There are the teams you’re born rooting for, for better or worse, and then there are the bandwagon clubs — the franchises and star players that pique your interest, draw you in and drop you off. Each week of the 2022 season, we’re recapping some of the most encouraging and discouraging developments from around the NFL and deciding whose bandwagon to hop on or off — even if only for a week.
From Brock Purdy-mania to an NFC South race that's both compelling and repelling, here's what caught our attention in Week 14 and who we're watching as the playoff race heats up.
Hopping on: Panthers sneaking into the playoffs
The NFC South has been so bad this year it’s suddenly compelling. With Tampa Bay simply not the team many expected them to be, the division remains up for grabs with four weeks to go. Could Carolina, a team that has fired its head coach, plus its defensive coordinator and several other coaches, traded its franchise running back and cut a starting QB mid-season, be positioned to qualify for the post-season? The short answer is, yes.
Sam Darnold only threw for 120 yards and one TD but more importantly didn’t turn the ball over and allowed his team’s rushing attack to wear down Seattle on Sunday. Chuba Hubbard led the charge and the Panthers accumulated 223 team rushing yards, while the defence continued playing like one of the better units in the NFC.
Carolina and Atlanta, who were on bye this past week, are each one game behind Tampa in the standings and remain in the playoff hunt despite 5-8 records. Interim coach Steve Wilks has galvanized the locker room and the Panthers have won three of four, a streak that began with a victory over the Falcons. Carolina and Tampa are both 3-1 in division games. The Panthers embarrassed the Bucs 21-3 in Week 7 and the two rematch in Week 17 in a game where, hypothetically, a division title could be at stake despite neither team being above .500 at the time. (MJ)
Hopping off: Letting anyone from the NFC South into the playoffs
You say compelling, I say repelling. While there is part of me that is loving the chaos that is the NFC South, I'm here to present another option to those in charge at the NFL: Just give that division title berth to someone else who actually wants it. At this point, it's looking like the crown -- and the home playoff game that accompanies it -- will go to a team with a losing record, which just flat-out feels wrong.
Of course, this year's NFC South isn't alone in its ineptitude: The last time a team with a losing record won the division was just two years ago, when Washington claimed the NFC East. The time before that, it was a 7-8-1 Carolina Panthers squad in 2014 that actually went on to win a game. (ES)
Hopping on: Lions as most dangerous NFC North team
Rewind the clock one month and the NFC North felt quite a bit different. Minnesota was boasting a 9-1 record and riding high off a win over Buffalo, while Detroit needed two separate fourth-quarter comebacks to squeak by Chicago to improve to 3-6 on the year. Well, after a Week 14 in which the Lions beat the Vikings 34-23, could Detroit actually be the most dangerous team in the NFC North from a “how far can this team go in the playoffs?” perspective? Detroit looked like the more well-rounded team Sunday while Minnesota’s defence continued to struggle.
It’s still an uphill climb for Dan Campbell’s team, yet a Vikings-Lions playoff matchup is entirely within the realm of possibility with four weeks remaining before the wild-card matchups are set. The Lions have a winnable remaining schedule with the Jets, Panthers, Bears and Packers on tap. Get your popcorn ready. (MJ)
Hopping off: Cowboys as Super Bowl contenders
Dallas has won four in a row and have outscored their opponents 250-131 over the past seven games, so why am I abandoning ship? Not only was it concerning to see the Cowboys barely squeak past the one-win Texans despite being 17-point favourites, but the team lost its starting right tackle Terence Steele to a torn ACL. The defence remains imposing but with an o-line operating at less than 100 per cent heading into the playoffs and Dak Prescott throwing at least one interception in all but two of his appearances this year, they’re not quite on the same level as Philly or San Fran. (MJ)
Hopping on: Brock Purdy, Mr. Relevant
A lot of things had to go wrong in order for Brock Purdy to get his unlikeliest of NFL starts on Sunday, but what unfolded on the field quickly became the stuff of storybooks.
Purdy, drafted with the final pick of the 2022 draft, put on a show Sunday against the Buccaneers, beating the legend himself, Tom Brady, to keep the 49ers' win streak -- and Super Bowl aspirations -- alive. Purdy completed 16 of 21 passes in Sunday's 35-7 win, tallying 185 passing yards with two touchdowns plus another TD on the ground and looked unfazed when facing pressure.
San Francisco's defence will, ultimately, continue to be the reason this club wins or loses, but after Sunday's showcase the team now knows it can win with Purdy under centre. (ES)
Hopping off: Seahawks as NFC dark horse team
Seattle is fumbling the bag, as the youths would say. The Seahawks have lost three of the past four, giving up an average of 28.5 points in those games, and if they end up missing the playoffs this year, they’ll look back at Week 14’s loss to Carolina as a missed opportunity. Seattle couldn’t overcome a three-score first-half deficit. Not having rookie RB Kenneth Walker III certainly didn’t help and the loss hurt Seattle’s chances of catching the 49ers for a division title. On top of that, they were unable to win this one for Turf the dog who sadly passed away last week at age nine. Turf’s title was Wildlife Manager and Irrigation Specialist at the team practice facility. He was a good boy and deserved the win. A Thursday matchup against the 49ers isn’t the easiest turnaround for these Seahawks. (MJ)
Hopping on: Joe Burrow for MVP
We've seen some pretty remarkable quarterback performances this year. Jalen Hurts has yet to have a bad game and should be topping the MVP rankings, and Patrick Mahomes basically lives atop the annual MVP race every year, but much like he did last year, Joe Burrow is sprinting down the stretch with a five-game win streak -- and he's making a mighty strong case that the award should be his.
Sure, the Bengals didn't start off so hot, and Burrow's bad games have seen him give up too many turnovers, particularly in the first third of the season when it looked like Cincinnati was suffering the Super Bowl hangover. But when you look at his numbers — 3,685 passing yards (third), 27 TD passes (second) — and the fact that he's accomplished much of that without his best offensive weapons and behind a porous o-line, well… he truly is proving he's more than worthy of those three letters. (ES)
Hopping off: New England hanging onto the wild card
With their win over the Dolphins Sunday night, the Chargers jumped into the playoff picture's seventh seed, ousting the New England Patriots. One evening later, however, L.A. was back out in the cold as the Patriots climbed back into the AFC wild card spot thanks to a victory over Arizona.
In what looks like a three-team battle for that seventh seed in the conference, which also includes the Jets, Bill Belichick's bubble club is in control here -- they're 2-0 against New York and also have the conference-record tie breaker over the Chargers.
Look at the remaining schedule, however, and it favours L.A. Of their remaining opponents, just one -- the Titans, who struggled Sunday -- are currently in the playoff picture. The Patriots, meanwhile, still have to face the Bengals, Dolphins, and Bills after this Sunday's winnable matchup in Vegas.
We saw on Sunday what happens when you give Justin Herbert his duo of fully-healthy wide receivers and a little bit of space, and it's a beautiful thing. Even with a defence that's battered and bruised, this looks like the year the Chargers finally sneak into the playoffs. (ES)
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