Week 14 kicks off tomorrow night with Green Bay visiting their NFC North rival Detroit.
Before we preview that game and the rest of Week 14, let’s quickly review this past week.
Week 13 Quick Hits
Lions 23 Bears 20 – Everyone in the country knew Matt Eberflus was going to be fired before anyone had a leftover sandwich. Chicago has to work on their lines in the off-season.
Cowboys 27 Giants 20 – That was a fun game for the Nation to watch. I guess you can feel good for Dallas fans getting their first win at home this year.
Packers 30 Dolphins 17 – Hey, look, Miami lost another cold weather game. Shocking. Tua Tagovailoa did have 365 yards in Miami’s loss. Green Bay did have 5 sacks.
Chiefs 19 Raiders 17 – Some teams just match-up well against others. Raiders seem to regularly push their AFC West foe. Chiefs didn’t win pretty, but they did win again. Patrick Mahomes had 306 yards. Isiah Pacheco averaged 6.3 yards per attempt on his 7 carries. Four different Chiefs had at-least 54 yards receiving. Chris Jones had his best game of the year, with 2 sacks. Kansas City winning on a botched snap, feels completely on-brand at this point.
Chargers 17 Falcons 13 – Atlanta is now 6-6, and 3-4 at home. Given the injuries Tampa Bay has, the South should been wrapped up by Atlanta. Instead, the division is still in play, because Atlanta regularly finds ways to disappoint. Atlanta was playing a Chargers team who played Monday night, while the Falcons were coming off a bye, at home; and they still couldn’t win. Justin Herbert threw for just 147 yards. Gus Edwards had 32 yards rushing to lead LA, and the Chargers still won. I like LA, but this result says more about the Falcons ineptness vs. anything else.
Steelers 44 Bengals 38 – Joe Burrow and Cincinnati fell to 4-8 on the year, 1-5 at home. Burrow is putting up huge numbers, one because he’s one of the best, and two because the Bengals defense is so bad; Cincinnati is constantly throwing the ball around. Russell Wilson threw for 414 yards, averaging 10.9 yards per attempt. Nine different Steelers had at-least 20 yards receiving. 4 sacks and a pick for the Pittsburgh defense.
Vikings 23 Cardinals 22 – Minnesota came back from a 13 point deficit to win. Vikings improved to 10-2 overall, 5-1 at home. Arizona dropped back to .500 at 6-6. After an early turnover, Aaron Jones only had 5 carries. Cam Akers had 4 more. Vikings finding a way to win, despite being 1 of 8 on 3rd down, and outgained 406 yards to 273. Arizona held the ball for nearly 36 minutes.
Colts 25 Patriots 24 – I like Anthony Richardson, but 12 of 24 isn’t going to cut it. Colts need to find a way to give him some easier completions. Drake Maye continues to impress for New England. This game is the perfect results for Patriots fans. A competitive game, where they don’t screw-up and win (and hurting their draft position).
Seahawks 26 Jets 21 – I’m amazed that Aaron Rodgers hasn’t come up with a phantom injury. It’s wild how bad this Jets team has been. Rodgers looks afraid to get hit. That’s the primary reason to believe this is the end for him. Seattle improved to 7-5 overall, 4-1 on the road. They’ve put themselves into good position in the NFC West.
Commanders 42 Titans 19 – DC ended their 3 game losing streak, with Tennessee proving to be the ideal elixir for all their ails. Jayden Daniels had 3 TD’s in the air, and another on the ground. Brian Robinson rushed for 103 yards on just 16 carries. Washington doesn’t figure to chase down Philadelphia in the NFC East, but at 8-5 the Commanders would currently be the 7th seed in the NFC Playoffs.
Texans 23 Jaguars 20 – Endless talk elsewhere you can find about Trevor Lawrence being knocked out. Mac Jones played reasonably well in relief. Houston is 8-5, but seems a bit wobbly. By his own admission, CJ Stroud is not playing particularly well. He did avoid a turnover here. Joe Mixon ran for 100 yards. Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz combined for 13 catches. Zero sacks for the Houston defense.
Rams 21 Saints 14 – LA got back to .500 at 6-6. The Rams were 4 of 9 on 3rd, while NO was just 5 of 15. Kyren Williams has a big game, with 104 yards rushing on 15 attempts. Just 3 catches and 17 yards for Cooper Kupp.
Buccaneers 26 Panthers 23 – An OT win for the Bucs in Carolina. Have to say, I’m relatively impressed with Carolina. They looked like one of the worst teams in a decade earlier in the year. The last month they won two games, and the last two weeks they lost to KC by 3, and lose this game in OT. For a bad team, with nothing to play for, they are competing. Some similar respect for Tampa Bay. When they suffered the injuries they did earlier in the year, they could have waived the white flag. Instead, they are tied with the Falcons at 6-6 in the NFC South. Atlanta maintains the edge though, as they have 2 head-to-head wins vs. Tampa Bay.
Eagles 24 Ravens 19 – Philadelphia has a good team. Maybe the 2nd best in the NFC. The Ravens did everything they could to help the Eagles return to Philadelphia with the win.
Bills 35 49ers 10 – It’s just become a lost year for the Niners. Had they stayed healthy, I think they’re a Super Bowl contender. As is, they’re staring up at the three other teams in their own division. Christian McCaffrey is back on IR, and expected to miss 6 weeks. They’ll have to get into the playoffs for him to potentially play again. The snow was quite the scene. The Bills are now 10-2 overall, 6-0 at home. They can beat you in a number of different ways. They’re a threat.
Broncos 41 Browns 32 – Jameis Winston giveth and taketh. Throws for 497 yards and loses. Happens when you throw multiple Pick 6’s. Broncos had two receivers (Courtland Sutton, and Marvin Mims) catch over 100 yards. 5’7 Jaleel McLaughlin ran for 84 yards on 14 carries. Denver is now 8-5.
Week 14 Games
All percentages from ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor.
Thursday December 5th
Green Bay at Detroit – Detroit won 24-14 earlier in the year at Green Bay. The Lions are 11-1, Green Bay is 9-3. Packers have to win, to have any chance of chasing down Detroit for the NFC North. (And of course Minnesota currently sits in-between these teams.) The Lions are a 60.4% favorite. Detroit is #1 in DVOA, with the 3rd ranked offense, 2nd ranked defense. GB is 5th overall in DVOA, with the 4th ranked offense, and 13th overall ranked defense.
Sunday December 8th
Jacksonville at Tennessee – Throw out the records, what could be more interesting than this game? 2-10 Jacksonville at 3-9 Tennessee for all the marbles.
New York Jets at Miami – Warm weather might feel good for Rodgers. Probably be less fun the Jets start getting boat raced.
Atlanta at Minnesota – Kurt Cousins visits one of his old teams. The Vikings are a 62.8% favorite.
New Orleans at New York Giants – The 4-8 Saints vs. the 2-10 G-Men.
Carolina at Philadelphia – Gave credit above to Carolina for competing over the last month; but that probably comes to an end here vs. the Eagles. Philadelphia a 85.7% favorite to win. Eagles are 12.5 point favorites.
Cleveland at Pittsburgh – Browns beat the Steelers 24-19 in Cleveland Nov. 21st. The Steelers are a 59.4% favorite at home.
Las Vegas at Tampa Bay – Good opportunity for Baker Mayfield and the Bucs to climb over .500. They are 68.7% favorites.
Seattle at Arizona – Huge game in the NFC West. The Cards and Seahawks played two weeks ago in Seattle, with the Seahawks winning 16-6. Arizona is a 57.4% favorite at home. Arizona is 7th overall in DVOA, while Seattle is just 18th.
Buffalo at LA Rams – The Bills will figure to have better weather in LA than the had at home this past weekend. Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford is a nice QB match-up. The Rams are 4 point dogs at home. The Bills are given a 63.1% chance to win.
Chicago at San Francisco – Do the Niners have one last charge in them? Chicago at home would figure to help. But maybe the Bears rally around their new Coach? SF has lost 3 in a row. Chicago has lost 6 in a row. SF is a 61.5% favorite.
LA Chargers at Kansas City – The Chargers look like a playoff team. Next year they might push for the AFC West crown. This Sunday, KC still figures to win. LA is 8th overall in DVOA (14th ranked offense, 6th ranked defense). KC is down to 12th overall in DVOA (9th ranked offense, 15th ranked defense).
Monday December 9th
Cincinnati at Dallas – This game looked better when the schedule was released. Cincinnati is a 5 point favorite.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.