NFL Week 14 Rundown: Division Leaders Taking Charge
by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty
Week 14 NFL Highlights
We’re down to five weeks left in the NFL season, with the playoff races now very clear. At this point, some teams have already punted on the season (hello, Chicago) and decided to start playing for next year, while others are looking to shore things up for the postseason.
This is also the last week with byes, so now’s the time for certain teams to get healthy. Washington, Baltimore, Houston, Indianapolis and Denver are all focused on trying to rest up this week to try to get set for a playoff push. New England’s also off this week, but the Patriots have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. They also play nothing but playoff contenders the rest of the way, so New England could be a very unlikely spoiler candidate.
With the Lions beating the Packers on Thursday, Detroit put a further lock on the top seed in the NFC. The Lions are officially playoff-bound, and only Philadelphia and Minnesota can still catch them for the No. 1 overall seed.
Here’s a look at what’s coming in Week 14 for your NFL Predictions.
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
There’s no team that needs to prove itself as much as the Cardinals, but the Chargers are a close second. Unlike Arizona, Los Angeles doesn’t have to sweat about its playoff future. The AFC is so top-heavy that nine wins is probably going to be enough to secure a playoff spot. After the current eight-win logjam of L.A., Baltimore and Denver, the next-best team in the AFC is 6-7 Indianapolis. (That said, the Colts’ final three games are Tennessee, the Giants and Jacksonville, so the three wild card teams really don’t want to give Indianapolis any life).
The Chargers have eight wins, but all they’ve done all year is beat bad teams. And given that the last two games are New England and Las Vegas, that might be good enough. But aside from fellow wild-card entry Denver, the Chargers’ best win of the season was last week at Atlanta. Otherwise, not one team they’ve beaten all year has more than four wins.
Kansas City is still in the top spot, but the Chiefs are not themselves at all. They have been playing with fire for a month, winning four of their past five games by a combined 13 points. Buffalo finally burned them, and Kansas City is far from out of the woods with trips to Pittsburgh and Denver to close the year. (Of course, the Bills get to play the Lions). A win here would both all but lock up a spot for the Chargers and convince a lot of people that this team is as good as its record says.
Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings
This is looking bad for Atlanta. The Falcons have now lost three in a row and weren’t competitive at all the last time they went on the road. The bye week seemed to help somewhat after a 38-6 rout at Denver, but they still managed to lose by four to the Chargers. Now they face a Vikings squad that’s trying to secure the No. 5 spot in the postseason and has won its past five games.
Minnesota has played in and won a lot of close games this season, going 6-1 in games decided by eight points or less. Clearly, the Vikings know what they’re doing in clutch situations. But at some point, luck does start to turn against you. Minnesota is clearly hoping that isn’t now, as the Vikings’ final five games feature four against potential playoff teams. With two of those being Green Bay and Detroit and the third a road game at Seattle, the Vikings have to do the job now.
Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles
With the Commanders on a bye, the Eagles have a golden opportunity on paper to all but knock Washington out of the NFC East race. Win here, and Philadelphia only needs concern itself with winning at Washington on Dec. 22. As long as Seattle doesn’t run the table, the Eagles could rest players over the final two weeks of the season, as they aren’t likely to catch Detroit for the first-round bye.
In 3-9 Carolina, the Eagles have the right opponent on paper. One problem: the Panthers are actually showing a pulse as of late. Over the past five weeks, they’re 2-2 and have had every game decided by three points or less. That included a last-second loss to 11-1 Kansas City, a team that had looked dominant early in the year. These are not the same Panthers who laid down for a 40-7 beating at Washington’s hands; these Panthers care. If the Eagles aren’t focused on this game, defeat is a possibility.
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
All the Seahawks have to do here is do what they’ve done all year: win away from home. Seattle talks about its home-field advantage frequently, but the reality is that the Seahawks have actually struggled at home this season and dominated on the road. Seattle is 4-1 away from Lumen Field this year, and the loss came at Ford Field to the Lions. Even still, Seattle put 29 points up against Detroit that day, one of its best showings of the season.
Arizona has won three straight games at home, but the question still remains whether the Cardinals are good or were just beating bad teams. The only win all year for Arizona against a likely playoff team was a 17-15 home win over the Chargers, who play tight games against everyone. They’re coming off back-to-back losses, including a 16-6 loss to these same Seahawks.
Arizona is almost completely dependent on its offense to get things going. When the Cardinals don’t put up points, their defense isn’t good enough to keep them in the game. Only against the Chargers did Arizona manage a win without getting to at least 24 points. Unfortunately for the Cards, the Seahawks seem to have the secret sauce for slowing down Kyler Murray. The six-point outing was no accident; it’s the sixth time in eight meetings that Seattle has held Arizona to 21 points or less. And unsurprisingly, Seattle has won all six of those contests and seven of eight overall against the Cardinals.