NFL Week 15 scores, highlights, updates, schedule: 49ers handle Falcons to remain No. 6 seed in NFC

It’s the 15th Sunday of the 2021 NFL season and we’re keeping you updated on all the action and biggest storylines throughout the day. The Week 15 slate has some fantastic matchups and storylines, and we’re here to help you watch it unfold. Check back often to find out everything you need to know.

Schedule

Thursday

Chiefs 34, Chargers 28, OT (Takeaways)

Saturday

Colts 27, Patriots 17 (Takeaways)

Sunday 

Lions 30, Cardinals 12 (Recap)

Bills 31, Panthers 14 (Takeaways)

Cowboys 21, Giants 6 (Takeaways)

Texans 30, Jaguars 16 (Recap)

Dolphins 31, Jets 24 (Recap)

Steelers 19, Titans 13 (Takeaways)

49ers 31, Falcons 13 (Box score)

Bengals 15, Broncos 10 (Box score)

Packers 31, Ravens 30 (Recap)

Saints at Buccaneers, 8:20 p.m. ET (Preview)

Monday

Raiders at Browns, 5 p.m. ET (Preview)

Vikings at Bears, 8:15 p.m. ET (Preview)

Tuesday

Seahawks at Rams, 7 p.m. ET (Preview)

Washington at Eagles, 7 p.m. ET (Preview)

Ravens come up short again

What a gutsy performance from Tyler Huntley and the Ravens. Playing without Lamar Jackson, Baltimore mounted yet another fourth-quarter comeback, this time nearly erasing a 31-17 deficit with just under 10 minutes to play. Both scores came via the legs of Huntley, who cut the deficit to 31-30 with an 8-yard score with 42 seconds remaining. But for the second time in three weeks, John Harbaugh went for the go-ahead two-point conversion and failed, meaning that with three weeks to play, 8-6 Baltimore is currently on the outside looking in regarding the AFC playoff picture.

Umm…WHAT?!

First we had two touchdowns in 45 seconds, and now there’s been two turnovers in SEVEN SECONDS. Well, at least that’s what it looked like initially. Upon further review, the referees determined that Khalid Kareem, who simply took the ball away from Drew Lock, was down by contact, so the Bengals kept possession after the strip-sack. Still, watch the sequence for yourself. It’s bonkers.

Bengals strike back! 

The first 43 minutes between the Bengals and Broncos included approximately zero touchdowns. There’s now been two in 45 seconds, as Cincinnati responded to Denver’s score with Joe Burrow hitting Tyler Boyd down the seam, Boyd turning around a defensive back with a juke and then Boyd outrunning two defenders for the 56-yard touchdown.

Broncos on top!

Not long after a scary situation involving Teddy Bridgewater — he was carted off the field with a head injury — the Broncos finished the drive that their starting quarterback started with a contested 25-yard touchdown catch from Tim Patrick. It took nearly three quarters, but Denver had its first lead.

Unstoppable connection

Mark Andrews has been unstoppable Sunday, but the combination of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams has basically been unstoppable for the past SIX seasons. The two hooked up at the end of the half against the Ravens for a 3-yard touchdown — Adams’ 66th receiving score since 2016 (most in the NFL during that stretch).

Mark Andrews can’t be stopped

Not many people gave the Ravens a chance of beating the Packers without Lamar Jackson and basically their entire secondary, but Tyler Huntley and the defense are giving Green Bay all it can handle. The biggest reason why? Baltimore has Mark Andrews and its opponent doesn’t. He racked up 95 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns in the first half alone, carrying a Ravens team that entered intermission tied at 14.

‘You got Moss’d!’ 

People like to throw around the phrase “You got Moss’d!” (including me), but this play was definitely worthy of it. Russell Gage went right over the top of Ambry Thomas for the 20-yard touchdown. Thomas was called for defensive holding, but it didn’t matter as Gage came down with the incredible catch to tie the game.

J-U-S-Z-C-Z-Y-K

No, that’s not just a bunch of random letters bunched together. It’s 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, whose nimble feet guided him across the goal line from 6 yards away. No Elijah Mitchell, no problem for San Francisco.

Opening kickoff fumble! 

Aside from scoring a touchdown on the opening kickoff, the Falcons had the best possible start against the 49ers. JaMycal Hasty got to about the 16-yard line before Qadree Ollison popped the ball out and Richie Grant recovered, setting Atlanta up in the red zone. Luckily for Hasty, the San Francisco defense bailed him out by turning the Falcons over on downs.

Titans stuffed! 

Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh refuse to die. Despite one win in their last five games entering Sunday, the Steelers overcame a 13-3 halftime deficit — it marked the fourth straight game in which they failed to score a touchdown in the first half — to beat the Titans in thrilling fashion. The game was decided by about a few millimeters (seriously), as the Steelers remain in the AFC North title race while Tennessee falls to 9-5.

Cooks x2

Jaguars fans thought firing Urban Meyer would bring better fortunes. It most likely will, but that wasn’t the case Sunday afternoon. The Texans controlled the game from the onset after a quick touchdown strike to Brandin Cooks, and Cooks put the finishing touches on a decisive victory with a 43-yard score.

Tua redemption

Tua Tagovailoa is the reason the Jets tied things up in the fourth quarter (see below), but he’s also responsible for putting the Dolphins back ahead. His 11-yard strike to DeVante Parker capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive that gave Miami a 31-24 lead with just under four minutes to play.

Tua pick-six

Tua Tagovailoa has been flirting with danger all afternoon, and it’s resulted in two interceptions. The second was particularly back-breaking, as Brandin Echols jumped the route and brought back the pick 20 yards for the touchdown. The Jets tied the game on the ensuing extra point.

D-Lineman TD catch!

Defensive end Christian Wilkins doesn’t just stuff the run and pressure opposing quarterbacks. He can run routes and catch passes, both of which were on full display when he ran to the left out of the fullback position, turned and hauled in the wide-open one-yard touchdown to put the Dolphins ahead.

Wild turnover

The Titans’ Racey McMath caught a pass, got cut down but then started to regain his footing when the ball flew out of his hands and into the air. Joe Haden dove to catch the ball before it hit the ground for the turnover, which was ruled a fumble, setting up the Steelers in plus territory.

Big Ben sneak TD!

On a day where Ben Roethlisberger passed Philip Rivers for fifth all-time on NFL’s career passing list, he quarterback sneaked not once, but TWICE to cross the goal line from one-yard out for his first rushing touchdown since 2018!

LIONS!

At this point, it’s not even an upset alert. It’s just a drubbing by the 1-11-1 Lions (yes, you read that right). Kyler Murray helped set up Detroit’s latest score by throwing an interception to a diving Amani Oruwariye. Upon getting up, Oruwariye returned the ball all the way down to the Cardinals 6-yard line, and a play later, Jared Goff threw his third TD of the afternoon (this time to Jason Cabinda) to give the Lions a 24-3(!) lead.

N.Y. tricksters

The Jets offense is wildin’ and it’s all working so far against the Dolphins. This was the craziest play yet, as Jamison Crowder made the catch on a hook route and then literally THREW THE BALL ACROSS THE FIELD to Braxton Berrios for what ended up resulting in a 22-yard pickup. The drive didn’t end in points, but New York still entered halftime with a 17-10 advantage. Keep it up, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.

Leaping INT!

The Panthers were in dire need of a spark, and Jeremy Chinn delivered. The second-year safety did his best Megatron impression (shoutout Calvin Johnson) by jumping, twisting and snatching the ball out of the air for the pretty interception. The turnover proved to be even more significant as Carolina cut its deficit to 14-8 with a touchdown and two-point conversion right before halftime.

Jets double pass! 

It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective for Zach Wilson, who after breaking two tackles and running back to the middle of the field, somehow found an open Ryan Griffin for 23 yards. The drive ended with yet another score for New York to take a 17-7 lead over Miami.

Cards down 10-0

Yes, you read that correctly. One of three teams with an NFL best 10-3 record is trailing by double digits in the first quarter … to the Lions. Arizona had the ball for all of 2 minutes, 28 seconds in the first quarter, while its defense allowed Detroit to score an opening drive field goal before Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 37-yard TD.

Kick return TD! 

Just when the Jaguars created some momentum with an opening-drive field goal, they gave it away by allowing an unacceptable 98-yard kick return touchdown from Tremon Smith. You think Jacksonville would have figured out how to tackle after 15 weeks, but that wasn’t the case on this play, as Smith bounced off multiple players before streaking into the end zone.

Big-time punt return

The Titans offense is a shell of itself without Derrick Henry, so the team could use some big special teams and defensive plays against the Steelers. It got one via Chester Rosters, whose electric 55-yard punt return helped set up Tennessee’s first touchdown.

Houston Cooks early

Everyone was talking about the Jaguars after firing head coach Urban Meyer earlier this week, but it’s the fellow lowly Texans who struck first with Brandin Cooks catching a 22-yard touchdown from Davis Mills.

Jets open scoring

How about the 3-10 Jets, who closed as 10-point underdogs against the Dolphins, scoring the first touchdown of the day. New York forced a three-and-out on Miami’s possession, then marched 83 yards on 10 plays, capping the impressive drive with Braxton Berrios taking the jet pitch and scampering two yards around right end and into the end zone for the score.

Upsets or blowouts? Big spreads rule Sunday slate

The old adage in the NFL is that anybody can beat anybody else on any given week, but that will be put to the test during Sunday’s action. As of this writing, five of the 10 games have double-digit spreads and seven teams are favored by a touchdown or more. The only one-possession point spreads are the Bengals getting three points in Denver and the Titans getting one point against the Steelers.

The biggest favorite Sunday is 7-6 Buffalo, which opened as a nine-point favorite against the Carolina Panthers before the number ballooned all the way up to two touchdowns. Beware of the Bills and big spreads, though, as it was only six weeks ago that Buffalo, which closed as a 15.5-point favorite versus the Jaguars, suffered a 9-6 defeat in the seventh-largest upset since 1990. Hopefully we’ll see some more big upsets in the Week 15 slate!