Another week of football ending and another quarterback goes down for potentially the remainder of the regular season. The two teams from last season’s Super Bowl experienced bad losses in different ways. While some Super Bowl favorites had rough weeks, we now are seeing teams that looked out of the playoff race just a few weeks ago working their way back In, making for a log jam in the AFC and NFC wild card races.
Week 14 Game Watchability Rankings
Teams on Bye: Cardinals, Commanders
15. Panthers vs Saints: Divisional game and although New Orleans is technically in the division title mix, there’s just not recommendation that can be made to watch a game with this Carolina team in it. Bryce Young has been placed in a tough situation and at this point it is better to just look away, add talent, and start watching the Panthers in Fall of 2024.
14, Patriots vs Steelers: The Patriots are bad enough, but what is the deal with this Pittsburgh team? From a betting standpoint, you can never trust this Steelers team after they just lost to Arizona and in a way in which Arizona didn’t even seem to break a sweat. This could be competitive, but competitive much like the Patriots-Chargers 6-0 snooze fest was in Week 12. Thanks, but no thanks.
13, Colts vs Bengals: Indianapolis will have to thank Cincinnati before the game for pulling off a Monday Night victory over their division rival Jacksonville. The victory by the Bengals and unfortunately a Trevor Lawrence injury now leave the AFC South race wide open. Cincinnati won’t necessarily be an easy win for the Colts though, especially if Jake Browning can retain his magic from Monday night.
12, Lions vs Bears: Being three games out in front of the NFC North race, Detroit is nearing a division title for the first time in 20 years. The Lions bounced back from their Thanksgiving Day home loss to Green Bay and a win in Chicago should be no problem. Speaking of Chicago, the Bears are coming off a win over Minnesota just two weeks ago and with another Carolina loss it is seeming more and more like the Bears will be sitting with the 2024 first overall draft pick. There have definitely been darker times in The Windy City.
11, Packers vs Giants: With a win over Kansas City on Sunday Night Football and claiming victory in four of five games, Green Bay is suddenly surging. With a reasonable schedule remaining the once written off Packers look like they may just clinch a playoff berth. New York’s playoff hopes disappeared weeks ago, but with this game played in The Big Apple the Giants can play spoiler to a young Packers team.
10. Titans vs Dolphins: Miami are the top dogs of the AFC and their high potent offense hasn’t slowed down all season. One can question Miami’s ability to win games against good teams, but Tennessee isn’t necessarily one of them. Give the Titans a better shot since it appears Derrick Henry has avoided concussion protocol, but this will very likely be a Miami route.
9. Texans vs Jets: C.J. Stroud has been arguably the story of the year in the NFL this season. As weeks go by and Houston continues to win, his ticket in the MVP conversation becomes more and more clear. He won’t win it most likely, but this is the most impressive rookie year in arguably the 21st century. He looks like he’s been playing in the NFL eight more years than his rookie peers. Defensively, Stroud will face a strong test with New York, but as we’ve seen all year long, this Jets team won’t likely put anything close to the necessary points needed to win this game.
8. Vikings vs Raiders: Two teams from different conferences who saw a surge in their play for a couple weeks, but have now started to fall back in the standings. Minnesota has more wiggle room than Las Vegas, but not by much. With Green Bay, Los Angeles, and Seattle all in the mix, this is a big game for the purple. A loss for Vegas means they virtually need to win out and considering this team’s consistency that is less than likely.
7. Buccaneers vs Falcons: Yes, these are the top two NFC South teams with big divisional crown ramifications on the line, but how can anyone recommend watching an NFC South game. I’m sorry, this is the weakest group of teams in professional football and they are playing for a chance to either face Dallas or Philadelphia. No matter who wins this game or the division, it all will end the same way.
6. Jaguars vs Browns: Trevor Lawrence is the most recent quarterback injury casualty in a depressing theme for the 2023 season. Jacksonville will now be hanging on for dear life the rest of the regular season to hold on to the lead in the AFC South and even a playoff spot. Cleveland who is also in the mix in the AFC playoff picture is coming off a big loss to the Rams. The Browns defense has looked as good as anyone for much of the year, but have also had some real stinkers. Had Lawrence been playing in this game, this is probably a top three or four game of the week. Instead, this could be a potentially hard to watch game.
5. Broncos vs Chargers: With Kansas City leading the AFC West and three teams trying to hang around in the wild card race, a game like this seems like it is virtually a playoff elimination game. Denver’s five game winning streak ended after a loss to another AFC playoff contender, Houston. They will face a Los Angeles squad who just ended their three game losing streak, albeit by an unimpressive 6-0 win over a terrible New England team.
4. Rams vs Ravens: There’s a real chance that the 9-3 Baltimore Ravens are the best team in the AFC and it seems like no one is talking about it. Baltimore will face a Los Angeles Rams team that is sitting just outside of the playoffs and has a legitimate offense when it is healthy. It feels like Baltimore needs to stay in from of Kansas City and on pace with Miami in this crazy, wild, and injury ridden AFC.
3. Seahawks vs 49ers: A rematch of the Thanksgiving Day primetime game. San Francisco won that one on the road fairly easily and they have not slowed down, most recently destroying the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles in Philly. Seattle is now sitting on the outside of the playoff picture for the first time in many weeks. The last thing Pete Carrol’s team should be hoping for is a game on the road in San Francisco.
2. Bills vs Chiefs: AFC rivals who don’t seem to have the same mojo as recent years. Unbelievably, the Kansas City Chiefs are sliding down the AFC standings while the Buffalo Bills aren’t even in the playoff picture. Considering Aaron Rodgers didn’t play a full game this year and Joe Burrow is out for the season, these two would have been the logically favorites for the AFC crown. Instead we see two teams who are trying to still find their best football at Week 13 of the season. An intriguing matchup in which Buffalo could take a huge playoff blow or Kansas City may really need to start questioning whether Mahomes’ magic can carry another season without good receiving weapons.
1. Eagles vs Cowboys: Two of the three best teams in the NFC and the top two teams in the NFC East, Philadelphia and Dallas face off for the second time this season. Dallas lost the first one in Philadelphia, but a win here would suddenly find the streaking Cowboys as the top team in the East. It may be tough as the Eagles just earned a big wake up call with a lesson making loss at the hands of San Francisco. This has playoff or even NFC Championship matchup written all over it. The Eagles and Cowboys put on a show in their late season matchup last season. Here’s hoping they do it again.
The Brewball NFL Power Rankings
- San Francisco 49ers (9-3)
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-2)
- Baltimore Ravens (9-3)
- Kansas City Chiefs (8-4)
- Miami Dolphins (9-3)
- Dallas Cowboys (9-3)
- Detroit Lions (9-3)
- Houston Texans (7-5)
- Denver Broncos (6-6)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4)
- Cleveland Browns (7-5)
- Indianapolis Colts (7-5)
- Buffalo Bills (6-6)
- Los Angeles Rams (6-6)
- Green Bay Packers (6-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
- Seattle Seahawks (6-6)
- Minnesota Vikings (6-6)
- Atlanta Falcons (6-6)
- Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
- Los Angeles Chargers (5-7)
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-6)
- New Orleans Saints (5-7)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7)
- Tennessee Titans (4-8)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-10)
- New York Jets (4-9)
- New York Giants (4-8)
- Chicago Bears (4-8)
- Washington Commanders (4-9)
- New England Patriots (2-10)
- Carolina Panthers (1-11)