We officially have a shift at the top of the NFC. Not only does Aaron Rodgers own the Chicago Bears, but him and the Green Bay Packers now own the top spot in the NFC. The Chiefs should look to put a motion in to play the Las Vegas Raiders for all 17 games of the NFL season. Dallas has all but put away the NFC East division. The week also provided some great games. The Bills and Buccaneers faced off for an early season Super Bowl prediction and the game lived up to the hype. The Vikings and Steelers also created an entertaining game, but one that likely drove both fan bases crazy. Week 14 provided a little bit of everything a football fan could hope for.
Chiefs Offense Catches Fire Against Las Vegas Again
If Kansas City played Las Vegas every week, people would have no questions as to whether this team is as strong as the Chiefs teams that have played in the last two Super Bowls. After a 49-9 win on Sunday the Chiefs now have outscored Las Vegas 89-23 in two outings. The occasional lack of Travis Kelce output in the offense still has to be a mild concern for the Chiefs since he has been an integral part of the offense in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl window, but Andy Reid has to be happy with the improvement of his team’s defense. The Chiefs average 34 points against in their first seven games, but have not given up more than 17 points since and have averaged giving up less than 11 points in the last six games. Kansas City hasn’t had the consistent offensive firepower this season, but if the defense continues to play this way it might not matter. They will get a big test this week as they head to Los Angeles to face Justin Herbert and the Chargers in a battle to hold first place in the AFC West. It should also be a good measuring stick for how for along the Chiefs have come this season considering they lost to them in the early part of the season.
Bucs Beat Bills Despite Allen’s Gut Check Performance
Josh Allen did everything he could to get the Buffalo Bills a big road win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, including sacrificing a left foot sprain. Allen was magnificent, becoming the fourth player in NFL history to throw for over 300 yards (308) and rush for more than 100 yards (109). The Bills did everything they could to comeback from a 24-3 deficit at halftime, including scoring 17 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. Unfortunately for Buffalo, Allen’s magic ran out. The Bills won the coin toss only to go three and out to open overtime. It took Tom Brady and the Bucs only six plays before Brady hit Breshad Perriman for a crossing route with no one in front of him to score a 58 yard game winning touchdown. It was Brady’s 700th career passing touchdown (including playoff TDs) and added to his completion total in which he passed Drew Brees earlier in the game for the all time lead. With four extremely winnable games in the final weeks, the Bucs should clinch the division next week and have a realistic chance to surpass Green Bay for the top seed if the Packers slip up in any game. The Bills have now lost three of four games and find themselves in the seventh and final position of the AFC playoffs with Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Denver all right on their tails. If Josh Allen is a risk to miss any time, it may be time to panic for an early season Super Bowl favorite.
Murray Interceptions the Difference in Cardinals Loss to Rams
The Arizona Cardinals will go as far as Kyler Murray and his ability to play mistake free football will take them. Against the Los Angeles Rams Murray showed some of the growing pains he has experienced in his previous two seasons in the NFL by throwing two interceptions, including a first quarter pick from the Rams’ four yard line. Those two drive killers might have been the deciding factor as Los Angeles protected the ball all game and won the game 30-23. It was the type of game Rams fans haven’t seen in quite some time. The Rams played an extremely well rounded game on offense which included Matthew Stafford throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns, one being to Cooper Kupp who continues to be unguardable. Odell Beckham Jr. even got in on the action with 77 yards receiving and a touchdown. It’s a huge win for the Rams who have a tough remaining schedule with Seattle and San Francisco at home, while traveling to Minnesota and Baltimore. It may be hard to surpass Arizona in the NFC West, but the Rams should have a wild card position nearly locked with one more win.
Yes, Aaron Rodgers Still Owns the Bears
The Bears kept it interesting for a while. Jumping out to a 24-14 lead against the rival Green Bay Packers was pretty good considering how poor they have looked this season, but as soon as the Packers took the lead in the early parts of the third quarter, anyone who has followed this rivalry since Aaron Rodgers has been around knew the game was essentially over. Rodgers continued to show that he owns Chicago’s football team by putting on an MVP performance with 341 pass yards and four touchdowns in the Packers’ 45-30 win. To make things even sweeter for Green Bay, they took first place of the NFC North following the Arizona Cardinals loss on Monday Night Football. Green Bay’s remaining schedule is not a cakewalk, but also not a death march. The Lions game in the final weekend will be a certain win, but Baltimore on the road, and Cleveland and Minnesota at home should all be quite winnable as well. This season has been all over the place as far as teams’ performance consistency, but the Packers have been quite possible the most consistent of any team in the NFL. Clinching a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs would do the Packers a lot of good in their quest to get Aaron Rodgers to his first Super Bowl since 2011.
Cowboys Deal Big Blows to Washington’s Division Title Hopes
The Dallas Cowboys took one giant step towards an NFC East division title and playoff berth while the Washington Football team did the opposite in the Cowboys’ 27-20 road win on Sunday. Dallas now finds themselves one win away from clinching the division title. Dak Prescott continued to struggle since returning from his injury, throwing for 211 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The story for Dallas was the unbelievable play of sure thing Defensive Rookie of the Year, Micah Parsons, who had two sacks and a forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Considering the Cowboys will play three of their remaining four games against all of their divisional opponents, who they are undefeated against, people should get ready to write their names into the playoffs with a pen.
Browns Pull Within Game of Ravens
A couple weeks ago I was talking about how the Baltimore Ravens had a knack for doing what a lot of other teams struggled with, winning close games. Since then the Ravens have lost two straight games to division rivals by a combined three points, most recently 24-22 to the Cleveland Browns this weekend. The Ravens have no dropped from the top seed in the AFC to fourth in just a couple weeks and have the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals within a game of them for the AFC North title. Considering both of those teams are currently out of the playoffs, it means the Ravens have to be viewed as anything but a certainty to make the post season. Considering Lamar Jackson exited the game with a sprained ankle and the Ravens play the NFC leading Green Bay Packers this weekend, panic may be setting in for Ravens fans. On the flip side the Browns, a team who has traded of wins and losses for seven straight weeks while dealing with countless injuries, has some how pulled within striking distance of a division that seemed all, but lost. Their final four games include Las Vegas, @ Green Bay, @ Pittsburgh, and a potential division siding game against Cincinnati at on the final Sunday of the regular season. The AFC North may not pack an elite team, but the playoff race should be entertaining as hell as we enter the final lap of the season.
Vikings Nearly Blow 29 Point Lead, Survive Pittsburgh Comeback
The Minnesota Vikings finally looked like they weren’t going to be in a heart pounding, one possession game. They jumped out to a 29-0 third quarter lead over Pittsburgh on Thursday Night Football and were dominating the Steelers on both sides of the football. A Najee Harris touchdown just before the fourth quarter left a small, yet unlikely light of hope on for the Steelers. That light of hope quickly became a beaming spotlight as two touchdowns within the first three minutes of the final quarter cut the Vikings lead down to 29-20 (the Steelers had a failed two point conversion). A Vikings collapse in a season where self infliction has been a large part of their seven one possession losses seemed like a certainty until Kirk Cousins unleashed a 62 yard touchdown bomb to K.J. Osborn. The 16 point cushion gave Vikings fans comfort for only a few minutes as Cousins threw his second pick of the game in the next possession and Ben Roethlisberger led a drive that ended in a Pat Freiermuth touchdown catch and successful two point conversion. A short Vikings six play drive and punt gave the Steelers one final drive to tie the game. Thanks to a boneheaded play by Chase Claypool in which he caught a first down pass and gave a first down point celebration with a running clock before a Steelers lineman attempted to take the ball back to the line of scrimmage, but dropped the ball and wasted precious seconds, the Steelers may have lost the opportunity for one additional play on the final drive. The Steelers worked their way to the Vikings’ 12 yard line and Roethlisberger threw a near perfect pass to Freiermuth that would’ve give the Steelers a chance at another two point conversion to tie, but Vikings safety Harrison Smith made a pro bowl level play by knocking the ball loose for an incomplete pass. A fun game for neutral fans provided all of the high potential and frustrating lows of both borderline playoff teams. Both teams still have plenty of work to do to find the post season,
Looking Ahead to Week 15
Bye weeks are finally over. A full sleight of 16 games this week and I’m here for it all.
Thursday Night Football gets one of the best games of the week with the Chiefs looking to avenge their Week Three loss to the Chargers and hold their spot a top the NFC West. With Justin Herbert’s cannon arm we saw this past weekend, hopefully we get to see two quarterbacks we expect to play in the AFC West for years, sling it all over the field.
The New England Patriots have become must see football and we are fortunate to get to watch them on Saturday without the distraction of any other games when the play the Colts. Yeah, Indianapolis might not make the playoffs but I really have enjoyed watching this Colts team in the second half of the season. It will be another game that tests New England as we all wait to see if the slipper falls off.
Bengals vs Broncos is a potential eliminator match considering both are outside the playoffs right now with the same record of 7-6. It’s a fun stylistic match with a very good Denver defense matching up against a sometimes high octane Bengals offense.
Packers/Ravens should be a really good contest and is important for both teams for different reasons. The Packers want to do all they can to protect their home field advantage while the Ravens are doing all they can to prevent a late season collapse and miss the playoffs. Hopefully Lamar Jackson is healthy enough to play.
The final intriguing game of the week is the Sunday Night Football game between New Orleans and Tampa Bay. New Orleans is in a loaded battle for the final NFC wild card spot and has given Tampa Bay trouble in the short time Tom Brady has been there. Tampa needs to win this in order to keep pace with Green Bay for a first round bye.
Can’t wait to have 16 games at my disposal this weekend. With the way the league has played out this season, nearly every game will be important from here on out. Sit back and let the football gods do their work.