NFL Analysis
12/8/24
11 min read
Biggest Winners, Losers From 2024 NFL Week 14
There weren’t very many competitive games on Sunday afternoon, as a majority of the contests were decided by multiple touchdowns. However, there were some clear winners and losers coming out of NFL Week 14.
So, without further ado, let’s talk about some of the best and worst performances of the week:
NFL Week 14 Winners, Losers
Honorable Mentions
Winner: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
Loser: Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers
Winner: Bryan Bresee, DT, New Orleans Saints
Loser: Jameis Winston, QB, Cleveland Browns
⬆️Winner: Jordan Addison, WR, Minnesota Vikings
To be considered a legitimate contender in the NFC, a team needs to have multiple weapons in the passing game. The Lions and Eagles have several different options on top of elite rushing attacks. Another team in the NFC that can match up with the two teams in the conference is the Minnesota Vikings, who might have the best wide receiver duo in the playoffs this year.
Everyone knows how special Justin Jefferson is, and he has to be doubled on nearly every play. But Jordan Addison’s play in the last few weeks should be terrifying for future playoff opponents. Just a few weeks ago, Addison caught eight passes for 162 yards and a touchdown against the Bears. But in Week 14, he had the best game of his NFL career so far.
Addison caught three touchdowns against the Falcons, totaling 133 yards on eight receptions. He crushed the Falcons' single coverage, and his ability to make big-time receptions down the field flipped this game. He’s quickly developed into one of the league’s best No. 2 receivers, and it’s clear that he is fully healthy after suffering a high-ankle sprain in training camp and then reaggravating it early in the season.
During the last four games, he’s racked up 410 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and his confidence is growing. Addison could be a huge difference-maker in the NFC playoffs, especially if the Vikings earn the No. 5 seed.
⬆️Winner: Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Zach Charbonnet was a surprising second-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks during the 2023 NFL Draft, but it’s clear they want to be a balanced offense, and having a reliable No. 2 back was a priority. Unfortunately, Charbonnet hasn’t had many opportunities so far in his career, as Kenneth Walker has been highly durable.
However, Charbonnet has always performed well in his few spot starts, and he got another in Week 14 in a huge NFC West battle. With a win against the Cardinals, the Seahawks would take a three-game lead in the division and would be in control of that spot with just four games left. Seattle leaned on Charbonnet on Sunday, and he led them to victory.
Charbonnet finished the game with 29 touches, racking up 193 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry on the ground and did a fantastic job of grinding out the hard yards at the end of the game to seal the win for Seattle. Charbonnet isn’t the most dynamic or flashiest back in the league, but he is highly effective and efficient. In a lot of ways, he fits Seattle’s offense better than Walker, but he doesn’t have the homerun ability, and that’s why he’s the backup.
It's quite a luxury to have a backup like Charbonnet, and this performance is exactly why Seattle drafted him so highly. With the NFL loaded with so many good running backs, don’t forget about Charbonnet, who always puts up big numbers whenever he is in a featured role.
⬆️Winner: Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams
This has been a rough season for Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. Stafford has battled through it all, but this team is still unlikely to make the postseason despite finally getting over .500. The Seahawks have a healthy lead in the division, and the Rams aren’t that close to earning a Wild Card berth.
However, it was nice to see a vintage Stafford performance on Sunday. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one of them, but it was a nice reminder of just how talented Stafford is and can be in any game. Despite playing one of the more fundamentally sound defenses in the NFL, Stafford carved them up all day.
He completed 23 of 30 passes for 320 yards, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions. Anytime the Rams needed a big play, Stafford delivered. The Rams scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives in the second half, and the last drive of the game was a punt with no time remaining on the clock. They didn’t settle for field goals and scored 44 points on one of the top teams in the AFC.
We’ll see if the Rams can win their final four games and sneak into the playoffs. But try to enjoy this next month of Stafford because you never know how long it’s going to last. He is one of the most fun pocket passers in the league to watch, and when his receivers are healthy, they can be nearly impossible to stop.
⬇️Loser: Sean McDermott, HC, Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills were in a prime position to steal the No. 1 seed in the AFC. With a record of 10-2, they hold the tiebreaker over the Kansas City Chiefs and have a relatively easy schedule from Week 16 on. But we saw one of the worst coaching performances of the year from Sean McDermott, and now the Bills can kiss home-field advantage throughout the playoffs goodbye.
Let’s run through some of McDermott's mistakes on Sunday, shall we? First things first, McDermott is a defensive-minded coach, and his specialty is on that side of the ball. He allowed the Rams to rack up 457 yards of offense and score 44 points without forcing a single turnover. The Rams carved up Buffalo’s zone defense, and the Bills made the switch to man-to-man coverage far too late in the game.
However, there were some specific coaching decisions that McDermott whiffed on during this matchup, starting in the fourth quarter. On a third and 7 with 4:47 seconds left, the Bills stopped the Rams by forcing Stafford to run out of bounds at the 36-yard line. However, there was an offensive-holding call on the play, and McDermott made the decision to back the offense up rather than decline the penalty and force the Rams to kick a 54-yard field goal.
If the Rams had made the field goal, the Bills would have been down by six with 4:40 left on the clock. That would have given them plenty of time to go down and get the game-winning touchdown. Instead, the Bills declined the penalty and forced the Rams to run a play on third and 17. The Rams gained 12 yards on the play and ran down another 40 seconds of the play clock.
Rather than settle for a 52-yard field goal, the Rams went for it and converted the fourth-down play. They would go on to drain the clock all the way down past the two-minute mark and would score a touchdown to go up by nine points. That was mistake No. 1.
The second mistake was far more egregious. After being down by nine points, Buffalo moved the ball right down the field and had the ball down to the one-yard-line with 1:06 left and all three timeouts. Knowing that Buffalo had all four downs to score a touchdown, incompletions aren’t that big of a deal.
Keeping all three timeouts would give them a chance to get the ball back, even if an onside kick wasn’t recovered. Instead, Buffalo ran a quarterback sneak on first down, and Josh Allen was stopped. That was mistake No. 2. No run play should be called in that situation.
To make matters worse, McDermott called a timeout after the quarterback sneak, taking away their ability to get the ball back on the next drive. Buffalo would score on the next play, but with only 1:00 left on the clock and two timeouts, the Bills couldn’t stop the clock enough times to get the ball back. The Rams would run three times and then punt with no time remaining on the clock. It was a comically bad performance by McDermott despite his quarterback accounting for more than 400 yards of offense and six touchdowns (with no turnovers).
The biggest difference between the Bills and the other contenders in the AFC is their head coach. They have a superstar quarterback who can bail them out of nearly any situation. Time and time again, however, McDermott has shown that he has no idea how to handle late-game situations.
The No. 1 seed is so critical for the Bills, and yet, they could fall to the No. 3 seed now, especially with the Lions on deck in Week 15. This was an awful loss, and McDermott will have to wear it.
⬇️Loser: Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
2024 has been the year of the running back, but that has not been the case for Travis Etienne. A former first-round pick, Etienne had a career year in 2023 with 1,484 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns. It sure felt like he was a perfect fit for Doug Pederson’s offense, and his role should only grow in the offense.
That hasn’t been the case this season. Going into Week 14, Etienne had just 371 rushing yards. He’s averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and has scored just two touchdowns. However, in Week 14, it became clear he was no longer the featured back in Jacksonville. Instead, that job has gone to Tank Bigsby, who carried the ball 18 times against the Titans. Meanwhile, Etienne received just four carries and has been phased out of the offense.
Etienne has not had a game with more than 13 carries all season, and he’s totaled more than 60 yards from scrimmage just once. He is set to play under the fifth-year option in 2025, but you would have to assume the Jaguars will try to trade him this offseason. He’s not worth that salary, and it’s clear that Bigsby is the better player right now. Etienne’s stock has cratered to an all-time low after Week 14.
⬇️Loser: The New York Giants
The New York Giants released Daniel Jones a few weeks ago to protect their financial future. And that was a totally reasonable move as the franchise is starting to look ahead to 2025 and beyond. But as much as Jones struggled this year, there is no doubt that he was a massive improvement over Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito.
And now we are starting to see just how big that gap really was.
Lock got the start again this week, and the Giants managed to score just 11 points at home against the Saints. The Giants had 56 yards of offense in the first half and only 72 yards on their first nine drives. Not only has the passing game disappeared, but the run game has dropped off since Jones left the lineup.
Tyrone Tracy couldn’t get going at all, totaling just 45 yards on 16 carries. This was one of the league’s most efficient backs in the first half of the season. Now, he’s struggling to even average three yards per carry.
In the three games without Jones, the Giants have scored a combined 38 points and have been the league’s worst offense. They have lost eight straight games and have not scored more than 22 points in any of those contests.
It’s clear that the Giants need a new quarterback, and they will surely get one in 2025. However, it’s also becoming clearer that Brian Daboll isn’t the right head coach for the Giants. Will they move on from him this offseason? Time will tell.
Still, this looks like one of the NFL’s most hopeless franchises after losing 14 of their last 17 games dating back to 2023. It’s pretty bleak right now in New Jersey for the Giants.
