NFL Week 14 preview

Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL NETWORK)

Jacksonville's shutdown defense returned, bizarrely, against the Colts. The Jags stifled Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton and Indy's offense, pitching a 6-0 shutout that all but sealed the AFC South for the Texans. A Titans loss coupled with a Texans win over Indy would seal the division for Houston. The Titans rallied from 16-0 down to the Jets, which is good, but then again, they were down 16-0 to the Jets, which is bad. Corey Davis caught the winning score from Marcus Mariota with less than a minute to play. He's coming into his own in his second season and maturing into Mariota's favorite target. He might find the going considerably tougher against Jacksonville's secondary, however. The Titans have had the Jags' number in their last five meetings, going 4-1 in that stretch. They can't afford to lose this one, so it will be interesting to see if that recent dominance holds up. Oh, and expect an ugly, low-scoring affair here.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

The good vibes created by Buffalo's win over Jacksonville were short-lived, as they lost to the Dolphins last week. That said, Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns, albeit with two interceptions, and ran for 135 yards. That latter stat probably isn't what the Bills have in mind for their presumptive franchise savior, but it was impressive nonetheless. Sam Darnold should be able to go for the Jets, but the story out of New York is that he could have played last week but Todd Bowles said no, so who knows? Darnold leads the league with 14 interceptions, but it's much easier to give him a pass for that, as the Jets still have plenty of building to do around him. Neither team has much to gain by winning, but both doubtless want to see continued progress from their young signal-callers. Buffalo's defense is actually second in the league in yards allowed, but its offense's dramatic turnover problems have the team a mere 18th in points allowed. A clean game for the Bills likely means a win.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Giants pulled a surprise in their win over the Bears, even with Chase Daniel starting in place of Mitch Trubisky. It's hard to get much of a read on Big Blue at this point, primarily because Eli Manning seems like a lame duck under center. Saquon Barkley has been nothing short of spectacular and has a shot at breaking Eric Dickerson's rookie record for yards from scrimmage. Washington, meantime, can truly point to injuries as having derailed its season. First it was Alex Smith, then Colt McCoy was lost for the year with a broken fibula suffered against the Eagles. Now, Mark Sanchez takes the reins, and a sudden winning streak with him at the helm would be nothing short of miraculous. The Redskins, in a period of a few weeks, have gone from a team that looked poised to win the division, to one that might not win another game. Washington's only chance rests with Adrian Peterson and its defense, but Barkley will provide a stern test.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Saints' offense hit the skids in spectacular, sudden fashion against Dallas, with their 13-10 loss representing one of the season's most surprising results. The Cowboys won by controlling time of possession and stifling the Saints' running game. Tampa Bay should provide no such impediment, and the Saints will doubtless be motivated to avenge their only other loss of the season. The Bucs' defense didn't play well in the traditional sense against Carolina, but they did force four turnovers, which made all the difference. Drew Brees and New Orleans are still second-best in the league when it comes to taking care of the football, so Tampa's best chance resides with Jameis Winston being as sharp as he was against Carolina and Peyton Barber finding enough success in the running game to eat up large chunks of clock. A Saints win will clinch the NFC South, but they need to win out and have Los Angeles lose again to retake the NFC's top seed.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Don't look now, but the Pats are back. They shut down the Vikings in Foxborough last week, and their blowout loss to the Titans seems like a distant memory. That said, all three of New England's losses have been on the road, and if they stumble here, they'll be in jeopardy of falling into the Wild Card Round. It's a well-known fact that Bill Belichick's Pats have never won the Super Bowl when they've had to start from the Wild Card Round. Somehow, Miami still has a reasonable chance at the playoffs, though it'll need the Ravens to start losing, and fast. The Dolphins have to have this game, as they get the Vikings on the road next week. Ryan Tannehill's return wasn't spectacular, but he did have three touchdowns, thanks mostly to Buffalo turnovers giving the Dolphins favorable field position. Miami's best chance in this one is to make the Pats one-dimensional — in all three of their losses, they've run for less than 100 yards. A Pats win gives them the AFC East title. Again.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Ravens have won three in a row with Lamar Jackson under center, but they haven't done so in a way that is in line with most trends in the NFL. The Ravens have topped 200 yards rushing in each of Jackson's starts, but that's only half the story — their defense has not allowed more than 255 yards in any of the three wins. Their win against the Falcons last week was the most impressive victory of the bunch, as they held Atlanta to 131 total yards and completely shut down anything Matt Ryan and Co. tried to do. Their test will be tougher still against the Chiefs, who still put up 40 points even after cutting ties with Kareem Hunt. The Chiefs ran for 174 yards against Oakland, but it was more of a group effort and not all that traditional. More troubling was the fact that their defense got gashed by Oakland. Kansas City's run defense is second-worst in the league in terms of yards per carry allowed, which could present a major problem in this one. A Chiefs loss and a Pats win would give New England the conference's top seed — for now.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Houston has won nine in a row and worked over Baker Mayfield and the Browns last week. The Texans defense, led by a resurgent J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, forced four turnovers against Cleveland and ranks third in the league in points allowed. Houston has at least one takeaway in each of its nine straight wins, and the offense has done a good job of taking care of the ball, with three total turnovers in its last six games. The Colts have a tough road if they want to rally and make the postseason. This game is the biggest impediment, but Dallas looms next week and still has a date with the Titans to end the season. Whatever went wrong against Jacksonville, the Colts need to figure it out, and fast. Getting T.Y. Hilton going would help matters a great deal, and protecting Andrew Luck will be paramount, even more than usual. Luck will have to be spectacular and take care of the football, if the Colts are to spring the upset. Houston will know at the opening kick whether or not a win will clinch the AFC South. 

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

It was assumed that the Cardinals would provide a brief respite for a Packers team in turmoil, and their embattled head coach, Mike McCarthy. Then the Packers went and got beat by Arizona anyway. That was enough to get McCarthy fired, and it's hard to argue that he didn't deserve it. Green Bay's season is already lost, and its task is to find a coach who will get the most out of Aaron Rodgers. Given that Rodgers still appears to have his fastball, there will be no shortage of interested candidates. Atlanta has been just as, if not more disappointing than the Packers this season, and while their defense suffered some key injuries early on, their offense has continually failed to meet expectations. Devonta Freeman's absence for the majority of the season has sapped the Falcons of any semblance of a running game, which has hampered their point production. Both teams would benefit greatly from a higher first-round pick, so neither team is likely too worried about winning, but they might be able to put on an entertaining shootout.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Panthers are officially in free fall, and they have turnovers to blame. Carolina has turned it over eight times in its four-game losing streak, including four last week against Tampa Bay. Carolina is currently on the outside looking in for a playoff spot, but they're not completely down and out. A win against Cleveland would go a long way, especially if Minnesota loses to Seattle. Baker Mayfield had a rough outing against the Texans, throwing three picks. Cleveland's early deficit in the game also prevented them from getting Nick Chubb involved in the game, and Mayfield isn't yet polished enough to win when the offense is made one-dimensional. The Browns are way down the list of AFC playoff teams, and would have to win out to have any chance whatsoever, but they're also at the point where proving they can win some games and building a winning culture is arguably more important than securing better draft position. Cleveland has forced the second-most turnovers in the league, which could be bad news for Cam Newton.

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Broncos are still alive and kicking in the AFC playoff race. They also have the easiest game of all the 6-6 teams in the conference, so they could end up knocking on the door if they win here, though they'd still have some work to do to pass up Baltimore. Denver's three-game winning streak has been fueled by turnovers; the Broncos have forced nine in those three games. Phillip Lindsay has also been on fire, as he's run for 346 yards on just 44 carries during that same span. Denver has a good chance to win three of its last four, though Emmanuel Sanders' injury is a big blow, and 9-7 might well be enough to get to the playoffs. The 49ers seem a good bet to go 2-14, which will get them, at worst, the second pick in this spring's draft. San Francisco could be dangerous if it adds a major impact player, as the Niners already have their quarterback in the form of Jimmy Garoppolo. Nick Mullens has been a mixed bag in his four starts, but when he's been good, he's been very good. He'll have to avoid giveaways if the Niners want to play spoiler here.

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Chargers showed plenty of resiliency in their comeback win over the Steelers, and Anthony Lynn looked great after the game because of the adjustments he was able to make at halftime. The Chargers are still sitting in fifth place, but Kansas City has a tough task this week against Baltimore, and the Chargers still have one game left against K.C. If they win this one, and the Chiefs lose, they could vault their way into a first-round bye and a much easier playoff route, though the relative indifference they've been shown by L.A. fans means their potential home-field advantage might be in name only. Derwin James was the best player on the field against the Steelers last week, and he may feast against Cincy. The Bengals have injuries everywhere, and their defense has bottomed out to become the league's worst in both points and yards allowed. Things will probably get uglier before the season ends, but even an eight-game losing streak probably won't be enough to get Marvin Lewis fired. I'm sure that's disappointing but unsurprising news for most Bengals fans.

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)

Congratulations, if you live in Phoenix or Detroit: You'll be treated the to the least interesting game of Week 14 — but you probably already knew that was the case. Both of these teams are going nowhere, and yet these two decidedly bad squads are a combined 3-0 against Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady so far this season. Arizona thinks it has its franchise quarterback in Josh Rosen, and the Lions know they need more talent all over the field, especially on defense. Matthew Stafford has been underwhelming this year, and Matt Patricia hasn't drawn rave reviews for his first season on the job. Last week's win over the Packers marked only the third time all season that the Cardinals have reached the 20-point plateau, which is pretty tough to do in the offense-happy NFL. 

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Steelers are reeling after back-to-back losses to the Broncos and Chargers, respectively, both of them ugly and preventable. Turnovers killed the Steelers against Denver, and Ben Roethlisberger threw another damaging interception that took points off the board against L.A. The officiating wasn't kind to the Steelers either, as 14 Chargers points resulted directly from blown calls, and a missed Mike Badgley field goal that would have sent the game to overtime was wiped out by a bogus offside call against Joe Haden. Oakland is the weakling of the AFC West, but the Steelers are 9-29 all time in games played in Northern California or Seattle, and they have a habit of playing down to the competition. Oakland was feisty against Kansas City last week, but for the season, the Raiders are terrible against the run and the pass. The Steelers, who won't have James Conner for at least this week due to an ankle sprain, may try to throw the ball all over the lot against the Raiders. Roethlisberger's career record when he attempts at least 50 passes? 3-7. 

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Eagles were more or less fully in command, especially in the second half, against an undermanned Redskins outfit. Now they need to avenge their Week 10 loss to the Cowboys — one that served as the start of a season-saving, four-game winning streak for Dallas. Last week's win aside, Philly's defense has been trending in the wrong direction, especially against the run. If Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys get their ground game rolling early, Doug Pederson's team could be in for a long day. Dallas is riding high defensively after shutting down the high-flying Saints, and if the Cowboys win, the AFC East will be all but theirs. Philly desperately needs a big game from Carson Wentz and could also use a healthy dose of Josh Adams to help control the clock. If this game is low-scoring, it will likely go in Dallas' favor. The Eagles need to make this a shootout, and in particular a quarterback duel. Even on the road, that's where they have the advantage. If Philly wins, all is not lost for Dallas, as the Eagles' remaining schedule is brutal.

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

New Orleans' surprising loss to Dallas put the Rams back in the driver's seat for the NFC's No. 1 seed. A win here will guarantee the Rams a first-round bye and also will get them to a relatively soft portion of their schedule with 12 wins, and a good chance at 14 or 15. Most of the conversation about the Rams focuses on their offense, and for good reason, but it's hard to overstate the scope of Aaron Donald's greatness on defense. Donald has 16.5 sacks on the season, and he didn't get his first until Week 4. Chicago is 8-4 and still in good position in the NFC North, but its loss to the Giants was a missed opportunity to really put things away, and now it might end up in a dogfight with the Vikings. Chase Daniel is a good backup, but it is clear that to be their best, the Bears need Mitchell Trubisky back in the lineup. The Bears and their top-five defense, one that is best in the league at forcing turnovers, could make a real statement with a win here.

Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Seattle is a good enough team to be a division champion, but their problem is that they play in the same division as the Rams, who are probably the best team in football. Russell Wilson has been very good and very efficient for Seattle, and Chris Carson, Mike Davis and Rashaad Penny have been a great three-headed monster at running back. If the Seahawks win, they will be a good bet to make the playoffs and will be a team no one wants to play. Two of their last three games after this one are at home, and they are against Arizona and San Francisco. Minnesota is still in the NFC North race thanks to the Bears' loss to New York, but the Vikings could use a road win. Four of the Vikings' five losses this year have come on the road, and one big reason for that is their reliance on the pass. Minnesota hasn't been able to run the ball consistently this season, and it has put Kirk Cousins in tough situations in front of hostile crowds. If the Vikings, they might have to win out to make the playoffs, which will be a tall order.