That means the Cowboys (2-5), who have not won a game without Romo, are faced with two more games without him.

If the Cowboys lose at home to the Eagles Sunday and lose at Tampa Bay in Week 10, they’ll be 2-7. Even if the 1978 version of Roger Staubach stepped out of a DeLorean, it would be hard for him to save the Cowboys’ season at that point.

The Cowboys came within a hair of beating the Seahawks at home last Sunday. If they can somehow cobble together a win over the Eagles Sunday, they’ll sweep the head-to-head and at least have that tiebreaker in their pocket.

The Cowboys could absorb another loss or two and still win the NFC East, which the Giants currently lead with a 4-4 record. They might want to save some of those losses for when Romo comes back, however. They’re at Miami when Romo is scheduled to return and also have games at Green Bay and Buffalo looming. They also have Carolina on Thanksgiving. If Dallas can figure out a way to win without Romo, his job will be a little easier when he returns.

Will there be two division winners with losing records?

The Panthers, 7-8-1 last season, became the second team with a losing record to make the playoffs in a non-strike season. The 2010 Seahawks (7-9) were the first.

At the halfway point of the 2015 season, two teams currently lead their divisions without winning records. The Colts (3-5) sit atop the AFC South and the Giants (4-4) lead the NFC East.

A 6-10 record might be enough to win the AFC South. The Colts are unbeaten in the division and winless out of the division. If they win at Jacksonville in Week 14 and at home against the Texans in Week 15 and Titans in Week 17, they could lose all their other games, win the division and get a home playoff game. What a country.

The NFC East might actually send a worthy team to the playoffs. The Giants have the league’s worst defense and won’t stay atop the division for long.

If the Cowboys (2-5) are 2-7 when Tony Romo returns they can pretty much forget about winning the division. The Eagles (3-4) and Redskins (3-4) are the best candidates to spare the NFL the embarrassment of another division winner with a losing record. Either of these teams could go on a little run if Chip Kelly’s system starts to click in Philadelphia or if the Redskins can carry the momentum of their historic comeback against the Buccaneers.

Will another coach be fired?

Heads are rolling all over the NFL.

The Dolphins fired Joe Philbin. The Titans fired Ken Whisenhunt. The Lions have fired pretty much everyone except Jim Caldwell.

That seems to be the way of the world in the NFL this season, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see another coach let go by the end of the season.

It would appear Caldwell has the immunity necklace in Detroit, but if the Lions’ one win isn’t accompanied by at least one more very soon, who knows?

The Colts (3-5) host the unbeaten Broncos before their bye in Week 10. Chuck Pagano made a change at offensive coordinator to try to fix Andrew Luck. But Pagano also has bosses, and a bye week should always make a head coach with a losing record feel uneasy.

Jim Tomsula is in the same boat. The 49ers (2-6) face a likely loss Sunday (home to Atlanta) before a bye in Week 10.

The Chargers (2-6) also have a bye in Week 10, but Mike McCoy’s situation is a little different. He has a winnable home game against the Bears. A loss Monday night could prompt a bye-week purge. The Chargers have gone 3-9 since their 8-4 start last season.

Offensive coordinator Frank Reich could be on the short list for teams looking for a head coach next season. Perhaps the Chargers could give him an interim tryout.

Will the Falcons turn into a pumpkin?

The Falcons (6-2) got off to a surprising 5-0 start this season, but are showing signs of a team that’s coming back down to earth.

They’ve lost two of their last three, and their one win during that stretch was an unimpressive 10-7 win at Tennessee. Then on Sunday, they lost at home to a Tampa Bay team that couldn’t hold a three-touchdown lead against Kirk Cousins.

The Falcons have needed fourth-quarter comebacks to win four of their games. Is the magic running out?

The schedule might be the Falcons’ salvation. They have just three games against teams with winning records the rest of the way. And those three games will give them an opportunity to make a move in the playoff race. They host the Vikings (5-2) in Week 12, play at the Panthers (7-0) in Week 14 and host the Panthers in Week 16.

Are the Raiders for real?

The Raiders (4-3) came into the season building for the future. Well, the future might be now. They’d be the No. 5 seed in the AFC if the season were only eight games. Derek Carr is turning into the franchise’s first elite quarterback since Rich Gannon. He’s fifth in the NFL with a 105.7 passer rating and has thrown 15 touchdown passes and three interceptions.

The Raiders are stopping the run. They’re tied for second with 3.6 yards allowed per carry. However, despite Charles Woodson’s league-leading five interceptions the Raiders are 31st against the pass (302.1 yards per game).

The answer to this burning question will become more apparent over the next couple of weeks. The Raiders are at Pittsburgh Sunday and host NFC wild-card contender Minnesota in Week 10. If they can win one or both of those games, their next test will be to avoid a letdown at Detroit in Week 11 and at Tennessee in Week 12.