Another Sunday, another set of surprises in the NFL.
In the early window, there were several surprising home winners, a divisional thriller and an overtime game decided by a punt return.
In the late window, a 3-0 final score and an elite AFC showdown stood out.
Here are all the winners and losers from Sunday's Week 14 action:
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Winner: Jake Browning and the Bengals have life
Even without Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals are still fighting.
The star quarterback was knocked out for the season in Week 11. And after two straight losses, Cincy has suddenly scored two straight wins while scoring 34 points in each game. Backup quarterback Jake Browning was solid yet again in Sunday's victory over the Indianapolis Colts -- 18-for-24, 275 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
NFL
The Bengals are now 7-6, even with the Colts but in control of that tiebreaker. After losses by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans in Week 14, they currently hold the seventh and final AFC playoff spot (after Sunday's 1 p.m. ET games). The fact that they are even in this spot without Burrow is impressive -- and the credit goes to Browning, head coach Zac Taylor and an impressive group of skill players.
Loser: The Lions' status as NFC contenders
The Detroit Lions haven't looked like NFC contenders since their bye week -- and Sunday only added to that narrative.
It started back in Weeks 10 and 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears, when it took fourth-quarter comebacks to escape with narrow wins. Then there was the uncompetitive Thanksgiving home loss to the Green Bay Packers, followed by a close win over the struggling New Orleans Saints.
That brings us to Sunday, when the Lions lost 28-13 against the division rival Bears. The defense struggled yet again, and the offense was unable to heat up in the cold Chicago air. At 9-4, the Lions are still in position to win the NFC North -- but it could be a short postseason run.
Winner: Zach Wilson (yes, that Zach Wilson)
Getting benched for Tim Boyle apparently lit a fire under Zach Wilson.
The former No. 2 overall pick played arguably the best game of his career on Sunday in a 30-6 win over the Houston Texans. It wasn't pretty at first -- the first half featured 12 total possessions with 11 punts and zero points before a kneel down to run out the clock. Wilson came alive after the break though, finishing the game 27 of 36 for 301 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Games like this likely won't be enough to keep Wilson with the New York Jets next season. But continued solid performances could earn him an opportunity elsewhere -- and that's all he can hope for at this point.
Winner: Ravens victorious in the game of the day
The only overtime game in Sunday's early window was a thriller between the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Rams.
There were eight lead changes, including the decisive touchdown in overtime. Backup punt returner Tylan Wallace -- filling in for the injured Devin Duvernay -- went 76 yards on his third return of the game to give Baltimore the 37-31 win. He nearly stepped out of bounds and almost stumbled to the ground but maintained his balance to seal the victory.
The Ravens are now 10-3 and remain in control of the AFC's top seed, pending the results of Monday's games. The Rams, meanwhile, lose a heartbreaker and drop to 6-7 -- just outside the NFC wild card picture.
Winner: Buccaneers keep the NFC South interesting
It's not the most exciting division race, but the NFC South is certainly the closest.
After Sunday's results -- a Tampa Buccaneers win over the Atlanta Falcons and a Saints win over the Carolina Panthers -- three teams are 6-7. The Bucs currently hold the tiebreaker over the Falcons and Saints while the 1-12 Panthers have been eliminated from postseason contention.
Baker Mayfield led the Bucs on a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes to take a 29-25 lead over the Falcons. It took a fourth- and third-down conversion before the former No. 1 pick hit Cade Otton for an 11-yard go-ahead score. The three remaining teams still have two games left against each other -- Bucs-Saints in Week 17 and Falcons-Saints in Week 18, both in New Orleans.
Loser: Kickers
Sunday's games weren't pretty for kickers across the league. Here's a rundown of all the misses from the early slate:
- Matt Gay of the Colts missed a 38-yard field goal and an extra point.
- Younghoe Koo of the Falcons missed two field goals from 50 and 52 yards.
- Blake Grupe of the Saints missed a 29-yard field goal.
- Riley Patterson of the Lions missed an extra point.
- Matt Ammendola of the Texans missed an extra point.
- Eddy Pineiro of the Panthers missed a 41-yard field goal.
- Cairo Santos of the Bears had an extra point blocked.
Rain in East Rutherford, New Jersey, could be used as an excuse for Ammendola. As for the rest, there were some really tough misses. Pineiro and Grupe were dueling at the Caesars Superdome. Koo was home at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Gay, Patterson and Santos were outside, in Cincinnati and Chicago, with temperatures below 40 degrees.
WINNER: Brock Purdy's MVP case
Brock "checkdown merchant" Purdy completed 19 of 27 passes for 368 yards, two touchdowns and one pick, which was a deflection. He threw dots of 54 yards to Deebo Samuel, 45 to Brandon Aiyuk and 44 to George Kittle, with the Samuel and Kittle completions resulting in touchdowns. Purdy averaged a whopping 13.6 yards per throw as the 49ers swept the Seattle Seahawks 28-16.
He became the MVP favorite after a stellar performance in Philadelphia last time out, but this isn't anything new. Purdy's been doing this since last season. He has elite yards-after-catch weapons, but he has an elite arm, too.
LOSER: Scoring points
Let's go through all the possessions before a point was scored between Minnesota and Las Vegas:
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Missed field goal
- Punt
- Punt
- End of half
- Punt
- Fumble
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Punt
- Field goal
The Vikings' 3-0 road win versus the Raiders was the lowest-scoring NFL game since 2007. It also tied the record for the lowest-scoring NFL game in history, which has previously happened 59 times.
After Minnesota's field goal came an interception, punt and fumble, with Las Vegas responsible for both turnovers.
Josh Dobbs was even benched for Nick Mullens after completing 10 of 23 passes for just 63 yards. Mullens went 9-for-13 for 83 yards. Aidan O'Connell for Vegas went 21-for-32 for 171 yards and the aforementioned pick.
LOSER: Chiefs' WR department
It's been a problem all season, but this time their hands were not the issue.
Kansas City thought it had the game-winning touchdown versus Buffalo when Travis Kelce lateraled his catch to an open Kadarius Toney for an epic score, but it was called back because Toney lined up with a foot offside.
The Chiefs fell to 8-5 on the year and are at risk of playing road playoff games with Patrick Mahomes, while the Bills moved up to 7-6 and finally won at Arrowhead.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid called it "embarrassing" that the referees didn't warn them of Toney's offside before the ball was snapped, so it'll be interesting to see what stems from his comments, if anything.
