NFL Game Recaps: Week 14, 2021

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Vikings 36, Steelers 28

The final score of this game may seem like it was close, but that wasn’t the case until some bogus Pittsburgh scores in garbage time. The Vikings were up 29-0 when they fell asleep at the wheel and surrendered 20 consecutive points to Pittsburgh. Make no mistake about it though: The Vikings dominated this game until they took their foot off the gas. They outgained Pittsburgh in the first half, 306-66, averaging 5.6 more yards per play in the process.

Minnesota dominated on both sides of the ball, as the Steelers looked completely bewildered whether they were on offense or defense. The Vikings’ scoring unit did whatever they wanted to against a Steeler defense that lost T.J. Watt to an injury. Pittsburgh’s defenders were constantly out of place. It looked like the team was playing with no linebackers, as Dalvin Cook picked up however many yards he wanted. Cook was even on pace to break the single-game rushing record by halftime, as he logged 153 yards and two touchdowns at that point. The secondary, meanwhile, continued to leave Justin Jefferson wide open. A prominent NFL voice on Twitter opined, “It’s as if the Steelers had never heard of Justin Jefferson before.”

The Vikings’ defense, meanwhile, dominated the line of scrimmage. They didn’t blitz, but instead sent four different pass rushers on each play to confuse the Steelers’ offensive line. Pittsburgh had no idea whom to block, which made life very difficult for Ben Roethlisberger. He constantly took sacks before he could scan the field whatsoever. He didn’t commit a turnover in the first half, though he came close when he recovered his own fumble. Roethlisberger eventually fired an interception to Dionate Johnson on a weird, side-armed throw to Diontae Johnson in the third quarter.

Despite all of this, Pittsburgh had a chance to prevail at the end. It began with some throw-away Pittsburgh scores, but after a pair of interceptions and a key defensive hold, the Steelers somehow found themselves down eight with 2:16 remaining on their 4-yard line. With a deep catch by Chase Claypool and a missed tackle by Patrick Peterson on a Johnson reception, the Steelers got down to the Minnesota 12-yard line. Three seconds remained, so the Steelers had one more chance to take a shot into the end zone. Roethlisberger fired a perfect pass to Pat Freiermuth, but the rookie tight end dropped the ball. Harrison Smith made a great play to punch the ball away, but Freiermuth had two hands on the football, so he should have maintained possession of a touchdown that would’ve given the Steelers a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion.

Despite the late-game antics, Cook was the MVP of this contest. He didn’t quite get the single-game rushing record, but he finished with 205 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. He also caught one pass for 17 receiving yards. The Steelers’ defense left the middle of the field wide open on almost every play in the first half, and Cook took advantage of it.

Kirk Cousins, as mentioned, threw two interceptions, though only one may have been his fault. The first was the result of a Jefferson drop that popped into the arms of a Pittsburgh defender. The other happened because K.J. Osborn stumbled a bit. Cousins made some big throws otherwise, though a number of his passes were off the mark, including one potential deep strike to Jefferson in the second quarter that could have extended the lead even further. Cousins went 14-of-31 for 216 yards, two touchdowns and the two interceptions.

Osborn led the Vikings in receiving with three catches for 83 yards and a score, thanks to a 62-yard touchdown bomb in the fourth quarter. Jefferson had a big first half, but caught only one pass following intermission. He finished with seven receptions for 79 yards and a score.

As for the Steelers, Roethlisberger accumulated 68 passing yards in the first half, but thanks to garbage time and the final drive, he topped the 300-yard barrier. He finished 28-of-40 for 308 yards and three touchdowns and an interception.

Claypool had an eventful game. He ruined the first drive with a personal foul, then appeared to fumble before replay review overturned the call. He had just 17 yards in the first half, but thanks to some big catches down the stretch, he ended up with eight receptions for 93 yards. Johnson (5-76) was next on the stat sheet. Johnson, however, dropped a ball in the end zone.

Elsewhere in the Pittsburgh receiving corps, James Washington (4-65) and Freiermuth (2-32) scored two of Roethlisberger’s touchdowns. Freiermuth, of course, should’ve scored a second time.

Roethlisberger’s third score was thrown to Najee Harris, who rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries. He found the end zone twice, but was stuffed on a couple of short-yardage attempts in the first half.

Titans 20, Jaguars 0

News surfaced this week of more Urban Meyer drama. The beleaguered coach clashed with some players, including Marvin Jones, and he even reportedly called his assistant coaches “losers.” Given the circumstances, no one could have blamed the Jaguars for having a lifeless performance, and that’s exactly how this outcome could be described.

At the very worst, Jacksonville supporters would want to see some development from Trevor Lawrence, but he has seemingly gotten worse as the season progressed. In fact, Lawrence did something he had never done before in his rookie year, which was throw four interceptions. He was responsible for three picks in his NFL debut against Houston, but Lawrence was even worse in this contest.

Lawrence made some clutch third-down conversions during the early portion of this game, but immense Tennessee pressure disrupted all of his drives. Lawrence was constantly running for his life and rushing his throws as a consequence. He overthrew Marvin Jones for a potential touchdown, though the play would’ve been nullified by a hold anyway. Lawrence is also lucky he was intercepted on just four occasions, as Tennessee defenders dropped two potential picks.

Lawrence finished 24-of-40 for 221 yards and four interceptions. The first pick wasn’t his fault, as the ball bounced off Laviska Shenault’s hands. The second interception occurred because Lawrence was under heavy pressure and didn’t see a defender dropping into coverage. The third was a desperation heave down the field into double coverage on third-and-long while down 17-0. The fourth was a result of Lawrence not seeing Buster Skrine. This was a bad pick, but it’s not like Lawrence had much time to fully diagnose the play.

Meanwhile, the Titans’ offense didn’t have to do much with Jacksonville showing no threat of scoring. They generated just 263 net yards of offense, but they sat on the ball with nice runs and short passes, allowing them to win the time-of-possession battle by nearly 14 minutes.

Ryan Tannehill’s stats weren’t great, but he was efficient. He went 20-of-31 for 191 yards, and he also scrambled four times for 29 rushing yards and a late touchdown to put this game away.

Tannehill spread the ball around, with four players catching at least three passes. Those Titans were: Geoff Swaim (3-45), Anthony Firkser (4-34), Julio Jones (4-33) and Nick Westbrook (3-31).

D’Onta Foreman handled more carries than the other Tennessee backs, rumbling for 47 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Jeremy McNichols (8-16) and Dontrell Hilliard (6-13) saw some looks, but didn’t produce much.

Jacksonville, conversely, got nothing from its ground attack. That’s probably because the Jaguars didn’t even try to run. James Robinson was given just six carries, which he turned into four yards.

Despite the reported drama with Meyer, Marvin Jones led the team with six catches for 70 yards, followed by Laquon Treadwell (4-68). James O’Shaughnessy (4-21) should’ve had a bigger day, but he dropped a pass of about 30 yards.

Saints 30, Jets 9

The Jets certainly had an opportunity to win this game, despite what the final score says. Battling a quarterback with a broken middle finger, New York knew that its horrible defense couldn’t be fully exposed. All the Saints could do was throw short passes and run the ball, so it wouldn’t take many points from Zach Wilson to pull the upset. The Jets trailed just 13-6 entering the fourth quarter, and they had possession. Wilson could have tied the game with a scoring drive.

Wilson, however, continued to struggle, and he was especially putrid in this contest. There were numerous mistakes, including one play where he missed Jamison Crowder for a potential touchdown on an underthrown ball. He was nearly picked on his initial third-down play when he lofted a pass of his back foot. He then threw behind Ryan Griffin on a routine short toss, and he followed that up by sailing another pass toward Crowder. Wilson’s most embarrassing pass was a short toss where he bounced the ball right in front of Braxton Berrios with no one around the receiver.

Things only got worse from there. Wilson had Keenan Cole available for a fourth-down connection, but fired wide of him. The score at this stage was 16-6, so the Jets could have tightened the margin with a conversion, as they would have moved into field goal range. Instead, the Jets took the ensuing possession into the end zone on a Taysom Hill run. Wilson could have matched their score, but fired way behind Cole on an ensuing third down. This pass was so bad that it caused the CBS announcer to sigh, “Oh man.” The Saints followed that up by scoring a late touchdown in garbage time.

Wilson finished 19-of-42 for 202 yards, but even those numbers were the byproduct of garbage time. Wilson was 10-of-26 for 92 yards when this game was in question. The CBS announcers noted that the Jets’ coaching staff wants Wilson to step up in the pocket like Drew Brees once did, and watching this game, it was evident why New York’s coaches are emphasizing this. Wilson has a horrible habit of drifting back a mile in the pocket for some reason. He has zero pocket awareness, as he often fails to recognize when pressure is both present and absent. He just recklessly continues to drift backward and fires passes in the “direction” of his receivers hoping that, by chance, his throw will happen to be on the mark. Wilson reminds me of a person piss drunk at the bar trying to play darts by firing the darts as hard as possible at the board while barely being able to see the numbers. He needs so much development, but if he doesn’t progress, the Jets could select a quarterback in 16 months, which is what I have occurring in my updated 2023 NFL Mock Draft.

As mentioned, the Saints’ offense was all Hill runs and short passes and Alvin Kamara touches. Hill, despite the broken middle finger, misfired on just six occasions, as he seldom went downfield. He finished 15-of-21 for 175 yards, but did most of his damage on the ground. He scrambled 11 times for 73 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Kamara, meanwhile, rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts. He also caught four passes for 25 receiving yards. Kamara was fourth on the team in receiving, finishing behind Nick Vannett (3-44), Marquez Callaway (2-34) and Tre’Quan Smith (3-33).

Braxton Berrios was the leading receiver in this game with six catches for 52 yards. Ty Johnson (4-40) was next on the Jets’ stat sheet, though he dropped three passes, one on each of the Jets’ initial three possessions. Johnson didn’t do as much on the ground, finishing with 17 yards on six carries. LaMical Perine (7-28) was more effective, though both trailed Wilson’s 33 rushing yards. Wilson picked up 18 yards on a scramble, but could have run for more. He slid early, as there wasn’t a defender in the area who could have made the tackle.

Chiefs 48, Raiders 9

The Raiders made a statement prior to kickoff by gathering on the Chiefs’ logo at midfield. What they may have been doing was predicting the winner of this game because it didn’t take very long for Kansas City to establish a three-touchdown lead.

It began when Josh Jacobs ran backward awkwardly on the first play from scrimmage. He lost a fumble, and the Chiefs had a scoop and score. Following a pair of Raider drives ruined by big losses on sacks, the Chiefs scored twice, as Patrick Mahomes found Darrel Williams for the first touchdown, then handed the ball off to Clyde Edwards-Helaire following a series of deep passes.

Down 21-0, things only got worse for the Raiders. A Carr interception that popped out of Foster Moreau’s hands and a Hunter Renfrow lost fumble at midfield set up two more touchdowns for the Chiefs prior to intermission. Trailing 35-0, the Raiders’ pre-game antics at midfield looked rather silly.

Mahomes had nearly a flawless performance, as he misfired just four times. He finished 20-of-24 for 258 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn’t the best fantasy day, as Mahomes sat out the fourth quarter because this game got so out of hand.

Tyreek Hill was the leading receiver, catching four passes for 76 yards. Hill drew an interference flag and then took a nasty hit in the second half that left his mouth bloody. Travis Kelce (3-27) didn’t do nearly as much.

Edwards-Helaire “vultured” two touchdowns away from Mahomes, but wasn’t great otherwise. He rushed for 37 yards on 10 carries. Derrick Gore scored on a 51-yard touchdown, but this occurred when all the starters were resting in the fourth quarter.

Jacobs nearly outgained Edwards-Helaire despite getting only nine carries as a result of the game script. Of course, part of that was his fault because of the lost fumble. Jacobs gained 24 yards on nine carries. He also caught five passes for 46 receiving yards, which is very significant as far as fantasy football is concerned.

Thanks to garbage time, Carr went 33-of-45 for 263 yards, one touchdown and the interception, which wasn’t his fault. Carr had just three incompletions following halftime when the Chiefs played a soft prevent defense.

Renfrow made up for his first-half fumble with 13 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. He was the Raiders’ leading receiver by a long shot, as he and Jacobs were the only Raiders with more than 25 receiving yards.

Cowboys 27, Redskins 20

A flood of money came in on the Cowboys on Sunday morning, causing the spread to skyrocket from -4 to -6.5. The professional bettors knew something average gamblers did not, as the Cowboys completely dominated this game on defense despite what the final score says.

It was so one-sided when the Redskins had the ball that Dallas limited the Washington offense to just 29 net yards in the first half. That was good for 1.1 yards per play, and it could’ve been even worse because Taylor Heinicke had three potential interceptions that were dropped.

Despite Heinicke getting lucky with the dropped picks, this game was a nightmare for him. The Dallas pass rush, which was completely healthy for the first time all year, absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage. Micah Parsons strip-sacked Heinicke, allowing another Cowboy defender to scoop and score. Parsons notched two sacks in the first half, while Randy Gregory made an amazing play where he extended his arm to tip a pass to himself for an interception that set up a Dallas touchdown.

With the Dallas defense dominating, the offense didn’t have to do very much, which was a good thing because the unit disappointed overall. The Cowboys generated only 4.1 yards per play, and Dak Prescott was also fortunate not to be picked on numerous occasions. Prescott heaved an early interception on an overthrow and never looked comfortable in the pocket in this game, especially late when he fired a pick-six as a result of not seeing the linebacker. Prescott had a disappointing afternoon overall, as he was expected to torch a Washington defense missing its top four edge rushers and struggling to cover the deep pass. Prescott finished 22-of-39 for 211 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

None of this mattered, however, as Dallas was dominant in the trenches. The front notched five sacks, as Parsons and Gregory dominated. The Cowboys knocked Heinicke out of the game, so Kyle Allen had to attempt to engineer a comeback, which was made possible by Prescott’s pick-six. However, Gregory ruined the Redskins’ chances with a strip-sack of Allen.

Heinicke finished 11-of-25 for 122 yards, one touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble before getting hurt, but it could have been far worse for him because numerous potential interceptions were dropped. Allen, in relief, went 4-of-9 for 53 yards.

Antonio Gibson was another Redskin backfield member to make a crucial mistake, as he lost a fumble after the team’s first touchdown. He really struggled with 36 yards on 10 carries. For some reason, he saw just two targets, catching both of them for five receiving yards.

Despite Gibson’s struggles, Ezekiel Elliott was barely the leading rusher in this game. He gained 45 yards on 12 carries. The Cowboys sorely missed Tony Pollard, as a hobbled Elliott couldn’t handle the full workload. In fact, Dallas gave more carries to Corey Clement, who tallied 44 yards on 13 carries.

CeeDee Lamb was expected to have a huge game against the Redskins’ secondary, but he logged just 61 receiving yards on nine catches. He led the team in receiving, barely edging out Michael Gallup (5-60) and Amari Cooper (5-51). Cooper caught Prescott’s sole touchdown. Gallup was very unlucky in this game. He had a 46-yard reception negated by a hold, and he didn’t get the yardage on a deep pass interference penalty.

As for the Redskins’ receivers, Terry McLaurin went catchless on four targets and was ultimately knocked out with a concussion a couple of minutes into the third quarter. Cam Sims was the only Redskin with more than 34 receiving yards. He caught three balls for 69 yards and a great diving touchdown.

Falcons 29, Panthers 21

There was so much excitement with Cam Newton returning to the Panthers a few weeks ago, especially when he yelled “I’m back!” repeatedly following a touchdown on a trick play versus the Cardinals. Newton has been favored in every game since then, and yet the Panthers have lost outright every time. In fact, Newton was even benched in this game, signaling the end of Newton’s brief second stint in Carolina.

Things looked promising for Newton when he led the Panthers down the field for a touchdown drive in the opening quarter. Newton scrambled into the end zone to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead. Carolina was outscored 29-14 after that, however, as Newton made multiple mistakes. He gave the Falcons the lead when he fired a pick-six as a result of not seeing linebacker Mykal Walker. He then lost a fumble in the second half to set up another Falcons score.

This was the last time Newton would be seen. He finished 15-of-23 for 178 yards and the two turnovers. Phillip Walker stepped in and led a late touchdown drive, but he was responsible for an interception as well. It’ll be interesting to see if Walker – 6-of-12, 75 yards, one touchdown, one pick – is given the nod next week. Walker is 7-0 as a starter in his professional football career.

While Newton struggled as a passer, he was at least potent as a scrambler. He rushed 10 times for a team-leading 47 yards and a touchdown. Chuba Hubbard (10-33) also found the end zone.

As you might suspect, D.J. Moore paced the Panthers in receiving with six catches for 84 yards. However, he was tied at that number with Robby Anderson, who finally showed signs of life. Anderson snatched seven receptions for 84 yards and a score.

The Falcons, meanwhile, saw Matt Ryan go 19-of-28 for 190 yards and a touchdown. Ryan appeared to be intercepted on a flea-flicker in the second half, but replay review showed that the ball hit the ground.

Ryan’s leading receiver was Russell Gage, who caught four passes for 64 yards, barely edging out Kyle Pitts (5-61), who hauled in a big third-down conversion late in the game.

Cordarrelle Patterson shared the workload this week with Mike Davis (11-44) and Qadree Ollison (5-23), but he was way more productive with 58 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He just missed out on a second potential score. Ollison was guilty of a lost fumble, but Patterson’s fourth-quarter absence was the big story, as he didn’t get a single touch in the final frame for some reason.

Seahawks 33, Texans 13

Though the Texans lost by three touchdowns, it seemed for a while that they would be able to pull the upset. They scored on the opening touchdown drive, and they did a great job of keeping the ball away from Seattle. They sucked the life out of the game with lengthy drives so much that the Seahawks didn’t have their third offensive possession until there was 6:01 remaining in the second quarter.

The Texans could only do so much, however, as they are mostly devoid of talent. It took Russell Wilson a while, but he finally caught fire in the second half. He led by just three points in the third quarter, but torched Houston’s secondary with deep passes to Tyler Lockett. A 47-yard touchdown run by Rashaad Penny sealed the victory for Seattle.

Wilson finished 17-of-28 for 260 yards and two touchdowns. He should’ve had a third score, but missed D.K. Metcalf for a potential touchdown by throwing behind him.

Speaking of Metcalf, I’d like to wish condolences to those who started him in fantasy because he continued to have bad luck. Not only did Wilson miss him for a touchdown, Metcalf drew an interference flag in the end zone, and it was clear that he would’ve hauled in the touchdown had the defender not interfered. Making matters worse, Metcalf’s owners watched helplessly as Lockett caught five passes for 142 yards and a touchdown.

Penny was the primary back for Seattle, rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns on just 16 carries. Alex Collins (7-16) barely saw any work until garbage time.

As for the Texans, Davis Mills looked like a functional quarterback in his first matchup against a team with a bottom-half pass DVOA. Mills went 33-of-49 for 331 yards and a touchdown.

Mills’ primary receivers were Brandin Cooks (8-101) and Nico Collins (5-69). Cooks nearly scored, but was tackled inches shy of the goal line. Mills’ touchdown pass went to rookie tight end Brevin Jordan (4-26).

As usual, Houston didn’t get anything from its rushing attack. Rex Burkhead rumbled for 40 yards on 11 carries. Royce Freeman didn’t do anything on the ground (11-15), but he caught six passes for 51 receiving yards.

Browns 24, Ravens 22
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’d say I can’t believe the Browns didn’t cover the spread as 2.5-point favorites after being up 24-6 at halftime, but this sort of nonsense has been all too common this year, beginning all the way back in Week 1 when the 49ers blew the cover despite being up 41-17. (Note: I typed this BEFORE the Bills and Bears bad beats!)

This game was a story of two very different halves, and in the end, the Browns were able to squeak out this close win over the first-place Ravens. Baltimore came out flat, as if hung over from its loss to Pittsburgh last week. Conversely, the Cleveland squad looked refreshed after their bye week and quarterback Baker Mayfield played better than he has in many weeks. Baltimore lost Calais Campbell to injury early in this game, and Lamar Jackson was carted into the locker room after getting tackled about his ankles in the second quarter.

The Browns dominated the first two quarters, and it looked like it would be a blowout, but in the second half, the Ravens came storming back while the Cleveland offense fell silent. In the end, the Browns’ defense came up with big plays at the end of the fourth quarter to hold on for the win. Entering this game at 6-6, Cleveland needed to win four of its final five to have a good shot at returning to the postseason, and dropping Baltimore to 8-5 was a great start.

Cleveland struck first, getting a field goal out of its second possession. After forcing a Ravens punt, Mayfield found a wide-open Donovan Peoples-Jones for 35 yards to move deep into Baltimore territory. Mayfield finished the drive by hitting a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry (5-41-1), which was Landry’s first touchdown catch of the year. The Browns defense kept up their excellent play, getting the ball back to set up a drive that ended with a short touchdown pass to Austin Hooper (5-30-1). Baltimore got a big play to help generate some momentum when Mayfield made a poor read and threw a pass that was picked off by Anthony Averett and returned inside the Browns 40. The Ravens, however, settled for a field goal on that series. Later, Mayfield was fortunate, as a pass was dropped by two different Baltimore defensive backs, but the Cleveland defense continued to dominate, with Myles Garrett landing a blind-side strip-sack that he scooped up and returned into the end zone to put Cleveland up 24-3. Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley led a field goal drive right before the half to make it 24-6 at intermission.

To open the third quarter, the Ravens hit Mark Andrews for a few completions, including a 32-yarder to get into the red zone. A couple of plays later, however, Huntley was stripped from behind by Takk McKinley while scrambling, and the Browns recovered the fumble. Baltimore was able to get the ball back and add a field goal. Early in the fourth quarter, a completion to Andrews converted a fourth-and-long. Rashad Bateman got away with a pass interference on a 36-yard completion to set up a short touchdown run by Latavius Murray. Grant Delpit intercepted the two-point conversion, and that left Cleveland with the 24-15 lead with nine minutes remaining.

With under two minutes remaining, Huntley and Bateman connected on a beautiful catch and throw of 30 yards to convert a fourth-and-6. Mark Andrews got wide open in the end zone on the next play, scoring an 8-yard touchdown that cut the Cleveland lead to 24-22. The Browns then botched the onside kick, which Baltimore’s Chuck Clark recovered to set up his offense at its own 41 with 1:15 remaining and two timeouts. Jadeveon Clowney soon sacked Huntley, however, and Denzel Ward made an open field tackle on Bateman on a fourth down short of the first-down yardage to clinch the win for Cleveland.

Mayfield was 22-of-32 for 190 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Nick Chubb was held to 59 yards on 17 carries.

Peoples-Jones had five receptions for 90 yards.

Lamar Jackson was 4-for-4 for 17 yards and five rushing yards before leaving the game. Huntley was 27-of-38 for 270 yards and a touchdown, plus he rushed for 45 yards. Huntley was hounded relentlessly by Garrett, Clowney and McKinley. The strip-sacks by Garrett and McKinley ended up being the difference in the game.

Devonta Freeman had 64 yards rushing on 13 carries.

Andrews had 11 catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. Bateman logged seven catches for 103 yards.

Broncos 38, Lions 10
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Lions didn’t cover this double-digit spread, but they played better than I thought they would. If they had some better luck, they may have lost by seven or 10 points, which was impressive considering that they had to call up seven practice-squad players.

Just days before this game, Broncos legend Demaryius Thomas passed away unexpectedly at the age of 33, and despite the Broncos’ heavy hearts, they were able to cruise over Detroit to improve to 7-6. The Lions were without Jamaal Williams, T.J. Hockenson and D’Andre Swift, so Denver had an easy opponent, but losing to retain the No. 1 pick was more important for the Lions than a meaningless win that could hurt the long-term trajectory of the franchise.

Denver opened the game by putting only 10 players on the field to take a delay of game to honor Thomas. The penalty didn’t matter, as a completion to Tim Patrick got Denver across midfield and two chunk runs by Melvin Gordon set the team up in the red zone. Javonte Williams ended the drive by powering into the end zone. Detroit had a quick three-and-out, and Teddy Bridgewater lofted in a completion to Noah Fant for a gain of 32 yards. Gordon finished the drive with a short touchdown run to close out the first quarter 14-0.

Early in the second quarter, the Lions got moving with fill-in running back Craig Reynolds ripping off a 35-yard run. A few plays later, Jared Goff tossed a short touchdown pass to Kaliff Raymond to cut the Denver lead to 14-7. Detroit got the ball back and converted a fourth down with a completion to Raymond, and then hit a chunk gain to Josh Reynolds to set up a field goal to cut the Broncos lead to 14-10. On the final play of the first half, Brand McManus hit a 52-yard field goal to give Denver a 17-10 lead.

The second half was domination by Denver. To open the third quarter, Craig Reynolds fumbled the ball and the Broncos recovered at the Detroit 34. A few plays later, Williams caught a check down and dodged a few tacklers on the way to the end zone for a 24-10 lead. On the ensuing possession, the Lions went for a fourth-and-2 from their own 33-yard line, but the pass was batted down by Dre’Mont Jones. Jones was awesome in this contest notching multiple sacks of Goff. A few plays later, Gordon charged into the end zone to put Denver up 31-10, and the rout was on.

To start the fourth quarter, Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 19-yard gain on a fourth-and-4, but on fourth-and-goal, Kareem Jackson broke up the pass to essentially kill any comeback hopes for Detroit. The Lions went into Denver territory again and Justin Simmons made a diving interception. In garbage time, Bridgewater threw a short touchdown Albert Okwuegbunam.

Bridgewater completed 18-of-25 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

Gordon was the Broncos’ leading rusher with 24 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Javonte Williams played well with 73 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He also made a 10-yard touchdown catch.

Fant (5-51) was Denver’s leading receiver.

Goff completed 24-of-39 passes for 215 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Filling in for Swift and Jamaal Williams, Reynolds had 83 yards on 11 carries. He also fumbled.

St. Brown had eight catches for 73 yards.

Chargers 37, Giants 21

Justin Herbert has struggled against the teams ranked among the top pass defense DVOAs in the NFL this year. This was supposed to be another difficult matchup for him, as the Giants were eighth in pass defense DVOA entering Week 14. Furthermore, the Chargers easily could have looked past this game to their matchup against the Chiefs on Thursday night.

Instead, we saw the complete opposite. The Chargers looked fully prepared for this contest, and Herbert torched the Giants despite not having Keenan Allen at his disposal. Herbert did a great job of keeping the chains moving throughout the afternoon, holding the ball for 32 of the first 50 minutes of this game. The Chargers converted seven of their first 12 third downs.

Herbert went 23-of-31 for 275 yards and three touchdowns. He also picked up 19 rushing yards on four scrambles. This was very impressive, considering both the matchup and Allen’s absence. The Giants’ secondary had no answer for Herbert’s precise passes.

With Allen out of the lineup with an illness, Jalen Guyton and Joshua Palmer stepped up with strong performances, with each catching touchdowns. Guyton caught three passes for 87 yards, while Palmer hauled in five balls for 66 yards. Of the two, Palmer was more consistent, as Guyton’s score came on a deep bomb just prior to halftime. Mike Williams, meanwhile, also contributed with six receptions for 61 yards.

Austin Ekeler didn’t have the huge game many expected, but he still scored a touchdown. He rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries, but it’s worth noting that he was given just three attempts following halftime because he left the game with an ankle injury. Ekeler caught just two passes for 17 receiving yards.

The Giants, meanwhile, did nothing in meaningful action outside of a Kyle Rudolph 60-yard reception that set up an early touchdown. Excluding that, Mike Glennon logged just 52 passing yards in the first half, thanks to four drops that occurred in the first quarter alone. Glennon was 10-of-25 for 115 yards and a touchdown when there were nine minutes remaining in regulation. He endured six drops in total.

Glennon ultimately finished 17-of-36 for 191 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His stats were aided by garbage time, as Glennon even had a chance to cover the 10-point spread at the end following an onside kick recovery, but fired an interception behind his intended receiver.

Saquon Barkley was the most productive Giant, but he was able to benefit from garbage time as well. He rushed for 64 yards on 16 carries and also caught three passes for 31 receiving yards and a touchdown late in the afternoon when the Chargers stopped trying.

Barkley finished second on the team in receiving, trailing only Rudolph (2-66). Both Sterling Shepard (2-27) and Kenny Golladay (2-15) did nothing. Golladay dropped multiple passes, as did Evan Engram. The inconsistent Giants tight end had fewer catches (1) than drops (2).

49ers 26, Bengals 23

Given how many mistakes the Bengals made at the beginning of this game, it’s almost a miracle that they had a chance to prevail in this overtime affair. Ja’Marr Chase dropped a third-and-12 conversion and a potential touchdown in the first half. The Bengals also muffed two punts in the opening half to set up San Francisco 10 total points. A Cincinnati taunting penalty turned a 49ers field goal into a touchdown. Before they knew it, the Bengals were down 20-6.

Cincinnati, however, engineered a great comeback. This included the final offensive drive of regulation where Joe Burrow, nursing an injured pinky finger, threw a third-down strike to Tee Higgins and then connected to Tyler Boyd on third-and-10 as he was getting hit. Burrow followed this up with a deep touchdown pass to Chase, the second of two fourth-quarter scores by the first-round wideout, who redeemed himself for his early drops.

Burrow’s magic continued in overtime with deep passes to Higgins and C.J. Uzomah, but the pixie dust wore off in the red zone because Cincinnati had to settle for a field goal. The 49ers trailed by three and could have extended the game with their own field goal, but they had greater aspirations. Jimmy Garoppolo drilled passes to Jauan Jennings and George Kittle for big gains, then fired a pass to Brandon Aiyuk, who skied over a defender to reach past the pylon for the decisive score.

Thanks to his overtime heroics, Garoppolo finished 27-of-41 for 296 yards and two touchdowns. He was fortunate to get away with a potential interception during the final minute of regulation, but he bounced back and completed the game on a strong note. It should be pointed out that Garoppolo would have thrown a third score had Aiyuk been able to get two feet inbounds in the end zone.

Kittle was a monster in this contest, as he abused the Bengal linebackers by catching 13 of his 15 targets for 151 yards and a touchdown. Aiyuk (6-62) reeled in Garoppolo’s other score. Deebo Samuel returned to catch only one pass for 22 receiving yards, but he rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown on eight attempts. Samuel made a great third-down conversion when he was trapped in the backfield while surrounded by two defenders, yet he managed to squirt pass both of them to move the chains. Samuel trailed Jeff Wilson Jr. in rushing, as Wilson tallied 56 yards on 13 carries.

Joe Mixon barely outgained Wilson, as he struggled to find running room against San Francisco’s front seven. He rushed for 58 yards on 18 tries. He fumbled on the first offensive snap from scrimmage, but recovered the loose ball.

Burrow logged just 99 passing yards in the opening half, but finished with a big stat line: 25-of-34, 348 yards, two touchdowns. His numbers would’ve been better had Chase not dropped those two crucial passes, though he was lucky he wasn’t picked when a 49er linebacker wasn’t looking for the ball. Burrow showed no signs of his injured pinky finger, as his passes had great zip on them.

Despite the two early drops, Chase enjoyed a great fantasy performance with five catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns. He trailed only Higgins (5-114) on the receiving list.

Buccaneers 33, Bills 27

The Bills did not begin this game well, to put it kindly. They trailed 24-3 heading into halftime, as nothing they did was right. Josh Allen, overwhelmed with the immense pressure he saw, barely completed half of his passes by intermission. He missed Gabriel Davis for a touchdown and also threw an interception when he panicked under pressure. Defensively, the Bills continuously sent ineffective blitzes against Tom Brady, who shredded their Tre’Davious White-less secondary. The run defense, meanwhile, continued to be an issue.

Buffalo, however, caught fire in the second half, though it didn’t appear as though the team wanted to win when it punted on a fourth-and-3 near midfield at the end of the third quarter. Despite this obvious coaching blunder, Allen was able to send this game into overtime with numerous scoring drives.

The Bills won the coin toss in overtime, but went three-and-out when a controversial non-call on what appeared to be a pass interference ruined a third-down play. The Bills punted the ball away to the Buccaneers, which was a death sentence. Leonard Fournette made a great third-down conversion, then Brady fired a strike to Breshad Perriman over the middle of the field. Beleaguered linebacker Tremaine Edmunds never had a chance, as Perriman used his first-round speed to run into the end zone for the decisive score.

Brady finished 31-of-46 for 363 yards and two touchdowns. He added a third score on a sneak. Brady had some drives bog down in the fourth quarter, as Buffalo put good pressure on him, but he came up huge in overtime.

Brady’s non-game-winning touchdown went to Mike Evans, who caught six passes for 91 yards. He also drew a deep interference flag in overtime. Evans trailed only Chris Godwin on the stat sheet; Godwin hauled in 10 of his 15 targets for 105 yards. Rob Gronkowski (5-62) did well to draw a pass interference flag.

As mentioned, the Bills had trouble stopping the run. Fournette dashed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. The Bills, meanwhile, didn’t even bother to run the ball. Excluding Allen scrambles, the Bills didn’t record a single rush in the first half. In fact, their initial run was a failed attempt on fourth-and-2 in the third quarter when Matt Breida lost yardage. Devin Singletary ultimately ran for 52 yards on four carries, thanks to a 29-yard burst. Allen’s 12 scrambles, meanwhile, went for 109 rushing yards and a score.

Allen went 36-of-54 for 308 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He was terrific in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t come through in the clutch in overtime.

Stefon Diggs led the Bills in receiving despite having two catches at halftime. Diggs caught seven of his 13 targets for 74 yards, barely edging out Cole Beasley (9-64) and Dawson Knox (7-60). Knox and Gabriel Davis (5-43) caught Allen’s touchdowns.

Packers 45, Bears 30

For a while, it seemed as though the Bears would win this game. They were leading 24-14 in the second quarter, thanks to complete domination on special teams. A Green Bay kickoff out of bounds gave the Bears great field position, which the team turned into a touchdown. Chicago then took the ensuing punt return to the house via a Jakeem Grant sprint. Aaron Rodgers ended up leading a touchdown drive near the end of the second quarter, but Justin Fields got three points back with a final drive prior to intermission. The Bears went into the locker room up 27-21 despite being 11-point underdogs. Everything was going their way.

The second half was a complete 180. Rodgers led three touchdown drives, two of which occurred in the third frame. In between the first two scoring possessions, Fields lost a fumble on a strip-sack, as Preston Smith beat rookie left tackle Teven Jenkins, who was playing for an injured Jason Peters. Aaron Jones scored a touchdown on the very next play.

Rodgers was nearly flawless after a bit of a slow start. He misfired just twice after halftime, going 14-of-16 for 138 yards and two touchdowns following intermission. Overall, he was 29-of-37 for 341 yards and four scores. There’s little doubt that Rodgers truly owns the Bears.

Perhaps Davante Adams is a part owner of the Bears as well. Chicago had no answer for him at all, as the stud receiver caught 10 of his 13 targets for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Rodgers’ other scores went to Allen Lazard (6-75) and Jones (3-30).

Jones ended up scoring twice, once aerially and once on the ground. However, he saw far fewer carries than A.J. Dillon. He was given five attempts, which he turned into 35 yards. Dillon, conversely, rumbled for 71 yards on 15 tries. The NBC announcers joked that Dillon did all the work, and Jones was able to reap all the rewards.

As for the Bears, Fields had an uneven game. He was great at times – he was 9-of-16 for 150 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the first half – but he made some key mistakes. He was pick-sixed in the second quarter because he stared down his receiver, and he gave the Packers a free touchdown with his lost fumble. Fields also threw some awkward jump passes, though this was a result of his offensive line being terrible against the Packers. Peters went down early, which really hurt Chicago’s offense.

Fields ended up 18-of-33 for 224 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. The second pick was a desperation heave on fourth down on the final play from scrimmage. Fields also scrambled nine times for 74 rushing yards. He was by far the Bears’ leading rusher, with David Montgomery (10-42) doing nothing on the ground outside of a 20-yard burst. Montgomery was at least used well as a receiver out of the backfield with six catches for 39 receiving yards.

Damiere Byrd somehow led the Bears in receiving with two catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Grant also scored on a 46-yard reception to pair with his punt return. Both Darnell Mooney (1-19) and Allen Robinson (2-14) were huge disappointments.

Rams 30, Cardinals 23

How were the Rams going to possibly win this game? That’s what many were asking when news broke around 4 p.m. that Jalen Ramsey and Tyler Higbee were both ruled out with positive tests. Ramsey and Higbee would be two of several Rams missing this game, including two starting offensive linemen. The spread rose in Arizona’s favor as a consequence.

Despite these issues, the Rams prevailed, though saying the Cardinals found a way to lose would be more accurate. Los Angeles deserves credit for this victory, as Matthew Stafford and his offensive weapons played well, but the main reason for this result was all the blunders Arizona committed throughout the evening.

The trouble began on the very first drive when Kyler Murray missed A.J. Green for a deep touchdown. Murray was caught saying, “I can’t believe I missed him” while on the bench. Little did Murray know that this would be the first of many mistakes in this contest. Murray’s second possession concluded with an interception near the goal line when he didn’t see the linebacker. Murray tossed a second interception in the third quarter on an underthrown pass where he tried to loft the ball over the defender to Zach Ertz, but didn’t quite put enough air under it. The pass was picked by inches, and the ensuing Rams touchdown was also decided by inches, as Marco Wilson almost broke up the pass to Cooper Kupp.

Nevertheless, the Cardinals continued to shoot themselves in the foot. DeAndre Hopkins dropped a fourth-down pass in the red zone, and on the next drive, Rondale Moore couldn’t keep his feet inbounds on what should’ve been a 33-yard connection. James Conner was later stuffed on a fourth-and-1 in field goal range. And to top it off, the Cardinals recovered an onside kick, but a holding penalty negated a long Murray run.

Despite these blunders, the Cardinals lost by just seven points and ended up outgaining the Rams, 447-356. Had they just taken care of the football and not killed themselves with mistakes, they probably would have prevailed, though it’s impossible to say for sure.

Murray posted a solid yardage total during this defeat, going 32-of-49 for 383 yards and two interceptions to go along with seven scrambles for 61 rushing yards. Murray was stellar at times, but his two horrible interceptions decided this game.

Hopkins also made a horrible blunder to limit his stat line, as he caught only five of his 12 targets for 54 yards. He was expected to perform on a high level without Ramsey, but that didn’t happen. He was outgained by A.J. Green (7-102), James Conner (9-94) and Chistian Kirk (3-86).

Conner had a huge game. In addition to his 9-94 receiving line, he also scored two touchdowns, though he was limited on the ground overall to 31 yards on 13 carries.

The Rams had more success running the ball, with Sony Michel gaining 79 yards on 20 carries while starting in place of Darrell Henderson.

Matthew Stafford had an excellent performance, as he constantly hit Kupp and Odell Beckham for big gains. He misfired just seven times, going 23-of-30 for 287 yards and three touchdowns.

Kupp had a monster night, redeeming himself for his season-worst stat line from the first matchup against the Cardinals. He snatched 13 of his 15 targets for 123 yards and a touchdown. Beckham (6-77) and Van Jefferson (2-58) also scored.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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