Around the League: Week 14 Results

Another week, another Colts loss. Shrug. Surprising to no one, there were 15 other games in which a team also lost, so there's that. On to the results! Cleveland Browns 3 Pittsburgh Steelers 14 Just about as predicted, Cleveland couldn't move the ball against a tough Steelers defense. Surprisingly, Pittsburgh struggled to move the ball as well and scored their second touchdown of the day in the 4th quarter. That Pittsburgh/Baltimore Playoff rematch is looming larger than ever. The Steelers have a death-grip on the 5th seed in the AFC. -Jared Jared - 0 for 1 Atlanta Falcons 31 Carolina Panthers 23 The Falcons scored two 4th quarter touchdowns to maintain their grip on the 5th seed in the NFC. Matt Ryan threw 4 touchdowns against the absolutely awful Panthers secondary, which I'm sure will need to be addressed in the off-season. -Jared Jared - 1 for 2 Houston Texans 20 Cincinnati Bengals 19 I think a lot of people felt going into this game that Houston would really struggle on offense with third-string quarterback T.J. Yates at the helm. This was obviously a misjudgment, as Yates threw for 300 yards and went 26-44 for the day. This Houston team is tough as nails on both sides of the ball, regardless of the fact that they're missing some pretty important players. -Jared Jared - 2 for 3 Minnesota Vikings 28 Detroit Lions 34 The Vikings had a chance late in this game to win, but fumbled on the 1-yard line to help Detroit cling to the 6th and final seed in the NFC. In a relatively close contest, the late turnover proved to be the difference in this game. Christian Ponder had another decent outing, regardless of being limited to 21 total attempts. -Jared Jared - 2 for 4 New Orleans Saints 22 Tennessee Titans 17 Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck went down and the Saints controlled rookie Jake Locker as New Orleans hung on and remain in control of their Division, currently holding onto the 3rd seed in the NFC. It took 13 fourth quarter points for New Orleans to get over the top, all but eliminating Tennessee from the Wild Card chase. -Jared Jared - 2 for 5 Indianapolis Colts 10 Baltimore Ravens 24 Dan Orlovsky struggled against arguably the best secondary in the league as Terrell Suggs terrorized the Indianapolis backfield all day on his way to Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Ravens hang on to the 2nd seed in the AFC and the Indianapolis Colts all but assured themselves of the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, regardless as to what they plan to do with it. -Jared Jared - 3 for 6 Kansas City Chiefs 10 New York Jets 37 Jets running back Shonn Greene finally broke through this season as he rushed for 129 yards on 24 carries, while the Chiefs continued to struggle on offense. New York hangs on to the 6th and final seed in the AFC while Kansas City all but locked up a top 10 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. -Jared Jared - 4 for 7 Philadelphia Eagles 26 Miami Dolphins 10 It appears as though Michael Vick and the Eagles are determined to make the NFC Playoff race interesting as the Philadelphia defense shut down Miami all afternoon. While both teams look like they'll hover in the top 10 in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Eagles' playoff hopes aren't necessarily dashed at this point, no matter how bleak they appear. -Jared Jared - 5 for 8 New England Patriots 34 Washington Redskins 27 Tom Brady torched the Redskins defense and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski set the NFL single season record for touchdown catches by a tight end. The Patriots hung on to the 3rd seed in the AFC and Washington all but guaranteed themselves a top 10 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. -Jared Jared - 5 for 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 Jacksonville Jaguars 41 The Jacksonville offense mauled (get it?) the Tampa Bay defense Sunday and still managed to hang on to a top 5 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft as much-maligned rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert had his best outing of the season, albeit against one of the worst defense in the NFL. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, struggled against the Jaguars defense, which, up until this week, appeared to be the bright spot for the Jacksonville franchise. Congratulations are in order, as Maurice Jones-Drew set a Jaguars career rushing touchdown record with his second score of the outing. -Jared Jared - 6 for 10 Chicago Bears 10 Denver Broncos 13 Tim Tebow had his usual outing Sunday as the Broncos hung on to their Division and 4th seed in the NFC in a come-from-behind overtime victory at Chicago. There really isn't much to say. Tim Tebow and the Denver offense struggled for all but the last half of the 4th quarter and overtime. A lot of people feel that Tim Tebow is actually setting the franchise back by winning games and putting Denver into the Playoffs, but isn't that what the game of football is about? I'm excited to see the direction the Broncos go this off-season, and it's pretty clear where Chicago needs to go: offensive line. With this loss, Chicago actually moved out of the Wild Card spot, giving way to Division foe Detroit. -Jared Jared - 6 for 11 San Francisco 49ers 19 Arizona Cardinals 21 In very bizarre fashion, Arizona lost quarterback Kevin Kolb to injury and had back-up John Skelton come in to lead the Cardinals to a come from behind victory over one of the top teams in the NFL. The 49ers managed to maintain the 2nd seed in the NFC and Arizona put themselves smack in the middle of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by winning Sunday. -Jared Jared - 6 for 12 Buffalo Bills 10 San Diego Chargers 37 San Diego appears to be getting it together late as Philip Rivers had another great outing against the Buffalo Bills. San Diego kept its Playoff hopes alive with the win and Buffalo could very well scoop up a top 10 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft if they keep playing like they're running on flat tires. -Jared Jared - 7 for 13 Oakland Raiders 16 Green Bay Packers 46 Much like every other game this season, Green Bay started fast and didn't look back, as the Packers moved to 13-0 and all but clinched homefield advantage and the 1st overall seed in the Playoffs. With play like this, the Raiders look like they could miss the Playoffs altogether after starting off hot. -Jared Jared - 8 for 14 New York Giants 37 Dallas Cowboys 34 The Giants blocked a late field goal to stun the Cowboys as New York  took the over the 4th seed in the NFC, essentially putting Dallas down, but not out, of the Playoff race. Tony Romo had a spectacular game against the absolutely awful Giant secondary. Jerry Jones swore up and down after the game that head coach Jason Garrett's job is not in jeopardy. You know, in case you felt like it was. -Jared Jared - 8 for 15 St. Louis Rams 13 Seattle Seahawks 30 It became even more readily apparent that the Rams need to draft Matt Kalil to solidify the St. Louis offensive line, as Sam Bradford repeatedly struggled to find time to hit open receivers. On the other hand, Marshawn Lynch had yet another 100-yard rushing game as Seattle moved into Playoff contention. -Jared Jared - 9 for 16 Another week in the books! Good luck in your Fantasy Football Playoffs!