104th season, Week 14 recap

[racepug]

PIT 18 – 21 N.E. - The Patriots snap a 5-game losing streak with this Thursday night win in Pittsburgh while the ‘Stillers’ become the first above 0.500 team in N.F.L. history to lose consecutive games to teams that were each at least 8 games below 0.500 going into the game (with both losses in Pittsburgh, too. Ouch!).

'N'awlins' 28 – 6 CAR – the Saints get the expected win over the team with the worst record in the league and elevate themselves into a three-way tie for first place in their division in the process.

ATL 25 – 29 T.B. - with the win the Buccaneers forge a three-way tie for first place in the N.F.C. South (with all three teams, however, having losing records).

CIN 34 – 14 Indy – the Bengals score 20 unanswered points in the 2nd half to put an end to the Colts’ 4-game win streak and keep themselves in the playoff picture.

CHI 28 – 13 DET – a few weeks ago ‘Da Bears’ lost in the Motor City in a game that many felt they should’ve won. This time ‘Da Bears’ get the job done against their (first place) division rivals.

the NYJ 30 – 6 HOU – Texans standout rookie QB C.J. Stroud has his worst outing as a pro (and suffers a concussion in the 4th quarter) and the Jets surprise the Texans in N.Y. (in, admittedly, less-than-ideal weather conditions).

CLE 31 – 27 JAX – the Browns hand the Jaguars their 2nd loss in a row (both against A.F.C. North teams) while keeping themselves in the playoff hunt.

BAL 37 – 31 (OT) the LAR – the Ravens get a 76 yd. punt return in OT to win it and put an end to the Rams’ 3-game winning streak.

the LVR 0 – 3 MIN – One week after the LAC beat the Patriots on the road 6 – 0 we get an even MORE “old-school” football score as the Vikings snap their 2-game losing streak while extending the Raiders' to 3.

SFO 28 – 16 SEA – the Seahawks keep it (relatively) close for a while (and with a backup QB calling signals, yet) but in the end the 49ers show who really is the better team and get their 5th win over the Seahawks in the last two seasons, which is one more win than the Niners managed against SEA in the 10 years that Russell Wilson was the Seahawks' starting QB (the 49ers were 4 - 17, overall, against the Seahawks during that stretch of time). For the Seahawks it's the first time that they've ever lost 5 straight to SFO and it's also their first-ever overall 4-game losing streak with Pete Carroll as their H.C.

K.C. 17 – 20 BUF – the Chiefs come back from 0 – 14 down only to see a go-ahead touchdown lateral thrown by TE Travis Kelce to WR Kadarius Toney in the waning moments get called back due to an offside penalty on WR Kadarius Toney (the very same Kadarius Toney who dropped so many Patrick Mahomes passes in the Chiefs’ season-opening loss to DET) and the Bills win for the 3rd straight season in Kansas City. The Chiefs still lead their division but for the first time in his young career Patrick Mahomes is likely to have to try to lead his team to victory on the road (at least once) in the playoffs.

the LAC 7 – 24 DEN – the Broncos easily handle their division rivals (who lost starting QB Justin Herbert to a broken index finger on his throwing hand) and thanks to the Chiefs’ loss the Broncos – a team that surrendered 70 points in one game earlier this season - actually find themselves within range of a division title with 4 games left in the regular season!

DAL 33 – 13 PHI – the Cowboys beat their division rivals for the 6th straight time at home and are now tied with the ‘Iggles’ for first place in the N.F.C. East. For the 'Iggles' it's their 2nd lopsided loss in a row and for a team that started the season 10 - 1 doubts are now creeping in about their ability to defend their conference crown.

the NYG 24 – 22 G.B. - In one Monday night game local hero (he played QB for Don Bosco Prep in N.J. - in fact he played in the state title game at MetLife Stadium) and rookie Tommy DeVito leads Los Gigantes de Nueva York on a drive that culminates in a last-second FG that snaps the Packers' 3-game winning streak and gives Los Gigantes their 3rd straight victory.

MIA 27 – 28 TEN – And in the other Monday night game (both games played at the same time), despite falling behind by 14 pts. late in the game (thanks to a couple of bad mistakes that basically handed the Dolphins a couple of touchdowns) the last-place-in-their-division Titans complete the late comeback with rookie QB Will Levis "at the controls" to hand the first-place-in-their-division Dolphins their first home loss of the season.

[RichardBak]

Lions making us kind of nervous. The defense has sucked eggs for the last 2 months, and they're just as close to being a 7-6 team as their present 9-4. And 4 tough games to close out the season: Denver, Dallas, and Minnesota twice. I have to wonder if there's something wrong with Goff's throwing hand--lots of fumbles and picks and errant throws the last month, and he wore a glove on Sunday against the Bears.

I had them pegged going 10-7 at the start of the season, but it could very well be 9-8 a month from now. Yeeesh.

[Brian wolf]

Its sounds crazy Richard, but I actually feel this adversity is good for the Lions. They never were going to to have a runaway season anyway and we will find out which players will step up towards the finish. Any quitters or loafers will be gone by next year as the expectations get higher ...

Having the Packers blow it last night helps but the Lions need to beat the Vikings while they are unsettled at QB. I still think Dobbs gives the Vikings their best chance but now Jefferson doesnt seem to want to play. We will see how quickly he bounces back from another injury.

The Dolphins quit playing football after going up 27-13 with 4:20 left. Great intestinal fortitude by the Titans ...

[racepug]

In my opinion DK Metcalf is more a liability for the Seahawks than anything else. I think this: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/new ... 3a6ce234a8 helps show why.