Week 14 of the NFL schedule is packed with high-profile games with major playoff implications. Some games that we expected to be big … and some that maybe we didn’t.

For the third week in a row, the league’s top game features the Philadelphia Eagles as they go on the road to play the Dallas Cowboys in a game that could help determine the top spot in the NFC East. A Cowboys win would bring both teams even at 10-3 in the standings and quiet a mad scramble to the finish. Dallas is a different team at home the past two years, scoring an average of 36.6 points during its 14-game home winning streak. The Cowboys are a small favorite.

The big AFC game will feature what might be a must-win game for the Buffalo Bills as they go on the road to play the Kansas City Chiefs. Before the season, this might have looked like a potential AFC Championship preview, but the Bills will need a great finish just to make the playoffs.

In Indianapolis, the Colts and Cincinnati Bengals are playing what is suddenly a huge game in the AFC Wild Card race despite both teams being down to their backup quarterbacks for the remainder of the season. A Bengals win would bring them even with the Colts, give them the tiebreaker and keeps them in the playoff race.

There are only two games this week with a spread of more than a touchdown – the Ravens, who are a touchdown favorite over the Los Angeles Rams, and the San Francisco 49ers, who are double digit favorites over the Seattle Seahawks.

The lowest total of the week is in Pittsburgh where the Steelers and Patriots have an over/under of 30 points. The highest total is in Dallas where the Cowboys and Eagles have an over/under of 52.5 points.

New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers

• Since the start of the 2022 season the Steelers are 12-6 when Kenny Pickett starts and finishes the game. They are 2-7 when he does not, including 2-3 in games started by Mitch Trubisky. Trubisky is starting on Thursday night.
• The over/under for Thursday’s game is 30 points, the lowest mark of the NFL season. Only two of Pittsburgh’s 12 games have reached the over. Only three of New England’s have.
• The Patriots are 1-7 against the spread as underdogs this season, 0-5 against teams with winning records and 2-10 against the spread overall.
• The Patriots have allowed just 26 points total over the past three games (8.6 points against per game). They are 0-3 in those games.

Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore Ravens

• With three straight wins, the Rams are right back into the thick of the NFC Wild Card race and enter the week in a four-way tie for the last two Wild Card spots.
• In the John Harbaugh era, the Ravens are 9-8 against the spread following a bye week (and 0-3 in their past three) and 13-4 outright.
• The Ravens offense has taken a huge leap forward under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, but the defense is still largely driving things here. They are second in yards against and have the top-scoring defense (15.6 points per game).
• Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is no longer a top passing threat, with just 18 catches for 166 yards over his past six games.

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears

• Detroit (9-3) enters this divisional contest with a three-game lead in the NFC North over Minnesota and Green Bay.
• Despite Detroit’s success this season, the defense is trending in the wrong direction. The Lions have given up more than 330 yards in four straight games.
• The Bears (4-8) are coming off their bye and looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
• In the bigger picture, Chicago is currently slated to pick fifth in next year’s draft and the team also owns Carolina’s selection due to the trade for the No. 1 overall pick.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons

• First place in the NFC South is on the line when these division rivals meet for the second time. Atlanta (6-6) holds a one-game lead over both Tampa Bay and New Orleans, but the Falcons have already defeated the Buccaneers, winning 16-13 on the road in Week 7.
• Despite three fumbles by Desmond Ridder, Atlanta won that game, two of them at the goal line. Ridder lost the starting job to Taylor Heinicke two weeks later but he regained it during the Week 11 bye and has since led his team to back-to-back wins. The offense managed 194 total yards last week but perhaps Ridder can take advantage of Tampa Bay’s 28th-ranked passing defense (257.9 yards per game) on his home turf.
• The Buccaneers (5-7) got back into the win column this past Sunday, outlasting the lowly Panthers 21-18. The defense limited rookie QB Bryce Young, intercepting him once and sacking him four times, but gave up 102 rushing yards and two touchdowns to Chuba Hubbard.

Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals

• Given the quarterback injuries for both teams and the way each started this season, this is suddenly a shockingly huge game in the AFC playoff race. A Bengals win would put them ahead of the Colts and keep them in the Wild Card race. 
• Bengals quarterback Jake Browning played the game of his life on Monday night, completing 32-of-37 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown in the overtime win.
• Even without Jonathan Taylor, the Colts need to stick to the run against a Bengals defense that is 27th in the league against the run. 
• The Colts are a slight road favorite and are 3-0 against the spread as road favorites this season. The Bengals are 9-8-2 against the spread as home underdogs since the start of the 2019 season. 

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints

• New Orleans is still just a game out of first place in the NFC South despite its 5-7 record. It has one of the league’s easiest remaining schedules (.357 opponents’ winning percentage the rest of the way).
• The Saints have been notoriously bad as favorites under head coach Dennis Allen. They are 1-8-1 against the spread as favorites this season and 3-12-1 overall under Allen. That includes a shockingly bad 2-6 record as home favorites (and 0-4 this season).
• The Saints might not have quarterback Derek Carr, who is in the concussion protocol for the second time this season. He was limited in practice on Wednesday. 
• The first meeting between the two teams this season was one of rookie quarterback Bryce Young’s best games, finishing with an 87.1 passer rating and a touchdown. 

Jacksonville Jaguars at Cleveland Browns

• Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence left Monday’s 34-31 loss to Cincinnati game with a high-ankle sprain. His status is unknown for Sunday. 
• C.J. Beathard will start if Lawrence can’t play. Beathard has seen minimal action in his three seasons as Lawrence’s backup and is 2-10 in his career as a starter. 
• Jaguars WR Christian Kirk will miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a core muscle injury that will require surgery. 
• Cleveland (7-5) has lost back-to-back games after reeling off three straight wins. The Browns hold a wild-card spot but are tied record-wise with the Colts and Texans. 
• Joe Flacco held his own in his first start for Cleveland. He completed 23 of 44 pass attempts for 254 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the 36-19 road loss to the Rams. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson returned to practice on Wednesday. 

Houston Texans at New York Jets

• Houston rookie wide receiver Tank Dell broke his left fibula last week and will miss the rest of the season, finishing his debut campaign with 47 catches for 705 yards and seven touchdowns.
• Texans QB C.J. Stroud leads the NFL in passing with 3,540 yards or 1,170 more than the Jets’ signal-callers.
• The Jets (4-8) have now lost five games in a row after a 13-8 loss to the Falcons last week. It was the second time this season New York’s defense gave up fewer than 200 total yards and lost.
• Jets coach Robert Saleh announced that Zach Wilson will be reinstalled as QB1. Trevor Siemian, who replaced Tim Boyle last Sunday, will be the backup.

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers

•  The 49ers have won four in a row and enjoy a three-game lead in the NFC West over the surging Rams.
• Seattle (6-6) is seeking to snap a three-game skid, although the Seahawks gave the Cowboys a test losing 41-35.  Seattle’s slump has Pete Carroll’s team now trailing in the wild-card race.
• Brock Purdy for MVP? He is the NFL’s top passer with a 116.1 passer rating, is fourth in touchdown passes (23), seventh in passing yards (3,185) and has thrown only six interceptions.
• D.K. Metcalf reached a top speed of 22.23 miles per hour during his 73-yard touchdown catch and run last Thursday. NFL Next Gen Stats has that as the fastest for any ball carrier in the NFL since Week 2 of the 2020 season.

Minnesota Vikings at Las Vegas Raiders

• The Vikings are 5-0-1 against the spread in road games this season and 16-8-1 against the spread as road favorites since the start of the 2017 season.
• Quarterback Joshua Dobbs has been a great story for the Vikings, but he has started to return to reality the past two weeks with five interceptions, three fumbles and only two touchdown passes.
• Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson is expected to play after missing seven games with a hamstring injury.
• Running back Josh Jacobs has played his best football over the past four games, but it has not translated into points. The Raiders offense has scored more than 18 points in just two games this season.
• The Raiders will need some turnovers to swing the field position in their favor, and while they are one of the worst takeaway teams in the league the Vikings have turned the ball over more than any team in football (24 times).

Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs

• Bills quarterback Josh Allen has played significantly better the past two games but has still thrown an interception in eight consecutive games.
• The Chiefs have the NFL’s third-best scoring defense but are not heavily dependent on turnovers, sitting 24th in the NFL with just 14 takeaways.
• The Chiefs are 2-3 in their past five games, scoring 19.4 points per game during that stretch. This is the lowest their scoring offense has ranked (11th) in a season since the 2016 season when Alex Smith was still the starting quarterback.
• The Bills enter the week in 10th place in the AFC standings with a 6-6 record and play one of the NFL’s toughest remaining schedules with Kansas City, Dallas and Miami all remaining.
• Buffalo is 1-7 against the spread in its past eight games.

Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers

• Denver (6-6) came up short on the road against Houston last Sunday, falling 22-17 to snap the Broncos’ five-game winning streak. Russell Wilson threw three interceptions in the second half. He had tossed just four interceptions in the previous 11 games combined.
• The Chargers (5-7) ended their three-game skid with a 6-0 road win over the struggling Patriots.
• Even though the Chargers are currently two games behind the current wild-card teams, they have another game against the Broncos (at Denver in Week 17) as well as home matchups with the Bills and Chiefs and a trip to the Raiders still on the schedule.
• Chargers WR Keenan Allen leads the league with 102 receptions. He’s currently on pace for 145. Michael Thomas holds the NFL record with 149.

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys

• All of a sudden, the NFC East race is close. A Dallas win on Sunday would create a 10-3 tie at the top of the division between the Cowboys and Eagles. 
• The Cowboys enter the game riding a 14-game home winning streak going back to last season, outscoring teams by a 513-253 margin during that stretch. They have scored at least 40 points in seven of those games, including each of the past four games.
• Dallas is 8-2 against the spread as a favorite this season. The Cowboys are also 8-2 in their past 10 games against the spread when they have more than six days rest entering the game.  
• When it comes to the division race, Dallas plays the NFL’s second toughest remaining schedule while the Eagles play the fifth easiest with Arizona and two games against the New York Giants still remaining.

Green Bay Packers at New York Giants

• Green Bay (6-6) has won three games straight and currently owns the final wild-card spot in the NFC. Starting with the Giants, the only team that Green Bay will play the rest of the way without a losing record is Minnesota.
• Undrafted rookie QB Tommy DeVito has been named the Giants’ starter the rest of the way, even with veteran Tyrod Taylor (ribs) cleared to return. DeVito led the team to back-to-back wins for the first time this season before their bye last week. 
• One of the keys to the Packers’ recent surge is the improved play of QB Jordan Love. He has thrown eight touchdown passes and no interceptions over the last three games while completing 68.5 percent of his attempts.
• Love may be without one of his top weapons on Monday night. WR Christian Watson injured his hamstring late in last week’s win. Watson caught two touchdown catches in the victory over the Chiefs, averaging 15.1 yards per reception.

Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins

• Miami (9-3) has won three in a row and is currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Dolphins enjoy a three-game lead in the AFC East over the Bills.
• The Dolphins’ offense continues to lead the league in total and passing offenses and is No. 2 in rushing and scoring. Miami has scored 47 touchdowns through 12 games, compared to Tennessee’s 20.
• The Titans (4-8) have lost four of their past five games.
• If the Titans are to have any shot of upsetting the Dolphins in Miami, Derrick Henry will need to have a big game. He’s coming off the 40th 100-yard performance of his career (including playoffs) after posting 102 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort.
• Tennessee’s best defender, Jeffery Simmons, suffered a right knee injury last week and will be out for at least a few weeks. 

(Photo of Jalen Hurts: Erick W. Rasco / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) 

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