2014 NFL Week 14 Review

Okay, so the Giants finally got a victory! It had been over two months, during which time they were officially eliminated from the playoffs before even December rolled around. That's pretty lame!

But today, they played well. Granted, it was against a 2-10 team. But hey, a win is a win, and they absolutely needed it! Besides, last week, the G-Men managed to not only lose to a 1-10 team, but did so after taking a 21-0 lead! It was about time that they ended this dreadful streak!

I will get to the results in a minute. But there is one thing that I wanted to do first. You see, I wrote a preview of the Giants-Titans game this weekend and, for reasons that I will not get into right now, I was unable to get it published before the game. Now, it needs to be changed, since the game already occurred, and that is always so infuriating!

It seemed that at least I could publish it here, so that it is not a total waste! So, here it is:

Giants Have Another Weak Opponent to Try to End Losing Streak

For a second straight week, the Giants have another weak opponent to try to end their horrible losing streak. They have now lost seven games in a row, the longest active losing streak in the National Football League.  It is likely that the most painful and embarrassing loss came last week, when New York surrendered a 21-0 lead to eventually lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who sported a record of 1-10 coming into that game, and were considered by most to be among the worst teams in the league. Having lost that game, the Giants themselves are now seen by many as being one of the very worst teams in the league.

Now, the Giants will play another weak team with a dismal record with hopes that they can earn a win that would finally end a massive and truly horrendous losing streak that took them out of playoff contention by Thanksgiving. New York's misfortunes this season have fueled speculation that the era of head coach Tom Coughlin, a coach that helped bring two Super Bowl titles to the franchise, will not continue beyond this season.

Like New York, Tennessee saw their playoff hopes die a long time ago. Right next to the Giants losing streak, which is the longest active one in the NFL at the moment, is the one that belongs to the Titans, who themselves have lost six in a row. That means that Tennessee is tied with the Carolina Panthers for the second longest active losing streak in the league. There are reasons for that. They have been decimated by injuries, and just have not executed. Their defense has had major problems all season long, particularly against the run. They have allowed more points than any team but the Chicago Bears this season. But part of the reason for that has been ill-timed turnovers committed by Tennessee on offense, which has allowed opposing teams to take advantage and get relatively easy scores too frequently. On offense, the Titans have started three different quarterbacks this season - not usually a sign that a team is having a solid season. They have scored more points than only three other teams - the Raiders,  the Jets, and the Jaguars. Those three teams have won five games combined, and with the Titans ranking just above them on offense combined with the fact that they are sporting one of the statistically weakest defense in the league, it is easy enough to see how they have acquired one of the worst records in the NFL this season.

The question then for the Giants is whether or not they can take advantage of Tennessee's weaknesses enough to produce a win. The Titans have some serious holes in their injury riddled offensive line, but the Giants pass rush has been a source of frustration all season long, and has not shown any strong ability to get at opposing quarterbacks with any measure of consistency this season. If the Giants can get to Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger, they will have a chance to make it a long afternoon for Tennessee. If not, they could be setting themselves up for still further frustration. On offense, the question is whether the Giants running game, which has struggled all season long, be able to take advantage of the Titan's weak running defense. Also, will the Giants avoid their own issues with turnovers, which have proven very costly at critical times in games all season long, including last week's disastrous loss at Jacksonville.

New York has produced some records during this seven game skid that they are on, but for the most part, not surprisingly, they are dubious records that nobody on this team wants. They allowed a record amount of yards for any four week stretch in franchise history in the first four games of the streak. Then, the last couple of weeks, the Giants had sizable leads at halftime in each of the last two games, as well as scoring at least 21 points in each. Yet, they somehow lost both games. Another first in franchise history, but not the kind of distinction that anyone on this team wants to be remembered for. Generally speaking, the Giants have been among the worst teams in the second half of football games, having been outscored in the second half 189-112 in their games so far.  They have been especially bad in the third quarter, where they have generally completely unraveled, and been outscored by their opponents by a combined score of 109-34.

For the second week in a row, the Giants s have another weak opponent to try to end their horrible losing streak. Last week, they lost a golden opportunity to notch their first win since early October when they blew a 21-0 lead to eventually lose to the lowly Jaguars. Now, they have the 2-10 Titans, another team that, like the Giants themselves, have had their share of struggles on both sides of the ball throughout the season. Both of these teams want to put together a solid game and finally come up with a much needed win to stop the bleeding. The Giants are surely looking at this as a winnable game. The problem for New York is that the Titans surely must be looking at the Giants as a very beatable team, as well.

Ahh! There, that's better! 

Now, back to the review of the results from this past weekend in the NFL.

First, let's remember that the Cowboys were able to handle the Bears in Chicago on Thursday, 41-28, and now are tied with the Eagles for first place, as Philly lost to Seattle earlier today. The Bears, for all intents and purposes, are done. If it is not official yet, it will be soon. 

There were some shocking results this weekend! I did not expect the Saints to get humiliated, the way that they were in New Orleans against the Carolina Panthers today. Truly stunning! Carolina had not won a game in almost as long a time as the Giants, but they ended that against the team that many figured was about to finally solidify their status as NFC Division champs. Instead, there are now far more questions than answers for the Saints, who incredibly lost their fourth straight home game! Only, they did not just lose, but were humiliated before their home fans, 41-10! What the hell happened to them? They barely look better than the Giants!

Another surprise was the 49ers, who handed the Raiders their second win of the season, and effectively eliminated them form playoff contention, in all likelihood. I mean, San Francisco has not been eliminated from playoff contention yet. But with Arizona at 10-3, and the Seahawks really coming on of late, with a record of 9-4, there is very little time, and absolutely no margin of error, left for the 49ers, plus they would have to get lucky, as they do not control their own destiny. With other teams in other divisions with better records, such as Detroit, Dallas and Philadelphia  all sporting 9-4 records, not to mention the other division leaders, the chances for the 49ers now are slim to none. Shocking result! The Raiders beat the 49ers 24-13.

Another, milder surprise, was the Dolphins losing to Baltimore in Miami, 28-13. This was not shocking, no. But the Dolphins looked so tough for a long time, and I would imagine that this loss probably eliminates them from playoff contention in a very real sense. Talk about going out with a whimper, rather than a bang!

One result that was more disappointing than surprising was Cincinnati's loss to the Steelers. They had home field advantage, and a one and a half game lead in the division, and could effectively have eliminated the Steelers from playoff contention. They had a lead in the second half, yet could not put Pittsburgh away, instead allowing the Steelers to run roughshod and win it in a laugher, 42-21, keeping this division shockingly close! Same old Bengals. 

The Browns seemed to be on the verge of a win against Indianapolis all day, which would have set up a huge showdown against cross-state rivals Cincinnati next week. It would easily have been the most important December game the Browns would have hosted in forever. But Indianapolis came back to win it in the last minute, literally, and Cleveland instead lost. It was costly, and chances are, they are out of the playoffs. it might not be official, yet. But it's likely just a matter of time now. Really a shame.

No shocker here. The Lions came into this game at 8-4, with very realistic playoff hopes, and even a chance still at the division title. But they needed to win, and avoid losing to lowly Tampa Bay at any cost. They took care of business, putting on a solid game both offensively and defensively in a 34-17 win.

The Broncos handed the Bills a 24-17 defeat today, which is not surprising. But the Bills played tough, coming back from 21-3 down to make it relatively competitive. Also, Peyton Manning's touchdown streak is over. Still, a win is a win, and the Broncos now have the AFC West all but wrapped up, with San Diego's loss. They also remain ahead of everyone but the Patriots in the race for home field advantage. One suspicious thing: two refs in this game shared a fist bump after a Broncos touchdown. Really? But the NFL found nothing suspicious about this. Again: really?

The Patriots played quite well, particularly in the fourth quarter, to down the Chargers and essentially all but clinching the AFC East. For that matter, they did their part in giving the AFC West, which was a tight race just a little over a week ago, but is now clearly has Denver in control. I was not aware of this, but Philip Rivers has never beaten Tom Brady and the Patriots! No luck this time either!

The Seattle Seahawks are starting to look scary again! They looked dominant against the high-flying Eagles, grounding them, and looking more and more reminiscent of last year's Super Bowl champions. Philly still looks good, and if they win against Dallas next weekend (I suspect they will) should still win the NFC East. But this was a tough test for them, and they did not exactly pass with flying colors. The Seahawks look ready for the playoffs, and I suspect they will find a way to win the west.

The Cardinals finally snapped their dangerous losing streak by beating the Chiefs, who seem to have given up on the season. They had won seven of eight just a few weeks ago, but after being shocked by the Raiders and beaten by the Broncos, it seems that they just want to get this season over with already.

I already wrote quite a bit about the Giants. But the other New York team, the Jets, acquitted themselves decently today, playing a tight contest and holding their own until the Vikings beat them in overtime. I know the Jets lost, but two tight games in a row is a victory of sorts, and they are playing much better the last few weeks.

Some teams should be glad that the Rams will not be in the playoffs this season! They have done something extremely rare, in earning two straight shutout wins, defeating Oakland last week 52-0, and following that up with a road shutout win in Washington, 24-0. That is a combined core of 76-0 in the last two weeks, although the Rams beat two lowly teams in the process. Still, very impressive! For the coin toss, the Rams brought out the players that they had acquired for the RG3 trade, adding a bit of insult to injury. Ouch!

Finally, Houston knocked off the Jaguars, 27-13. pretty much as you would expect that game to go down, right? No shocker, and not much relevancy to the playoff picture, it seems.