The National Football League graces fans with four days of Week 15 action. For the first time this season, the NFL will have two games on Saturday. In an all-AFC affair, the Las Vegas Raiders take on the Cleveland Browns with both teams firmly in the Wild Card race. Meanwhile, the nightcap features two hot AFC squads squaring off. Can the New England Patriots keep their momentum against a surging Indianapolis Colts squad? Here’s more information about when and where to watch these Week 15 NFL games today.
Update 12/17/21: Due to the COVID outbreak in Cleveland, the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Cleveland Browns matchup has been postponed to Monday, December 20th, 2021.
NFL TV schedule for Saturday games today | Week 15
With the conclusion of the college football regular season, Weeks 15 and 16 feature two NFL matchups to fill your Saturday afternoon and evenings. Let’s get to it!
New England Patriots (9-4) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6)
- Channel: FOX, NFL Network
- Start time: 8:15 PM ET
- Live stream:
- Sling
- Hulu + Live TV
- fuboTV
- YouTube TV
Patriots vs. Colts looks like an incredible matchup, but will it live up to the hype? After a 1-4 start to the season, the Colts have stormed back into the playoff conversation, winning six of their last eight games. But tonight will be the real test. New England head coach Bill Belichick has put together a midseason renaissance of his own, providing quite a few vintage Belichick moments.
Indianapolis RB Jonathan Taylor has been phenomenal this season, becoming an integral part of the offensive game plan. QB Carson Wentz has played well over the eight-game span, but the overall quality of his opponents is questionable.
Can Wentz put together a full four quarters in this NFL game today and prove to the Colts he was worth the first-round pick? Finding Taylor running lanes to take some of the pressure off Wentz will be paramount tonight for the Colts.
New England is playing its best football late in the season
Rookie QB Mac Jones is almost coming off of two weeks of rest. His last game featured just 3 passes in the Buffalo snow globe as the Patriots pounded the rock. It was the least pass attempts from the Patriots since 1982’s “Snowplow Game.”
This week, he heads to the dome at Lucas Oil Stadium. This season, the Colts have a top-10 defense while also boasting the league’s highest turnover differential at +13. They’ve forced 3 more turnovers than New England this season.
Both offenses have their work cut out for them. Indianapolis gets the home-field advantage, and they will need every bit of it against one of the best defenses in the league. Can the defense give Wentz enough opportunities to figure things out?
Las Vegas Raiders (6-7) at Cleveland Browns (7-6)
The leading news all over the NFL has been the mass influx of positive COVID-19 tests around the NFL, and the Browns were one team heavily affected by the virus this week. At this point, the players on the COVID-19 list include QBs Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum; safeties Grant Delpit, Ronnie Harrison Jr., and John Johnson; WR Jarvis Landry; TE Austin Hooper; DEs Takkarist McKinley and Ifeadi Odenigbo; OL Wyatt Teller and Jedrick Wills Jr.; CBs Troy Hill and A.J. Green; and DT Malik McDowell.
Furthermore, Cleveland will also be without DE Jadeveon Clowney, RB Kareem Hunt, and Greg Newsome due to various injuries. If that weren’t enough, the players who do play will be without head coach Kevin Stefanski, who also tested positive. It’s quite the hill to climb in this Week 15 NFL game today for a team with AFC North title and postseason desires.
Meanwhile, things have fallen apart for Las Vegas after losing five of its last six games. Miraculously, they remain in the Wild Card hunt at 6-7, but Kansas City’s win over the Chargers on Thursday Night Football put the AFC West firmly out of reach. A win over the Raiders would go a long way in the AFC Wild Card logjam, and QB Derek Carr has that on his mind in this NFL game today.