9. Tennessee Titans (8-5, Last Week: 11)
Week 14 Result: Defeated Oakland, 42-21
Here come the Tennessee Titans. This game was close for a while, then Tennessee blew it open in the second half and are now tied with the Texans atop the AFC South. They host Houston in Week 15 with a chance to lay down a marker for this division.
10. Houston Texans (8-5, Last Week: 8)
Week 14 Result: Lost to Denver, 38-24
Houston fell for the old trap game. After a big win over the Patriots in Week 13, the Texans fell apart on defense against Drew Lock. The game was not even as close as the final score would indicate. Now they’re in a fight for the division title with the Titans, with the teams meeting twice in the final three weeks of the season, beginning next week in Tennessee.
11. Buffalo Bills (9-4, Last Week: 10)
Week 14 Result: Lost to Baltimore, 24-17
Buffalo came close, and the game came down to a pass-breakup by Marcus Peters. In the end, the Bills still have only defeated one team with a winning record at the time of facing them, and that will likely haunt them in the playoffs. With Pittsburgh and Tennessee hot on their trail, next Sunday becomes huge for the Bills when they visit the Steelers.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5, Last Week: 12)
Week 14 Result: Defeated Arizona, 23-17
Mike Tomlin has done an outstanding job over the last eight games. The defense has been incredible, and Devlin Hodges has put together two strong games since taking over for Mason Rudolph. Pittsburgh will now get ready for a big meeting next Sunday night against the Bills.
13. Los Angeles Rams (8-5, Last Week: 13)
Week 14 Result: Defeated Seattle, 28-12
Jared Goff is playing very well once again after his bad stretch a few weeks ago, and the Rams have remembered how good Todd Gurley is, just in time to try and make a late playoff push. Having Dallas and Arizona among their final two games will make things very interesting between them and the Vikings in the wild card race.
14. Chicago Bears (7-6, Last Week: 17)
Week 14 Result: Defeated Dallas, 31-24
Mitchell Trubisky looked about as good as he ever has, and the Bears are back over .500, but still with very slim playoff hopes. They need to beat the Packers next week to stay alive.
15. Indianapolis Colts (6-7, Last Week: 15)
Week 14 Result: Lost to Tampa Bay, 38-35
Things are starting to fall apart for the Indianapolis Colts. They allowed Jameis Winston to throw for over 450 yards and four touchdowns as the defense let them down late. The Colts are now in a precarious position, sitting two games out of the playoffs with three weeks left. Oh, and they’ll face a very angry Saints team next Monday night. Not looking good for Frank Reich’s club.
16. Dallas Cowboys (6-7, Last Week: 14)
Week 14 Result: Lost to Chicago, 31-24
What else can you say now? Dallas just can’t get their talent together. With the Rams coming up in Week 15, it’s now a very safe bet that 8-8, at best, will take the division, unless the Eagles somehow win out, which started coming to fruition Monday night, creating a tie at 6-7.
