Pick Six: Bad break for Andy Dalton, Seattle are soaring, and the Panthers stay perfect
Monday 14 December 2015 16:28, UK
Neil Reynolds is part of the Sunday night NFL coverage and as always, looks back and offers his Pick Six, which means the good, the bad and... the rest!
Week 14 in the NFL did not serve up so much of the drama that we have been accustomed to seeing this year but there were still some very notable storylines as we enter the final few weeks of the regular season. Here are six headline-making stories that caught my eye.
Tough break for the Bengals
When Andy Dalton threw an interception down near the end zone against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it looked like a costly play for the Cincinnati Bengals as it wiped out an early scoring chance in a big rivalry game.
It turns out the play was a lot more costly than we first imagined. As Dalton - the highest-rated quarterback in the NFL this season - dived to tackle defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt, he fractured a thumb in his throwing hand that could take him out of action for the remainder of this 2015 campaign.
Dara Kennedy had asked us at the start of the night on Sky Sports what we would want in the way of NFL gifts from Santa Claus and my reply was simple - I said I wanted no more injuries to big-name players because I want the best teams to have a fighting chance of reaching the Super Bowl. Well, I certainly jinxed the Bengals with that request and now they have to turn to the inexperienced AJ McCarron at quarterback.
This has been a season of big-name injuries and this was one of the biggest body blows inflicted on a team to date. We'll have to wait to see how the Bengals respond but you have to accept their Super Bowl chances have gone down considerably following the loss of Dalton.
Wilson has Seahawks soaring
I'm loving watching Russell Wilson at the top of his game right now and he has the Seattle Seahawks on a four-game winning streak at the right end of the season.
The Seahawks are soaring and it's because Wilson is leading from the front and has become the most in-form pocket passer in the league. He is being better protected and is delivering accurate strikes downfield time and again.
Seattle did lose running back Thomas Rawls to a season-ending ankle injury but based on their current form, I wouldn't bet against them making another very serious Super Bowl push in January.
Panthers keep rolling
The Carolina Panthers improved to 13-0 on the year with a 38-0 drubbing of the Atlanta Falcons and based on how they played on Sunday night, Cam Newton and co are not losing the rest of the way. Okay, that's a bold statement to make but the point is that this team is blowing other clubs away on a pretty regular basis now.
The Panthers are strong on defence but have also started to score freely on offence every weekend and Cam Newton is another quarterback who is enjoying the form of his NFL life.
If they can stay injury-free - and that is a big if in today's NFL - the Panthers should at least reach the Super Bowl semi-finals, but there will be no easy run in a National Conference loaded with talented teams at the top.
Jags put up 51 points!
There was a time not so long ago where the Jacksonville Jaguars would have taken at least four games to accumulate the 51 points they scored during their comprehensive defeat of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
But this young and exciting Jags team is explosive and filled with big-play potential. And they are very much alive in the race to win the AFC South Division. Houston and Indianapolis lead the way with 6-7 records but the Jags are just one game back at 5-8.
There is plenty to be frustrated about with these inconsistent Jags and they have lost some close games that they could end up regretting by the season's end. But there is also a lot to like and the offensive talent in the form of quarterback Blake Bortles, wide receivers Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson, and tight end Julius Thomas could serve them well for years to come. This game marked the first time in franchise history that the Jags had scored 50 points in a regular season contest. With this crew now in place, it probably won't be the last.
Packers run to victory
Ahead of Green Bay's last game in Detroit, running back Eddie Lacy landed in trouble with the Packers after missing a curfew. Eddie was hanging around the hotel lobby when he should have been in his room and head coach Mike McCarthy was not impressed.
On Sunday night, Eddie ran like a man trying to get back in his coach's good books as he carried 24 times for 124 yards and one touchdown during a 28-7 defeat of the finally-done Dallas Cowboys. Lacy ran with desire and determination but he was not alone as the Packers racked up 230 rushing yards and just 205 passing yards.
McCarthy went back to calling the plays for Green Bay and I thought they operated with more rhythm and did not over-expose the fact that their receivers are struggling to win on the outside. It was a much more routine and physical win from the Packers, but one that has them right in the thick of the race to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Typical Bills
Wasn't Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles just typical of the Buffalo Bills' season to date? There was plenty of chirping coming out of Buffalo in the build-up to the game with running back LeSean McCoy taking centre stage in the slamming of his former team.
But when the game rolled around it was the same old tune for the Bills - they couldn't back up all the talk and bravado that they clearly have under new head coach Rex Ryan and McCoy was a relative non-factor with 20 carries for 74 yards.
And penalties were, once again, the undoing of a Bills team that has struggled with discipline. And that is an ongoing problem for Rex Ryan-coached teams. Buffalo were penalised 15 times for 101 yards and undid any good work they had produced with sloppy errors. And now they're likely to be on the outside looking in when the play-offs begin - and that will be a massive disappointment after Ryan hyped the entire city of Buffalo up during the preseason.
