Week 14 of the NFL season further cleared up the championship picture.
The Philadelphia Eagles found new gear in New York and are hanging 48 on a Giants team that’s losing oil like a ’72 Chevelle. In the Bay Area, Brooke “Don’t Call Me Irrelevant” Pinky W The 49ers made a statement With a 35-7 drawdown by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Meanwhile, Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers reignited their playoff hopes with big wins in the Taekz Bowl over Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins.
As for the Bears, their draft position faltered Sunday as the Denver Broncos continued to pull off morale wins.
Here’s how each team stands after the events of Week 14 on Sunday:
32 – Houston Texans (1-11-1): The Texans surprised the Cowboys with a QB combination from Davis Mills and Jeff Driskel, but it wasn’t good enough to end the surprise. As the old saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks, you have zero. Texans need to find their franchise callsign as soon as possible.
31. Denver Broncos (3-10): Denver can’t eat the dead hat required to cut what appears to be a washed-out Ross. The Broncos’ best shot might be to call in Frank Reich to see if he can salvage the ruins of a franchise-devastating trade.
30. Chicago Bears (3-10): The Bears are coming out of their bye week to take on the Eagles, who just hung on the Giants in 48 and look like they’re doing their best. Much luck.
29. Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1): It was a good day for the Colts as wins by the Panthers and Jaguars put them seventh in the draft. They could move up to sixth if the Cardinals beat the Patriots on Monday night. That’s the only win in Indy this season.
28. Los Angeles Rams (4-9): Baker Mayfield and Sean McVay could be a really interesting combination for the next four weeks. Or it just stinks.
27. New Orleans Saints (4-9): If the Saints don’t choke in last Monday night’s away game, there will be a four-way draw in the NFC South at 5-8. As it stands, only the Saints occupy last place. Hard times at the bayou.
26. Arizona Cardinals (4-8): There’s no way the Cardinals are going to bring it back with Kliff, Kyler, and Keim next season, right?
25. Atlanta Falcons (5-8): It’s Desmond Reader time in Atlanta. Better late than never.
24. Cleveland Browns (5-8): The Browns’ defense lacks honor.
23 – Pittsburgh Steelers (5-8): Mitch Trubisky isn’t just an NFL quarterback. it never was will never be.
22. Las Vegas Raiders (5-8): The Raiders have now lost to Baker Mayfield after two days in LA and to Jeff Saturday after spending two years on Get Up! ashamed.
21 – Carolina Panthers (5-8): Are Sam Darnold’s Panthers the best team in the NFC South?
20-Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8): On Sunday, Trevor Lawrence became the youngest player in NFL history to throw for 350 yards, three touchdowns and one touchdown in a single game. Stock goes through the roof.
19. New England Patriots (6-6): From poor protection to a vanilla scheme, there are many problems with the Patriots offense in 2022, but McJones is the least of their worries.
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7): The Bucs can’t run the ball, they can’t protect Tom Brady and they can’t find a way to consistently field Mike Evans. This is just the beginning of Tampa’s problems.
17 – Green Bay Packer (5-8): The Packers’ playoff hopes aren’t over yet, but it will take some magic from Aaron Rodgers to propel Green Bay into the postseason. So you’re saying there’s a chance?
16 – New York Giants (7-5-1): The Giants had a fun first half, but Brian Daboll’s team hobbled to the finish line. New York has won just one game since Week 8 and was embarrassed by the Eagles on Sunday. Anything left for next week’s showdown with the leaders?
15. Tennessee Titans (7-6): The Giants released the GM midweek, and then the team went out and laid an egg against the Jags. Shipwreck in Nashville.
14. Seattle Seahawks (7-6): Seattle has dropped 90 points on 33 trips since its bye week. That’s 2.73 points per drive, which would be the worst in the NFL over the course of a season. Seahawks exposed.
13 – New York Jets (7-6): Robert Salih said the Jets would see the Bills again by playoff time. The planes have to get there first.
12- Washington Leaders (7-5-1): Washington sat at home on Sunday and watched its playoff chances crumble as the Giants and Seahawks lost. A win against New York next Sunday and the league leaders should be in the driver’s seat for the No. 6.
11. Detroit Lions (6-7): With that, the Lions went from 1-6 to 6-7 and are looking forward to the playoffs. Detroit tripled its playoff chance (7 to 21 percent) with Sunday’s win over the Vikings. Are the Lions the fourth best team in the NFC? I can make the case.
10- Minnesota Vikings (10-3): How can I take Vikings seriously? A team winning by 10 points and a negative difference in points? If he walks like a cheater and talks like a cheater…
9. Miami Dolphins (8-5): The 49ers showed a blueprint for stopping the Dolphins’ offense. That the Chargers were able to do the same with patched secondary and bottom cover lines should set alarm bells ringing in South Beach.
8. Chargers from Los Angeles (7-6): Is a high eight for a 7-6 Chargers team struggling to stop runs and unable to protect their quarterback? Yes indeed. But with Mike Williams and Keenan Allen back and a flexible schedule ahead of them, I’d love to see the Chargers come out 7th in the AFC.
7 – Baltimore Ravens (9-4): Trading Roquan Smith was the best move to the close, but not in the way the bears had hoped.
6. Dallas Cowboys (10-3): The Cowboys slept 57.5 minutes against the Texans on Sunday. But being on the goal line and winning in a hurry was enough for Dallas to win 10. Good teams find a way to win.
5. San Francisco 49ers (9-4): If Trent Dilfer can win a Super Bowl behind a flashy defense, I see no reason Brock Purdy can’t do the same with Kyle Shanahan and embarrass the 49ers of Richs behind him.
4- Buffalo Bills (10-3): The Bells relied on their defense to beat the Jets on Sunday, but Josh Allen knows Buffalo’s offense needs to get a lot better in order for there to be a show at Orchard Park in February.
3 – Kansas City Chiefs (10-3): Travis Kelsey perfectly summed up the Chiefs’ shortcomings and hopes after they avoided disaster against the Broncos on Sunday. “Even if you think you’ve got us, we still have a 1-5 behind.”
2 – Cincinnati Bengals (9-4): The Bengals kept Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry at bay while also limiting Patrick Mahomes to a career-low 223 yards. Sensei can meet you in many ways.
1. Philadelphia Eagles (12-1): The NFL’s Death Star appears to be fully operational in Philadelphia, and the Eagles still believe they have other gear to get there. Scary hours for the NFC rest.