NFL Week 14 grades: Steelers earn 'B' for wild win over Ravens, Josh Allen carries Bills to 'B-'
Here are the grades for every team that has played in Week 14
By
John Breech
•
13 min read
Welcome to the Week 14 grades!
When the Colts and Jaguars play, it's not usually a game that you circle on your calendar, but it was this week, because first place in the AFC South was on the line. The game in Jacksonville was one of three on the day that saw the first-place and second-place teams in a division facing off.
Here's a quick look at those three games:
- AFC South: The Jaguars made a statement with their 36-19 win over a Colts team that's suddenly reeling. At 9-4, it feels like the Jags are now in total control of the division, especially since the Colts just lost Daniel Jones to a season-ending Achilles injury.
- AFC North: Just when you thought Mike Tomlin might be on the hot seat, he goes out and leads his team to its biggest win of the season. Tomlin's Steelers took control of the division by taking out the Baltimore Ravens in a 27-22 win.
- NFC North: The Packers and Bears are currently facing off in a divisional showdown in Green Bay. If the Bears win, they'll be the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC heading into Week 15, but if they lose to the Packers, they'll likely drop down to the seventh spot, so it's not just a big game in the NFC North, it's also a big game in the NFC playoff picture.
There's also a big game on Sunday night in Kansas City with the Chiefs hosting the Texans. If the Chiefs lose, it will be almost impossible for them to get to the playoffs.
We're not here to talk about the playoffs though, we're here to talk about grades, so let's get to them, starting with the Jags' win over the Colts.
Jacksonville 36-19 over Indianapolis
| D |  |
| There's no other way to put it: This was a nightmare game for the Colts. Not only did they lose, but Daniel Jones is now out for the season after tearing his Achilles in the first quarter. With Jones out, the Colts never really put up much of a fight. How did things go with Riley Leonard at QB? Well, there was an interception, a failed fourth down and a safety. The offense couldn't even count on Jonathan Taylor, who lost a fumble in the second quarter that the Jaguars eventually turned into a touchdown. At one point this season, the Colts (8-5) were 8-2, but with Jones now out, it's become a very real possibility that this team is going to miss the playoffs. | |
| A |  |
| There's a lot to like about the Jaguars and it was all on display in this game. They play smart on both sides of the ball and they always seem to come up with a big play when they need it. After a Colts fumble in the second quarter, Travis Etienne turned it into a TD by scoring on a 33-yard run one play later. Big Play. After the Jags lost a fumble in the first half, the defense made a fourth-down stop to get the ball back. Big Play. After the Colts cut the lead to 21-10, Trevor Lawrence engineered a drive that ended with him throwing a TD pass with just seven seconds to go until halftime. Big Play. The Jags (9-4) play great team football and when you're playing like that, you can beat anyone. This team now has the inside track to winning the AFC South, which means Jacksonville could soon be hosting a playoff game for just the third time this century. | |
Pittsburgh 27-22 over Baltimore
| B |  |
| Aaron Rodgers finally figured out how to get the Steelers offense going: Just throw the ball to DK Metcalf. Rodgers threw for 284 yards and 148 of that went to Metcalf, including a 52-yard pass on Pittsburgh's first play from scrimmage that set the offensive tone for the game. Defensively, the Steelers almost always go a good job slowing down Lamar Jackson and that was the case here: The Ravens QB got sacked twice and James Pierre came up with a huge interception in the first half that set up a Steelers touchdown. The Steelers (7-6) don't win pretty, but they do win, and that's all that matters. With this victory, they now have control of the AFC North. | |
| C |  |
| It might be time to file a missing person's report for the Ravens offense. Lamar Jackson is struggling, Derrick Henry can't find room to run and an offense that used to be the most explosive in the NFL has turned into a shell of itself. The Ravens offense struggled early and although it did turn things around by piling up 217 rushing yards, most of that went to waste, because Baltimore couldn't score in the red zone. In the fourth quarter alone, the Ravens got inside of Pittsburgh's 20-yard line on three different drives, but they came away with zero touchdowns. The AFC North is still within reach, but the Ravens are going to need to get their offense straightened out if they want to have a chance to win the division. | |
Buffalo 39-34 over Cincinnati
| C |  |
| The Bengals were only going to go as far as Joe Burrow could take them this year and he took them into the fourth quarter of this game with a 10-point lead before suffering an all-time meltdown. Burrow threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter, including a pick six that gave the Bills the lead. The defense struggled against Josh Allen, but the bottom line is that this is a game the Bengals probably would have won if not for Burrow's interceptions. He had to be nearly perfect for the Bengals to win and although he was nearly perfect for three-and-a-half quarters, it wasn't enough. The end of this game is going to sting for a long time for both him and the Bengals. | |
| B- |  |
| For three quarters, this looked like a game the Bills were destined to lose, but then Josh Allen and the Bills defense combined to pull off a miracle fourth-quarter performance. Christian Benford pulled off the play of the year in Buffalo by picking off Joe Burrow and returning it 63 yards for a touchdown. After the defense did its job, Allen did what he always does: He put the team on his back. In the fourth quarter alone, Allen totaled 117 yards and two touchdowns. He also iced the win by converting a third-and-15 with a 17-yard run, a play that kept Joe Burrow from getting the ball back. The Bills might not be as good as they were last year, but with Allen at quarterback, this team is capable of beating anyone. | |
Seattle 37-9 over Atlanta
| A- |  |
| With the offense struggling in the first half, the Seahawks needed a boost to turn this into a blowout and that came in the second half from their defense and special teams. Rashid Shaheed opened the second half with a 100-yard kickoff return that gave the Seahawks a 13-6 lead and the rout was on from there. The defense forced two quick turnovers in the third quarter, which led to 10 points for Seattle, and that's how the Seahawks were able to run away with it. This was the kind of win the Seahawks needed: Their offense struggled in the first half with just 111 total yards, but were able to adjust at halftime and were able to roll the Falcons for more than 250 yards in the second half. The Seahawks (10-3) continue to be one of the most dangerous teams in the NFC and there's a reason the oddsmakers view them as the Super Bowl favorite. | |
| D- |  |
| This game was tied at halftime, but it ended in a blowout after an ugly second-half meltdown by Atlanta. The Falcons essentially gave this game away by turning the ball over three times on their first four possessions of the second half with two Kirk Cousins interceptions and a fumble by Bijan Robinson. And that all came after the Falcons surrendered a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the second half. The Falcons (4-9) have now lost seven of their past eight games and this feels like a team that's just waiting for the offseason to start after officially being eliminated. | |
Minnesota 31-0 over Washington
| F |  |
| Just when you thought the Commanders' season couldn't any uglier, it somehow went from bad to worse in this game. The Commanders made the risky decision to let Jayden Daniels return to the field and that gamble backfired. After throwing an interception in the second half, Daniels took a huge hit and appeared to reinjure his elbow. On top of that, they also lost Zach Ertz. It was that kind of day for the Commanders (3-10). Their defense was bad, their offense struggled and that's how they ended up getting shut out for the first time in six years. | |
| A |  |
| When Kevin O'Connell named J.J. McCarthy his starting QB, this was probably the type of game he was hoping to see a lot this year: His QB played smart football and the Vikings used a dominant defense to make the blowout win happen. On McCarthy's end, he only completed 16 passes, but three of those went for touchdowns, and most importantly he didn't throw an interception, marking the first time this year that he ended a game with zero picks. The real story here was just how dominant the Vikings were on defense: They forced three turnovers, they got two sacks and they absolutely suffocated the Commanders offense. This was the Vikings' largest shutout win since 1980, but unfortunately, it's too little, too late for Minnesota (5-8). | |
Miami 34-10 over N.Y. Jets
| A- |  |
| For the fourth straight game, the Dolphins found a way to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. With the Jets down to undrafted rookie Brady Cook at quarterback, the Dolphins defense smelled blood in the water: The unit sacked Cook six times (with 2.5 of those by Zach Sieler) and also forced him into throwing two interceptions (The Dolphins also picked off Tyrod Taylor once for a total of three in the game). Offensively, De'Von Achane carried the Dolphins by rushing for 92 yards and a TD on just seven carries before going down with an injury. After Achane's exit, Jaylen Wright entered the game and ended up rushing for over 100 yards. Tua Tagovailoa wasn't great in the cold weather, which could be a concern going forward, because the Dolphins still have two potential cold-weather games on the schedule at Pittsburgh (Week 15) and at New England (Week 18). | |
| F |  |
| This game was all but over before the first quarter even ended. After Tyrod Taylor went down with an injury, the Jets had to turn to undrafted free agent Brady Cook at QB and their offense was nonexistent after that. Even if Cook had played like Joe Namath, it might not have mattered, because the Jets got run over by a Dolphins rushing attack that totaled nearly 240 yards. With the loss, the Jets (3-10) are now eliminated from playoff contention, which will continue the NFL's longest drought without a playoff appearance. | |
New Orleans 24-20 over Tampa Bay
| A- |  |
| The future looks bright in New Orleans and that's mostly because Tyler Shough looks more and more comfortable every week. His numbers won't wow you, but he came up with multiple clutch plays, including two touchdowns runs in the second half. The Saints defense put New Orleans in a position to get the win by coming up big on nearly every key play: The defense held the Bucs to a 3 of 13 showing on third-down conversions and stopped Tampa's offense on five different fourth-down attempts. With the way Kellen Moore has them playing it won't be surprising if the Saints (3-10) win another game or two down the stretch. The Saints won't be going to the playoffs this year, but they're certainly doing their best to throw a wrench into the NFC South race. | |
| C- |  |
| When you gamble all the time, you're going to lose at some point, and that was the case with the Buccaneers on Sunday. The Bucs had seven different fourth-down attempts in this game and they came up empty on five of them. Three of those plays came on fourth-and-2 or shorter. The Buccaneers tried to bully the Saints, but instead, they're the ones who got punched in the mouth. The Saints' eventual game-winning TD came after the Bucs failed on a fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter. The Bucs offense has been somewhat of a mess over the past few weeks and if that unit doesn't get things turned around soon, the NFC South might slip away from Tampa Bay (7-6). | |
Tennessee 31-29 over Cleveland
| B+ |  |
| The Browns have had one of the best defenses in the NFL all season, but don't tell that to Tony Pollard, who gashed his way to 161 yards and two touchdowns. The Titans made big plays in all three phases of the game: In the fourth quarter alone, there was a blocked punt by James Williams and a fumble recovery by Cedric Gray. Wit this win, you can no longer accuse the Titans of tanking. A loss in this game would have put Tennessee one big step closer to clinching the first overall pick in the draft, but instead, the Titans went all out for the victory. | |
| B- |  |
| When the Browns lose, it's usually because the mistakes start to pile up and that's exactly what happened here. During a span of four possessions in the second half, the Browns threw an interception, lost a fumble and had a punt blocked. Despite all the miscues, the Browns still almost pulled out a miracle win after Shedeur Sanders put together a wild fourth quarter. Sanders threw for 364 yards and 137 of that came in the final quarter. With four total touchdowns (three passing and one rushing), this was a statement game by Sanders, who outplayed Cam Ward. At this point, it seems more and more likely that the Browns will be sticking with Sanders for the rest of the season. | |
Detroit 44-30 over Dallas (Thursday)
| C- |  |
| The Cowboys were on a three-game winning streak heading into Thursday night, but they came crashing back to earth against Detroit. The offense turned the ball over three times and the Lions got two touchdowns off those turnovers, which was a big difference in the game. Several key players let the Cowboys down from a Jake Ferguson fumble to an interception by Dak Prescott that went off George Pickens' hands. Of course, the Cowboys' biggest problem was that their defense couldn't stop the Lions. The pass rush couldn't generate any pressure on Jared Goff and he ended up torching the Dallas defense for 309 yards. The only Cowboys player who brought his 'A' game on Thursday was Brandon Aubrey, who set an NFL record by becoming the first player in league history to hit three field goals of 55 yards or more in the same game. The Cowboys (6-6-1) had a chance to get firmly back in the playoff race, but they choked it away. | |
| A- |  |
| With Detroit's season essentially hanging in the balance, Jared Goff came in and saved the day. The Lions went with a pass-heavy attack, especially during a first half where they ran the ball six times, and Goff made that strategy pay off by throwing for 309 yards and a touchdown. Although Jahmyr Gibbs got bottled up on the ground with just 43 yards, he dominated in the red zone with TD runs from 13, 10 and 1 yard. Gibbs was also a huge weapon in the passing game with seven catches for 77 yards. The biggest surprise for Detroit might have been the quick return of Amon-Ra St. Brown. Not only did he play just one week after suffering a serious ankle injury, but he was one of the best players on the field. This offense looks ready to carry the Lions to the playoffs. | |
