NFL Week 14 losers: WR gaffe, coach on the hot seat and a historically bad offensive performance
With the majority of Week 14's action in the books, here's a look at the losers from the week:
Kadarius Toney, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver: With the Chiefs trailing the Buffalo Bills by three with 1:12 to go, they pulled off a miraculous 49-yard touchdown, capped off by a lateral from tight end Travis Kelce to Toney.
However, Toney was offsides on the play, wiping the score off the board and, with it, the Chiefs' hopes of winning the game.
Not only did Toney's mistake ruin what would have been arguably the play of the year, but the Chiefs ultimately fell to 8-5 while watching their chances at clinching home-field advantage in the playoffs slip further away.
Meanwhile, the Bills, one of their top rivals, have new life at 7-6 after losing three of their last four games.
Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers head coach: Following another dismal effort from the Chargers offense in an embarrassing 24-7 loss to the Denver Broncos, Staley may be squarely on the hot seat.
The Staley-run unit has managed only 23 combined points since Week 12, while the team has now lost four of their last five games to fall to 5-8.
If things couldn't get worse for Staley, the Chargers may have lost QB Justin Herbert for the rest of the season with a fractured finger on his throwing hand. Things are rapidly falling apart for Staley in L.A. Sunday was another massive step backward.
Las Vegas Raiders: The Raiders were shut out in Week 14 by the Minnesota Vikings, 3-0, in a contest that neither team seemed interested in winning. It's only the seventh time in the Super Bowl era (1967) that a game ended 3-0 and the first time since 2007 when the Pittsburgh Steelers snuck past the Miami Dolphins by a field goal.
Believe it or not, the Raiders-Vikings game was one of two contests that went into the halftime break scoreless on Sunday, as somehow, the New York Jets and Houston Texans also accomplished the feat.
Per Stathead, it's the first time it's happened twice on the same day since November 30, 1986.
Refs, Ravens/Rams: The Baltimore Ravens knocked off the Los Angeles Rams, 37-31, in an overtime thriller won by a walk-off 76-yard punt return touchdown by backup Tylan Wallace. Only the special-teamer's magnificent play probably shouldn't have counted.
Wallace was sprung loose by what appears to be a pretty clear block in the back, which went uncalled. It's a great result for the Ravens but a poor way to end arguably one of the best games on the Week 14 docket.
Detroit Lions: The Lions entered Week 14 with a three-game lead in the NFC North with five games left to play. However, after an ugly 28-13 loss to the Chicago Bears, they've dropped two of their last three games, falling to 9-4.
Only a short time ago, the Lions had created a seemingly insurmountable first-place cushion. Now, the stretch run could be a little dicey for Detroit as they look to snap a six-year playoff drought and win a division title for the first time since 1993.
NFC South: Despite wins in Week 14 from the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) and New Orleans Saints (6-7), they and the rest of the division — the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) and Carolina Panthers (1-12) — remain under .500. After the Bucs finished atop the division with an 8-9 mark in 2022, there's a real possibility that the NFC North winner does so with a losing record for the second straight year.
Only five teams have made the playoffs with more losses than wins in NFL history, and only four won their division, per Stathead. Coincidently, two came out of the South — the Bucs a season ago and the Panthers in 2014 (7-8-1).
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