NFL Winners and Losers: Bengals can be fixed, but ownership needs to spend on both star WRs

The 2024 Cincinnati Bengals are an oddity in many ways.

Joe Burrow might be the best quarterback in the NFL this season and has absolutely no chance of winning NFL MVP. Cincinnati is one of the most talented teams in the league but needs a miracle to make the playoffs at 6-8. The Bengals are two games under .500 but should absolutely consider doing whatever it takes to keep their core together for another run.

For that to happen, Bengals ownership has to not be cheap. That might be too much to ask.

Sunday's 37-27 win over the Tennessee Titans showed again that while the Bengals are flawed this season, they have the ingredients to be a Super Bowl contender in the future. Ja'Marr Chase is having a phenomenal season. Tee Higgins would be the clear No. 1 receiver on most other teams, and he made a ridiculous touchdown catch on Sunday. Having those two isn't the reason Burrow is having a special season, but it's certainly a factor in his favor. He had 271 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans.

This season might be mostly an afterthought — again, a miracle could get the Bengals in the postseason — but the Bengals should see a blueprint in front of them. It's just going to cost a lot of money.

It makes no sense why the Bengals didn't pay Chase before the season. It has been obvious he's among the elite receivers in the NFL and a long-term contract that is similar to CeeDee Lamb or Justin Jefferson should have been simple. Chase is under contract for 2025 but it's hard to imagine he wouldn't hold out if he doesn't get the deal he's earned. That contract should be easy, but it should have been easy for many months.

Higgins is more complicated. He's on the franchise tag this season and will break the bank in free agency. That should tell the Bengals something. Keeping that core of the passing game together is Cincinnati's path back to the Super Bowl. Without one or the other, the Bengals are still good but with a lower ceiling. Having Burrow, Chase and Higgins together is what might make them special. Burrow made it clear he wouldn't be happy if Higgins leaves in free agency.

“I’d be very disappointed in that," Burrow said recently. "Tee is a need.”

The first obstacle is the salary cap. But the Philadelphia Eagles have shown it's possible to pay a franchise quarterback and two alpha receivers (and even add an elite running back in free agency). It's a challenge but smart teams figure out a way if they want to.

The second obstacle, and maybe the bigger one, is ownership. The Bengals started to shake the reputation of being cheap, but it's back after they bungled the Chase negotiations. They didn't get it done and now it'll cost team owner Mike Brown a few more million in the wake of a career year for Chase. That's Cincinnati's mistake. The Bengals shouldn't make another by letting Higgins walk.

They have a lot of holes to fix on the defensive side and that won't be easy. But with a solid draft, perhaps it can be fixed. Or at least improved enough to get the Bengals back among the circle of Super Bowl contenders again.

This season has been a massive disappointment for Cincinnati. But the Bengals are the rare team that likely won't make the playoffs but feel like with a decent offseason they can be Super Bowl contenders in the 2025 season. It's up to ownership to get out the checkbook.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 15 of the NFL season:

WINNERS

Mike Evans: He came into Sunday’s game needing 410 yards to keep his streak of 1,000-yard seasons alive. He seemed like he was trying to get it all on Sunday.

Evans had a vintage game against the Los Angeles Chargers. He had 159 yards and two touchdowns as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers destroyed a good Los Angeles Chargers team 40-17 as they continue to look like a team that will clinch the NFC South title soon.

Evans missed three games due to a hamstring injury, but at 31 years old he’s as good as ever. If the 1,000-yard streak, which is at 10 in his 10 NFL seasons, comes to an end then it will be due to the missed time. Based on Sunday, he might get the yards he needs and then some.

A.J. Brown: You knew after Brown made a comment about the Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game needing to improve that he’d have a big game this week.

Brown played well, as did DeVonta Smith. Jalen Hurts threw for 290 yards, with a touchdown to each of his star wideouts, and the Eagles got a 27-13 win over a good Pittsburgh Steelers team. Brown had eight catches for 110 yards. Philadelphia still hasn’t lost since its bye week.

Even better for the Eagles, the Lions’ loss on Sunday gets them in better position to take the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Philadelphia has won 10 in a row and if the passing game looks like it did Sunday, it’s hard to see the Eagles losing again.

Lamar Jackson's MVP chances: While Josh Allen took a big lead in the MVP race after last week's game, Jackson reminded everyone on Sunday to not forget about him.

Jackson had five touchdown passes and the Baltimore Ravens got an easy 35-14 win over the depleted New York Giants. Jackson had 290 yards passing and 65 more rushing. Rashod Bateman had two of those touchdowns as he continues to finally emerge as a dangerous weapon in a deep offense.

Jackson has had a season that is MVP worthy. He might not win because Allen has been so good and there will be some sentiment that it's his turn. Allen doesn't have an MVP award while Jackson has two. One way Jackson can win it is to have some monster games down the stretch. He's capable of that, as we saw Sunday.

Chiefs, finally winning comfortably: For once, the Kansas City Chiefs didn't need some miraculous play at the end of the game to win.

For the first time since Oct. 20, the Chiefs won by more than seven points. They got a couple of touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes, Jameis Winston tossed them three interceptions before he was benched in the fourth quarter and the end result was never in question. The Chiefs took an early 21-0 lead and even though they didn't play great in the second half, they cruised to a 21-7 win. Mahomes took some hits late and the Chiefs were able to let him sit and have Carson Wentz finish the game. Mahomes was limping at the end of the game but his injuries didn't seem serious.

With three games left, the Chiefs (13-1) are becoming a near lock to get the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. There probably won't be any easy games in the playoffs, but at least the Chiefs know they can win a game without it coming down to the final seconds.

Davante Adams: He had no catches in the first half against the Jaguars. Those who had him in their fantasy football lineups for a playoff matchup had to be upset.

Those fantasy managers were quite happy by the end. Adams had a nuclear second half, going for nine catches and 198 yards after halftime, and his 41-yard catch set up Breece Hall's 1-yard touchdown with 1:05 to go. The Jets got a stop after that on a Sauce Gardner interception and held on for an exciting 32-25 win.

The trade for Adams won't age well considering the Jets won't make the playoffs. But he was unstoppable in the second half on Sunday.

LOSERS

Detroit Lions' defense: It's hard to stop Josh Allen. There's a good reason he's the MVP favorite.

But the Lions have to be very concerned about their defense ruining a dream season.

The Lions' loss Sunday was big news for the Eagles and Vikings, who are chasing the Lions in the standings. The Lions lost 48-42 to the Buffalo Bills after giving up 559 yards of offense. Allen scored two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. The Lions had such little confidence in their defense, they attempted an onside kick with 12 minutes left, trailing by 10 points. The loss dropped the Lions to 12-2 on the season.

The defense had been good for weeks after the Aidan Hutchinson season-ending injury. Then more injuries piled up and the defense has started to wear down. The Lions' defense looked nothing like a championship-level unit on Sunday. The loss might end up being a reason Detroit loses the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and maybe even the NFC North too. More than that, the Lions need to have an honest conversation about a defense that has sprung too many leaks lately. They're not winning a Super Bowl unless the defense improves.

Most of the Patriots aside from Drake Maye: Maye completed 19 of 23 passes for 202 yards with one passing touchdown and one rushing TD on Sunday. And the Patriots didn't have a chance.

The good news for the Patriots is their horrible surrounding cast hasn't ruined Maye, the third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. He's thriving. But the Patriots don't have many other bright spots. They lost 30-17 to the Arizona Cardinals. James Conner rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and the Cardinals' win was never really in question.

The Patriots have lost four in a row and it won't get easier with a game at Buffalo next week. There's a lot of work to be done in the offseason, and it seems hard to believe that one offseason will be enough to fix all the holes on New England's roster. The good news is the Patriots seem to have the right quarterback with Maye, and that's no minor thing. Now the work starts on making sure they don't waste his first few seasons.

Jonathan Taylor, but Anthony Richardson too: There will be a lot said about Taylor dropping the ball before scoring against the Denver Broncos. That took a touchdown away from the Indianapolis Colts and changed the flow of the game, which the Colts lost 31-13.

But if Richardson played better, Taylor’s inexcusable mistake might not have mattered.

Richardson still hasn’t figured out the issues that caused him to be benched earlier this season. He struggled mightily with his accuracy again on Sunday, and as a result the Colts couldn’t sustain drives. Richardson completed 17 of 38 passes for 172 yards and that was bolstered by a big finish in garbage time. At one point early in the fourth quarter he was a hideous 9-of-23 for 84 yards.

Richardson, the fourth pick of last year’s draft, showed signs of progress after the Colts gave him his starting job back. But in the past three weeks he has failed to complete more than 50% of his passes in a game. He has a lot to work on this upcoming offseason.

Mike McCarthy haters: Is it possible that McCarthy is coaching himself into being back with the Dallas Cowboys in 2025?

The Cowboys won their third game in four tries on Sunday, winning 30-14 against a Carolina Panthers team that has been playing well recently. Cooper Rush had a strong game with three touchdowns, and that has to reflect well on McCarthy too. Although the one loss of the past four was a debacle, with the Cowboys touching a blocked punt and allowing the Bengals to retain possession and beat them, it has been a pretty good stretch for Dallas recently.

Plenty of Cowboys fans want McCarthy out. That looked like a done deal when Dallas fell to 3-7, with Dak Prescott done for the season with a hamstring injury. But McCarthy has rallied the Cowboys since then. How much of an impression will that have on team owner Jerry Jones?

Tua Tagovailoa: Tagovailoa had been on a roll lately, but he needed to be about perfect the rest of the season for the Miami Dolphins to find a way into the playoffs.

Tagovailoa wasn't perfect on Sunday. He threw three interceptions, including one to Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. in the fourth quarter with the Dolphins trailing 20-12 and in Houston Texans territory. The Dolphins had one more shot late in the game trailing by eight points but Stingley wrestled away a pass to Tyreek Hill for another pick and the game was over.

Tagovailoa hadn't thrown an interception since Nov. 11. On Sunday he lost Jaylen Waddle to an injury early and then receiver Grant DuBose suffered a horrible looking injury on a hit to the head. Tagovailoa didn't have much help on Sunday. But the Dolphins couldn't afford a loss, and Tagovailoa couldn't carry the Dolphins to the win.

Washington Commanders, even in a win: The Commanders won on Sunday, but it was a lot harder than it had to be.

Going against an entirely depleted New Orleans Saints team that benched starting quarterback Jake Haener, the Commanders almost blew a 17-0 lead. The Saints scored a touchdown with no time left in regulation and went for the 2-point conversion and the 20-19 win, but Spencer Rattler's pass was incomplete and the Commanders escaped. Rattler got hot off the bench and almost beat the Commanders, which isn't a good sign for Washington.

The Commanders improved to 9-5 and are inching closer to an unexpected playoff spot, but they look like a shell of the team that started the season 7-2. Winning on Sunday was better than blowing a game to the Saints in the final seconds, but it shouldn't inspire much confidence.