Week 14: You're the inspiration
Some teams (and quarterbacks) put their best foot forward on Sunday.
Sunday didn’t seem like it’d be a rollicking good time in the NFL, especially for quarterbacks around the league. Kenny Pickett, Tyler Huntley, and Russell Wilson all left their games to be evaluated for concussions, while Mike White kept trying to gut it out after taking a painful shot to the ribs.
Despite those unfortunate injuries, Week 14 turned out to be loaded with inspired efforts, from teams overall and from individual QBs, some of whom have faced intense scrutiny.
So who had the most spirited performances this weekend? Here’s who has my vote:
Sorry for doubting you: Detroit Lions
The Lions began the season 1-6, and Dan Campbell’s seat was starting to get a little warm. Since then, though, their only loss was to the Bills on Thanksgiving, when a late field goal gave Buffalo — currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC — a three-point win.
Of Detroit’s five wins in that span, three of them have come against divisional rivals, including an 11-point victory over the Vikings on Sunday.
The Lions were favored, which is usually a recipe for disappointment. But they defied my expectations and rose to the occasion to improve to 6-7 and enter the NFC wild card conversation. And I guess technically they’re still alive in the NFC North race, since the Vikings failed to capture the division this week.
This might be the loosest Lions team I’ve seen since … I dunno, sometime in the Barry Sanders era? I know there have been better Lions teams in that time, but they never exactly oozed confidence like this:
The Lions set the tone early against Minnesota. On the Vikings’ first possession, Detroit stuffed Dalvin Cook on fourth-and-1 at midfield. Two plays later, the red-hot Jared Goff found Jameson Williams for the rookie’s first catch/touchdown of his career. Another highlight came early in the second half, when they successfully executed a fake punt deep in their own territory.
The Lions never trailed once, not even with Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson putting together a franchise-best performance. More importantly, they didn’t collapse. When the Lions played in Minnesota earlier this season, Detroit let a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter slip away. This time, with a chance to seal the game, Dan Campbell drew up a ballsy pass to offensive lineman Penei Sewell on third-and-7:
Following the win, Campbell and the players said they’re not content just yet, because it’s still an uphill battle to get to the postseason. As it were, the 1970 Bengals are the only team to start 1-6 and make the playoffs. But with the roll they’re on, maybe these aren’t — dare I even say it or will I just jinx them — the same old Lions?
An “A” for effort: Houston Texans
I’m not sure how much comfort it is to the Texans that they out-efforted the Cowboys on Sunday, considering Dallas’ last-minute touchdown handed Houston its eighth straight loss.
Still, the Texans at least showed up from the first snap, while the Cowboys looked like a team that decided to take their opponent lightly until they needed a 98-yard drive to save their butts.
It had been a month since the Texans had even hung with an opponent, and longer since they had scored at least 20 points in a game. That was not the case in Dallas. Behind a rotating quarterback system, the Texans scored 23 points — one point shy of their season high — against the top DVOA defense in the NFL. They did not give up a sack against a ferocious pass rush. They forced three turnovers and also stood the Cowboys up at the goal line in the fourth quarter. Cornerback Tremon Smith and receivers Chris Moore and Amari Rodgers had career games.
In the end, it wasn’t quite enough against a team with superior talent. It still took clutch catches from Noah Brown and Dalton Schultz, and Ezekiel Elliott’s run up the middle on third-and-goal, to give the 17-point favorites a four-point win. And to their credit, the Texans never stopped trying:
A moral victory never feels as good as a real victory, but at least this way, the Texans proved they have a little life in them after all … and took one step closer to locking up the first pick in the draft.
The Law(rence) won: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars were coming off their worst loss of the season and hadn’t won in Tennessee since 2013, when Trevor Lawrence was in eighth grade. Now battling a toe injury, Lawrence had a tall task ahead of him on Sunday.
Despite allowing Derrick Henry to rush for 98 yards in the first quarter, the Jaguars were hanging around in Nashville, with help from their youngsters and veterans alike. Before the half ended, Lawrence connected with Zay Jones for an incredible touchdown that put the Jags in the lead — for good, as it turned out.
In the second half, the defense, which forced four total turnovers, held Henry to just 2 yards. Most notably, however, is the fact that Lawrence played the best game of his NFL career, so far anyway.
He threw for 368 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing), both career highs, and did not commit any turnovers or get sacked. Two of his touchdown throws went to Evan Engram, who also produced a personal best in receiving yards (162) and TD catches.
After a swoon in October, Lawrence rebounded once the calendar hit November. Since then, he has completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 1,362 yards, 10 touchdowns, zero interceptions, and has a passer rating of 111.7.
If Lawrence can maintain that level of play, Jacksonville might not be done surprising us. The Jaguars have been a frustratingly inconsistent team this year, but their win over the Titans keeps them in the mix for the AFC South title.
Playoff bound: Philadelphia Eagles
Three teams entered Week 14 with a chance to clinch a postseason berth. Only the Eagles succeeded.
While the Vikings fell to the Lions and the Chiefs found themselves in a dogfight with the Broncos, the Eagles more than handled their business. They put up 48 points against the Giants, the most they’ve scored in a game in the Nick Sirianni era.
The offense, which has scored 123 points in the last three weeks, is firing on all cylinders:
In fact, with four weeks remaining in the season, they already have a 1,000-yard receiver (A.J. Brown) and rusher (Miles Sanders) — for the first time, at either position, since 2014.
The Philly defense is doing its part, too, adding another seven sacks and a turnover to its league-leading numbers in both categories.
With a month remaining, the Eagles are officially in the playoff field and so far, the only team that can say that. But they’re not done yet. Next up will be securing the NFC East title, and after that, well you know what the goal is.
Purdy, Purdy good: San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy, the final pick in the 2022 draft, played admirably last week when he entered the game for the 49ers following Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending injury. This week was a bigger challenge. Not only would Purdy be facing a defense that had prepared for him, but he’d also be going up against Tom Brady, who had never lost a head-to-head matchup to a quarterback making his first start.
Until Sunday, that is. Because Purdy was dealing early:
The rookie threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the first half — one of which came after Deebo Samuel’s injury — to help the 49ers build a 28-0 lead. In the second half, Purdy wasn’t asked to do much. The 49ers leaned on their running game, as well as their top-ranked defense that intercepted Brady twice, to rout the Bucs 35-7.
When Garoppolo went down last week, and when Samuel left this week, the Niners could’ve let those tough injuries distract them or get them down. Instead, they stayed on mission and put their confidence in each other.
No debate about it: LA Chargers
A few days ago, I was asked, “So have you heard about these football nerds who think Justin Herbert secretly sucks?”
I was so taken aback that I immediately assumed it was a joke. It was not a joke.
I’ve lost almost all patience for any kind of sports debate, especially ones that demand you dismiss what your own eyes have told you. Like, we’ve all seen Herbert play. He’s a good quarterback! He’s had some rotten luck around him because he’s a member of the cursed-ass Chargers, but c’mon, why is this even a conversation?!
Some of it is rooted in the endless Tua Tagovailoa vs. Herbert argument, as well as TV hosts who constantly crave attention even if it means spewing nonsense. And sometimes, certain football nerds just want to feel smarter than everyone else.
Herbert is a pretty smart guy too, and I’m sure he was aware, on some level, of the discourse surrounding him heading into a SNF matchup against the Dolphins. With his top receivers playing together all game — for the first time all year! — Herbert was slinging it. He finished with 367 passing yards and a touchdown and broke a Patrick Mahomes record in the process.
I have zero desire to compare Herbert to Tua, but let’s just say that if it were a QB contest on Sunday night (it wasn’t!), the former would’ve won easily.
What mattered more than the QB performances was the result; the Chargers’ 23-17 win keeps them right in the thick of the AFC wild card race, one game back of the Dolphins.
The Chargers have a manageable schedule the rest of the season, but we know it’s never quite that simple for them, particularly since they’re the least healthy team in the NFL.
If they do earn a playoff spot, though, they can point to this game as the one that turned the tide. And perhaps the stupid debate about Herbert as the one that turned him from reserved QB into Gronk:
Now that’s something I didn’t know Herbert had in him!