As Week 15 wrapped up across the NFL, the playoff picture began to sharpen - but not without a heavy dose of bad news for several contenders. While the Eagles managed to keep a low profile this week, the spotlight shifted toward teams whose postseason hopes just took a major hit, either by elimination or injury.
Let’s start in Green Bay, where the Packers are still very much alive in the NFC playoff race. At 9-4-1, they’re chasing the Bears for the division crown, but even if they fall short, a wild card berth is well within reach.
The problem? They may have to do it without their defensive anchor, Micah Parsons.
Parsons, who’s been a game-wrecker all season, went down with a non-contact knee injury while closing in on Broncos rookie QB Bo Nix. The moment he hit the turf, it didn’t look good - and unfortunately, the early fears were confirmed. Parsons has torn his ACL, and that’s a season-ender, with a long road to recovery ahead.
It’s a brutal blow for a Packers defense that’s leaned heavily on Parsons’ explosiveness off the edge. He’s been the kind of player who can flip a game with a single play - a strip sack, a third-down pressure, a tone-setting tackle. Now, the Packers will have to find a way to replace that production and leadership on the fly.
Still, the locker room isn’t throwing in the towel. Despite the loss to Denver, players remained upbeat, insisting they have enough talent to make a deep playoff run. And they’re not wrong - the roster is built to compete, but the margin for error just got a lot thinner.
Green Bay isn’t the only team reeling from a major injury. In Kansas City, the news was even more devastating.
Just minutes before the Chiefs were officially eliminated from playoff contention, Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL of his own. It’s the first time in his career that he’ll miss the postseason - and it marks a sobering moment for a franchise that’s been the gold standard in the AFC for the better part of a decade.
For the Chiefs, this isn’t just about losing a quarterback - it’s about losing the quarterback. Mahomes has been the face of their dynasty run, and now the organization faces a long offseason with more questions than answers.
The injury not only ends his 2025 campaign, but it casts a shadow over the start of 2026 as well. The Chiefs’ window isn’t closed, but it’s definitely creaking.
Meanwhile, the injury bug didn’t stop there. The Ravens are holding their breath after linebacker Teddye Buchanan - the team’s second-leading tackler - went down with what’s believed to be another ACL tear. More tests are on the way, but if the early diagnosis holds, Baltimore will be without one of its defensive cornerstones just as the postseason begins.
And out west, the Rams may have to move forward without Davante Adams, who exited with a significant hamstring injury. The team hasn’t released a full timeline yet, but “significant” is never a word you want attached to your WR1 in mid-December.
This is the time of year when injuries hit different. Every game is magnified.
Every roster move matters. And for players facing 9-to-12-month rehabs, a December injury doesn’t just end this season - it could jeopardize the start of the next one, too.
With the playoffs just around the corner, the stakes are higher, and the cost of attrition is steeper. For teams like the Packers, Chiefs, Ravens, and Rams, the path forward just got a lot more complicated.