Week 14 might not have been the most intriguing set of games this season, but what unfolded over the last few days was certainly dramatic.
The 15 games produced plenty of talking points, more than a bit of drama and plenty of jokes about Tommy DeVito’s agent.
San Francisco became the first team to clinch a playoff spot with their win and the Giants loss while New England and Carolina are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
Let’s delve into the big moments of the Week 14 talking points from the NFL.
1 – Patrick Mahomes is not handling a bit of adversity
We’ve got to lead off with the big moment from Week 14, the Kadarius Toney offside call in Kansas City’s loss to Buffalo and the reigning champs not taking it all that well.
At some point, the Chiefs’ good fortune in the Mahomes era was going to run out and this season looks like it might be the time.
Of course, adversity is all relative considering they are still 8-5 and almost certainly heading back to the playoffs but they are not their usual dominant selves.
Their offence is struggling and the frustration boiled over as the coolest touchdown of the season was taken off the board.
Mahomes did not take it well, going after the official and needing to be restrained by his teammates.
The blow up continued after the game first with Mahomes blowing up during his postgame catch up with Josh Allen, before going a little bit overboard on the hyperbole in his press conference.
For a guy who has had so much go his way to help become the face of the league, these are the moments that are going to swing the perception of him in a negative direction.
This season we have already seen him channelling his inner superstar by blowing up when plays don’t go his way and continually asking the refs for flags when none were forthcoming.
But the biggest issue with this tantrum is that the flag was the right call.
The argument that the refs should have given them a warning does not really hold up considering their formations have been a topic of debate all season with the offensive linemen setting up in the back field.
For all of the talk that Mahomes is this generation’s iteration of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, he’s currently having the equivalent of Brady’s 06 season when he took the Pats to the AFC Championship or Manning’s 2009 when he won MVP and took the Colts to the Super Bowl.
But first he is going to have to find a way to either cut out the victim complex because he’s lost a few more games than normal, or turn it into a motivating factor to go on another Super Bowl run.
Of course, the Chiefs do have a history of lining up offside in big moments so it’s not like this is an entirely new feeling for them.
At some point they’ll learn how to set the formation correctly… you would hope.
2 – Pittsburgh is doing a great job messing up the top of the draft
Now on to the rest of the week and let’s go back to Friday’s surprisingly high scoring game, at least for the two teams involved.
In the last two weeks, the Steelers have gone from a 7-4 team with a great shot at a division title to 7-6 having lost to two of the worst sides in the NFL.
If last week’s defeat at the hands of Arizona wasn’t bad enough, they let New England’s dysfunctional offence put up three first half touchdowns in their 21-18 win.
Although to be fair, this throw from Bailey Zappe is one of the best ones we’ve seen from a Patriots quarterback in the last four seasons.
But what should be most concerning for the Steelers is the fact New England did everything in their power in the second half to give the game back to the home team but they couldn’t find a way to get the job done.
Falling into a 21-3 hole against this team is a massive cause for concern, especially on the back of a loss to Arizona.
On the plus side they did the Chicago Bears a huge favour, handing wins to their main rivals in the battle for the first overall pick and now they have a two game “lead” which is looking very safe with the Panthers selection.
3 – Justin Fields might be screwing up the Bears plans
Having the first overall pick is one thing, but deciding who to take is a whole other.
For most of the season, the general consensus was that they were going to end up with a pair of top five picks, their own and Carolina’s and they would use them to take a franchise quarterback and another playmaker.
The guy that quarterback is going to replace is Justin Fields, who has had a couple of good games since returning from an injury.
He has lead the Bears to a close loss in Detroit, a win in Minnesota and a home win over the Lions with steady improvement in each of those games.
Fields even ran for his first touchdown since September, showing that running ability that made the Bears trade up to take him in 2021.
No player on the Bears roster has more to gain or lose over the next four weeks than Fields, as he is going to try and force the front office into a tough call in the offseason.
While his stats are not great, averaging just over 200 passing yards per game and throwing for 13 touchdowns in nine starts, he is playing efficiently and has won three of his last five starts.
Not to mention he is outperforming some of the other big names at his position.
Assuming Chicago gets the top pick, which looks likely right now, it is going to be very hard to turn down a player like Caleb Williams, but if Fields plays well enough over the next month, they might have to consider all options.
Especially if the Bears’ own pick winds up in the teens because of a late season surge.
Those options could consider trading the top pick to a quarterback needy team again (and there are plenty of potential takers), or just picking up phenom Marvin Harrison Jr who would give Fields a go-to guy like Joe Burrow getting JaMarr Chase.
4 – Philadelphia has to start worrying about their defence
The Eagles no longer control their playoff fate after their loss in Dallas and at the top of the lost of concerns is their suddenly porous defence.
They gave up 30 points for the third straight game and it was just too easy for Dallas starting with their first possession.
While it wasn’t his best day statistically, Dak Prescott had his way with the Eagles as they cruised to a comfortable halftime lead.
There are a few things going wrong for the Eagles at the moment on both sides of the ball but the defence is far and away the most pressing issue for them as it stands.
5 – It’s time for the Chargers to tank
It’s going to be a real shame in 2024 when popular punching bag Brandon Staley is no longer coaching an NFL team, so we’ve got to make the most of it while we have the opportunity.
If their 5-8 record was not a reason to pack it in, the injury to Justin Herbert should tip them over the edge.
Even with the Chiefs faltering at the top of the division they are not going to be able to close down the three game deficit or the two game gap in the Wild Card race without their star player.
The best thing for them long term is to find a way to lose out, avoid any more injuries and set themselves up for 2024.