NFL Week 15 scores are in and it was a week of upsets and last-minute comebacks. Here’s a look at the highlights and lowlights of the weekend.

New England holds on against Packers 31-27 – Filling in for QB Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn threw the first three TD passes of his career but in the final minute, his inexperience showed and the Packers couldn’t pull off the upset. The highlight reel of the night belonged to offensive lineman, Dan Connolly who stumbled 71 yards on the longest kickoff return by an offensive lineman in NFL history, setting up the Patriots for a late score in the first half. Flynn (24 of 37, 251 yds – 3 TDs) outperformed Tom Brady (15 of 24, 163 yds – 2 TDs) on the stat sheet.

Eagles over the Giants 38-31: Four unanswered TDs in under eight minutes in the 4th ripped the Giants’ fans hearts out. Eagles kicker David Akers executed a perfect on-side kick in the midst of the come back and the dagger came in the form of a punt return with 0:00 left on the clock by DeSean Jackson. Giants coach Tom Coughlin couldn’t contain himself as he berated his punter in the middle of the field for not kicking the ball out of bounds. Giants D crashed late while Vick leads his team to win the season series against NY and take over sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Titans over the Texans 31-17: Tennessee found its mojo and was playing on all cylinders against the crumbling Texans. RB Chris Johnson rushed for 127 yards and one TD and Kerry Collins looked like the early season version of himself going 14 of 24 for 237 yards and two TDs. The story of the day was the Titans shutting down the Texans running game with Arian Foster and Derek Ward gaining only 30 yards on the ground. Matt Schaub’s day of 35 of 54 for 325 yards couldn’t overcome the weak ground game.

Ravens beat the Saints 30-24: Ray Rice was Superman running for 153 yards and a TD and adding 80 more receiving yards and another TD. Joe Flacco only threw 20 passes and completed 10 for two TDs in the win. Drew Brees gave the Ravens D trouble on 29 of 46 passing for three TDs but it was the complete shutdown of the New Orleans running game that won the game for Baltimore with just 27 net yards spread among Bush, Thomas and J. Jones.

Colts take down the Jags 34-24: Jacksonville failed at an attempt to beat the Colts and take the division. The return of Austin Collie gave Manning the target for two TDs before the receiver went down with another serious injury. Donald Brown rushed for 129 yards and a score off a botched Jags on-side kick to give the Colts the win. The Colts and Manning now control their own destiny so expect to see them in the playoffs.

Dallas gets over on the Redskins 33-30: Mike Shanahan benched Donovan McNabb for Rex Grossman and it almost made the coach look like an Einstein until late when Grossman, who threw for four TDs, threw his second picks that allowed Dallas a victory late in the 4th. Romo replacement, Jon Kitna, threw for 2 scores and Tashard Choice ran for one in the Cowboys’ win.

Raiders over the Broncos 39-23: Tim Tebow’s debut as an NFL starter was a good one. He ran for a 40 TD on a draw play and threw another TD to Brandon Lloyd on what was either a brilliant throw or just a lucky break. Either way, Tebow showed critics that he can be accurate, completing 8 of16 with a TD and 138 yards. The Denver D was nowhere to be found allowing the Raiders to run the ball down their throat gaining 264 yards from scrimmage. QB Jason Campbell didn’t have a great day with one TD and two picks on 238 yards but with the team’s running game having its way, it was still an easy enough win for the Raiders.

Lions win in OT over Bucs 23-20: The Bucs season is slipping away. They lost this game against third string Lions QB Drew Stanton and allowed Detroit to snap a 26-game road losing streak, the longest in the history of the NFL. Detroit RB Maurice Morris had 109 yards with two clutch carries in OT while the Bucs’ RB LaGarrette Blount did his part with a score on 110 yards on the ground and Josh Freeman added one TD on 251 yards passing. The Lions clamped down when they had to and have a current winning streak of two games, their first since Jon Kitna was their starter.

Chiefs beat the Rams 27-13: Matt Cassel’s tender mid-section took some punishment but his presence was the lift the Chiefs needed to get the win and stay ahead of the Chargers. Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones did the heavy lifting with two scores and a total of 188 yards between them. Cassel had a quiet day with one TD and a pick on 184 yards through the air and the Chiefs D held rookie QB Sam Bradford in check.

Panthers take down the Cardinals 19-12: Jimmy Clausen threw for a TD and handed off a lot to RBs J. Stewart and M. Goodson. The rest of the scoring came from ageless placekicker John Kasay who knocked four through the uprights. Arizona QB, John Sketon, threw for one TD but with only 218 total offensive yards, the Cardinals weren’t doing anything but adding another loss to their record.

Bills beat the Dolphins 17-14: What anyone expect this implosion from the Dolphins? They were home yet managed another loss. The Bills won their second in a row in a game with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick tossing two TDs while Chad Henne managed one for the Dolphins. Neither team’s running game was decent on a day where Miami’s RB Ronnie Brown had just 36 yards on the day.

Cincinnati took care of the Browns 19-17: The Bengals won for the first time in more than two months but lost WR T.O. to an injury in the process. Carson Palmer managed to not turn the ball over in the air but also was unable to throw any touchdown passes either. Cedric Benson scored for the Bengals who added four FGs off Clint Stitser’s foot. Cleveland rookie QB Colt McCoy had a decent day going 19 of 25 for 243 yards and two TDs but RB Peyton Hillis was held for under 60 yards.

Jets beat Steelers 22-17: Thanks to Jason Taylor’s late game tackle in the end zone giving the Jets two points on a safety, the Steelers last minute 4th quarter drive had to find the end zone for a win. That said, they got inside the 15 yard line until the final play was an incomplete pass, allowing the Jets to snap a two-game losing streak. Pittsburgh outgained the Jets 378 yards to 276 on offense but the Jets got key stops and didn’t turn the ball over. Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall put up 100 yards with a score and Big Ben was 23 of 44 for 264 yards and one TD. The Jets game plan was smart and gave Sanchez quicker and shorter passes to execute while they rushed 24 times for more than 90 yards on the day. The Jets win keeps pace with the Ravens at 10-4 in the AFC wild card race.

Falcons smoke the Seahawks 34-18: Matt Hasselbeck has got to take a seat or change professions. In a QB driven league, Seattle won’t go far until it has a guy taking snaps who can be more accurate, avoid turnovers and stay healthy. The QB was picked twice, lost a fumble in the end zone for a Falcons TD and threw for just 71 yards on the day. Matty “Ice” and the rest of the Falcons flew west a day earlier than necessary and showed no signs of the jet lag that can plague East Coast teams. Ryan was 20 of 35 for 174 yards and three TDs while RB Michael Turner added 82 yards on 25 carries. The Falcons move to 12-2 and sit on top of the NFC. Is Atlanta going to see Michael Vick and the Eagles in the playoffs?

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC