Tua Tagovailoa, Mike McDaniel and Miami Dolphins need to change something, says Neil Reynolds | NFL News happymamay

From the pressure on Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa in Miami to the latest Patrick Mahomes injury concerns for the Kansas City Chiefs – Sky Sports NFL host Neil Reynolds has his final say on Week 15 of the season…

Week 15 of the NFL saw several games with playoff implications, and while nothing definitively changed in terms of the leading pack, I feel like there was a slight shift in power.

And from here we will start this week..

Allen is miles ahead in the MVP race

The Buffalo Bills looked frighteningly good in their win over the Detroit Lions, especially quarterback Josh Allen. It reminded me of standing on the sidelines of various youth sports over the years and seeing the other team with that kid who seemed to go through a growth spurt faster than everyone else.

He was bigger, stronger and faster. It shouldn’t happen at the NFL level but it does, and it does, in the form of Josh Allen, who looked absolutely dominant in the 48-42 win. He accounted for 424 yards and six touchdowns against the Los Angeles Rams the week before, and backed that up against the Lions with 362 passing yards and two touchdowns while rushing for two more scores.

There’s nothing he can’t do right now. He seems unstoppable, and for me, a long-time supporter of Lamar Jackson getting the MVP award this year, I think Allen leads this race by a mile now.

Fears of injury to lions

The Lions looked great on offense again, with Jared Goff throwing for 494 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. But I’m starting to worry about the possibility of this Cinderella season falling apart.

Going into the game against the Buffalo Lions there were 21 players on injured reserve, and they have now lost defensive tackle Aleem McNeil to a season-ending knee injury and David Montgomery back to a season-ending knee injury.

Injuries are mounting, which is really frustrating because this was looking like a magical season. They will have to dig deep now and rely on their stars up front to get them over the finish line.

Carson Wentz’s time in Kansas City?

The Kansas City Chiefs remain the leading team in the AFC after a routine 21-7 win over the Cleveland Browns to move to 13-1, but their lack of protection for Patrick Mahomes has reared its ugly head once again.

Mahomes found himself on the sidelines with a nasty-looking ankle injury while trying to run a first down on fourth down. He has a high ankle sprain meaning he faces a race against time to be fit for what is a complex schedule ahead. They play Saturday against the Houston Texans and then four days later against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day.

I think we could be preparing for a celebratory version of Carson Wentz.

Baker Box put the NFL on alert

Maybe the Tampa Bay Buccaneers demand more of our attention. They scored 30 unanswered points in a 40-17 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

This was their fourth straight win, they are leading the race for the NFC South title and if they win this division it will be the fourth year in a row.

It starts with their crime. Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes, Mike Evans went over 150 yards receiving twice, and they ran the football 39 times for 223 yards. They hadn’t really been tested in their previous three wins against the New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, and Las Vegas Raiders, but against the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL, the Bucs passed their test with flying colors.

They will be a playoff team and a tough team when they get there.

The Eagles find a new way to win

Whether it was due to AJ Brown’s comments or not, the Philadelphia Eagles changed their approach a bit in Week 15. They went into that weekend running the football 473 times, the most in the NFL, while attempting just 328 passes, It is the smallest number. In the league.

On Sunday, Saquon Barkley may have been beaten down a bit, so he only had 65 rushing yards, and they won another way with AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, who both topped 100 yards and each caught a touchdown pass.

The Eagles are now 12-2 and appear to be a complete team. They will push the Lions hard to get that top seed in the NFC.

Player of the Week – Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

My Player of the Week is no surprise, it is of course the Bills’ Josh Allen. This team has now scored at least 30 points in eight straight games, the longest single-season streak in NFL history.

Allen has accounted for 14 offensive touchdowns in Buffalo’s last three games, scoring by throwing, running and catching on the side that counts as receiving touchdowns. He did it all and was great on Sunday.

Play of the Week – Any play by Josh Allen

You could have had any number of Josh Allen plays. There was one early in the first quarter on Buffalo’s first drive when he rolled to his right, stopped, took a hit and threw a pass to Ty Johnson across the middle. There was one midway through the first quarter where he rolls to his left and hits James Cook.

And another, my favorite, is where he rolls right and looks down the field for Keon Coleman, the defender takes the deep throw, Josh Allen throws it deeper and Coleman goes and tracks the ball. An incredible pass, which featured a man directly in Josh Allen’s face as he fell onto his back. It was just another example of the dazzling throws he makes time and time again.

Coach of the Week – Sean Payton, Denver Broncos

It hasn’t been a great start for Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos. They were certainly helped by Jonathan Taylor’s ridiculous fumble at the goal line when he started celebrating before crossing the goal line, but the Broncos stuck with it.

Bo Nix overcame some interceptions, the defense played well and they have now won four in a row. We keep wondering whether or not they will stumble in the AFC playoffs, as all they are doing is winning and improving their seeding in that conference. They’re ahead of schedule, but that’s what Sean Payton does. He’s a tough player, especially with the media, and can rub players the wrong way, but all he knows how to do is win.

On my radar…

On my radar is what the Miami Dolphins do to turn their situation around this offseason. They lost another big game on a big stage against a quality opponent as they fell 20-12 to the Houston Texans, who clinched the AFC South title.

This was a winnable game for the Dolphins but Tua Tagovailoa collapsed by throwing three interceptions and Mike McDaniel seemed to have no answer for what DeMeco Ryans was throwing at him and his team. The Dolphins can talk all they want about their desire to finish the season stronger and win big games, but they haven’t done that time and time again with Mike McDaniel and Tua at the helm.

Do they bring in a certain type of player? Do they modify things on the menu? Will there be pressure on the coach and the quarterback? I think these two will be very safe, but something has to change in Miami, because what they have provided in recent years has not been good enough to be considered an NFL contender.

Watch the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans game starting at 6pm on Saturday, live on Sky Sports NFL. Stream with now.