Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds has the final word on Week 14 in the NFL, picking out his five big takeaways, player of the week and more; Lamar Jackson, Mike Vrabel and Deebo Samuel feature after dramatic weekend on road to the playoffs
Tuesday 12 December 2023 13:26, UK
It's time to look back on Week 14 in the NFL, and it was one that was a challenge for some of the leading teams in the AFC, but good news for the Baltimore Ravens as they took over top seed in that conference...
The Ravens flexed their Super Bowl-challenging muscle in their 37-31 win over the Los Angeles Rams, who wouldn't go away in a game in which Baltimore were severely tested and given all they could handle before digging deep to get the win.
Lamar Jackson produced the goods down the stretch, Tylan Wallace with the punt return touchdown in overtime.
It was that kind of game you have to win if you want to be considered a genuine Super Bowl team and that's how we view the Ravens now. They will go deep into the AFC playoffs.
The Dallas Cowboys sent a message to the rest of the NFL on Sunday with a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
It was one thing to score huge amounts of points against the Giants, Panthers, Cardinals and Commanders, but to put 33 on the Eagles and hold Jalen Hurts and that offense without a touchdown and force and recover three key fumbles, it suggested Dallas are running into the kind of form that can see them seriously challenge now in the NFC.
Meanwhile, this was a worrying couple of weeks for Philadelphia.
What is wrong with the Kansas City Chiefs? For the seventh time this year they were held to 20 or fewer points, lost at home for the third time in a game the Buffalo Bills needed to win, which they did with a 20-17 victory. Their offense is just not clicking and the Chiefs shot themselves in the foot once again with dropped passes and penalties.
Neither team was perfect, far from it, but the Bills got just enough plays from Josh Allen and their defense held up.
Kadarius Toney just cannot be lined up offside on that big play, which would have been a touchdown with the pass from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, back across the field to Kadarius Toney for the score. That just cannot happen. I don't care if the officials should be telling you, you should be checking with the officials. That is basic football.
We aren't used to seeing Mahomes as frustrated as we did at the end of the game, and I think that was down to not only officiating but I think he's frustrated by the whole season and being let down by those around him. The Chiefs aren't in trouble, but they are nowhere near the heights they have reached in previous seasons.
It was a rough day for the Jacksonville Jaguars as they fell to a 31-27 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Trevor Lawrence was picked off three times but the story was Joe Flacco; 38-year-old Joe Flacco is excelling in 2023, having spent most of the season on his sofa. He has seen it all before, he has veteran poise, he offers much more than Dorian Thompson-Robinson and PJ Walker and with Flacco at the helm, as unlikely as it might have seemed going into Week One, he can lead the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs.
The Cincinnati Bengals are still alive in the AFC playoffs after an incredible couple of weeks in which they put up more than 30 points against Jacksonville and Indianapolis. I thought this team was on its knees.
We will wait and see what Jake Browning's injury status is, but he's had a very good week and a half and showed he can do enough on the offensive side of the ball. They will have to lean on some defense, but they are one of six teams in that wild card race in the AFC and sit with a 7-6 record. They are not out of it just yet.
I'm going to go with Deebo Samuel of the 49ers after he put up 149 receiving yards and a touchdown alongside a rushing touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks - the second week in a row he has done that.
He is the ultimate football weapon. He is the All-Pro type wide receiver, and if he changed positions full-time he would be an All-Pro running back - I'm even convinced you could play him at tight end, he is just a baller.
One of many stars on that San Francisco team which are challenging to be the No 1 seed in the NFC. Deebo was a huge part of their big win over Seattle.
I'm going to split my play of the week into two. First, it was Lamar Jackson's third-and-17 touchdown pass to Zay Flowers to give the Ravens the lead. It was just incredible from Lamar, a high-pressure play and he throws a dime when his team needed it. It was an MVP-type play.
Then one play later they need to get the two-point conversion otherwise the Rams win with the field goal that sent the game to overtime.
Lamar is running around, extending the play, gets cut in two by a defender as he gets hit while launching the ball to Zay Flowers at the back of the end zone. It was just stunning to watch and set Baltimore up for the key win they needed.
Mike Vrabel's Titans were down and out, 27-13 down against the Miami Dolphins with three minutes left. And back they come, getting the touchdown to make it 27-19 before Vrabel does the analytics thing to try and avoid overtime by going for two, and gets the two which means when they score late on they win the game.
The Dolphins had this one in the bag, they must be kicking themselves this morning. Maybe spend more time on finishing games than touchdown celebrations in the end zone. This one slipped away, but credit Mike Vrabel. He always has his team play tough and is very good in situational football.
The Eagles have been thrashed in back-to-back weeks by the 49ers and Cowboys, two other leading contenders in the NFC. Jalen Hurts and the offense has slowed right down, they are struggling on defense, and will have to dig deep now if they want to be the No 1 seed. They have been seriously exposed over the past fortnight, and now I wonder if they can be the NFC representative in the Super Bowl; I would put the 49ers and Dallas ahead of them in the rankings.
