NFL Week 15: Bills, Saints lead top trolls

ByAnthony Gharib ESPN logo
Monday, December 18, 2023

A Saturday NFL slate meant the trolls came out early during Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season.

The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first time since 2008, while the Cincinnati Bengals needed overtime to beat the Minnesota Vikings. The Las Vegas Raiders dominated the Los Angeles Chargers on "Thursday Night Football."

Here are the best verbal jabs of Week 15.

Buffalo Bills 31, Dallas Cowboys 10

The Bills snapped the Cowboys' five-game winning streak with a commanding performance on the ground.

Buffalo had 266 rushing yards, its most in a game since 2016 and the most Dallas has allowed since 2020, according to ESPN Stats & Information. James Cook ran for 179 yards and one touchdown and added 42 receiving yards and another score. It was also the 10th game this season in whichJosh Allen had a passing and rushing score, giving him the most such games in a season in NFL history.

The Bills followed up the comfortable win with a double troll on social media, one of which included Stephen A. Smith.

New Orleans Saints 24, New York Giants 6

The Saints' defense held the Giants scoreless in the second half and to just 193 total yards the entire game.

Derek Carr threw for 218 yards and a season-high three touchdowns on 23-of-28 passing. Tommy DeVito struggled with 177 passing yards and no touchdowns. New Orleans had a season-high seven sacks and held New York to 2-of-16 on third down.

The Saints made sure to troll DeVito's signature celebration.

Houston Texans 19, Tennessee Titans 16

No C.J. Stroud, no problem for the Texans, who kicked a 54-yard field goal to win the game in overtime.

Texans quarterbackCase Keenum threw for 229 yards and one touchdown in his first start since the 2021 season. Devin Singletary had 121 rushing yards, his third time this season with at least 100 rushing yards, a career high. The Titans had just 204 total yards and running backDerrick Henry had 10 scrimmage yards on 20 total touches, the fewest yards from scrimmage among players with at least 20 touches since individual stats were first tracked in 1933.

Houston and J.J. Watt trolled Tennessee in a game where the Titans wore Houston Oilers-inspired "Luv Ya Blue" uniforms.

Cleveland Browns 20, Chicago Bears 17

The Browns scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win their second straight game.

Joe Flacco threw for 374 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Flacco had 212 passing yards in the final frame, the most by a Browns quarterback in any quarter over the past 45 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Two Browns players had at least 100 receiving yards -- Amari Cooper (109) and David Njoku (104). Justin Fields finished with 196 total yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Cleveland had a creative video troll for Chicago.

Indianapolis 30, Pittsburgh 13

After falling behind 13-0 with 14:07 remaining in the second quarter, Indianapolis outscored Pittsburgh 30-0 the rest of the way.

Gardner Minshew threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns. The Colts outgained the Steelers 372 to 216, the fourth time the Steelers have been outgained by at least 150 yards this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Indianapolis snapped its eight-game losing streak against Pittsburgh.

Cincinnati 27, Minnesota 24

The Bengals scored 21 fourth-quarter points to force overtime and win their third straight game.

The Vikings went up by seven with 3:48 remaining in regulation, but Jake Browning drove the Bengals for a touchdown to tie the score at 24. After Minnesota failed to convert on fourth down in overtime, Cincinnati capped a six-play, 47-yard drive with a winning field goal.

Browning is the first Bengals quarterback to win three of his first four starts since Boomer Esiason in 1984.

Cincinnati kept receipts after its win.

Las Vegas 63, Los Angeles Chargers 21

Everything worked for the Raiders on "Thursday Night Football," as they put up the most points in a prime-time game since the 1970 merger.

Eight players scored -- the first time that's happened since the 1950 Los Angeles Rams -- including two Raiders on defense. Aidan O'Connell threw for 248 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers had a receiving and passing touchdown, the first Raiders player to do so in the same game since Marcus Allen in 1983.

The Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco the next day.

Las Vegas posted a clever graphic after the comfortable win.