Mike Florio weighs in on the biggest storylines of Week 15:

1. Cheeseheads, beware
Packers fans are feeling pretty good about their team right now. After a sluggish 4-4 start, Green Bay has won five straight.

Steelers fans, on the other hand, are feeling mighty low. A 6-2 mark has melted into a 6-7 nightmare that has the team on the brink of elimination.

But as the folks with the triangular foam hats begin to make their way into Heinz Field on Sunday, they should keep in mind that the roster largely consists of men who made it to the top of the mountain a year ago, men who have recently seen their pride trampled. Men who are feeling desperate to prove that they're the same men they were a year ago.

So while the very best that the 2009 Steelers can muster might not be enough to forge a spot in the playoffs and, ultimately, a ride from the No. 6 seed to the Super Bowl, they're good enough to find a way on 10 days' rest to beat any team that invades their turf.

And who knows? If they can get into the postseason, maybe they can do what the 2005 team did by winning three games on the road and then taking virtually all of Pittsburgh to Detroit for Super Bowl 40.

2. Suddenly, the Pats can't win on the road
The 2009 Patriots have something in common with the 2007 version of the franchise. They've won all seven of their home games.

The road, however, hasn't been kind to New England. Apart from a 35-7 London lambasting of the Bucs (who barely qualify as an NFL team this season), the Patriots have not won a single road game.

They've got two more chances to avoid a winless campaign in games played in American stadiums other than their own, and the Pats need to win one of them — possibly two — to ensure another AFC East title.

In Buffalo, completing a sweep won't be easy. In Week 1, the Pats barely escaped with a win against a Bills team that arguably is much better today than it was in September. But history is working against the Bills; the Patriots have beaten them 12 times in a row.

For New England, extending the string to 13 could be the difference between making the postseason or going home.

3. Quietly, the Saints own the Cowboys
There's a sense that Saturday night's game between Dallas and New Orleans could be one of those "changing of the guard" games, like the '85 Bears blowing out the 'Boys, 44-0, in Dallas.

After all, the Cowboys are the more established team in the NFC, with five Super Bowl trophies and a long run of playing competitive football deep into December, even in the occasional years when they don't make the playoffs.

But the reality is the Saints own this series. They've played five times since 1998, and the Saints have won every time. In 1998, the Saints won 22-3 at home against a team that still had the triplets (Aikman, Irvin, Emmitt) intact. The next year, the Saints won again at the Superdome, 31-24. In 2003, the Saints triumphed again at home, 13-7. A season later, it was Saints 27, Cowboys 13 in Dallas.

And in the only game played between these two franchises with Sean Payton serving as coach of New Orleans, that Saints rolled into Texas Stadium on a Sunday night and rolled over the Cowboys, 42-17.

So the guard will change in this game only if the Cowboys find a way to beat the 13-0 Saints for the first time since 1994. And there's a good chance that, in the end, the Saints will be extending their winning streak over American's Team to half a dozen.

4. Playoffs start three weeks early for the Dolphins
With so many teams in the AFC clustered at 7-6 and 6-7 (and, thanks to Jacksonville's loss on Thursday night, 7-7), the final three weeks of the season will feature multiple pre-playoff playoff games.

One team faces such conditions each week.

The Dolphins have the 6-7 Titans on Sunday in a game that Tennessee desperately needs in order to keep its dream of digging out of an 0-6 hole alive.

If the Texans beat the Rams Sunday, the Fins will face in Week 16 a 7-7 Houston team that's desperate to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Then, if the Steelers beat the Packers and Ravens at home the next two weekends (don't bet against it), the 8-7 Steelers come to Miami for the final game of the regular season.

So why wait until January to enjoy the postseason? For the Dolphins and each of their opponents, it begins right now.

5. Look for Ochocinco to have a huge day
Tragedy struck in Cincinnati this week, for the second time this season. Earlier, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's wife died suddenly at 50. Now, receiver Chris Henry is gone.

Receiver Chad Ochocinco has taken it hard, and there's a sense he plans to honor Henry in every possible way, including by playing harder than ever on every single snap.

So forget about Ochocinco's squabble with Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman. Ochocinco will be determined to pay homage to Henry the best way Ochocinco knows how to make a statement — by getting to the end zone as many times as he can.

If Ochocinco can will himself to paydirt in order to act out his latest touchdown celebration, he surely can get there multiple times when his goal is far more significant.

6. Showcasing of Mike Vick continues
The Eagles reportedly decided a couple of months ago that quarterback Mike Vick will spend only one season in Philadelphia. So the question is whether they'll cut him before a $1.5 million roster bonus comes due in March 2010, or whether they'll be able to trade him.

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Over the past few weeks, coach Andy Reid apparently has been using Vick in circumstances that, while not generating a ton of yardage, is generating touchdowns. And touchdowns generate buzz. And if enough buzz is generated, some other owner might decide to suggest to his front office that Vick be pursued.

The more owners that do this, the more leverage the Eagles will have.

7. The 81s get together again
Receivers are by nature a self-centered bunch. And so they're undoubtedly jealous of each other.

When it comes to Terrell Owens and Randy Moss, green is the operative color, especially as it relates to T.O.'s feelings regarding Moss.

In 2007, when Moss and the Patriots traveled to Dallas for a game against Owens and the Cowboys, T.O. left a note for the media explaining that he wouldn't be talking to them, due to a "high volume of questions for the Original 81 about the other 81."

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They each caught six passes and scored a touchdown in New England's win.

Later that year, Owens scored four touchdowns during an afternoon game, and Moss matched it with four of his own in primetime.

When they last met in September, Moss caught 12 passes for 146 yards; Owens caught only two for 46.

Most recently, Moss passed Owens for second place on the all-time touchdown reception list. Currently, Moss has 144, and Owens has 143.

If Owens plans to leapfrog Moss on Sunday, the "Original 81" will have to be prepared to have a huge day, given that Moss likely will be charged up and extra motivated in response to the storm of criticism he received for apparently dogging it in Week 14.