Week 14 has come and gone, with some massive performances and even bigger let downs. A ton of teams solidified their spots as true contenders, while even more teams raised big red flags. There's going to be a ton of storylines to follow over these final four weeks here. And we're going to be here at Chopping Lines getting you that scoop. Let's dive in to week 14:
Rams 17- Raiders 16
It was fun convincing ourselves that the Raiders could be a dangerous team over the final stretch of the season. Rest assured all, they do, in fact, suck.
Vegas led 16-3 in the fourth quarter after a Daniel Carlson field goal. 17 plays and nine minutes later, the Rams had cut it within six. They forced a three and out on the next possession and Baker led them 98, timeout-less yards in a minute and thirty five seconds for the game winning touchdown-- finding Van Jefferson in single coverage on the left side of the end zone. What a debut for the maligned former #1 pick. On his third team in 2022, with less then a week to learn the playbook, he got the job done.
Given what was on the line for the Raiders, it was a horrendous and inexcusable loss. There's really no spin they can put on it otherwise. Davante Adams was shut out in the second half, Josh Jacobs was less effective, the end arounds with Mack Hollins stopped working and it all just went to shit. They failed to make adjustments against Sean McVay and paid the price. If they miss the playoffs, this game may have leapfrogged the Cardinals game as the main reason why. Two absolutely atrocious losses that fall firmly on Josh McDaniels' inept shoulders.
Bills 20- Jets 12
Not an exciting game but this was exactly what the Bills needed. Shitty weather in Orchard Park really impacted the passing games, leading to some inefficiency and a ton of carries. Buffalo welcomed in a battle-ready opponent with one of the best defenses in the league and put up 20, turnover-free points. Josh Allen wasn't spectacular but he had passing and rushing touchdowns that ultimately were the difference. This was a playoff-type victory if I've ever seen it and should really prep the Bills for postseason style play.
Mike White wasn't amazing, but he was solid, firmly cementing himself as a baller. He had to exit the game twice with a fairly major rib injury, but returned from both to try and lead the team to victory. He fell short in that effort, and had to be hospitalized post game, but easily earned the respect of his teammates and the Jets' faithful. There's no way he's losing the job this year if he can remain healthy.
Zonovan Knight was solid on the ground again while Michael Carter literally and figuratively fumbled away any opportunity to regain the lead dog role. Garrett Wilson had another productive day through the air and even Elijah Moore snagged six balls for 60 yards. This Jets' roster is so elite...just one QB away. And as much as we like White, he's probably not the long term fix. Is Zach Wilson?? Big offseason of questions ahead for Gang Green.
Bengals 23- Browns 10
When do we get to start asking if Cleveland was better with Jacoby Brissett at QB instead of Deshaun Watson? The same Cleveland team that throttled Cincinnati by 19 just a month ago couldn't even find pay dirt until two minutes left in the third quarter. Deshaun had a bad interception and was just generally incapable of moving the offense up the field, making Nick Chubb and Amari Cooper nonfactors in the process. It's fair to expect some rust after nearly two years away, but that leash has to be getting shortened.
Nice monkey-off-the-back type game for Joe Shiesty and the Bengals. Even with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd going down to injury, the former #1 pick got the offense going through Joe Mixon on the ground and Ja'Marr Chase over the top, who had a strong 10/114/1 stat line. Losing Trey Hendrickson to a broken wrist will prove to be a big loss, but this Cincinnati team has looked better then any other AFC team the last month. If they can keep Burrow clean in the pocket and play scrappy defense like they have, the Super Bowl is their ceiling.
Cowboys 27- Texans 23
My six-month old daughter actually picked the Texans as part of her predictions. Wasn't really a super reliable pick in my mind...until Houston took a 23-17 lead into the fourth quarter.
Dameon Pierce was a workhorse in the running game, toting the rock 22 times for 78 yards and a score. His effectiveness was more impressive given that his team was alternating between Davis Mills and Jeff Driskel under center. As much as we mock the subpar quarterbacks though, they did drive the ball with regularity. Chris Moore had a nice day in the receiving game, taking ten catches for 124 yards.
It wasn't enough. Dak Prescott threw an awful interception inside their own five late in the final frame but managed to hold Houston out of the end zone on four plays. They followed that up with a 98 yard touchdown drive of their own in just under three minutes, pulling ahead 27-23 for good. As sphincter puckering victory as you'll encounter. Zeke and Pollard both scored, as we predicted, with Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown pacing the passing game. But Dak was bad, even if the Texans' secondary is underrated. He may be the weak point on a Super Bowl worthy roster.
Lions 34- Vikings 23
The Lions have officially arrived. Jared Goff was excellent, finding DJ Chark and Jameson Williams deep to build a 14-7 lead. Less then two minutes into the fourth quarter, they'd stretched that lead to 28-13, dominating along the way. It was as impressive a victory as Detroit's had over a quality opponent in recent memory. They now sit at 6-7, very much alive in a tight NFC wild card hunt, and they're playing as well as any team in the league, outside of Philadelphia. Watch out for these boys over the next month.
Dose of reality for Minnesota, as they really have overachieved during the season thus far. They're still 10-3, and all but a lock to make the postseason, but they have some major concerns. The -1 point differential is a red flag, as is their defense allowing the most passing yards in the league. Even on a day where Justin Jefferson put up 223 receiving yards, their offense is just too inconsistent. Don't get it twisted: this is a very good Vikings team. But they're not great, and have to resolve some issues if they want to be considered serious contenders.
Jaguars 36- Titans 22
From one statement win to the next, well done Jacksonville. Even with Derrick Henry running for 7.1 YPC and not being able to run the ball themselves, the Jags went into Nashville and picked up a decisive win. Despite Henry's big day rushing, he made two critical errors, having two of the three fumbles Tennessee lost on the day. His turnovers directly led to ten points, with Tannehill's fumble and interception matching that. Credit to Jacksonville for capitalizing on their mistakes.
Trevor Lawrence was a huge part of that, going 30/42 for 368 yards and three scores. If the Jaguars needed a big play, he got it done, surprisingly through Evan Engram and Zay Jones more then Christian Kirk. Engram erupted on the day as the TE1, with an 11/162/2 line. Suddenly Doug Pederson's squad is legitimately in the hunt for the AFC South.
Awful, mistake-ridden loss for the Titans, spoiling an otherwise productive afternoon by their offense. Austin Hooper and Robert Woods were effective, and the aforementioned King Henry was rolling over the front seven. The defense wasn't even terrible, but far too often found themselves on short fields. This team's always been flawed, making mistake aversion a priority. Four turnovers proved far too costly for them to contend with, as they dropped at home to a divisional rival.
Eagles 48- Giants 22
The Philadelphia Eagles are so fucking good. Jalen Hurts should win MVP, Miles Sanders had 144 rushing and two touchdowns, AJ Brown took four catches for 70 and a score, the defense is strong at all three levels. We could go on and on, but there's a reason they were the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot. They're going to be a tough out come January.
Just a month ago, the Giants were coming off a win over Houston and sat at 7-2. They were keeping pace with Philly in the divisional race and clicking on all fronts, despite it being clear that their roster lacked talent and was overachieving. Reality has set in hard since, as the G-Men are now 7-5-1. They were entrenched in the first wild card spot, but now find themselves barely hanging off Seattle and Detroit for the final spot.
They have to travel to Washington, Minnesota and Philly for three of their final four games. Missing the postseason seems completely in the realm of possibilities at this point.
Ravens 16- Steelers 14
Did you know who the Ravens third string quarterback was prior to this game? We certainly didn't. As we found out, Anthony Brown is the answer to that question.
We had to find that out after Tyler Huntley entered concussion protocol in the middle of the third quarter. He'd been playing decently prior to the injury, leading the Ravens to a 13-7 lead. JK Dobbins was a huge part of that, taking 15 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown in his first game since the middle of October. Gus Edwards also averaged five yards per carry spelling him as Baltimore gashed Pittsburgh on the ground all day. Shout out to Calais Campbell for blocking a field goal that led to three points for the Ravens. It ultimately ended up being the difference in this one.
Kenny Pickett went out early with a shoulder injury after being sacked by Roquan Smith, opening the door for Mr. Biscuit to see the field. Trubisky was solid in between the 20's, but completely melted in the red zone, throwing for three back breaking interceptions. It kept the Steelers from scoring and gave the Ravens tons of momentum.
Diontae Johnson was his favorite target, notching a 6/82 line, but George Pickens was the story. He bitched Marlon Humphrey on the outside for two contested catches, to the point that Marlon even tweeted about it, and really looks the part of a Pro-Bowl X receiver. If he and Pickett can grow together, look out AFC North.
Chiefs 34- Broncos 28
What a wild ride this game was. Kansas City stormed out to a 27-0 lead halfway through the second after Willie Gay ran back a pick six off Russell Wilson. Jerrick McKinnon and Patrick Mahomes each had two touchdowns as the Chiefs were firmly in control of the game.
Then shit got weird. The Broncos went three and out after the pick six, but forced an interception of their own just two plays later. This led to the first of Jerry Jeudy's touchdowns. Five plays later, another Mahomes INT, leading to the second Jeudy TD. And suddenly, in the matter of about two minutes, this game went from 27-0 to 27-14.
Denver received the second half kickoff and managed to pull within six after Marlon Mack took a screen 66 yards for a touchdown-- his first trip to the end zone since December of 2019! A few punts later, Juju Smith-Schuster scored for KC and Russell Wilson was knocked out of the game with a concussion, essentially ending any comeback attempt. Jeudy did notch a third TD from Brett Rypien, but it was too little too late.
Nice display of what could have been for the Broncos, but this is a lost season. Nathaniel Hackett should have the Indeed profile ready to go by the end of next month.
49ers 35- Buccaneers 7
What a dominant display by the San Francisco 49ers. Brock Purdy rallied the boys to a 28-0 score at the break, that was eventually stretched to 35-0 before the Bucs finally punched one in. The rookie seventh rounder only had two more incompletions then touchdowns as he efficiently dismantled the once touted Tampa defense. Christian McCaffery took 16 touches for 153 yards and two scores, and Brandon Aiyuk crossed the goal line on one of his two catches as well. Outside of Deebo suffering a knee/ankle injury, this was nearly a flawless game by the Niners. Good news on that front is that it's a sprain not a tear, and he should be back for the playoff run.
No good news in Tampa Bay. What an embarrassment. Tom looks tired, slow, frustrated and old. The offense is all names and minimal production. The defense was overhyped and average. Todd Bowles is maybe 10% of the coach Bruce Arians was. We may never know the whole story behind the Brady-Arians fall out, but it's surely helped lead this team down a bad road. The Panthers have a real opportunity to win this division if they can upset the Bucs again on New Years' Day. Given how both teams have played recently, I'm not sure it could even be deemed a true upset.
Panthers 30- Seahawks 24
Huge road win for Steve Wilks, Sam Darnold and the Panthers. Darnold lost his WR1 DJ Moore early in this one, but improvised with Laviska Shenault and his running backs to have the passing game...semi-competent-ish? Chuba Hubbard and D'Onta Foreman were busy on the ground, battering the Seattle front seven for a combined 35 carries and 148 yards. Their ability to control the clock was crucial in sealing this win.
As big of a win as it was for Carolina, it was an equally tough defeat for the Seahawks. The loss knocked them to 7-6, behind the Giants and Commanders, and no longer in control of their playoff destiny. Geno wasn't great, throwing two bad interceptions that the Panthers turned into ten, definitive points. With Kenneth Walker out, the run game was nonexistent, which surely didn't help Smith cook. With the 9ers, Chiefs and Jets on deck, Seattle will likely look back at this loss as the one that spoiled their fun season.
Chargers 23- Dolphins 17
Season saving win for the Chargers. With their offense back at full strength, Justin Herbert shined, going 37/51 for 367 and a touchdown. Keenan Allen had twelve receptions, Mike Williams had 116 yards and Austin Ekeler had 23 touches for 104 total yards. It was a classic display of their offensive potential, even with their offensive line at less then 100%. If they can squeak into the postseason, they're a dangerous matchup for anyone.
A ton of question marks in Miami after this loss. LA's defense had been allowing yards like it was their job since JC Jackson went down for the season, but Tua couldn't capitalize. He started 3-17 on the day passing before turning it around slightly in the second half. If you take away Tyreek Hill's weird fumble recovery touchdown, this offense looked even more anemic.
Mike McDaniel is a hell of a coach and seems to have a brilliant offensive mind. It's starting to be fair to ask whether Tua's the man to get the job done for him though. Performances like today don't do him any favors in that regard. Humongous Monday night matchup on deck against the Buffalo Bills.
Patriots 27- Cardinals 13
The name of the game was injuries. Kyler Murray went down in the first minute with a non-contact knee injury that's likely to be an ACL tear. Devante Parker went out shortly after with a concussion, then Rhamondre Stevenson with an ankle injury. Absolutely brutal in a game with neither team really playing for much more then pride.
New England was able to squeak out a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, scoring twenty unanswered points from the end of the first half til the end of the game. Both of their rookie running backs scored in Stevenson's absence and the defense forced a fumble-six from Deandre Hopkins. Not much more of note in this game-- boring and full of injuries.
Cardinals 1-7 at home this season, 10-22 under Kliff Kingsbury.
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@Choppinglines
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