NFL Winners and Losers: Tua Tagovailoa proves his value again as he shines without Tyreek Hill

Last Monday night was a holiday for those who still question Tua Tagovailoa's place in the NFL quarterback hierarchy. Tyreek Hill left with an ankle injury, and the Miami Dolphins struggled on offense and took a bad loss to the Tennessee Titans. It looked like more evidence that Tagovailoa isn't a top-tier quarterback unless he's throwing to Hill.

It was a lot quieter Sunday for Tagovailoa's doubters.

Tagovailoa isn't just a product of having Hill on his side. Hill was inactive and Tagovailoa had a huge day against a very good New York Jets defense. He completed his first 13 passes as he helped the Dolphins to an easy 30-0 win over the Jets. The Dolphins couldn't afford to compound their Titans setback by losing again to the Jets, especially with the Buffalo Bills lurking in the AFC East, and Tagovailoa made sure that didn't happen. At halftime Tagovailoa was 15-of-17 for 168 yards and the Dolphins led 24-0. He finished 21-of-24 for 224 yards. He could have padded his stats more if the Jets were more competitive.

The Dolphins' struggles Monday night weren't as simple as Tagovailoa being exposed because he was without Hill. Miami builds its game plans around Hill and targets him as often as it can. Any smart team would if it had a game-breaking talent like that. When you lose a superstar in the first half, it's hard to adjust the entire plan on the fly.

The Dolphins knew this week they were unlikely to have Hill. And Tagovailoa was great without him. His 60-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle gave Miami a 17-0 lead to practically put the game away — the Jets' offense decided to be horrible again Sunday — and it was the type of explosive play that Tagovailoa has made all season. It's why he should probably get more buzz in the MVP race.

Yes, Jaylen Waddle is an excellent WR2 and Tagovailoa had a big day throwing his way. It's correct that Mike McDaniel is a fantastic Xs and Os coach and that helps Tagovailoa. But by now we should have reached the expiration date on crediting Tagovailoa's success to others around him. Other quarterbacks have good coaches and playmaking receivers around them, and it's not held against them. Tagovailoa has positioned himself in the top end of NFL quarterbacks, and is probably about to get paid as one.

The Dolphins have a big decision to make on Tagovailoa after this season. He's due for a huge contract as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. There were concerns about his concussion history when it came to that deal, and perhaps even some worry that he wasn't worth a deal in the $45 million to $55 million per-year range like other top quarterbacks are making. But Sunday was a good argument for paying Tagovailoa. He's plenty more than just the guy passing it to Hill.

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

WINNERS

DeMeco Ryans' Coach of the Year case: On Sunday, the Houston Texans didn’t have NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year lock C.J. Stroud at quarterback. They were on the road against a Tennessee Titans team coming off a win over the Dolphins in Miami. The Texans trailed most of the game.

But Houston won in overtime. The Texans might be heading to the playoffs. And Ryans might be your NFL Coach of the Year.

The Texans kept it close, tied it late in regulation on a Case Keenum touchdown pass to Noah Brown and then in overtime they drove downfield and won on a field goal as OT expired. The 19-16 win is huge in the AFC wild-card race.

Ryans is having a great rookie season. Stroud has been a big reason for the Texans’ 8-6 record. But without Stroud on Sunday, the Texans still got a big win. That will look great to Coach of the Year voters.

Joe Flacco’s feel-good story: When the Cleveland Browns trailed the Chicago Bears 17-7, and Flacco had thrown a couple of huge interceptions, it seemed like Flacco’s fun ride was over.

In actuality, he was setting up another great chapter of it.

Flacco hit Amari Cooper for a touchdown, then led a drive that included a couple of big David Njoku catches that ended in a go-ahead field goal by Dustin Hopkins with 32 seconds left. The Browns won 20-17, getting lucky when a wild Hail Mary was in Darnell Mooney’s hands but bounced up as Mooney hit the ground and was intercepted. Cleveland remained on top of the AFC wild-card race.

Flacco made some key mistakes and didn’t make many plays until the fourth quarter. But when the Browns needed him, he came through. That's incredible for a player who was unsigned until mid-November.

Patrick Mahomes: He made sure he didn't have another frustrating week.

A week after losing to the Buffalo Bills and unloading on the officials over an offsides penalty, Mahomes made sure a Kadarius Toney mistake couldn't cost the Kansas City Chiefs another win (though Toney tried, with a dropped pass that was intercepted). He looked like vintage Mahomes, making some fantastic passes in a 27-17 win over the New England Patriots. He had 305 yards and two touchdowns. A touchdown pass to Clyde Edwards-Helaire was typical Mahomes, throwing off platform for the score.

The Chiefs still have their issues but they also have Mahomes, and that means they'll remain contenders.

Baker Mayfield: He took a one-year, $4-million deal this past offseason, less than what some backups make, just to have a shot to start for the salary-cap-strapped Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's turning out great for both sides.

Mayfield had a huge day in a big 34-20 win over the Green Bay Packers. He threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns. Mayfield made some history, joining Ken O'Brien and Nick Foles as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 375 yards with four touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a game. He's the first visiting quarterback to ever post a perfect passer rating at Lambeau Field, the Buccaneers said. Mayfield's touchdown to David Moore, who had a great run after the catch, put the game away with 6:30 remaining. The Buccaneers are 7-7 and very much in the NFC South race.

The Packers followed up a bad loss to the Giants with a damaging home loss to the Bucs. They have given back all of the gains they made beating the Lions and Chiefs. Jordan Love was generating a lot of positive attention when the Packers were hot. On Sunday, Love was outplayed by the forgotten quarterback on the other side.

Philadelphia Eagles’ division title hopes: The Dallas Cowboys probably needed to win out to take the NFC East. That didn’t happen.

The Cowboys were embarrassed in a blowout 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Even if the Philadelphia Eagles lose on Monday night at the Seattle Seahawks, they’d still be tied for the division lead and have tiebreaker advantages over Dallas.

That means Dallas needs to figure out how to win on the road. The Cowboys have been great at home and just OK on the road most of the season. But after getting steamrolled at the Bills, they’re likely to start the playoffs on the road. And it looks like Buffalo might make it in the AFC postseason field.

LOSERS

Philadelphia Eagles’ No. 1 seed hopes: The Eagles might win the NFC East but will need the San Francisco 49ers to lose another game. That doesn’t seem likely.

The 49ers continue to crush the rest of the NFL. They blasted the Cardinals, 45-29, on Sunday, with Brock Purdy throwing for four touchdowns as he strengthens his case to be the MVP favorite.

If the 49ers win out, they’ll be the top seed in the NFC and two home games from a Super Bowl trip. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the conference.

Sam Howell and Ron Rivera: It didn’t look great for the Washington Commanders’ head coach and quarterback by the end of Sunday’s game.

Rivera’s defense was bad again in a 28-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. And Howell was replaced in the fourth quarter by Jacoby Brissett, who immediately lit a fire with the offense, throwing for more yards in half of a quarter than Howell did in three-and-a-half quarters.

Rivera’s future seems to be sealed. It seems hard to believe he’ll be back for another season. Howell started this season with some positives but has faded in recent weeks, and probably hasn’t done enough to earn another season as the starter if Washington has other options. Both could be out of their jobs even before the end of the season.

Tommy DeVito's magic: The Giants QB has been one of the feel-good stories of the NFL season, but it's not like he has arrived as a can't miss, week-in and week-out star.

DeVito and the New York Giants had a rough day in a 24-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints. The offense generated little behind DeVito, who was coming off a fine game in a Monday night win over the Packers. New York didn't score a touchdown. The Giants looked like they did for much of the first half of the season, going through the motions as they got buried by a mediocre Saints team.

DeVito still has a few more chances to start and put some good things on tape. But after a great night against the Packers, DeVito and the Giants had a day to forget in New Orleans.

Anyone who attended Falcons-Panthers (not that many did): Not many Carolina Panthers fans were interested in sitting through the rain to watch their 1-12 team on Sunday.

It's not like those season-ticket holders who stayed warm at home had many regrets. It was a 7-3 Atlanta Falcons lead at halftime. There were almost no highlight plays. It was 7-6 late into the fourth quarter.

Fittingly, a Desmond Ridder interception cost the Falcons a chance to put the game away. That came after Bijan Robinson fumbled, which caused Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to bench him. That culminated a day when Smith gave Robinson, Drake London and Kyle Pitts a combined 13 touches. The Panthers put together a long drive after Ridder's fumble. Instead of letting Chuba Hubbard score with less than two minutes remaining, the Falcons tackled him at the two-yard line, which meant they wouldn't get the ball back. Carolina kicked a field goal and won, 9-7.

The Falcons took a bad, bad loss in a tight NFC South race. If Smith loses his job after the season, this game will be one of the biggest reasons why. Not that anybody was watching.