Week 14 of the NFL did not have probably the most thrilling slate of video games, however the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills made up for it with a 44-42 slugfest that was arguably the sport of the yr. Josh Allen could have put himself because the front-runner for MVP (even within the loss) whereas the Rams remained alive within the wild NFC West race.
The Philadelphia Eagles clinched a playoff berth, however are they in hassle going ahead. How good are the Minnesota Vikings? The prime groups within the NFC did greater than sufficient to separate themselves from the pack this week.
With the Sunday video games at a conclusion, we’ve got some overreactions that warrant consideration. Which ones are really overreactions with the ultimate stretch of the season approaching?
Overreaction or actuality: Overreaction
How is a participant with 23 whole touchdowns to only two giveaways during the last 9 video games on this dialog? Especially when the Eagles have gained 9 straight video games? There’s no denying how inconsistent the Eagles’ passing sport has been during the last two weeks, as Hurts is 25 of 40 (62.5%) for 226 yards with three touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
That’s 226 passing yards — over two video games! Hurts was inconsistent all through the day in Sunday’s win over the Panthers, but did end with two passing touchdowns and a 110.8 score — on simply 108 yards. The Eagles’ passing sport is a priority and Hurts does should be extra exact in his throws and higher at his decision-making, however he isn’t turning the ball over.
Hurts has simply two giveaways during the last 9 video games, which is why the Eagles are successful. As lengthy as Hurts prevents the turnovers from occurring, the Eagles can beat anybody. The passing sport is sill one thing to observe, and all of it begins with Hurts.
Josh Allen is the league MVP — proper now
Overreaction or actuality: Reality
What Josh Allen achieved on Sunday have been statistics solely Otto Graham has reached in a sport. Allen is the primary participant in a regular-season sport to have three passing touchdowns and three speeding touchdowns (Graham achieved the feat within the 1954 NFL Championship). He completed 22 of 37 for 342 yards with three touchdowns and 0 interceptions (117.2 score), together with 82 speeding yards and three touchdowns. The Bills had 445 yards of offense and Allen was answerable for 424 of them — together with all six touchdowns.
Sure the Bills misplaced to the Rams, however they don’t seem to be in that sport if it wasn’t for Allen. The Bills haven’t got a real No. 1 vast receiver and Allen has been with out tight finish Dalton Kincaid and vast receiver Keon Coleman for a number of weeks. Allen additionally has 33 whole touchdowns (23 passing, 9 speeding, one receiving) and three,449 mixed go/rush yards of offense — whereas main the Bills to a 10-3 document.
Allen has 5 passing touchdowns, 4 speeding touchdowns, and a receiving landing within the final two video games. He has put the Bills on his again as they’re one of many Super Bowl contenders within the NFL.
If Saquon Barkley breaks the NFL speeding document, this dialog could change. For now, Allen is the MVP.
Sam Darnold is a top-10 quarterback this yr
Overreaction or actuality: Reality
Darnold had arguably the perfect sport of his profession in Sunday’s win for the Vikings, ending with 347 yards and 5 touchdowns in opposition to the Falcons. His 157.9 passer score was a Vikings single-game document. Darnold has 4 straight video games with 2+ passing touchdowns and 0 interceptions, the longest single-season streak in franchise historical past — and has led his staff to an 11-2 document.
Darnold is not going to be the MVP of the league, however statistics present he is a top-10 quarterback within the NFL. He’s fourth within the league in passing yards (3,299), third in yards per try (8.5), third in landing passes (28), and third in passer score (108.1). There is not a debate on whether or not Darnold is a top-10 quarterback primarily based on how he is enjoying — and the Vikings’ document.
Minnesota is 11-2 due to Darnold.
Vikings are larger menace to Lions getting No. 1 seed than Eagles
Overreaction or actuality: Overreaction
The Vikings and Eagles have the identical document at 11-2, however Minnesota is in the identical division as Detroit within the NFC North whereas Philadelphia resides within the NFC East. Minnesota does have the privilege of enjoying Detroit once more in Week 18, regardless that the Vikings are a sport behind the Lions and have misplaced to them already this season.
For the Vikings to take home-field benefit from Detroit, they not solely must beat the Lions in Week 18 (assuming they win out and end with a 5-1 division document), they want the Lions to lose one among their subsequent three video games (Lions play Bills, Bears and 49ers). That mixture has the Vikings ending at 15-2 and the Lions at 14-3. If each end at 15-2, the Lions would have the widespread opponents tiebreaker since they beat the Rams and the Vikings misplaced to them.
The Vikings can depend on the Bills to beat the Lions. The Eagles and Vikings nonetheless want the Lions to lose two of their subsequent 4 if each groups win out. If the Lions beat the Bills, the Vikings and Eagles want Detroit to lose two of its final three.
The Eagles must financial institution on the Vikings to beat the Lions in Week 18 if Detroit loses a sport previous to that. If Minnesota wins out and wins the division, Philadelphia holds the energy of victory tiebreaker to present the Eagles the sting in playoff seeding.
Neither Philadelphia nor Minnesota are a much bigger menace to Detroit because the Lions management their very own future.
Chiefs locked up home-field benefit with Bills loss
Overreaction or actuality: Overreaction
The Chiefs beat the Chargers on Sunday evening, because the Bills’ possibilities of getting home-field benefit took a big hit with their loss to the Rams. Buffalo was sitting one sport behind Kansas City with the tiebreaker heading into Week 14 and the Bills are two again with 4 to play with the Chiefs’ win.
Even with the Kansas City benefit within the race for residence area (and skill to win one-score video games), all is just not misplaced for Buffalo. The Bills nonetheless must play the Lions, adopted by the Patriots, Jets and Patriots once more to shut the yr. Buffalo could end with 13 wins — at worst. The Chiefs have the Browns, Steelers, Texans and Broncos after Sunday — their closing three opponents have successful data.
A Bills win would have been huge to maintain tempo with the Chiefs, however the race is not over but. Buffalo did put a dent in its probabilities at getting residence area within the AFC playoffs. If the Bills beat the Lions, 15 will be the quantity for the Chiefs to get home-field benefit (with the Bills holding the tiebreaker). The Chiefs must go 3-1 of their final 4 to wrap this up, however that is not a certain factor with their schedule.
