Coming into Week 14 of the 2019 season, six teams (the Bengals, Giants, Dolphins, Falcons, Cardinals, and Lions) had already been eliminated from playoff contention, with another seven looking that reality in the face. And of those potential teams guaranteed to have an early end to their seasons, the Redskins, Panthers, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Chargers, and Jets joined their ranks. There are now 20 teams left with the playoffs as a possibility, the lowest total after Week 14 of the decade.
Of the teams that are still in this thing, only the Ravens appear close to invincible. They’ve won nine straight, and even when they have to win ugly against great teams like the 49ers and Bills, they manage to do it. The 49ers grabbed the NFC’s one-seed with their thrilling win over the Saints, but they also allowed Drew Brees to throw five touchdown passes. The Seahawks had a shot at conference superiority, but they got blown out by the Rams, who have managed to become interesting as a wild-card possibility.
Any thoughts about the Patriots as a Super Bowl contender will have to wait until and unless Bill Belichick’s team somehow manages to re-generate its offense as it did last season. You’ll remember that the 2018 Patriots lost to the Dolphins in Week 14, lost to the Steelers in Week 15, became the NFL’s best power-running team almost overnight, and never lost another game. A re-run of that would be one of Belichick’s greatest coaching feats. The Texans and Chiefs seem to be different teams every week, the Vikings have major secondary issues, and the Packers are waiting for Aaron Rodgers to become Aaron Rodgers again. As for the NFC East, where the Cowboys and Eagles are playing as if they’re in a two-way tie for last… well, don’t even get me started on the inequity of divisional playoff seeds.
So, as many teams have already been eliminated, the 2019 playoff picture is as fascinating as any in recent years, precisely because there’s only one team that appears to have everything figured out, and a bunch of teams fighting for their own positions with their own faults.
Here’s where all 32 teams stand in our Week 15 power rankings.
32. Cincinnati Bengals
(1-12. Last week: 31)
The switch from Ryan Finley to Andy Dalton paid positive dividends for the Bengals for exactly one week in a 22-6 Week 13 win over the Jets. But Dalton regressed to his level on Sunday in a 27-19 loss to the Browns, completing 22 of 38 passes for 262 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Dalton was his usual self — folding under pressure too often, missing tight-window throws and generally failing to lead his offense at a required level. At this point, the Bengals are just playing out the string, and the best thing that could happen to them would be to land LSU’s Joe Burrow with the first pick in the 2020 draft. This is a team in desperate need of a rebuild down to the studs, and quarterback is the required place to start.
31. New York Giants
(3-10. Last week: 32)
Daniel Jones’ high ankle sprain brought Eli Manning back onto the field for the first time since he was benched after the second week of the 2019 season, and for one half of football, it looked like more than a farewell tour. Manning completed 11 of 19 passes for 179 yards and two touchdown passes to rookie receiver Darius Slayton, and the Giants had a 17-3 halftime lead against a desperate Eagles team on Monday night. The second half and overtime were different stories — though Philly’s defense was awful in the first half, they became less cautious against Manning as the game went on, and it paid off, as the Giants never found the end zone again. Jones’ injury will keep him out 2-4 weeks, so we may see more of Manning down the stretch as the Giants face the Dolphins, Redskins, and the Eagles again to mercifully end the season.
30. Washington Redskins
(3-10. Last week: 29)
Dwayne Haskins has endured a tough rookie season, but his actual toughness is something his NFL teammates are unlikely to question. The Redskins played the Packers tougher than expected in a 20-15 loss, and Haskins played through a sprained ankle to complete 16 of 27 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The touchdown catch by fellow rookie and former Ohio State teammate Terry McLaurin might be the best reception of the NFL season.
“There was no way I was coming out of that game,” Haskins said after the loss. “I had to battle through it. It’s a tough injury, but I’ll be all right.”
Haskins has a way to go when it comes to reading coverages and getting the ball to the right receiver most of the time, but it’s a certainty that he gained the respect of the locker room. That’s just as important for any quarterback.
29. Miami Dolphins
(3-10. Last week: 27)
For the second straight week, kicker Jason Sanders was Miami’s star. Last week, in a 37-31 win over the Eagles, Sanders caught a 1-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal. There were no fake field goals in Week 14 against the Jets — instead, Sanders kicked seven of the real ones as the Dolphins failed to score a touchdown. Head coach Brian Flores was ticked off about a pass interference call on cornerback Nik Needham with less than a minute left in the game. There was no call on the field, but the booth overturned the no-call. (Needham did pull on the right shoulder of receiver Vyncint Smith before the ball arrived) was set. This allowed Jets kicker Sam Ficken to boot the 44-yard game-winner as time expired. One can understand Flores’ frustration in the moment, but the legitimacy of the penalty aside, seven field goals tell their own story.
28. Detroit Lions
(3-9-1. Last week: 26)
It’s difficult to find anything remarkable about the Lions at this point of the season. In their 20-7 loss to the Vikings on Sunday, Detroit failed to hold a lead for the first time in 2019, although given their 3-9-1 record, that’s more of a morbid curiosity than anything else. Rookie quarterback David Blough, who unexpectedly played well against the Bears defense on Thanksgiving, fell back to earth with 24 completions in 40 attempts for 205 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Head coach Matt Patricia has said his team is better than its record, but especially on defense, that really doesn’t wash. Patricia had better keep his talking points rolling, though — he’s might be interviewing for a new job this offseason.
27. Jacksonville Jaguars
(4-9. Last week: 21)
With their 45-10 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, the Jaguars became the first team since the 1986 Buccaneers to lose five consecutive games by at least 17 points. They’ve been outscored 174-57 in that span, and nothing about the Jaguars seems to be working right now. The switch from Nick Foles back to Gardner Minshew made sense, as Minshew is the better quarterback. But Minshew was Captain Checkdown in this game, completing 24 of 37 passes for just 167 yards and a touchdown. The lack of big plays for an offense that used to rely on them is mystifying, as are the efforts of a defense that has far more talent than actual results on the field. Head coach Doug Marrone appears to be one of many coaches who will be looking for a different home this offseason.
26. Arizona Cardinals
(3-9-1. Last week: 24)
There are times when Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray looks like an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate — especially when he moves from the pocket and threatens as a runner or squares his shoulders to make an exceptional downfield throw. There are other times when Murray looks very much like a rookie still finding his way — especially when he gets frenetic in the pocket and makes ill-advised decisions. There was enough of both aspects in Arizona’s 23-17 loss to the Steelers. Murray made some impressive plays and threw for two touchdowns. But he also struggled with Pittsburgh’s disguised coverages and threw three picks. Arizona’s defense gives Murray no margin for error, and neither has its run game in recent weeks. Murray obviously has enough on the ball to become a top quarterback over time. In the short term, he’s just going to have to take his lumps and learn his lessons.
25. Atlanta Falcons
(4-9. Last week: 28)
The Falcons rolled over the Panthers on Sunday with a 40-20 win, but it really cost them in another regard. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley was lost for the rest of the season with an abdominal injury, and cornerback Desmond Trufant suffered a similar fate with a broken forearm. Matt Ryan became the 10th quarterback in NFL history to top the 50,000-yard mark, and undrafted rookie Olamide Zaccheaus made his first NFL touchdown catch special with a 93-yard play. Those are small things in the context of a season in which the Falcons have underwhelmed in all possible areas — but a little bit of a balm before what likely will be a tumultuous offseason.
24. New York Jets
(5-8. Last week: 25)
This was a close one for current Jets and former Dolphins coach Adam Gase. Were it not for a controversial pass interference call late in Sunday’s game that set things up for Sam Ficken’s winning field goal, Gase would have become the first coach in NFL history to go 0-2 against a team he coached the previous season. But the Jets managed to save their coach from that indignity despite the absences of running back Le’Veon Bell (flu) and safety Jamal Adams (foot) by limiting the Dolphins to seven field goals and no touchdowns. Quarterback Sam Darnold connected with wide receiver Robby Anderson seven times on 11 targets for 116 yards and a touchdown, and backup running back Bilal Powell gained 74 yards on 19 carries.
That’s the good news. The bad news? The Jets play the Ravens on Thursday night. Ouch.
23. Carolina Panthers
(5-8. Last week: 18)
The Ron Rivera era ended for the Panthers with a 23-yard sack taken by Kyle Allen in a loss to the Redskins in which Carolina blew a 14-0 lead. Team owner David Tepper let Rivera go and replaced him with former defensive backs coach Perry Fewell.
Then the big story in Carolina’s 40-20 loss to the Falcons on Sunday was Matt Ryan’s 93-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus — the longest of Ryan’s career — and Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson’s reaction to the defensive placement.
“Backed up, third-and-7, called an engage-8 blitz, we sent everybody,” Jackson said after the game. “To leave the corners out there on an island by [themselves]? Zero coverage. No help. Backed up. With a quarterback like that? I don’t care if you’re Champ Bailey or any of those cornerbacks on the [NFL’s top 100 all-time] list, that is a play that’s hard to make for any guy. Especially with a quarterback like Matt Ryan.”
Not a good look. Nor was Allen’s day — he completed 28 of 41 passes for 293 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against an Atlanta defense that has been highly vulnerable through most of the season. The Panthers are due for a major offseason blow-up to rebuild, and this game made that very clear.
22. Denver Broncos
(5-8. Last week: 30)
Since Peyton Manning’s retirement, the Broncos’ quarterback situation has been a series of mistakes. From Paxton Lynch to Trevor Siemian to Brock Osweiler to Case Keenum to Joe Flacco to Brandon Allen, general manager and president of football operations John Elway has tried and failed to bring a credible quarterback to the Mile High City. Former Missouri quarterback Drew Lock, the team’s second-round pick in the 2019 draft, might represent the end of that malaise. It’s early yet, but Lock looked great against a Texans defense fresh off its embarrassment of the Patriots. He completed 22 of 27 passes for 309 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, becoming the first rookie in NFL history with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his first career road start. He also became the fourth Broncos rookie with a 300-yard passing game, following Marlin Briscoe in 1968, Elway in 1983 and Tim Tebow in 2010. Lock’s accuracy has improved, and his velocity and athleticism have never been questioned. Denver is basically out of the playoff derby this season, but the Broncos may have finally solved their most pressing issue.
21. Los Angeles Chargers
(5-8. Last week: 23)
For once, the team that has found more agonizing ways to lose than any other team in the NFL found itself on the right side of a decisive win. Running back Austin Ekeler was the star in L.A.’s 45-10 thrashing of the Jaguars, running eight times for 101 yards, and adding four catches on five targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. Philip Rivers didn’t throw an interception for just the fifth time this season, which means there were also no back-breaking picks late in the fourth quarter. Ekeler is the first player this season to go over 100 yards both rushing and receiving in the same game, and head coach Anthony Lynn needs to find more ways for him to be an epicenter of this offense, as he’s proven to be one of the most effectively versatile backs in the NFL.
20. Cleveland Browns
(6-7. Last week: 22)
The idea was that wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was supposed to take Cleveland’s passing game to the next level. That’s why the Browns traded a first-round pick, a third-round pick and safety Jabrill Peppers to the Giants for his services in March. To say the least, things have not gone as the Browns expected. Beckham caught just two passes on five targets for 39 yards in the Browns’ 27-19 win over the Bengals, and after the game, quarterback Baker Mayfield threw the team’s medical staff under the bus, saying that Beckham had a sports hernia that should have seen more treatment before the season started.
“I would say it’s not been handled right,” Mayfield concluded. “He’s not able to run as well as he should be able to, as well he knows. That’s frustrating for him.”
Regardless of the reason, Beckham is having the least productive full season of his career, and there are now reports that he wants out. The Browns would be unlikely to trade Beckham, but as most things about Cleveland’s season have been unlikely (primary the inability to play as a coherent unit on either side of the ball after an encouraging second half in 2018), one never knows what might happen.
19. Philadelphia Eagles
(6-7. Last week: 19)
When JJ Arcega-Whiteside limped off the field in overtime, the Eagles had one remaining receiver on their roster — Greg Ward. An unreal slate of receiver injuries had already limited Doug Pederson to calling a bunch of stuff out of three-tight end sets and using running backs Miles Sanders and Boston Scott in the passing game. This led one former Colts legend to opine on Philly’s paucity of receivers:
But in the end, and after a highly uneven performance in regulation, the Eagles were able to come back from a 17-3 deficit to the Giants to pull the game out in a 23-17 final when Carson Wentz hit tight end Zach Ertz on a two-yard touchdown pass with 5:13 left in regulation, giving Philly a decent chance of taking the NFC East if they can beat the Cowboys in Week 16 as part of a win-out strategy. It’s not been pretty for the Eagles this season, and between their receiver group and a highly suspect secondary, they’re looking primed to get waxed by any of the NFC’s better teams. But this was enough to keep them alive for another week.
18. Indianapolis Colts
(6-7. Last week: 16)
It was a day of high frustration for the Colts, who picked off Jameis Winston three times (including a pick-six), but also allowed a season-high 542 total yards and 17 unanswered points in what became a 38-35 loss that pushed Indianapolis further out of the playoff race. Winston will make more than his share of mistakes, but he’s also capable of explosive plays — which Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett hasn’t been this season. Brissett did hit Marcus Johnson for a 46-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and he completed two of his four attempts of 20 or more air yards for 96 yards and a touchdown in the game, but the combination of a defense that couldn’t stop the Buccaneers’ over-the-top passing game and an offense that made its own share of mistakes put another damper on a season that once looked promising. Losing five times in six games will tend to do that.
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(6-7. Last week: 20)
For the third time this season, Jameis Winston was intercepted on his first pass of a game. This one was to Colts linebacker Darius Leonard as the Colts were playing their base Cover-3 defense, and it’s something we’ve all seen before.
Winston wasn’t done, of course. His second interception was returned 80 yards for a touchdown by Leonard, and he would later be picked off by safety Malik Hooker as well. That was Bad Jameis. Good Jameis managed to complete 33 of 45 passes to the receivers on his own team for 456 yards and four touchdowns, pushing the Bucs to a 38-35 win over Indianapolis. Winston became the third quarterback in pro football history (Joe Namath in 1967; Peyton Manning in 2001) with 23 touchdowns, 23 interceptions and at least five pick-sixes in a season. That summarizes the Jameis Winston Experience as well as anything.
16. Dallas Cowboys
(6-7. Last week: 15)
With all the talk about Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones during the Cowboys’ recent implosion, Dallas’ defense largely has avoided blame. But Rod Marinelli’s group has been a real liability of late. Since Week 10, the Cowboys have dropped from 18th to 24th in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted defensive metrics, ranking 26th against the pass and 20th against the run. They’ve picked up just two turnovers in that span, both against the Bears last Thursday in a 31-24 loss, and they’re 1-4 in that time period. They’ve allowed Mitchell Trubisky, Josh Allen, Jeff Driskel and Kirk Cousins to throw against their defense with virtually no obstruction. Only the Saints and Dolphins have allowed more touchdown passes since Week 10 than Dallas’ 10, and only the Panthers have allowed more yards after contact in the run game than Dallas’ 452. Once Jerry Jones is done swearing enough to get cut off during radio appearances, he might want to look into that.
15. Oakland Raiders
(6-7. Last week: 14)
Following a Week 11 win over the Bengals, the Raiders were 6-4, and looked like a contender for the AFC West crown. Then everything went dark for the Silver and Black, as they endured a two-game streak in which they failed to score a touchdown. Oakland managed three touchdowns on Sunday against the Titans, but it wasn’t nearly enough — and this time, the problem was Paul Guenther’s defense. Ryan Tannehill threw for 391 yards and three touchdowns, and Derrick Henry ran for 103 yards and two scores of his own, and Oakland ceded the division to the Chiefs with a 42-21 loss. Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Josh Jacobs missed the game with a shoulder injury, and rookie tight end Foster Moreau will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Oakland had thrived on its impressive rookie class to date, and with that group starting to fall apart, Jon Gruden may be presiding over a lost season.
14. Chicago Bears
(7-6. Last week: 17)
It’s probably too late to make a difference for the Bears in the 2019 postseason derby, but Mitchell Trubisky has caught fire (comparatively) in recent weeks. Through the first eight weeks of the season, Trubisky had just five passing touchdowns to three interceptions with a 81.4 passer rating, and he looked lost more often than not. But since Week 9 — and this includes his three-touchdown performance against an all-too-willing Cowboys defense last Thursday — he’s thrown 11 touchdown passes to just five picks with a 92.4 passer rating. Against Dallas, Trubisky also ran 10 times for 63 yards and a touchdown, and using Trubisky as a runner is something Bears coach Matt Nagy hasn’t done enough this season. Trubisky is still a fundamentally limited quarterback, and he probably always will be. But it will be interesting to see if the Bears continue to use him as a runner and boot-action thrower, because that’s where he’s been consistent all season, albeit with a small sample size.
13. Los Angeles Rams
(8-5. Last week: 13)
Over the past couple weeks, Rams head coach Sean McVay has made a couple effective adjustments to his offense. The Rams are running more inside zone, and they’ve increased the tempo from snap to snap. That second adjustment really tore the Seahawks’ defense apart on Sunday night, as McVay’s team beat their NFC West foe, 28-12, in a game that preserved possible postseason relevance for a squad that looked out of it a few weeks back — especially after a 45-6 beatdown at the hands of the Ravens in Week 12. In this game, the Rams had 15 first downs by halftime, and Seattle head coach Pete Carroll admitted after the fact that his defense had trouble calling plays and getting set at McVay’s breakneck tempo. The Rams have the Cowboys’ sieve-like defense up next, and then a real test when they head to San Francisco in Week 16. But for now, it appears that McVay has figured out a few things about his offense that will work beyond his base formations and concepts for the first time since late last season. There’s no better time than now for that to happen.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
(8-5. Last week: 12)
With Pittsburgh’s 23-17 win over the Cardinals on Sunday, head coach Mike Tomlin guaranteed his 13th consecutive non-losing season — he’s never had any other kind. This season may well be Tomlin’s most impressive coaching performance, as he’s lifted his team into the playoff race with one of the worst quarterback situations in the NFL. How have Tomlin and his team done it? Defense. The Steelers intercepted Arizona rookie quarterback Kyler Murray three times in the win, and that put them behind only the Patriots in interceptions this season with 18. Pittsburgh leads the league with 48 sacks, and only the Saints and Cowboys have more pressures than Pittsburgh’s 164. Quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges became the first undrafted rookie to win his first three starts since a replacement player named Ed Rubbert did it during the 1987 strike. If Hodges can find some consistency with a depleted receiving corps, that’s all he has to do — because this defense is one of the NFL’s best.
11. Tennessee Titans
(8-5. Last week: 11)
Since head coach Mike Vrabel made the switch from Marcus Mariota to Ryan Tannehill, the Titans have moved in record from 2-4 to 8-5. Only Lamar Jackson has a higher passer rating in the second half of the season than Tannehill’s 118.3, and few quarterbacks have been better with play-action in that time — Tannehill has completed 25 of 30 play-action attempts for 440 yards, four touchdowns and one interception since Week 9. The Titans are now discussing making Tannehill their long-term starting quarterback, and it’s difficult to argue against it. Sunday’s 42-21 demolition of the Raiders, in which Tannehill completed 21 of 27 passes for 391 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, put the Titans on point with the Texans atop the AFC South with matching 8-5 records, and next Sunday marks the first of two games featuring Tennessee and Houston in the season’s last three weeks.
10. Minnesota Vikings
(9-4. Last week: 10)
The Vikings have major problems in their secondary — which is uncharacteristic for a Mike Zimmer defense — but the cure for what has ailed that secondary was a trip to Dr. David Blough and his Detroit Lions. The cornerback group of Xavier Rhodes, Mike Hughes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander — a quartet that has allowed 13 touchdowns while recording just just two interceptions this season — didn’t pick off Blough, but safeties Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo each came away with an interception, and Kirk Cousins was efficient enough (24-of-30, 233 yards, one touchdown) to dispose of Detroit’s underachieving defense. At 9-4, Minnesota is one game behind the Packers in the NFC North race, and those two teams will face off on Dec. 23. If nothing else, the Vikings are keeping a fire lit under Green Bay’s collective rear end.
9. Kansas City Chiefs
(9-4. Last week: 9)
The Chiefs have allowed 17, 9 and 16 points in their wins over the Chargers, Raiders and Patriots over the past three games. They’ve also picked up eight turnovers in those games, after just 12 in their first 10 games. It’s a good time for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense to catch fire, because Patrick Mahomes’ arm hasn’t. Mahomes completed 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards, one touchdown and one interception against New England’s defense in a 23-16 win on Sunday, but that was the same defense that allowed four passing touchdowns to Deshaun Watson and the Texans the week before. In those last three wins, Mahomes has completed just 59.4% of his passes for 640 yards, 6.3 yards per attempt, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Chiefs clinched the AFC West title for the fourth consecutive season, but they’ll need more from their MVP at some point if they want to go as deep into the postseason as they did last season — or further.
8. Houston Texans
(8-5. Last week: 6)
The Texans were coming off a 28-22 win over the Patriots in which they matched the four touchdowns allowed by New England’s defense all season and shut down New England’s offense (although that’s not difficult to do these days). So presumably, against the Broncos and rookie quarterback Drew Lock making his first road start, Romeo Crennel’s defense was set for another strong performance.
Perhaps not. The Broncos may have their franchise quarterback of the future, and the Texans have some serious questions about their defense after Lock completed 22 of 27 passes for 309 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Lock became the first rookie in NFL history with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his first career road start, and his 235 yards in the first half was the most for a Broncos quarterback since Peyton Manning was taking snaps. Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson managed just 28 completions in 50 attempts for 292 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Texans travel to Tennessee next week to meet the red-hot Titans. A loss bumps them out of the AFC South lead — and possibly out of playoff contention altogether if the performance against Denver was more than an anomaly.
7. Buffalo Bills
(9-4. Last week: 7)
When the Eagles shut down Michael Vick in the 2004 NFC Championship game, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson did it with a mush-rush as opposing to crashing his ends down on the hypermobile quarterback, and asking his linebackers and safeties to spy gaps in the defense as opposed to spying Vick himself. Current Bills head coach Sean McDermott was Johnson’s assistant secondary coach at the time, and there were elements of the Vick plan in Buffalo’s attempts to at least slow Lamar Jackson down on Sunday. It didn’t work on the scoreboard — the Ravens won their ninth game in a row with a 24-17 final — but Jackson was limited to a point. He did throw three touchdown passes, but managed just 145 passing yards on 16 completions in 25 attempts, and had just 40 rushing yards on 11 attempts. McDermott’s team doesn’t have much time to brood over this missed opportunity. They have the Steelers and Patriots on the docket next — and that’s bad news for quarterback Josh Allen, who looked anything but consistent against Baltimore’s defense.
6. Green Bay Packers
(10-3. Last week: 8)
Eventually, we may have to deal with the fact that at his peak, Aaron Rodgers was the most physically gifted passer in NFL history, and his physical peak was wasted at the hands of ham-fisted former head coach and offensive play-caller Mike McCarthy. Rodgers hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in three of his past five games, and the Packers seem to be led more by their defense and run game at this point. It was enough to beat the Redskins and their sorry defense on Sunday, but Matt LaFleur’s team has the Bears and Vikings up next — so if the Pack wants to win the NFC North, it might be time for Rodgers to light it up. He hasn’t had a big day since he amassed 429 yards and five touchdowns against Oakland’s highly suspect pass defense in Week 7.
5. New England Patriots
(10-3. Last week: 5)
Kansas City’s 23-16 win over the Patriots on Sunday started oddly for the Chiefs and ended in highly frustrating fashion for the Patriots. An equipment container belonging to Andy Reid’s team that contained helmets, shoulder pads and footballs wasn’t unloaded at Gillette Stadium and was subsequently sent to New Jersey. Had there not been efforts to get the gear back to Foxborough in time for the game, the Chiefs would have had to forfeit a game for the first time in the league’s history.
Reid and Bill Belichick probably wished that Jerome Boger and his officiating crew skipped the game altogether. Boger’s crew robbed receiver N’Keal Harry of a touchdown, got the yardage wrong on an illegal use of hands call on Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, gave a quick whistle on a turnover that could have been a defensive touchdown for the Patriots, missed an obvious defensive pass interference call on Kansas City cornerback Kendall Fuller when he was covering receiver Phillip Dorsett late in the fourth quarter, called Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz for holding on a play that was borderline at best, and gave Kansas City center Austin Reiter an illegal blindside block penalty that appeared equally suspect.
The Patriots got the worst of Boger’s crew, but the real problem Belichick must face is that his offense has fallen apart and has no identity. Tom Brady hasn’t had a passer rating over 100 since Week 5, the Patriots couldn’t get a consistent ground game going, and opposing offenses are starting to find subtle vulnerabilities in a pass defense that once looked historically great. Yes, the Pats are still 10-3, but after two losses in a row, and three in their past five games, they look more and more like a one-and-done in the playoffs.
4. Seattle Seahawks
(10-3. Last week: 2)
With the 49ers outlasting the Saints earlier in the day, all the Seahawks had to do was to beat the Rams on Sunday night to seize the top spot in the NFC playoff race. Seattle had beaten the Vikings six days earlier in a game where the Seahawks offense beat the daylights out of Minnesota on the ground and through the air. In addition, Seattle’s defense had been one of the NFL’s best in the second half of the season.
With that much buildup, you probably know what happened next. The Seahawks went to Los Angeles and got housed by the Rams in every way possible in a 28-12 loss. Jared Goff was barely pressured and completed 22 of 31 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns — though he did also throw two interceptions to safety Quandre Diggs, who was by far the most effective member of Seattle’s defense on the evening.
More disconcerting was the performance of Russell Wilson and his offensive line. Wilson was sacked five times, hit 11 more times, averaged just 6.8 yards per attempt, and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time since Week 13 of last season. The Seahawks will face the Panthers and Cardinals before a Week 17 battle with the 49ers that could decide all kinds of things in the NFC.
3. New Orleans Saints
(10-3. Last week: 3)
Sunday’s game between the 49ers and Saints marked just the third time since 1950 that both quarterbacks in a game had the same number of passing yards. It just so happened that Jimmy Garoppolo’s yardage on San Francisco’s final drive meant a bit more than Drew Brees’ did. With less than a minute left, Brees hit receiver Tre’Quan Smith on an 18-yard touchdown pass — his fifth touchdown pass of the game — and the Saints looked to have a 46-45 win, as long as New Orleans’ defense could hold Garoppolo to his own side of the field.
That didn’t happen, as Garoppolo hit tight end George Kittle on a 39-yard play on fourth-and-2 from the San Francisco 33-yard line. Add in safety Marcus Williams’ 15-yard facemask penalty, and that’s all it took to position Robbie Gould for the winning 30-yard field goal.
The Saints went from the first seed in the NFC to the third with the loss, and they have tough games against the Colts, Titans and Panthers to end the season. Job No. 1 for New Orleans’ coaching staff will be to tinker with a pass defense that fell apart multiple times in this game.
2. San Francisco 49ers
(11-2. Last week: 4)
With 53 seconds left in Sunday’s 49ers-Saints shootout, Drew Brees completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tre’Quan Smith that put New Orleans up, 46-45. The Saints missed the two-point conversion, meaning that San Francisco could win with a field goal. The 49ers started their final drive of the game from their own 25-yard line, and they were in a real pickle when they lined up with fourth-and-2 from their own 33 with 39 seconds left.
Then, tight end George Kittle went all superhuman.
Kittle’s 39-yard play — and a 15-yard facemask penalty on Saints safety Marcus Williams — put kicker Robbie Gould in position to kick a 30-yard field goal as time expired. With the 48-46 win, the 49ers vaulted from the fifth seed to the first in the NFC and made it clear that anyone who wants to take that seed from them will have to earn it. Though Robert Saleh’s defense showed some disturbing vulnerabilities against Brees and his receivers, Jimmy Garoppolo made up for it with a bravura performance in which he completed 26 of 35 passes for 349 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. More than any other win the 49ers have earned this season, this one showed them as a team capable of beating anybody. After losing to the Ravens the week before, it was an important statement to make.
1. Baltimore Ravens
(11-2. Last week: 1)
The Ravens have won nine consecutive games. In their past two wins, over the 49ers and Bills (combined current record: 20-6), they have learned to win ugly, the exact skill a team needs to have in its quiver come championship time. It wasn’t generally easy for Lamar Jackson against Buffalo’s defense, but the MVP favorite still got it done with three touchdown passes in a 24-17 win. More encouraging for the AFC’s top seed is the performance of a defense that has been tough throughout the second half of the season — and specifically, since the trade for cornerback Marcus Peters in mid-October. That defense limited Bills quarterback Josh Allen to 17 completions in 39 attempts (Allen helped with several helium balls over the heads of his receivers), and the Ravens clinched a playoff berth with the victory. Baltimore will play the Jets, Browns and Steelers to finish the season and has retained its status as the team nobody wants to face right now.
Touchdown Wire editor Doug Farrar previously covered football for Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, the Washington Post, and Football Outsiders. His first book, “The Genius of Desperation,” a schematic history of professional football, was published by Triumph Books in 2018 and won the Professional Football Researchers Association’s Nelson Ross Award for “Outstanding recent achievement in pro football research and historiography.”
