December is here, and the NFL season is reaching the home stretch. The playoffs are coming together, but no one seems to be running away with the lead. Who comes away with wins in Week 14?
The Cowboys are on an absolute heater since the trade deadline. They’re on a three-game win streak, taking down the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs in that span. Their offense is electric and could beat anybody in a shootout.
The Lions are struggling heavily heading into December. They’ve lost two of their last three games to division rivals and may now be without Amon-Ra St. Brown. Jahmyr Gibbs can only carry them so far, and Dallas’ run defense looks much better these days.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys
The Falcons are coming off a disheartening loss to the New York Jets, and are 1-6 in their last seven games. The team that took down the Buffalo Bills must’ve celebrated too hard because they’re gone now.
The Seahawks are Super Bowl contenders, full stop. The offense can light up a scoreboard, but the defense is its biggest strength. The addition of Sam Darnold has paid off for Seattle so far. The biggest question now is: Can he win in the playoffs?
Winner: Seattle Seahawks
The Steelers have hit a low point in the season after a 26-7 loss to the Bills on Sunday. Chants of “Fire Tomlin” rained down in Acrisure Stadium, and it seems this team might be heading toward another nine-win season.
The Ravens desperately need this win if they want to stay in the playoff hunt. Coming off a Thanksgiving loss to a returning Joe Burrow, winning the AFC North isn’t a guarantee this year. Lamar Jackson can’t play badly forever, right?
Winner: Baltimore Ravens
Cam Ward vs. Shedeur Sanders feels like it should have more fanfare. Both of these teams are abysmal and could be heading for top-five draft picks. Sanders hasn’t been terrible, and the Browns’ defense is still a ton of fun. The Titans have nearly no redeeming qualities at this point.
Winner: Cleveland Browns
The Colts are coming off back-to-back losses for the first time this season. Daniel Jones is playing with a fractured fibula, and Jonathan Taylor has slowed down in recent weeks. The magic in Indy seems to be fading at a bad time.
The Jaguars are on a three-game win streak and just blew out another division rival. Trevor Lawrence isn’t quite the prince that was promised in Duval, but he’s playing extremely well right now. This could be the upset of the week, but a Colts bounce-back is more likely.
Winner: Indianapolis Colts
When the NFL schedule was made, this game was probably expected to be a huge one. Now, both teams are struggling at quarterback, and their defenses are not playing up to expectations.
The Vikings are hopeful that J.J. McCarthy could play on Sunday. If he doesn’t, it could be the Max Brosmer show again. The Commanders are still without Jayden Daniels, but they might be better than the Vikings right now.
Winner: Washington Commanders
The Dolphins are coming off a win over the New Orleans Saints, which isn’t exactly winning the Super Bowl. Tua Tagovailoa still struggled, and De’Von Achane carried the offense. Luckily for them, they have another a fairly easy opponent.
The Jets look much better with Tyrod Taylor under center, but they’re still not a threat. This could be a close game for all the wrong reasons. I’ll take the Dolphins to win here, but I don’t feel great about it.
Winner: Miami Dolphins
The expression “any given Sunday” was created for a reason, so it would be foolish to rule the Saints out entirely. With that being said, the Buccaneers are an infinitely better team. Losing this would be embarrassing for them.
Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It would be easy to look at this game, write it off as a Bills win, and move on. The Bengals proved on Thanksgiving that they’re not to be forgotten about. Joe Burrow shook off some rust early and lit up the Ravens in Primetime, and Cincy’s defense didn’t look too bad either.
The Bills have been wildly inconsistent this season. They’re either blowing out the Steelers or losing to the Houston Texans. They have a tendency to play to their opponents’ level, and if Burrow comes out swinging, Josh Allen will certainly match that energy.
Winner: Buffalo Bills
Division games can be messy sometimes, and nothing is certain. While the Broncos aren’t exactly bulletproof, they are on a nine-game win streak, so close enough.
The Raiders are one of the NFL’s most incompetent teams, and there’s no reason they should win this game. This is either the lock of the week or the upset of the year.
Winner: Denver Broncos
The “number one seed Chicago Bears” sure does sound strange, but Ben Johnson has worked magic on this team. They’re leading the NFC North and coming off a win over the Super Bowl champions.
The Packers just completed their sweep of the Lions ahead of their first meeting with the new Bears. Green Bay is probably the smart pick here, but riding the Chicago hype train is too much fun. “Da Bears” increase their lead in the North.
Winner: Chicago Bears
This would be an easy call if Matthew Stafford didn’t just turn the ball over three times in a loss to the Carolina Panthers. All NFL MVPs have a bad day during a historic season, and he’s still the favorite for the award.
The Cardinals are not a competitive football team, and this is a perfect bounce-back opportunity for Los Angeles.
Winner: Los Angeles Rams
Are the Texans back? In the last four weeks, they’ve defeated the Jaguars, Bills, and Colts. C.J. Stroud is still not playing to his standard, but the Houston defense is the stuff of nightmares at this point.
The Chiefs are entering do-or-die territory after their loss to the Cowboys. Patrick Mahomes is playing great football, but the rest of the NFL has simply caught up to him. The Texans’ offense is still struggling, which could be their downfall on Sunday.
Winner: Kansas City Chiefs
The Eagles were embarrassed by the Bears on Black Friday as the Philadelphia crowd booed them by halftime. Nick Sirianni said the playcalling won’t change yet, and their struggles might continue.
The Chargers haven’t been the juggernaut they were expected to be, either. Justin Herbert had a minor surgery on his left hand, leaving his status in the air. If he wasn’t playing hurt, I’d be inclined to say the Bolts win this.
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
November football is important, but December is when the eliminations start. Teams we thought were good end up missing the playoffs while unexpected contenders rise.
Teams on bye: Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers
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