With less than a month left in the NFL Regular Season, teams jockeyed for position in Week 14. Kansas City stepped it up to take charge of the AFC West. Dallas lost to a team in the NFC that could seriously challenge for the Super Bowl while the New England Patriots made a big statement on Monday night. Check out every single NFL game in our Week 14 recap.
Editor’s Note: Check out our NFL Week 15 Picks by Matt Ross and the Week 15 Betting Preview DS Williamson
NFL Betting – Regular Season Week 14 Recap
Oakland Raiders 13, Kansas City Chiefs 21
The Raiders’ offense finally came down to earth. KC proved again that you can beat Raider QB Derek Carr. Carr had a terrible game after proving that he’s got the goods to be the next Tom Brady in this league. Okay. Maybe, not the next Tom Brady. Maybe, the next Ken Stabler? In any case, Kansas City has now won 8 out of their last 9. They’ve got a great shot at running the table.
San Diego Chargers 16, Carolina Panthers 28
Carolina got it together just in time to prevent a full elimination from the NFC Playoffs. Not that it matters. The Panthers beat a team in San Diego that could never play well in back-to-back games this season. At least, it didn’t feel like the Chargers could. SD lost all hope when top RB Melvin Gordon went down in the first quarter.
Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Buffalo 20
The good news is that Pittsburgh beat Buffalo to ensure that they remain a top contender in the AFC Wildcard Race. The bad news is that it took an unreal effort from Le’Veon Bell, 38 rushes for 236 yards and 3 TDs to go along with 4 catches for 62 yards, to do it. The Steelers aren’t anywhere close to challenging Baltimore, KC or New England in the AFC.
Chicago Bears 17, Detroit Lions 20
Was it pretty? No, it wasn’t. But there are a couple of things to note about the Detroit victory over Chicago in Week 13. First, the Lions rushed for 114 yards. That’s huge because Detroit is going to need a rushing attack in the playoffs. Second, this is 2 games in a row now where Detroit’s defense has stepped it up. If the Lions have a rushing attack and a defense in the NFC Playoffs, they could upset some teams.
Cincinnati Bengals 23, Cleveland Browns 10
Cincinnati kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a solid 23 to 10 win over Cleveland. The Bengals got a great game out of RB Jeremy Hill who rushed for 111 of Cincinnati’s 213 rushing yards. Hill has turned into a decent workhorse running back. That’s good news for the Bengals who are still without WR A.J. Green.
Minnesota Vikings 25, Jacksonville Jaguars 16
Blake Bortles didn’t throw an interception in the loss. That’s good news. The Jags have no shot to make the playoffs. Just by playing hard, it’s a sign that all is not lost with the team. Minnesota is fighting for a playoff spot. That probably won’t happen. Unfortunately for the Vikings, Green Bay has gotten hot while Detroit continues to lead in the NFC North. Too bad for Minnesota, a team that started out the season winning its first 5 games.
Houston Texans 22, Indianapolis Colts 17
The Texans kept pace with Tennessee in the AFC South while the Colts fell a game behind. Houston QB Brock Osweiler threw another interception. Indianapolis couldn’t take advantage. Neither one of these teams appears capable of going anywhere in the playoffs should either make it. I was only impressed with Houston RB Lamar Miller who broke the 1,000 yard rushing mark for only the second time in his career in Week 14.
Washington Redskins 27, Philadelphia Eagles 22
With 8 losses after Week 14, Philadelphia has all but been eliminated from the playoffs. That’s nothing to worry about. Most football analysts believed that the Eagles were going to take this season to rebuild. Managing to win 5 games this season isn’t terrible considering that they started a rookie QB from Division II South Dakota State in 2016. For Washington, the victory put their record at 7-5-1. Washington has a shot to get to the NFC Playoffs.
Arizona Cardinals 23, Miami Dolphins 26
You should be proud if you’re a Miami Dolphins’ fan. After the 6 to 38 loss to Baltimore in Week 13, the Fins had every right to fold. Not only did Miami not fold, but the Dolphins signaled that they just might be a force should they make the AFC Playoffs. But the win didn’t come without a huge cost. Miami lost QB Ryan Tannehill for most likely the rest of the season with MCL and ACL strains in his left knee. The back-up is vet Matt Moore who has been in the league since 2007-2008. Arizona’s loss all but ended their playoff dreams.
New York Jets 23, San Francisco 49’ers 17
Although the Jets lost RB Matt Forte early in the game, they did enough to beat the San Francisco 49’ers. It was a decent showing by the Jets’ defense after yielding 41 points to Indianapolis at home in a terrible Week 13 loss. San Francisco just isn’t a very good team. The 49’ers did rush for 249 yards in the battle, though. That’s a sign that some better players on the roster could yield results for Chip Kelly’s offensive system.
Denver Broncos 10, Tennessee Titans 13
At 7-6, Tennessee has a shot to make the playoffs in QB Marcus Mariota’s second season. This was a professional win by the Titans. They dominated Denver’s defense on the ground when rushing for 180 yards. Mariota only passed for 88 yards. But he was careful with the football while Tennessee played a bend but don’t break style D against the Broncos. Tennessee has a tough Week 15 game versus KC on the road. If they win that, forget it, the Titans officially become the team that nobody wants to face in the AFC Playoffs.
Seattle Seahawks 10, Green Bay Packers 38
The score looks impressive, no doubt. But a lot of it must do with the play of Seattle QB Russell Wilson who threw 5 interceptions in this game. Wilson, the NFL’s second-highest paid QB, was off his game big time at Lambeau. At 7-6, Green Bay is in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Packers have won 3 games in a row. They could run the table with wins against Chicago, Minnesota, and Detroit to finish off the regular season.
New Orleans Saints 11, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16
The defense has really come together for the New Orleans Saints. It is now ranked twelfth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game. Unfortunately, the offense has taken a turn for the worse. Then again, Drew Brees and Co. faced one of the better defenses in the NFL in Week 14. Surprisingly, Tampa Bay has won 5 games in a row. They’ve done it mainly due to their defense that has held the Saints to 11 points, the Chiefs to 17 points and Seattle to 5 points in 3 out of the 5 wins. That’s impressive.
Atlanta Falcons 42, Los Angeles Rams 14
It’s hard to gauge how well Atlanta played in this game. Sure, the Falcons looked great on defense. But when your opponent turns the ball over 5 times, and subsequently fires their head coach the following Monday, it’s just difficult to find out what your team did well in the game. The Rams are a mess. They fired head coach Jeff Fisher on Monday. They face an angry Seattle Seahawks’ team this Thursday night. It’s looking bad for the Rams. Atlanta is in a tie with Tampa Bay for the NFC South Division. Both the Bucs and Falcons are at 8-5.
Dallas Cowboys 7, New York Giants 10
The Giants have won 7 out of their last 8 games. They are at 9-4. With 3 weeks left in the NFL Regular Season, the Giants have a shot to catch the Dallas Cowboys for the NFC East Division. They own the tiebreaker over the Boys with 2 wins to 0 head-to-head. NYG also has 3 division wins with 2 out of their next 3 games coming against division opponents. Dallas finishes the season with games versus Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Don’t be surprised if New York wins the NFC East.
New England Patriots 30, Baltimore Ravens 23
New England QB Tom Brady was awesome with 406 passing yards and 3 TD passes. But the Pats only beat the Ravens by a TD and the game came down to where the Patriots had to run out the clock. Baltimore is going to be tough to beat in the playoffs if the Ravens find a way to make it. I like what I saw out of both teams this past Monday night.