LOS ANGELES — There is less than a month to go until the NFL playoffs and nobody is safe, including the Dallas Cowboys who are desperately trying to hold onto first place in the NFC East.

There aren't a lot of exciting matchups in week 15 but there's still plenty of intrigue and lots to play for especially if your looking to clinch a division title or a playoff berth.

The Cowboys badly need a win over the Los Angeles Rams if they are going to maintain top spot and keep up to the Philadelphia Eagles, who they visit next week in a possible winner-take-all contest.

Dallas is 2-4 since week nine but they still lead the division with a 6-7 record. The Eagles have the same record but Dallas holds the tiebreaker after beating Philadelphia earlier in the season.

"This has been a streaky team and yes, you got to get that first one to get the second one," said Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. "That's just the mindset. Let's focus on today. Let's focus on the now."

The Rams can't afford another loss either as they are knocking on the door of a wild card spot after winning two straight including a 28-12 victory over Seattle in their last game.

Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff knowns his team has momentum on their side and they are hoping to run with that.

"We do know the urgency is there and the value of each game at this point," Goff said. "You treat every game the same with the same approach, but we know we are coming down the stretch here and need to make some things happen."

The Cowboys know that no matter what happens over the next two weeks, their regular season will end with a bang. Dallas closes out their season with a game against long-time rival Washington Redskins.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen will be in the spotlight as the Bills have a shot at clinching their second consecutive playoff berth in three years with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

A victory would lock up a wild card spot in the AFC and keep them in the hunt for an AFC East title.

"I just know we're trying to go 1-0 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and if that results in us locking in a playoff spot with two games left in the season, that's a pretty dang good feeling," said Bills tight end Lee Smith.

A victory by the energized Steelers and Pittsburgh would vault over the Bills for the AFC's top wild-card spot.

The Steelers have turned their season around after the loss of their starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a dismal 1-4 start.

Pittsburgh has now won three in a row and seven of their last eight contests to position itself to make the playoffs.

Earlier this month, the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals matchup looked like one of the most mundane matchups going.

That was before Spygate II materialized which means this is the first time all season people may actually want to watch a game involving the 1-12 Bengals.

The Bengals have accused New England of filming Cincinnati's sideline last Sunday in a potential effort to steal signals.

Although the Patriots have admitted that they "inappropriately filmed" part of the game, they're insisting that their video crew was only there to film a video about one of their scouts.

"The football team, the football staff and the coaching staff had nothing to do with what happened. Nothing. So, we have no involvement in it," bristled Patriots head coach Bill Belichick at a news conference on Wednesday.

While the NFL investigates, the Patriots have turned their attention toward booking a playoff spot for the 17th time in 20 seasons. All they need to do that is a win or a tie against the hapless Bengals. — AFP