Must see NFL matchups of Week 14: Packers - Lions, Falcons - Vikings, Seahawks - Cardinals, Rams - Bills, Chargers - Chiefs
There are some massive divisional games this week, starting with the Detroit Lions hosting the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football from Ford Field.
Week 13 gave us Turkey, days off, family and a healthy helping of football as all 32 teams were in action during the Thanksgiving holiday. This week we wake up from our tryptophan haze with some massive divisional games that are going to shape the playoff picture at the end of the season. We start with a clash of giants in the NFC North on Thursday night. Then shift to Minnesota where the Vikings look to keep winning against a sliding Falcons side. We will shift west for the 4:05 kickoff from the desert as the Cardinals look to pull even with the Seahawks in the division race. The Rams will try and keep pace with them in the cold against one of the hottest teams in the league and the Chargers and Chiefs wrap up Sunday in Week 14 with an AFC West primetime showdown from Arrowhead.
Green Bay Packers (9-3) vs. Detroit Lions (11-1), Thursday December 6th @ 8:15 p.m. ET
We aren’t going to have to wait long for the Game of the Week. Thursday night gives us a mouthwatering NFC North matchup between two teams that are in the hunt for the one seed not just in the division but in the conference. The Lions have looked like the best team in the league for the entire season. They have rattled off 10 straight wins, and have the most balanced team in the league with Jared Goff orchestrating on offense with a two headed monster in the backfield and a defense that has barely blinked after losing one of the best players in the league in Aiden Hutchinson. They have just one loss, but they have a pack of very familiar teams chasing them and they will meet one of them on Thursday night. The Packers are just a game behind the Vikings and two games back of the Lions coming into the week but they can do themselves a massive favor by handing Detroit their first loss since Week 2. It’s going to be a playoff type atmosphere in Ford Field as two teams searching to be crowned Kings of the North, and Kings of the Conference go toe-to-toe in a heavy weight bout from the Motor City.
Atlanta Falcons (6-6) vs. Minnesota Vikings (10-2), Sunday December 8 @ 1:00 p.m. ET
It’s crisis lockdown mode in Atlanta after the Falcons ave lost three straight and are on the verge of conceding their one-time comfortable lead in the NFC South. With the rest of the division being hit with a catastrophic injury bug, all the Falcons had to do is keep their head above water, but they are no longer swagging nor surfing in ATL. Their $180 million man Kirk Cousins is in the eye of the hurricane after throwing 4 picks against the Chargers last week to pile on the misery during this three game losing skid that the Falcons currently on. After scoring 12 points a game in their last three, there are some wanting to see Cousins get benched for their game against the Vikings this week. Minnesota is rolling. It may not be dominant Lions or spectacular like the Eagles, but they are doing what it takes to win games and stay in the hunt for the one seed in the NFC. At 10-2 ,they are just a game behind the Lions and a game ahead of the Packers. The Vikings will be keeping a watchful eye on the Thursday night game before focusing on the Falcons from US Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Seattle Seahawks (7-5) vs. Arizona Cardinals (6-6), Sunday December 8 @ 4:05 p.m. ET
Who wants to win the NFC West? As of now, it doesn’t seem like anyone is too interested in taking control of the division. The hottest of the four teams chasing an automatic playoff birth is Seattle who are on a three game roll after it looked like their season was going down the drain. They started the season winning their first three against cup cake opponents, but things got real, real quick. They lost their next five of six, and it all seemed lost for Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks. Since then the defense has stepped up, not just keeping their opponents out of the end zone but scoring TDs of their own. The Cardinals went into their BYE week leading the NFC West, but since then things have gone south in the desert. They have lost their last two games including a 16-6 loss to Seattle and are a game behind the Seahawks. If they win on Sunday, they could take command of the division depending what the Rams do against the Bills. It’s a big mess in the NFC West, but this weekend could give us a little clarity should the Seahawks win their fourth straight game against a Cardinals team looking to put an end to their drought in the desert.
LA Rams (6-6) vs. Buffalo Bills (10-2), Sunday December 8 @ 4:25 p.m. ET
The Rams did just enough to hold on during their early stretch of the season they had to play without Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. They did get some help from the rest of the division as the Cardinals, Seahawks and Niners continue to hit peaks and valleys. Without their WR duo, they were 1-4, with them they are 5-2. They have one statement win this season. It came against the Vikings in Week 8. Their OT win the next week against the Seahawks was big for their division chances, but this week they have a chance to beat the Bills and that would turn their season around heading into the final stretch of the season. The Bills are looking like the best team in the AFC right now. Forget the Chiefs, forget the Steelers and definitely forget the Ravens. Josh Allen is playing at an MVP level and the offense is hitting it’s stride at the right time, scoring 30+ points in their last six and winning their last seven. They have to keep winning if they are going to take the one seed from the Chiefs, but they have to make sure they come out to play against the Rams and not focus on their massive Week 15 match up against the Lions.
LA Chargers (8-4) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1), Sunday December 8 @ 8:20 p.m. ET
The AFC West takes center stage to wrap up a busy Sunday in Week 14. The one loss Chiefs are holding on to the one seed by a thread after a couple of scares from two of the worst teams in the league. Since their loss to the Bills three weeks ago, they have almost lost to the Panthers and the Raiders. What’s even stranger, is Patrick Mahomes is playing the best football he has all season. He has had 250+ yards in the Chiefs last five wins, but those wins have come by a total of 20 points. If they are going to keep hold of the top spot in the AFC, they are going to have to play better against a Chargers team that gave them a run for their money earlier in the season. LA is coming off of a bounce back win over the Falcons in what was an ugly defensive showdown from Atlanta. Their top rated defense went back to being dominant after giving up 30+ points in their last two games. They picked off Kirk Cousins four times including a 61 yard pick six from Tarheeb Still. If they go into Arrowhead and play like they did on Sunday in Atlanta, the Chiefs might be in trouble.