The Pittsburgh Steelers showed plenty of life during their Week 15 win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. Despite fans expressing plenty of frustration in Week 13, the Steelers have won their last two games, and now sit at 8-6 with three weeks to play. That’s quite the turnaround, considering fans wanted to fire long-time head coach Mike Tomlin in early December.
As for the Miami Dolphins, they may be done with the Tua Tagovailoa experiment. After head coach Mike McDaniel hinted that they may be ready to make a change on Tuesday, it was reported that Tagovailoa was benched and rookie Quinn Ewers would get the start in Week 16.
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With Pittsburgh closing out Week 15 in command of the AFC North, here are some of the biggest storylines coming out of the week.
Unfortunately for fans, Week 15 was headlined by injuries to star players, comebacks, and clarity on playoff positioning. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes left Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers with a torn ACL, and his team was eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in his career. Mahomes already underwent surgery to repair the issue.
On the NFC side, Green Bay Packers trade acquisition Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL in Sunday’s 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos. Parsons has totaled 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in his first season with the Packers.
The Bills and Rams both had second-half comebacks on the road, both of which could have massive playoff implications down the line. The Bills’ 21-point comeback gave them a 35-31 win over the Patriots, ending New England’s 10-game winning streak and a 120-game winning streak when leading by 17+ points at home. The Rams cut a 10-point deficit to beat the Lions 41-34.
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The playoff chances for the Lions, Panthers and Colts took a huge hit after each suffered tough losses on Sunday. The Lions stumbled in the second half against the Rams in Jared Goff’s return to LA, while the Panthers were stunned by the Saints. Forty-four-year-old Philip Rivers’ return after a five-year absence was spoiled when a costly interception sealed a win for the Seahawks.
The Rams and Broncos both clinched their spots in the playoffs with their respective wins on Sunday, currently sitting as the No. 1 seeds in the NFC and AFC, respectively.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest NFL news and injury updates coming out of Week 15:
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Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said that wide receiver Drake London will take part in practice on Wednesday. London has not played in a month while dealing with a PCL sprain. His return to practice is a good sign that he could play in Sunday’s game against Arizona.
Andy Backstrom
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters Wednesday that wide receiver Rashee Rice reported concussion symptoms Monday and entered the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Despite playing in only eight games during the 2025 campaign — after serving a six-game suspension — Rice leads all Chiefs wideouts this season with 53 receptions and 571 receiving yards. His five touchdown grabs are tied for a team high.
Andy Backstrom
Rick Burkholder, Kansas City Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance, said Wednesday that Patrick Mahomes’ recovery is expected to take approximately nine months, however, Burkholder also noted that it could be a month or two shorter or a month or two longer before Mahomes works his way back, according to The Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell.
Mahomes is healing up from a torn ACL in his left knee. The three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL MVP quarterback reportedly had his LCL repaired during a Monday procedure as well.
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Cleveland released the pre-practice injury report and does not expect defensive end Myles Garrett to practice today, although he is not listed as injured. Garrett needs just one more sack to tie the single-season sack record (22.5) currently held by former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan (2001) and Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt (2021).
Other players not expected to practice include:
Tackle Jack Conklin (concussion), defensive tackle Mike Hall (illness), guard Teven Jenkins (shoulder), tight end David Njoku (knee), running back Dylan Sampson (hand), and cornerback Denzel Ward (calf).
Wed, December 17, 2025 at 7:50 AM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Miami Dolphins are benching quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, according to multiple reports on Wednesday. Rookie Quinn Ewers will start in his place against the Bengals.
Tagovailoa has struggled for the 6-8 Dolphins this season, leading the league in interceptions with 15. He’s completed 67.7% of his passes for 2,660 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The Dolphins drafted Ewers out of Texas in the seventh round of this year’s draft, and he saw playing time on Oct. 19 against the Browns, completing 5 of 8 passes for 53 yards. Miami brought in Zach Wilson as Tagovailoa’s backup, but Ewers will get the starting opportunity after impressing in camp and the preseason.
The Dolphins were eliminated from playoff contention on Monday night, but could still impact the race with games against the Buccaneers and Patriots upcoming.
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The Miami Dolphins have released veteran pass rusher Matt Judon, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Judon played in 13 games for Miami this season and recorded 19 tackles, 3 QB hits and 1 pass defended.
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The New York Jets have signed tight end Jeremy Ruckert to a two-year contract extension worth $10 million, with the ability to reach $11 million. Ruckert is a fourth-year player out of Ohio State who was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Jets.
Chris Cwik
The Miami Dolphins are crumbling. With three weeks left in the regular season, the Dolphins have nothing to play for, and that could lead to a major change at quarterback.
Tua Tagovailoa’s days as the team’s starter might be numbered following his poor performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15. When asked about the position Tuesday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel hinted at a possible benching for Tagovailoa moving forward.
Ryan Young
Both Josh Jacobs (knee/ankle) and Christian Watson (chest/shoulder) didn’t practice today for the Packers. Jacobs had a significant limp in the locker room, and had a brace around his knee. Their status for Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Bears is still unknown.
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The Buffalo Bills have signed veteran kicker Michael Badgley to the practice squad in the absence of kicker Matt Prater, who is dealing with a quad injury. Badgley appeared in seven games with the Colts this season, making 10 of his 11 field goal attempts. He converted 13 of 15 extra point attempts.
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Cincinnati has claimed former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams off waivers. Williams appeared in eight games with the Steelers this season.
Andy Backstrom
While the Chicago Bears didn’t practice Tuesday, they did release an estimated injury report. Wide receivers Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden III (ankle) were both listed as non-participants.
Odunze missed last week’s game against the Cleveland Browns. Burden stepped up in his absence but left the 31-3 win in the third quarter after injuring his ankle on a screen pass.
The Bears play the Green Bay Packers on Saturday.
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Detroit has signed cornerback Keenan Garber to the practice squad.
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The New York Giants have waived kicker Younghoe Koo and claimed linebacker Caleb Murphy. Koo has attempted nine field goals in six games between the Giants and Falcons this season, making six. Koo’s release from the team comes just weeks after a crazy, botched field goal attempt where he kicked the turf instead of the ball.
New York will be the third team Murphy has suited up for this season, having already appeared in 11 games with the Chargers and Patriots.
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Looks like running back Jawhar Jordan is staying on the active roster in Houston as the team has signed him following a 101-yard rushing day in his first NFL game last week against Arizona. Jordan was selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Texans.
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The Las Vegas Raiders have released veteran defensive lineman Leki Fotu and he will go on waivers. Fotu appeared in six games for the Raiders this season.
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Running back Bam Knight has been placed on injured reserve, effectively ending his season due to an ankle injury. Knight missed all of the 2024 season with a serious knee injury. He’ll end the 2025 campaign having appeared in 12 games (8 as a starter), rushing for 269 yards and four touchdowns, along with 22 receptions and one receiving touchdown.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed running back DeeJay Dallas to the active roster. Dallas appeared in three games with the Carolina Panthers earlier this season. The former Miami Hurricanes running back was a fourth-round pick for Seattle in 2020.
Jacksonville also placed rookie linebacker Jack Kiser on injured reserve and have opened the 21-day practice window for linebacker Jalen McL
Sean Leahy
Rams head coach Sean McVay, who became a dad for a second time after his wife Veronika delivered a baby boy, is not ruling out Adams for Thursday night against the Seahawks.
Adams left the Rams’ Week 15 win over the Lions with a non-contact hamstring injury. The veteran receiver has been playing through a mild hamstring issue and aggravated the muscle late in the game and did not return.
Sean Leahy
The 30-year-old Lazard was in his third season with the Jets. He played 36 games in New York since joining in 2023, recording 70 receptions, 911 yards and eight touchdowns.