Best & Worst Of NFL Week Fourteen

Well, well, well, here we sit once again. We are through week fourteen in the National Football League and the playoff picture gets tighter and tighter week by week. Some teams showed they can handle it well, like the Steelers and Lions. Then there are others, like Andrew Luck of the Colts, who had a little bit of trouble getting a handle on things. And there was plenty of other excitement to go around. Jets went to overtime in a big comeback win, Dallas winning streak came to an end, the Rams got blown out and ended up firing their coach. Plenty to talk about from the week that was in the NFL, so here's a look back at some of the best and worst from this week.

Best:
Le'Veon Bell, Running Back Pittsburgh Steelers
Talk about having yourself a day. Pittsburgh took on the Buffalo Bills in a snow covered game in Pittsburgh. Ben Roethlisberger wasn't as his best in this football game. That's OK because Le'Veon Bell more than made up for it. Bell had himself a memorable day, rushing the ball 38 times for 236 yards and three touchdowns Oh yeah, he also added four catches for 68 yards. Those numbers combined for 298 yards from scrimmage for Bell, an insane number. While almost single-handedly leading the Steelers to victory over the Bills, Bell’s 236 yards set a team record while his three rushing scores tied another franchise mark. He has now rushed for more than 100 yards in four straight and has caught at least four passes in every game he’s played in this season. You could say that he was in a good groove on Sunday, and you'd be right.

Worst:
San Francisco 49ers
Its been a rough go of it for football fans in the Bay Area this year. The 49ers’ dropped their 12th consecutive game on Sunday, falling 23-17 in Overtime to the Jets. After building a 17-3 halftime lead, San Francisco was shutout the entire second-half, while the Jets scored 23-unanswered and walked away with just their fourth win of the season. Two-missed field goals from Phil Dawson really hurt the 49ers’ efforts as they failed to score on their final eight possessions of the game. Considering they had a 14-point lead and Carlos Hyde rushed for a career best 193 yards in the contest, one is left to wonder if maybe San Francisco hasn’t packed it in for the season. The way things are looking right now for the 49ers, it could turn out to be that way.

Best:
Matthew Stafford, Quarterback Detroit Lions
Talk about a big time impact player on his team this year, look no further then Matthew Stafford of the Lions. He came into Sunday's game against the Bears with seven game winning drives in the fourth quarter. Wouldn't you know it, he did it again against Chicago, leading the Lions to a 20-17 win. Things didn't look so hot for the Lions early in the 4th quarter, as Stafford threw two picks, one into the end zone early in the fourth quarter, and then again throwing a pick-six to rookie Cre’Von LeBlanc midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Bears a 17-13 lead. Stafford more than made up for it, as he marched the Lions right down the field on the next possession, finishing it off with a rushing touchdown that stood as the game’s final score. Oh yeah, and he did all of this after he separated a finger on his throwing hand and tearing ligaments in that finger. This eight four quarter game winning drive set a new NFL record, and the big kicker is, there are still three games left to go in the season!

Worst:
Russell Wilson, Quarterback Seattle Seahawks
I like Russell Wilson I do. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite quarterbacks in pro football to watch. The last couple of weeks, however, haven't exactly been kind to Russell. He had an off week two weeks ago against Tampa bay, throwing for only 150 yards. Well this week, in the Seattle 38-10 loss to Green Bay, he may have been worse now then he was then. Going up against the Packers, Wilson went 22 of 39 for 240 yards and one touchdown, which are decent numbers. What really messes with your head is the alarming five interceptions Wilson threw. Yikes. It was a disastrous showing from Wilson who struggled in the cold weather of Lambeau Field. He finished with a miserable 43.7 passer rating and was held out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. Amazing in all of this is that despite the loss, the Seahawks still remain comfortably on top of the NFC West and in line for their fifth straight playoff berth.

Best:
Jadeveon Clowney, Defensive End Houston Texans
For a guy who was taken number one overall in the draft, he hasn't had much of an impact during his career. But as of late, Jadeveon Clowney has started to look that way. Don't believe me? Look no further then what he did on Sunday. On third-and-goal at the Houston 3-yard line late in the third quarter, with the Colts trailing 19-10, Clowney showed off the explosion that made him the top pick. Clowney beat tight end Dwayne Allen’s block, strip-sacked Andrew Luck, and the Texans recovered. That play was enormous in a 22-17 win. It was a big win because it pushes the Texans’ divisional record to 4-0 this season. They’ve clinched the tiebreaker over the Colts and Titans based on their divisional record and season sweep of Indianapolis. So if Houston can hang on and make the playoffs, look back at that big play as why!

Worst:
Andrew Luck, Quarterback Indianapolis Colts
Indy had a chance to really possibly take hold of the AFC South on Sunday, but they came up short against the Texans, watching Houston come away with a 22-17 win. Luck had a rough day against the Texans defense. Luck threw two interceptions and lost a fumble on a gorgeous sack by Jadeveon Clowney (see above). His three turnovers resulted in nine points. to put that into perspective, Houston only had one turneover, a pick by Brock Osweiler, but no points came of it. To be fair, you can't put all of the blame totally on Luck, as he hasn't gotten much protection this year from his line. But at the same time, he's tried to force plays a lot this year, something that was on display against the Texans and it cost the Colts a game.

Best:
Steve Spagnuolo, Defensive Coordinator New York Giants
Talk about a close football game. That's what you got Sunday night between the Giants and Cowboys. Dallas had an eleven game winning streak heading into that football game, that was snapped Sunday by the Giants, who walked away with a 10-7 victory. A big winner in this football game was Steve Spagnuolo, the Giants defensive coordinator. Big Blue never let Dak Prescott get settled. Spagnuolo sent blitz after blitz after blitz at Prescott, and while the rookie QB rarely panicked he was sacked three times, completed less than half of his passes and was picked off twice. It was a game plan that held the vaunted Cowboys offense to just 1-of-15 on third down and only seven points. Is it the blueprint for defeating them? It might be, because the only two losses this year that Dallas has suffered have come at the hands of the Giants. This one was signed by the Giants defense. They stole the show and also managed to keep Ezekiel Elliott in check in the second half.

Worst:
Dez Bryant, Wide Receiver Dallas Cowboys
When you hear that name, what's one of the first things that comes to mind? For most, its top flight wide receiver. Usually, Dez is one of the more reliable and best wide outs in all of football. Well, he didn't really look like it on Sunday against the Giants. Dez was held in check for most of the night, catching just one pass on nine targets for 10 yards, before fumbling his only reception away. Bryant was largely frustrated by Janoris Jenkins as the Cowboys fell to the Giants for the second time this year. It may just come as a small blip on the screen right now, but its something to really pay attention to down the road if the Cowboys struggle, or even if they possibly face the Giants again in the playoffs.