The NFL Wrap: Lamar Jackson era has begun as Chiefs, Patriots and Rams all come unstuck

Week 15 in the NFL saw a series of upsets and has left the playoff race more tightly poised than we might have expected, with just two weeks to go. Here's what you need to know...

The NFC East is the weirdest division in football

The Dallas Cowboys turned up at the Indianapolis Colts on a five game win streak, knowing victory would give them one foot in the postseason. And then they didn't score a single point. For the first time since 2003. 0-27 loss.

That has reopened the door for the Washington Redskins, who were supposed to be out of it, having lost about 53 quarterbacks to injury, but still had enough to get past the Jacksonville Jaguars, who continue to be a parody of themselves.

And it leaves the Philadelphia Eagles in a right pickle. They found out last week that Carson Wentz has a stress fracture in his back. Believing their playoff hopes were all but done, the plan was going to be to let him sit out the rest of the season and play back-up quarterback Nick Foles.

Then Nick Foles did what Nick Foles does and surprised everyone, leading the Eagles to an upset win over the L.A. Rams on Sunday night. So do they stick or twist? And given what Foles did late last year, who even is the stick and who is the twist?

The Lamar Jackson era has begun in Baltimore

Joe Flacco was fit again for the Baltimore Ravens this weekend, but they stuck with rookie Lamar Jackson for the 20-12 win over Tampa Bay. There are concerns about Jackson’s longevity – whether he runs the ball too often, and takes too many hits, to possibly have a lengthy career as an NFL quarterback – but none of that matters right now.

Before Jackson came into the side, the Ravens did not look like playoff contenders. With him, at 8-6, they’re the current holders of a wildcard spot. And given the relative lack of quality in this year’s college quarterback class, there will be more than a few franchises regretting letting Jackson fall to the final pick of the first round at this year’s NFL draft.

Chiefs defense failing Mahomes

Thursday's last-gasp 29-28 defeat to divisional rivals the Los Angeles Chargers means that the Kansas City Chiefs have now lost to the three best offenses they have faced - Tom Brady's New England Patriots, Jared Goff's L.A. Rams and Philip Rivers' Chargers.

In those three games they've scored 119 points. Almost 40 points per game. And have zero wins to show for it.

We've always known that the Chiefs are over reliant on their offense. They average more points per game than any other team in the league, but only four teams have conceded more points, and none of them have a prayer of making the postseason. In fact, as it stands, the Chiefs are the only one of the 12 worst teams on that statistic who will be in the playoffs.

Patrick Mahomes is having an all-time NFL season, and it's a minor miracle that he's got the Chiefs to 11 wins when they're conceding as many points as they are. But sooner or later his defense are going to have to put a stop on a half-decent offense, or it will all end prematurely.

Bears clinch division

The Chicago Bears sealed their first NFC North title since 2010 with a 24-17 win over the Green Bay Packers, who are now officially out of playoff contention.

It was fitting that, in the game in which they did so, the man who has changed the game in Chicago, Khalil Mack, came up with 2.5 sacks on one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. The Bears are very much Super Bowl dark horses.

Patriots heading for unfamiliar territory

Despite one of the most extraordinary special teams plays of the season, the New England Patriots lost 17-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, suffering back-to-back defeats for the second time this season.

As things stand, the Patriots are only the third seed in the AFC, and will have to play in the wildcard round of the playoffs for the first time since 2009.