Our NFL Week 14 winners and losers is now live with a look at who impressed and who struggled during Sunday’s action.
Shockingly, Zach Wilson did his thing for the New York Jets as they scored 30 second-half points in a win over the Houston Texans. Dealing with an ankle injury, Trevor Lawrence threw three interceptions as Jake Browning of the Cincinnati Bengals outplayed him.
The later-afternoon slate saw Brock Purdy continue to play stellar football as the San Francisco 49ers inched closer to clinching the NFC West. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders were shutout at home in a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
These are among the winners and losers from NFL Week 14.
Related: NFL Week 14 power rankings
Winner: Zach Wilson proves skeptics wrong
Sunday’s game started out like any normal performance from the New York Jets’ offense. They scored exactly zero points after dropping 45 in the past five games combined. Fans in Jersey were not too happy as Zach Wilson resumed his role as New York’s starter.
Then, something clicked in the second half. New York would drop 30 points against the Houston Texans. For his part, Wilson completed 27-of-36 passes for 301 yards with two touchdowns in the best performance of his career.
Listen. New York is 5-8 on the season. It is not going to be playing playoff football. Wilson is unlikely to be back with the team next season. Even then, the much-maligned signal caller did his thing at home Sunday against what was a red-hot Texans squad. We can’t take that away from him.
Loser: Trevor Lawrence was mistake waiting to happen for Jaguars
Jacksonville’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week seemed to be an exception to the rule. The team headed into that game with an 8-3 record and looked like a real threat in the AFC. Once Trevor Lawrence went down with an ankle injury, the good vibes in Duval were thrown out the window.
Shockingly, Lawrence was on the field for NFL Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been. The quarterback threw three interceptions in what ended up being a 31-27 loss to the Browns. That included an ugly pick into the hands of Browns cornerback Greg Newsome early in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland would turn this into a touchdown and a 28-14 lead. Maybe Lawrence shouldn’t have been on the field. He just didn’t look like himself.
Related: NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions
Winner: Cincinnati Bengals get huge win
Jake Browning could end up being something for Cincinnati. The former undrafted free agent from Washington completed 18-of-24 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts. Chase Brown added 105 total yards and a touchdown.
It really is something. Following last week’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, it really doesn’t seem like the Bengals’ offense hasn’t missed a beat since Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending injury. Now at 7-6, the playoffs are not out of the equation. Cincinnati has Browning to thank for that.
Loser: Detroit Lions fail to step up again
We’ve seen it at times this season. Detroit playing down to the level of its competition. For a team that entered NFL Week 14 with a 9-3 record, the Lions have not been anywhere near as consistent as head coach Dan Campbell would have liked.
This came up big time Sunday against the lowly Chicago Bears. Jared Goff threw two ugly interceptions. He completed a mere 20-of-35 passes for 161 yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown was held to 21 yards on three receptions despite being targeted nine times. Meanwhile, Detroit’s defense yielded 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Simply put, Detroit has seemed more like a pretender than a contender over the past several weeks. That was magnified Sunday in Chicago.
Related: NFL Week 14 QB rankings
Winner: Lamar Jackson enters NFL MVP conversation
Tylan Wallace did his thing in overtime, sending Baltimore to a 37-31 win over the Los Angeles Rams and a 10-3 record on the season. But it was all about Lamar Jackson’s dynamic performance that helped Baltimore take out a game Rams squad at home.
Jackson completed 24-of-43 passes for 316 yards with three touchdowns. He also added 70 yards on the ground, showing out big time in a game that the Ravens needed it the most.
It’s surprising to see Baltimore’s defense struggle. It yielded north of 400 total yards to the Rams. Everything Jackson did during NFL Week 14 was needed to defeat a surprising Rams squad. That’s for sure.
Loser: Los Angeles Chargers no-good season continues
Los Angeles now finds itself at 5-8 on the season and pretty much completely out of the AFC Playoff race after Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos. The team scored just seven points after dropping six in a win over the New England Patriots last week.
Equally as concerning for the Chargers after their 24-7 loss during NFL Week 14 is the fact that starting quarterback Justin Herbert was injured. Head coach Brandon Staley said after the game that he has a fractured finger on his throwing hand. It’s not yet known whether Herbert will be able to go Thursday against the Las Vegas Raiders. What a miserable season it has been for the Bolts.
Winner: Brock Purdy continues to shine for San Francisco 49ers
Purdy entered NFL Week 14 as the odds-on favorite to earn the NFL MVP award after a brilliant four-game span. Despite throwing an interception in Sunday’s 28-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks, he was on one again. Purdy completed 19-of-27 passes for 368 yards with two touchdowns and that one interception.
Purdy spearheaded a 49ers offensive attack that went for 527 yards as this side of the ball continues to dominate. Both Deebo Samuel (149) and Brandon Aiyuk (126) went for north of 100 yards. It has the 49ers at 10-3 and nearing clinching territory in the NFC West.
Loser: Las Vegas Raiders shutout for second time in as many seasons
This is not the way interim head coach Antonio Pierce wanted to come out of the bye week. Vegas racked up less than 200 total yards with eight first downs. Rookie Aidan O’Connell (21-of-32 passing, 171 yards, 1 INT) struggled big time. Meanwhile, the Raiders lost two fumbles in what was an ugly 3-0 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
We’re not exactly sure where the Raiders go from here. They are 5-8 on the season and boast one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Failing to score a point during Week 14 added another layer to this.