Week 15 was the Week of the Comeback.
The Vikings (33-point deficit), the Bengals (17) and the Jaguars (17) all overcame deficits of at least 17 points. It marked the first time in NFL history that three teams came back to win after trailing by 17 or more points in the same week.
With so many good comebacks, so many good games, so many good plays and so many good players, it made this week the hardest week of the season to determine our weekly award winners.
But we’ve done it.
Five categories. Five winners. With, of course, all the finalists who also deserved recognition.
Offensive player of the week: Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
A lot happened in the three games before and the 12 games after Allen led the Bills to a 32-29, come-from-behind win against the Dolphins on a cold Saturday night in Buffalo. It wasn’t the biggest comeback of the week, but Allen was as clutch as any player this week.
With the game tied with 5:56 left, Allen drove the Bills 86 yards in 15 plays to set up Tyler Bass’ game-winning, 25-yard field goal on the final play.
Allen went 25-of-40 for 304 yards with four touchdowns, while running for another 77 yards on 10 carries. Allen also dove into the end zone for a key two-point conversion.
“He makes plays that I’ve never seen before. Sometimes you kind of turn into a fan while you’re watching him,” Bills tight end Dawson Knox said.
Other finalists: Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, Vikings receiver K.J. Osborn, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Defensive player of the week: Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins.
Jenkins had only one interception this season . . . until Sunday when he had two more. His first interception of Dak Prescott came with 2:53 left in the third quarter and the Jaguars trailing 27-17. His 11-yard return to the Dallas 20 set up a Jacksonville touchdown four plays later.
That was big. His second interception of the day was biggest.
Jenkins had a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown in overtime against the Cowboys, giving Jacksonville a come-from-behind 40-34 win. The ball bounced off Noah Brown and into Jenkins’ waiting arms. He had nothing but green in front of him after Foye Oluokun blocked Prescott out of the way.
Jenkins told PFT his preparation during the week allowed him to diagnose the third-and-four play.
If that wasn’t all, Jenkins also had a league-leading 18 tackles.
Other finalists: Cardinals defensive lineman J.J. Watt, Patriots safety Kyle Dugger, 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt, Broncos safety Justin Simmons, Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat.
Rookie of the week: Giants outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux declared before Monday Night Football that “primetime likes me.” He then went out and did what he does under the bright lights.
The fifth overall selection had a breakout game with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble for a touchdown.
His 1-yard fumble return for a touchdown on a strip-sack of Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke was the Giants’ first fumble recovery for a touchdown since 2020. Leonard Floyd in 2016 was the last rookie in the NFL with a strip-sack fumble recovery for a touchdown on the same play.
“That’s what we expect from him – to go out there and play with effort,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “That’s what we saw in him in college. When we went through the process of selecting him in the draft, that’s what we felt really good about: A guy that loves football, that competes, that finishes.”
Thibodeaux now has three sacks -- two of them coming in two games against the Commanders -- two forced fumbles and two recovered fumbles this season.
Other finalists: 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, Packers linebacker Quay Walker, Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier, Commanders receiver Jahan Dotson, Lions linebacker James Houston.
Coach of the week: Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
Yes, the Vikings were going to win one of our awards after the biggest comeback (or biggest collapse, depending on perspective) in NFL history. Congratulations, Kevin O’Connell. Your Honey B Ham is on its way.
The Vikings trailed 33-0 at halftime and 36-7 late in the third quarter. They won 39-36.
O’Connell deserves a lot of credit for the team’s 11-3 record, having taught the Vikings how to win. They believe in him, and he believes in them.
Other finalists: Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, Giants coach Brian Daboll, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels.
Play of the week: Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones 48-yard fumble return for a game-winning touchdown.
The scoring line of “C.Jones 48-yard fumble return” doesn’t begin to tell the story. Jones’ touchdown is one of those plays where every football fan will forever remember where he or she was when it happened.
Jones stands 6 foot 5 and 265 pounds, but Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers insists he never saw Jones before trying a throwback pass to quarterback Mac Jones on the final play of a tie game.
Chandler Jones caught the lateral, stiff armed Mac Jones to the ground and ran to the end zone with one of the most improbable touchdowns in NFL history. Instead of the game going into overtime, as it should have, Meyers joined Jim Marshall, Joe Pisarcik, Dwayne Rudd, Leon Lett, Tony Romo and D.J. Moore, among others, with a costly miscue forever remembered.
Other finalists: Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins’ pick-six in overtime, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook’s 64-yard receiving touchdown that tied the game after the two-point conversion, Lions tight end Brock Wright’s 51-yard, game-winning, catch-and-run touchdown, Titans cornerbacks Roger McCreary and Joshua Kalu’s tag-team interception in the end zone.