The Biggest Takeaways Following the NFL's Week 14 Sunday Slate

This was the last time we will have bye weeks in the NFL this season, after 24 teams participated in 12 games yesterday. There's now much more clarity as to how the NFL Playoff Picture might shake out heading into Monday Night Football. With that in mind, let's review some of the biggest takeaways we have after Sunday's slate of games.

6. Mike Tomlin is still a great football coach.

We're a week removed from Pittsburgh Steelers fans calling for a head coaching change, and yet, Pittsburgh currently sits atop the AFC North. After a brutal 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Steelers went into Baltimore as an almost six-point underdog. But with all the chips stacked against them, Pittsburgh responded with a huge road win against its fiercest rival. Now, they're 7-6, and have a 1.5-game lead in the division. The Steelers' current standing is a testament to the fantastic job that head coach Mike Tomlin has done.

There have been multiple moments this season where the Steelers looked down and out and were expected to lose, but each time, Mike Tomlin had his guys ready to answer the call. After a tough loss to the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh bounced back and defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 27-20. While in the middle of a two-game losing streak and on the road, the Steelers had one of their best offensive games of the season, scoring 27 points on a Ravens defense that had been allowing 16.5 points per game over the last six weeks. When push comes to shove, Mike Tomlin's guys are almost always ready for big moments.

On a day when the rushing attack was ineffective, the Steelers leaned on the passing game to beat the Ravens. Though Baltimore outgained Pittsburgh by 102 yards, the Steelers were more efficient offensively, averaging 0.78 more yards per play than the Ravens, even though Baltimore has a more talented roster. Pittsburgh had fewer penalty yards, won the turnover battle, and didn't allow any sacks, which speaks to effective coaching.

The Steelers may indeed need to move on from Mike Tomlin. At the same time, it remains true that Mike Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the National Football League.

5. The Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals are cooked.

Neither one of these teams had any margin for error on Sunday, yet they both came up short. The Colts are now on a three-game losing streak and lack clarity at the quarterback position. Though it looked like Cincy was going to get it together and maybe even orchestrate a run at the playoffs, yesterday's loss to the Buffalo Bills caused them to come crashing back down to Earth. Now that the dust has settled, it's fair to say that both of these teams will probably fall short of the postseason.

We'll start by discussing the Cincinnati Bengals because the conversation is pretty straightforward. When Joe Burrow returned to the lineup, Cincy was 3-8 and had to basically win out to have any sort of shot at reaching the playoffs. They came out hot against the Ravens and even looked like they were going to blow the doors off the Bills yesterday. Then, everything changed in the fourth quarter. Joe Burrow threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to give the Bills a four-point lead. Burrow's very next pass was picked off, setting up a Josh Allen touchdown to give Buffalo a 39-28 lead. Cincinnati never overcame those mistakes and fell to 4-9 on the season. That ninth loss all but ensures the Bengals will miss the playoffs. Even if they win out, an 8-9 record will not be good enough to earn them an AFC Wild Card spot.

The Indianapolis Colts find themselves in a different but similar position. They're 8-5 and are the eighth seed in the AFC. However, starting quarterback Daniel Jones is going to miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon. Things were already shaky in Indy with losses in four of their last five games, but they had eight wins and head-to-head victories over playoff contenders like the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers. Now that sixth-round rookie quarterback Riley Leonard is poised to be the Colts' starting QB the rest of the way, it seems like Indy will miss the playoffs, especially with a gauntlet of good teams left on the schedule (the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans). The dream of the playoffs and even a Super Bowl died on the field yesterday when Daniel Jones went down with a non-contact injury.

4. The Detroit Lions are still in this thing.

We didn't get a chance to recap the Thursday Night Football game between the Lions and the Dallas Cowboys. That matchup had huge playoff implications, as the winner would stay afloat in the NFC Playoff race. Following everything that happened on Sunday, the Lions sit in the eighth spot in the NFC and find themselves a half-game back from being one of the seven teams in the conference slated to reach the postseason.

At the moment, the Lions control their own destiny. If they win out, they will probably make the playoffs. They'll have an incredibly tough test against the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday, but if they can get past them, they'll be positioned to go on a run. Should they beat the Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings, then their playoff hopes will come down to the Week 18 matchup on the road against the Chicago Bears. And in case you forgot, the Lions beat the Bears 52-21 when those two first met. Granted, that was a long time ago, but a victory of that magnitude is typically not a fluke. In a win-and-in scenario between the Lions and the Bears, my money would be on Detroit to come out on top because they've been in these spots before and have shown they can live up to the moment. Conversely, we don't know how Chicago will look with its back against the wall.

Last week, I said it was time to worry in Detroit. After that win over Dallas, though, it's safe to say that Lions fans should no longer be worried. Instead, they should feel optimistic because they control their own destiny. Detroit is alive and kicking after it felt like the Super Bowl window had closed on Thanksgiving.

3. The Green Bay Packers are playing as well as anybody in the NFL right now.

After the Monday Night Football loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, I said that it was fair to believe that the Packers would miss the playoffs. Since then, Green Bay is 4-0 with three straight wins over divisional opponents. That includes a road win to complete the season sweep of the Detroit Lions and a home win over the Chicago Bears to reclaim first place in the NFC North. Obviously, nobody cares how you look in December, but rather, in January and February. With that being said, there aren't many teams playing as well or better than the Packers.

Starting with the quarterback, Jordan Love has been excellent in his last four games, with nine touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 112.1, which would be the second-highest mark in the league this season behind only Matthew Stafford. The rushing attack has also been better, averaging 129 yards per game on the ground. The defense is forcing more turnovers (six in four games) and limiting opponents' offenses (17.8 points per game allowed). We also have to give a lot of credit to head coach Matt LaFleur, who has been much more aggressive as a playcaller and hasn't folded when faced with high-pressure situations.

The NFL is a week-to-week league, and the feelings that we all have towards the Packers could shift at a moment's notice. However, we can start mentioning Green Bay in conversations with the Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks.

2. The Kansas City Chiefs will probably miss the playoffs.

The Chiefs needed to win all of their remaining games if they wanted to even have an outside shot at sniffing the postseason. With head-to-head losses to the Broncos and Chargers, KC would have probably only gotten into the playoffs as a Wild Card team, which meant last night was a must-win game against the surging Houston Texans. Unfortunately for Kansas City fans, the Chiefs dropped that game and are now 6-7.

That loss was a huge blow to Kansas City's playoff chances. It's not like they had an easy path to the postseason before, but if they had beaten Houston, then they would've been just a half-game back from the last Wild Card spot with a head-to-head win over the Colts, who would have been the seventh seed. Following the loss, though, the Chiefs are now the tenth seed in the AFC and have lost to all three teams currently occupying the fifth, sixth, and seventh seeds. Even if they win out, which will be very difficult with games against the Broncos and Chargers, they'll still need outside help to reach the playoffs.

It just feels like way too many things need to go KC's way for them to reach the postseason. They need the Chargers, Bills, or Texans to lose at least three games, which is highly unlikely given Houston and LA play the Raiders, and Buffalo gets the Jets. For the first time since the 2014-15 season, it seems like the Kansas City Chiefs will not be a part of the NFL Playoffs.

1. The NFC will be decided by the race for the West.

It's no secret that the NFC West is the best division in the National Football League. Not only is it the only division with two ten-win teams (the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams), but it's also the only division that is currently scheduled to have three squads reach the 2026 Playoffs. The Eagles lack consistency, while the Packers and Bears both have very difficult remaining schedules. Therefore, it's fair to assume that whoever wins the West will end up being the top-seeded team in the NFC.

One could argue that the Seahawks have the toughest remaining schedule amongst NFC West contenders. With their final three games coming against the Rams, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers, Seattle will probably go 2-2 over the last four weeks of the season and wind up with a 12-5 record.

With their next two games coming against the Tennessee Titans and the hobbled Colts, the San Francisco 49ers will presumably enter Week 17 with an 11-4 record. From there, they will have to defeat the Chicago Bears and the Seahawks if they want to be the NFC's number-one seed.

Then, we have the Los Angeles Rams, who have two very difficult games, and then two cupcakes to close out the season. They get the Lions at home and then Seattle on Thursday night, four days later. If they split those games, they should be able to close out the regular season with wins over the Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals. That would give them a 13-4 record, which would probably be good enough to earn them the number-one seed in the NFC.

Any number of things could happen. Maybe San Fran will win out, and they'll be the number one seed. Then again, the Rams could lose three of their last four, and Seattle could take the top spot. At the end of the day, I do believe that it will be the LA who earns the top spot in the NFC. Regardless, the number-one-seeded team in the NFC Playoffs will be coming from the West.