{"id":331979,"date":"2025-12-08T08:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T08:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/331979\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T08:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T08:08:09","slug":"the-winners-and-losers-of-the-nfl-week-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/331979\/","title":{"rendered":"The Winners and Losers of the NFL Week 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

NFL<\/a>NFL<\/a>The Chiefs\u2019 playoff hopes are all but over, the Packers-Bears rivalry is back, the Colts\u2019 season took a depressing turn, the refs still don\u2019t know what a catch is, and more.\"\"Getty Images\/AP Images\/Ringer illustration\"\"<\/a>By Steven Ruiz<\/a>Dec. 8, 7:20 am UTC \u2022 16 min<\/p>\n

Every week this NFL season, we will break down the highs and lows\u2014and everything in between\u2014from the most recent slate of pro football. This week, the Chiefs offense hit rock bottom as the dynasty continues to crumble, the Packers-Bears series finally feels like a real rivalry again, \u201cwhat is a catch\u201d discourse is back, and more. Welcome to Winners and Losers.<\/p>\n

Loser: The Chiefs Dynasty<\/p>\n

According to The Athletic\u2019s playoff prediction model, there\u2019s now an 84 percent chance that we\u2019ll see something that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago: the Chiefs, with a healthy Patrick Mahomes, in his prime, missing the playoffs. Sunday\u2019s 20-10 loss to the Texans dropped their odds of earning a postseason berth to just 16 percent; that jumps to just 52 percent if they win all of their final four games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a month left in the regular season, the three-time defending AFC champs find themselves in a three-way tie with Baltimore and Miami for ninth place in the conference. If Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach didn\u2019t have so much goodwill\u2014with the three Super Bowl rings and whatnot\u2014I wonder if they might have found themselves on the hot seat. Missing the playoffs with one of the most talented quarterbacks this league has ever seen and a very favorable schedule that featured nine home games and only seven true road would typically be viewed as a fireable offense. That\u2019s not likely to happen here, but the reality is that right now the Chiefs are a poorly coached team that lacks high-end talent outside of the quarterback position.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reid and Veach haven\u2019t delivered this season, though the team they\u2019ve built is probably better than its 6-7 record indicates. After running the table in one-score games a year ago and finishing the regular season 15-2, the Chiefs haven\u2019t won a single close game all season. The loss to Houston on Sunday night was the first time all season they\u2019ve lost by more than one score. In an alternate universe, this team, with largely the same roster as last season, is still enjoying that same devil\u2019s magic and is cruising into the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some good may come out of this tragic reversal of fortune. It should force the organization to finally make an honest assessment of the roster, which should lead to a conclusion that was painfully obvious back in September<\/a>: the team around Mahomes kind of stinks, and Reid\u2019s coaching is no longer making up for it. Sunday\u2019s game against a stellar Texans defense offered an extreme example. Kansas City\u2019s offensive line, which had already been decimated by injuries and lost tackle Wanya Morris on the very first snap of the game, couldn\u2019t protect, and the receiving corps couldn\u2019t catch a pass. Rashee Rice\u2019s fourth-down drop when the game was tied at 10 in the fourth quarter was the beginning of the end for the Chiefs on Sunday night. Mahomes was left exasperated with his face buried in the turf.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not long after that, Travis Kelce basically handed to the Texans a third interception off Mahomes. It might be time to turn that podcast into a full-time job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That was one of six dropped passes for the Chiefs on the night. That\u2019s the most ever in a single game during the Mahomes era<\/a>, and, unsurprisingly, contributed to what was the worst statistical game of his career. It was also the worst offensive performance in this entire era of Chiefs football.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Based on success rate, that’s the Chiefs’ worst offensive performance in a Patrick Mahomes start.<\/p>\n

Regular season or playoffs. A sample of 146 games.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) December 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

And yet, thanks largely to the defense, Kansas City still had a good shot at winning this game in the fourth quarter before Reid\u2019s inexplicable decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 on the 31-yard-line. The numbers backed the decision to go for it, but this was a \u201cread the game\u201d situation. The Chiefs offense was dead in the water and up against one of the league\u2019s best defenses. The Texans offense, meanwhile, was dealing with its own issues moving the ball, and Reid should have known that a failed fourth-down attempt would set Houston up in field goal range. I totally get Reid trusting Mahomes in that situation, but the rest of the offense hadn\u2019t earned that same level of trust\u2014and the defense certainly had. The Texans scored the game-winning touchdown shortly after the failed fourth-down attempt. Reid didn\u2019t give his defense a chance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And now the Chiefs have no margin for error over the final month of the season. They should be able to bank wins against the Titans and Raiders, but a home game against the Chargers feels like a toss-up, and Denver could be favored when they travel to Arrowhead on Christmas night in a game that could be a division clincher for the Broncos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the first 13 games of the season weren\u2019t enough to give up on this Chiefs season amounting to anything, maybe the sight of another team donning \u201cAFC West Champs\u201d shirts and hats will do the trick.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Winner: The Packers-Bears \u201cRivalry\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been told all our lives that this is one of the NFL\u2019s greatest rivalries, but I can count all of the meaningful moments from it in this century on one hand, with fingers to spare. There was Aaron Rodgers\u2019s fourth-down throw to Randall Cobb to win the division in 2013. There was the opening-week comeback in 2018 when Rodgers hurt his knee and may have been the highest man in America (allegedly after the training staff got him right at the half. And then there was the time Rodgers told Bears fans \u201cI own you\u201d \u2026 and their only response was well, yeah. This may have been a great rivalry at some point, but recently, it\u2019s just been Green Bay quarterbacks tormenting an entire team and fan base. Chicago hasn\u2019t won two straight games in the series in nearly 20 years<\/a>. And after Green Bay\u2019s 28-21 win on Sunday, the Packers have won 12 of the last 13 matchups between these teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a rivalry, it\u2019s straight up bullying. But for the first time since early in the Lovie Smith era, it feels like things could be competitive for the foreseeable future. The Packers will remain competent as long as Matt LaFleur and Jordan Love are on the payroll, and the Bears may have finally found a coach-quarterback combo with some staying power. At the very least, this feels like a fair matchup in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s game was the first of two meetings in a three-week span with the NFC North title in reach for both teams. If both teams take care of business next week\u2014the Bears get Cleveland at home while Green Bay goes to Denver\u2014that Week 16 game will decide first place in the division with just two weeks remaining. It\u2019s been 12 years since these teams have played a late-season game with real stakes.<\/p>\n

The first leg of the 2025 series got off to a crappy start before blossoming into a highly entertaining game. Bears QB Caleb Williams missed on his first six pass attempts (with a few wild overthrows sprinkled in), while Love checked in with one his patented bozo moments.<\/p>\n

Nobody throws a bad interception quite like Love. He doesn\u2019t throw a lot of picks, but he always gets his money\u2019s worth when he does. But Love went back to looking like one of the best quarterbacks in the league once he got that mistake out of his system. He connected on two deep touchdown throws and finished the game as the league\u2019s leader in average depth per target.<\/p>\n

The Bears tried to fluster him with blitzes, but the Packers were prepared and were able to block Chicago\u2019s extra rushers all game. Love was essentially perfect against the blitz on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Williams also settled into the game but needed a little more time to do so. He was averaging under 2 yards per dropback <\/a>going into the half, but lit up the Green Bay secondary in the second half with a number of daring escapes from pressure and comical displays of arm talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Williams had a chance to answer with a two-minute drive late. It got off to a promising start, with the second-year quarterback quickly moving the Bears offense into scoring range with two explosive passes. But he threw away the game on fourth-and-1. Williams had Cole Kmet breaking open to the back corner of the end zone but was late on the throw and put way too much air on it, allowing Keisean Nixon to run under it and seal the Green Bay win with a pick.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The football was good and there was enough chippiness to make this one feel like a real rivalry game. Even the coaches seem to have beef, which may have emanated from Ben Johnson telling everyone<\/a> how much he enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year in Detroit. After their first matchup as head coaches, LaFleur hit Johnson with one of the coldest postgame handshakes you\u2019ll ever see.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not ready to call this a proper rivalry just yet, but I can\u2019t wait to see the sequel to this game in two weeks. It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve felt that way about a Bears-Packers game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Loser: The Daniel Jones Redemption Arc<\/p>\n

The Colts\u2019 season has taken a dark turn. Just over a month ago, they were sitting at 7-1 and running away with the AFC South. The offense was putting up historic numbers, quarterback Daniel Jones was garnering MVP buzz, and Shane Steichen was the front-runner for Coach of the Year. The magical season quickly turned into a season from hell. Their lead in the division is gone after a soggy 36-19 loss in Jacksonville on Sunday, and Jones is done for the year after reportedly tearing his Achilles in the first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones was already playing with a hairline fracture on his other leg, which had severely compromised his ability to move in or out of the pocket, and things were pretty bleak before his right Achilles appeared to pop on a third-and-8 throw in the first quarter. Jones\u2019s first-quarter pick-six staked the Jags to an early lead\u2014and was so bad it may have broken the RedZone broadcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to play football when you can hardly move, so it\u2019s not surprising that Jones\u2019s numbers have nosedived since first injuring his lower leg in a Week 10 win over Atlanta. His negative plays (sacks and interceptions) spiked, his accuracy regressed, and he was no longer a factor in the run game. And the Colts haven\u2019t won a game since that day against the Falcons in Berlin. The version of the offense that lit up scoreboards over the first two months was already fading. Indianapolis’s season was slipping away; Jones\u2019s new injury just accelerated the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Colts season isn\u2019t mathematically over, of course. At 8-5, they\u2019ve fallen behind both the Jaguars and the Texans and are currently out of the playoff field. They have just a 30 percent shot\u00a0 of making the postseason, per The Athletic\u2019s model. But spiritually, it feels over. With Anthony Richardson still parked on injured reserve after a suffering a broken orbital bone while doing pregame resistance band work back in Week 6\u2014he has yet to be cleared for football acitviities\u2014it will be up to sixth-round rookie Riley Leonard to salvage what\u2019s left of this campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019ll be a daunting task for the 23-year-old QB, whose first start will come against the same Seahawks defense that put Minnesota\u2019s Max Brosmer through hell in his pro debut last Sunday. That\u2019s followed by a game against the 49ers, a rematch with the Jaguars, and a trip to Houston to play DeMeco Ryans\u2019s terrifying defense to close out the season. Indianapolis is already stuck in a three-game losing streak and is staring at four loseable games without its top two quarterbacks. This league is brutal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Winner: Catch-Rule Controversy\u00a0<\/p>\n

It had been too long since we\u2019ve had a good catch-rule controversy. A decade ago, it felt like we didn\u2019t go a few weeks without getting to say \u201cI don\u2019t know what a catch is anymore.\u201d Catch-rule haters, I\u2019m thrilled to report that we are back after this apparent Isaiah Likely touchdown was overturned by replay assist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I don’t know what a catch is anymore! Actually, that\u2019s not true. That is very clearly a catch; it just wasn\u2019t ruled as one. The NFL\u2019s vice president of instant replay\u2014which is a real job, apparently\u2014offered an explanation for the decision, citing Likely\u2019s failure to make an \u201cact common to the game\u201d before Pittsburgh cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was able to knock the ball loose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The receiver controlled the ball in the air, had his right foot down, then his left foot down. The control is the first aspect of the catch. The second aspect is two feet or a body part inbounds, which he did have,” Mark Butterworth said, via the postgame pool report. “Then the third step is an act common to the game and before he could get the third foot down, the ball was ripped out. Therefore, it was an incomplete pass.”<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the actual explanation from the rulebook<\/a>, with bold added for emphasis:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c(a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and<\/p>\n

(b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and<\/p>\n

(c) after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, clearly performs any act common to the game (e.g., extend the ball forward, take an additional step, tuck the ball away and turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

It sure sounds like Likely completed the catch! That score would have put Likely\u2019s Ravens up 28-27 over the Steelers with under three minutes remaining in a pivotal division game. Instead, the offense had to trot back onto the field for second down. A few plays later, Lamar Jackson\u2019s fourth-down pass sailed over the head of Mark Andrews. Baltimore got one last shot at a game-winning drive with under a minute remaining but ran out of time when Jackson was sacked at the Pittsburgh 38.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The refereeing decision likely decided the game. The Steelers offense had completely broken down and stood little chance of mounting a game-winning drive of its own. Pittsburgh didn\u2019t have a single successful play in the fourth quarter, per TruMedia. The offense went three-and-out on all three of its possessions and netted just three total yards in the final quarter. There would have been a turnover thrown in there if this Aaron Rodgers turnover hadn\u2019t been overruled after replay determined that he was down before the ball was ripped out of his hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Somehow, that was ruled a catch, but Likely taking a couple steps and extending the ball away from the defender after catching the ball in the end zone was not. So let\u2019s say the line again: I don\u2019t know what a catch is anymore! That\u2019s essentially what Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“When you’re making a catch, you have to survive the ground,\u201d Harbaugh said. \u201c[Rodgers] didn’t survive the ground. He’s not down by contact, he was catching the ball on the way down with another person, so you have to make a catch there and survive the ground. I don’t know why it was ruled the way it was on that one. So, all those things, I’m sure they’ll explain to us, but they had plenty of time to look at it, and they’re the ones who are the experts on the rules, so that’s how it works.”<\/p>\n

This was a brutal loss for the Ravens to take. They took control of the game after a slow start and deserved a positive result. But there are some positives to take away from the loss. Jackson\u2019s passing is still shaky but he looked quicker than he has in months, which unlocked Baltimore\u2019s sputtering run game. The Ravens ran for 200 yards on 40 carries, with Jackson chipping in with 43 yards and a touchdown. The defense also ironed out some of its issues in the second half after giving up 27 points through three quarters. Baltimore still looks like the best team in the division, and while the schedule is difficult down the stretch, Baltimore is still in control of its playoff destiny, down just one game with another shot at the Steelers coming in Week 18. But that playoff path would have been a lot easier if Likely\u2019s touchdown would have actually counted.<\/p>\n

Winner: Josh Allen<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit it: At around 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, I had talked myself into a Bengals playoff run. They were up two scores over the Bills midway through the fourth quarter in what could be the last game in which they wouldn\u2019t be favored this season. By the time I could pull up Cincinnati\u2019s playoff odds\u2014which were at 14 percent coming into the game, per The Athletic\u2019s prediction model\u2014the wheels had started to fall off. Imagine a Bengals fan who took a bathroom break with the team up 10 with under eight minutes left, and by the time they got back to the couch, Buffalo had a two-score lead of its own. (OK, so that would have been a very long bathroom break, but have you seen the chili<\/a> they eat?)\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was about a 20-minute sequence in real time, but the Bills needed only four minutes of game time to flip the contest. The rally started with Allen pulling a 40-yard touchdown scramble out of his ass to cut into Cincinnati’s lead. Then, Joe Burrow threw a ridiculous pick-six on what was supposed to be a run play as Buffalo took the lead.<\/p>\n

Burrow followed that up by throwing another interception that didn\u2019t get past the line of scrimmage on his very next snap. Buffalo quickly extended its lead with a short touchdown pass from Allen to Jackson Hawes a few plays later. Just like that, Cincinnati\u2019s playoff dream was dead, and Allen killed it (with some help from Burrow).<\/p>\n

Allen was awesome all game, but the Bills were not. At the same time I was talking myself into a Cincinnati playoff berth, I was checking the standings to see how dire the Bills\u2019 outlook would be at 8-5. With a loss, it was possible Buffalo could have been on the outside looking in by the end of Sunday night. And before flipping their fortunes in the fourth quarter, this Bills team looked dead in the water. The Bengals offense was just walking up and down the field on Buffalo\u2019s defense, as tackling continues to be a problem for Sean McDermott\u2019s team. That obviously has a negative impact on the run defense\u2014which ranks 31st in yards after contact allowed, per TruMedia\u2014but it\u2019s just as problematic for the pass defense. Playing zone and rallying to short passes isn\u2019t a viable defensive strategy when opposing receivers are routinely picking up 5 yards of YAC. The offense is carrying the team, but that group is still too reliant on Allen\u2019s improv skills to create explosives. For about 52 minutes of game time, these issues looked like they\u2019d cost the Bills another game. Then Allen did the familiar Superman routine and it was all fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Allen was indomitable in what could be the last-ever true snow game in Buffalo, with the new stadium\u2014and its canopy roof shielding fans (but not necessarily the players) from the elements\u2014opening next season. He completed 22-of-28 passes and averaged 9 yards per attempt. He threw three touchdowns and ran in another. His first touchdown pass came on fourth-and-4 and prevented an early knockout for the Bengals. With Buffalo\u2019s defense getting gashed, the game would have pretty much been over if Allen didn’t fit a pass into a keyhole.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was a big win for Buffalo, but I\u2019m not sure it should change the way we view this flawed team. Besides, with a trip to New England on deck, we\u2019ll learn everything we need to know about this team next Sunday. By this time next week, we\u2019ll either be discussing the Bills as a potential division winner or a team that will be fighting for playoff berth over the final three weeks. Either way, they may need another superhuman effort from Allen.<\/p>\n

Loser: Kevin Stefanski\u2019s Two-Point Play Call\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was hopeful that we were past WildcatGate<\/a>, but the Browns head coach breathed new life into it with this galaxy-brained call on a game-deciding two-point in the final moments of Cleveland\u2019s loss to the Titans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The idea that Stefanski is going out of his way to sabotage Shedeur Sanders\u2019s career is obviously absurd, but if you\u2019re inclined to believe such a thing, that play call is the smoking gun you\u2019ve been looking for these past few weeks. Sanders had just led two scoring drives to erase a 14-point Tennessee lead in the fourth quarter. He had thrown for 364 yards and three touchdowns in what was easily the best performance of his three starts. And on the play that decided the game, Stefanski told him to take a seat on the bench and watch a damn Wildcat reverse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As needlessly complicated as the play was, it probably would have worked if running back Quinshon Judkins, who took the direct snap, hadn\u2019t flubbed his lines. The Browns had the numbers and blocking angles for an easy score if Judkins had just pitched the ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just assuming the play design called for a pitch there based on how the blocks play out\u2014and Judkins simply experienced a clear \u201coh shit\u201d moment after passing by Gage Larvadain without pitching it. Stefanski refused to get into the details of the play in his postgame presser, but did offer this: \u201cObviously, it didn\u2019t go how we thought it would.\u201d Yeah, coach, we know.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To be fair to Stefanski, the Browns had already tried a two-point conversion with Sanders on the field and the results weren\u2019t any better. Sanders and his center botched the snap exchange, forcing the quarterback to just fall on the ball and eat the play. Stefanski made the right decision to go for two in this spot. The analytics are quite clear on that<\/a>. Unfortunately, though, coaching is a results-based business, and when you\u2019re leading a 3-10 team, nobody wants to hear about good process that doesn\u2019t work out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Steven Ruiz<\/p>\n

<\/a>Steven Ruiz has been an NFL analyst and QB ranker at The Ringer since 2021. He\u2019s a D.C. native who roots for all the local teams except for the Commanders. As a child, he knew enough ball to not pick the team owned by Dan Snyder\u2014but not enough to avoid choosing the Panthers.