NFL Week 14 NFL Preview

NEW YORK – Last week, 12 games were decided by seven-or-fewer points, tied for the most in a single week in NFL history while the first two teams – the Buffalo Bills (AFC East) and Kansas City Chiefs (playoff berth) – clinched a trip to the postseason.

Here’s a look at a few interesting storylines entering Week 14:

• NFC North: With the Detroit Lions (11-1), Minnesota Vikings (10-2) and Green Bay Packers (9-3) all having at least nine wins, the 2024 NFC North is the first division in 39 years with three teams each with nine-or-more wins entering Week 14 (1985 AFC East).
  
  • Green Bay (9-3) at Detroit (11-1) (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video): The Lions have won 10 consecutive games, the longest active winning streak in the NFL and tied for the longest winning streak in franchise history (1934). Detroit enters Week 14 with the top-ranked offense in the NFC (395.2 yards per game) while Green Bay ranks second (382.8 yards per game). It will mark the first matchup in Week 14 or later of a season between two teams each averaging 380-or-more yards of offense per game since Week 15 of the 2021 season [Kansas City (389.6) at the Los Angeles Chargers (385.2)].
    • Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has 65 regular-season wins since being hired by Green Bay in 2019 and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren and Andy Reid (64 wins each) for the second-most wins by a head coach in his first six seasons in NFL history, trailing only George Seifert (75).
    • Green Bay running back Josh Jacobs has at least 100 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in each of his five career games on Thursday and can become the first player in NFL history to reach those marks in six consecutive Thursday games.
    • Lions quarterback Jared Goff has 100 regular-season touchdown passes since being acquired by Detroit in 2021 and along with his 107 touchdown passes during his time with the Los Angeles Rams (2016-20), is one of six quarterbacks all-time with 100 touchdown passes with multiple franchises, along with Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning (Indianapolis and Denver), Fran Tarkenton (Minnesota and the New York Giants) and Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams and Arizona) as well as Tom Brady (New England and Tampa Bay) and Carson Palmer (Cincinnati and Arizona).
    • Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown ranks fourth in the NFL with 76 receptions this season and has 391 receptions since entering the NFL in 2021. On Thursday, he can join Michael Thomas (470 receptions) and Jarvis Landry (400) as the only players in NFL history with at least 400 receptions in their first four career seasons.
      
  • Atlanta (6-6) at Minnesota (10-2) (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): Since head coach Kevin O’Connell was hired in 2022, the Vikings are 24-9 in games decided by eight-or-fewer points, tied with the 2021-23 Pittsburgh Steelers for the most wins in games decided by eight-or-fewer points in a three-season span since 1994. O’Connell’s .727 winning percentage in games decided by eight points or fewer is the highest among head coaches who had at least 10 such games since 1994.
    • Atlanta and Minnesota are two of five NFC teams that missed the postseason last year that enter Week 14 with a .500-or-better record, along with Arizona (6-6), Seattle (7-5) and Washington (8-5).
    • Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins spent six seasons (2018-23) with Minnesota and ranks second in Vikings history with 171 touchdown passes and third with 23,265 passing yards in 88 starts.
    • Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson leads the NFC with 1,038 receiving yards in 2024 and became the fourth player in NFL history with at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first five career seasons, joining Mike Evans, A.J. Green and Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss.
• Carolina (3-9) at Philadelphia (10-2) (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): The Eagles have won eight consecutive games, the second-longest active winning streak in the NFL and became the fourth team ever with multiple rushing touchdowns in seven straight games within a single season, joining Washington in 1983 (eight consecutive games), the San Diego Chargers in 2006 (eight) and Pittsburgh in 1976 (seven).
  • Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni can become the eighth head coach ever and the first since Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur (2019-22) to win at least 11 games in three of his first four seasons.
  • Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who recorded two separate winning streaks of 11 games from 2021-22 and 2022-23, can become the first quarterback since 1950 to register three winning streaks of nine-or-more games in his first five career seasons.
  • Hurts has 24 career games with both a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown, including seven such games this season, and can join Cam Newton (31 games) and Josh Allen (25) as the only players with 25 such games in their first five seasons in NFL history.
  • Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley leads the NFL with 1,499 rushing yards in 12 games this season. Only five players had more rushing yards in their first 12 games of a season in NFL history: Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Brown (1,527 rushing yards in 1958 and 1,677 in 1963), Terrell Davis (1,566 in 1998), Walter Payton (1,642 in 1977) and O.J. Simpson (1,584 in 1973 and 1,575 in 1975) as well as Chris Johnson (1,509 in 2009). 
• Cleveland (3-9) at Pittsburgh (9-3) (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS): The Browns defeated the Steelers, 24-19, on Thursday Night Football in Week 12 as defensive end Myles Garrett registered three sacks and running back Nick Chubb recorded the game-winning touchdown with 57 seconds remaining.
  • Pittsburgh has a .500-or-better record in 21 consecutive seasons, tied with the 1965-85 Dallas Cowboys (21 consecutive seasons) for the most consecutive seasons without a losing record in NFL history.
  • Garrett enters Week 14 with 98.5 career sacks and can become the fifth player since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic, with at least 100 sacks in his first eight career seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Reggie White (124 sacks) and DeMarcus Ware (111) as well as Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt (106 entering Week 14) and Jared Allen (105). Garrett, who turns 29 years old on December 29, 2024, can become the first player since 1982 to reach 100 career sacks prior to his 29th birthday.
  • Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt recorded two sacks and a forced fumble in the Steelers’ 44-38 win at Cincinnati last week and surpassed Jared Allen (105 sacks) for the third-most by a player in his first eight seasons since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Watt has at least two sacks in 24 career games, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor (24 games) and his brother, J.J. Watt (24), for the fifth-most such games by a player in his first eight seasons since 1982.
• Seattle (7-5) at Arizona (6-6) (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS): The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals, 16-6, in Week 12 as defensive end Leonard Williams registered 2.5 sacks and safety Coby Bryant returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown.
  • Last week, Williams recorded two sacks, a 92-yard interception-return for a touchdown and blocked an extra point attempt in the Seahawks’ 26-21 win at the New York Jets. He became the first player with multiple sacks, an interception-return touchdown and a blocked kick in the same game since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.
  • Arizona tight end Trey McBride, with 12 receptions in Week 12 against Seattle and 12 receptions in Week 13 against Minnesota, became the first tight end in NFL history with at least 12 receptions in consecutive games.
• Buffalo (10-2) at the Los Angeles Rams (6-6) (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX): The Bills clinched their fifth-consecutive AFC East division title in Week 13, becoming the first team since the 2009 Indianapolis Colts to clinch a division with five weeks remaining in a season.
  • Billsquarterback Josh Allen recorded his 73rd regular-season win last week, the third-most regular-season wins by a quarterback in his first seven seasons in NFL history and became the third player ever with multiple touchdown passes, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in a game, joining Benny Boynton (Nov. 9, 1924 with the Buffalo Bisons) and Tony Canadeo (Oct. 31, 1943 with Green Bay).
  • Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott has 83 regular-season wins since 2017, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden for the third-most by a head coach in his first eight seasons all-time, trailing only George Seifert (98) and Mike Holmgren (84).
  • McDermott can become the fifth head coach ever to win at least 11 games in five consecutive seasons, joining Bill Belichick (10 consecutive seasons from 2010-19), Andy Reid (seven from 2018-24, active streak, and five from 2000-04) and Pro Football Hall of Famers Tony Dungy (six from 2003-08) and Tom Landry (six from 1976-81).
  • Rams head coach Sean McVay has 76 regular-season wins since 2017 and with the team’s Week 13 win in New Orleans, surpassed John Robinson (75 wins) for the most regular season wins in franchise history.
• Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) (Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC): The Chiefs clinched a playoff berth for the 10th-consecutive season with their Week 13 win as quarterback Patrick Mahomes registered his 100th career win, including the postseason, tied with Tom Brady (100 wins) for the most wins by a starting quarterback in his first eight career seasons, including the postseason, in NFL history.
  • Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, from Weeks 3-13, became the third player in NFL history without an interception in 10 consecutive games (minimum 15 pass attempts in each game) within a single season, joining Tom Brady (11 consecutive games in 2010) and Derek Carr (10 in 2018).
  • Herbert has 19,774 career passing yards and can join Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (20,618 passing yards) as the only players with at least 20,000 passing yards in their first five seasons in NFL history.