It’s hard to believe it is already week 14, but this set of matchups has been one of my favorites all season after a dramatic set and a clearer picture for playoffs.
Thursday night started the weekend off right with a huge NFC South game between the Falcons and Saints for an impressive offensive face-off. The Saints, who planned to feature rookie Alvin Kamara had to readjust after Kamara took a big hit and was out with a concussion, looking to Mark Ingram to compensate. After returning from an ankle injury, Saints’ Marshon Lattimore had a big pick off Ryan, and the Saints followed up with a 47-yard field goal. Brees connected to Michael Thomas in the 3rd quarter for a touchdown, and Matt Ryan, who threw three interceptions in the game, connected to Mohamed Sanu to tie the game at 17-17. With under four minutes left in the game, Falcons’ kicker Matt Bryant secured a field goal at the 52 to give the Falcons a win of 20-17. The 8-5 Falcons will play the Buccaneers and the 9-4 Saints will play the Jets.
The league is so much more fun with Josh Gordon in it. The Browns almost ruined their perfect (losing) season against Green Bay, but the power of playoff prayer delivered for Green Bay. The Packers clinched a must win before the return of Aaron Rogers, who is set to play week 15. This was a game of firsts for Cleveland: the first game since the firing of Sashi Brown, and Josh Gordon’s first game at home since 2014. Gordon had one touchdown and 69 yards. Brett Hundley had three touchdowns and no interceptions, throwing 35 of 46 for 265 yards, while DeShone Kizer threw 20 of 28 for 214 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The 7-6 Packers will play the Panthers next week and the 0-13 Browns will play the Ravens.
Another week gone by, and Jameis Winston still doesn’t know what a W tastes like. Matthew Stafford started for the Lions despite suffering a hand injury last week against the Ravens, and threw 36 of 44 for 381 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Winston threw 26 of 38 for 285 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Theo Riddick had himself a day, with two touchdowns for the Lions, one in the first quarter and another in the third. The final score was 24-21.The 4-9 Buccaneers will play the Falcons next and the 7-6 Lions will play the Bears.
After a rough losing streak for the Chiefs, they finally secured a win this week over Oakland in Kansas City. Kareem Hunt secured a touchdown early in the second quarter, but the real star for Kansas City was Harrison Butker, the kicker. Butker had four field goals and two extra points, all good, featuring one monster of a 53-yard kick in the first quarter to get the first points on the board for the Chiefs. Marshawn Lynch had a touchdown in the fourth quarter followed with another by Jared Cook, but it was too little too late for the Raiders, losing with a final score of 26-15. Derek Carr threw 24 of 41 for 211 yards, and Alex Smith threw 20 of 34 for 268 yards. The 6-7 Raiders will play the Cowboys and the 7-6 Chiefs will play the Chargers.
The Panthers are legit, as proven by a big win over a really good Vikings team. The game was tied for most of the first half, but the Panthers started putting points on the board and going unanswered in the third, with a touchdown after Newton connected to Devin Funchess, with an extra point and then a field goal from Graham Gano. Keenum answered in the fourth quarter by connecting to Adam Thielen, who had 105 receiving yards total, followed by a 2-point conversion and a field goal from Kai Forbath to tie the game at 24-24 with less than two minutes left in the game. The Panthers sealed the fate of the game with a late touchdown by Jonathan Stewart, who led the rushing game with 103 yards, for a final score of 31-24. The 10-3 Vikings will play the Bengals next and the 9-4 Panthers will play the Packers.
The offensive future of the 49ers is looking much better after a solid performance by Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo threw 20 of 33 for 334 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Houston quarterback situation was much less optimistic, after Tom Savage took a big hit by Elvis Dumervil, and it was downright rough to witness the aftermath, with Savage laying on the ground shaking. Savage was put in the medical tent for a brief moment, somehow cleared and put back into the game, and then was consequently taken out after two incomplete passes. Savage was replaced by T.J. Yates, who threw 14 of 26 for 175 yards, and had two touchdowns to DeAndre Hopkins, who had 149 receiving yards. Robbie Gould had another epic game, with four field goals and two extra points, no doubt giving the 49ers a big edge over Texas for a final score of 26-16. The 4-9 Texans will play the Jaguars and the 3-10 49ers will play the Titans.
Nothing gets me in the holiday spirit like a snow game, especially when its in Bills Mafia country. The snow was nothing to LeSean McCoy, who had a career-best game, rushing 156 yards. Tables across Buffalo were shattered after McCoy’s clutch touchdown in overtime. It was a rough day for quarterback stats, with Brisset throwing 11 of 22 for 69 yards, Bills’ rookie Nathan Peterman throwing 5 of 10 for 57 yards (standing in for an injured Tyrod Taylor), who was then replaced by Joe Webb who threw 2 of 6 for 35 yards. Frank Gore had 130 rushing yards, leading the Colts offense, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Bills, who won 13-7. The 7-6 Bills are not out of a playoff run, and will play the Dolphins, and the 3-10 Colts will play the Broncos.
The Bears had a big closeout win over Cincinnati, 33-7. Mitchell Trubisky may have had his best game, throwing 25 of 32 for 271 yards, throwing one touchdown and running in another. Dalton connected to Brandon LaFell in the first quarter, but this was the only touchdown the Bengals would make in the game. AJ McCarron played his first game of the season in the final minutes of the game, throwing 4 of 8 for 47 yards. A.J. Green lamented on the weak Bengals performance, claiming it was “definitely embarrassing,”. The 4-9 Bears will play the Lions next, and the 5-8 Bengals will face the Vikings.
Eli Manning is back and will begin to rebuild his starting streak, throwing 31 of 46 for 228 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Dak Prescott threw 20 of 30 for 332 yards and three touchdowns, proving to the haters and losers, to which there are many, that he can execute without Ezekiel Elliot. With a tied score at the half and the entire third quarter, the Cowboys started the fourth quarter off with a touchdown by Jason Witten, followed by two more after Prescott connected to Rod Smith. After an extra point kick by Dan Bailey, the Cowboys finished the game off 30-10. The 7-6 Cowboys will play the Raiders, and the 2-11 Giants will host the Eagles.
The Cardinals pulled off an ugly win against the Titans. Phil Dawson had four field goals, which gave the Cardinals 12 points, enough to overcome the 7 points the Titans had secured in the second quarter after Mariota connected to Derrick Henry. The 6-7 Cardinals will play the Redskins and the 8-5 Titans will play the 49ers.
Last week Von Miller asked, “What is Broncos football?”, and this week they answered, winning 23-0 over the Jets. Trevor Siemian was in and threw 19 of 31 for 200 yards, while Josh McCown threw 6 of 12 for 46 and was later replaced by Bryce Petty. Demaryius Thomas had one touchdown for the Broncos in the first quarter, and Andy Janovich had another in the third. Brandon McManus secured the rest of the points for the Broncos with three field goals and two extra points. The 4-9 Broncos will play the Colts and the 5-8 Jets will play the Saints.
Phil Rivers led the Chargers to a big win over the Redskins, throwing 18 of 31 for 319 yards and two touchdowns. Kirk Cousins threw for 151 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Melvin Gordon, Tyrell Williams and Hunter Henry all had touchdowns for the Chargers, driving the score to a final of 30-13. Kellen Clemens went in for the Chargers late in the game, and Bashaud Breeland had an interception, ran for a HUGE 96 yards for a late touchdown by the Redskins, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. The 7-6 Chargers will play a crucial game against their AFC West rivals, the Chiefs, who are also at 7-6, and the 5-8 Redskins will play the Cardinals.
What would ordinarily be a big defensive matchup of the Seahawks and Jaguars was less so with a deep injury roster for the Seahawks defense, missing Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman. A.J. Bouye had two interceptions against Russell Wilson, raising tensions when he decided to grab a cheerleader’s pom poms and dance on the sideline after his second. Wilson threw three interceptions, proving to be one of the worst games of his season. Leonard Fournette rushed for 101 yards scoring one touchdown in the third quarter. Fournette later exchanged some parse words with Michael Bennett after Bennett hit Brandon Linder in the legs, and the two began to shove each other, which led to Sheldon Richardson’s ejection after throwing a punch amidst the chaos. Quinton Jefferson, who was pelted with a cup of beer by a fan made a run for the stands and had to be torn down. The 8-5 Seahawks, who are now out of the wildcard spot, are no doubt going to be penalized for the lack of poise with fines and suspensions next week, a hit that will be felt as they face their NFC West rivals, the Rams. The 9-4 Jaguars will play the Texans.
The Eagles are going to the playoffs. Unfortunately, Carson Wentz may not be leading them there after suffering a season-ending ACL tear. Number one draft pick of 2016, Jared Goff, fell to Wentz, the number two pick of the same draft. Went threw 23 of 41 for 291 yards, and Goff threw 16 of 26 for 199 yards. Jay Ajayi put up 78 rushing yards, and Todd Gurley led the Rams’ rushing game with 96 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper Kupp had 118 receiving yards and a touchdown for the Rams, and the Eagles’ Trey Burton had two touchdowns for 71 yards. The 11-2 Eagles will play the Giants next and the 9-4 Rams will play the Seahawks.
It was an emotional win for the Steelers, many of whom were out on the field undoubtedly thinking of the recently injured Ryan Shazier, who underwent spinal surgery this week after a nasty hit in the Steelers’ game against the Bengals. Ben Roethlisberger threw 44 of 66 for a downright nasty 506 yards for two touchdowns and no interceptions. Joe Flacco threw 20 of 35 for 269 yards, with two touchdowns and one interceptions. Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell led the Steelers’ offense while JuJu Smith-Schuster was out on a suspension for a hit last week. Alex Collins rushed 120 yards for the Ravens for one touchdown, and Javorius Allen had 25 yards and two touchdowns. It was a close game throughout its entirety, leading up to the last minute, after a winning field goal by Chris Boswell at the 46 yard line for a Steelers win of 39-38. No doubt an emotional night for both teams in a longstanding rivalry. The 10-2 Steelers look to play the Patriots and the 7-5 Ravens will play the Browns.
Tom Brady just doesn’t like Miami. It was a rough night for Brady who threw two interceptions as the team fell 27-20. Jay Cutler looked like quite the stud, however, throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions. Do not get fooled into thinking it is time to panic in New England nor that the Dolphins should be taken seriously.
