NFL Week 14 Takeaways
Photo by Mike Mulholland from Getty Images
I was busy this weekend with some #PersonalEvents so I can’t lie.
I barely watched any football at all.
But if there’s one thing I learned from sports media in 2022, it’s that you don’t actually have to know what you’re talking about to be able to write about it.
It helps, but you don’t have to!
So after barely watching some highlights here and there, let’s discuss what we learned!
Rams defeat Raiders 17-16
There’s something to be said about having a stable organization around you.
Look at Geno Smith in Seattle after years of disfunction. Look at Russell Wilson in Denver with a bad head coach.
It’s still early, but Deshaun Watson is struggling mightily in Cleveland so far which is the factory of sadness.
And now, look at Baker Mayfield.
Baker was in Los Angeles for two days, and played well and led an amazing 4th quarter comeback to give the Rams a win.
I’m not saying Baker Mayfield is going to revitalize his career and be a superstar, but it just shows how truly important it is for an NFL quarterback to have a stable system around him.
Ravens defeat Steelers 16-14
Ravens and Steelers games are low scoring in general, so a game between the Ravens 3rd string QB and Steelers backup went about as you’d expect.
Nice to see J.K. Dobbins fully back, though.
Bills defeat Jets 20-12
The Bills offense is sputtering a bit, but when told it doesn’t look like an offense that could win a Super Bowl Josh Allen replied “Ok.”
Clearly he’s not concerned about it, so why should we be?
Bengals defeat Browns 23-10
Boy, it sure is a shame the adult QB the Browns traded for is struggling.
Just an awful, awful shame.
Ah well.
Cowboys defeat Texans 27-23
If you know football, you know that this was going to be a game the Cowboys struggled with.
But hey, at least they won!
Lions defeat Vikings 34-23
People have been clowning on the Vikings and calling them frauds, but that’s ignoring the story.
Kirk Cousins played his best game of the season Sunday, and the Lions still easily won.
The Lions are red hot right now, and I’m not sure if they’ll make the playoffs or not, but Lions fans have to be excited about the future of this team under Dan Campbell.
Jaguars defeat Titans 36-22
I don’t know if the Jaguars are good or not.
Eagles defeat Giants 48-22
I know for a fact the Eagles are very good.
Chiefs defeat Broncos 34-28
I’m going to say something that might be shocking here.
This game was a win for the Broncos overall.
This season has been a complete and utter disaster, and this game was going no different as they were down 27-0 in the first half against the Chiefs.
But the Broncos, for the first time maybe all year, actually showed some fight to get back into the game.
They still lost, and Hackett still needs to go at the end of the year, but at least they didn’t roll over and play dead.
49ers defeat Buccaneers 35-7
I’m really curious on if I could succeed as a quarterback in a Kyle Shanahan offense if they gave me a week to prepare.
Panthers defeat Seahawks 30-24
The Seahawks are a dangerous team this offense.
QB is good. Running backs are good (when healthy). Receivers are good. Secondary looks promising. Special teams are good.
Their front 7 is absolutely atrocious.
But with 4 picks in the first two rounds this upcoming draft, they know exactly what they need to do to take the next step as a team.
I expect all 4 picks to be front 7 players for the Seahawks draft, and I also expect the Niners to make Thursday night’s game an absolute snoozer.
Christian McCaffery against that run defense? Yikes…
Chargers defeat Dolphins 23-17
The social media game of the year, so let’s just discuss the two quarterbacks.
Justin Herbert was fantastic, but that was simply never his problem. We all know he could be fantastic. I’ve seen that countless times. What I want to see is some consistency. If he goes out this week and struggles, then it’s still an issue.
Which, for the record, isn’t Herbert’s fault! Scroll up to earlier where I showed your circumstances as a QB matter. A bad offensive coordinator and injuries are hurting him, and that’s ok. But I still need that consistency before putting him top tier.
As for Tua, he is having a good year.
But all eyes were on this game, and he stunk up the joint. That’s a concerning sign for sure.
It doesn’t mean he’s a garbage quarterback, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
Patriots defeat Cardinals 27-13
I didn’t watch this game. I did make it 5 episodes into Wednesday though.
Pretty good show!
Was it a good week?
I’m not going to count up the games this week. I got engaged.
It was a good week!
