With just four weeks remaining in the 2023 NFL regular season, contenders have largely separated themselves from pretenders. With postseason races in the AFC and NFC rounding into shape, playoff positioning and seeding possibilities are dominating the NFL conversation.
Which teams and players looked the best on Sunday, and who’s already looking ahead to next week? Here are all the winners and losers from Week 14.
Winners and Losers From NFL Week 14
Winner | Buffalo Bills
What a week it’s been for the Bills. After an exposé on head coach Sean McDermott opened questions about his leadership and ability to get Buffalo over the top, the Bills pulled out a close win over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.
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A Week 14 loss would have all but eliminated Buffalo from playoff contention in what was supposed to be a Super Bowl season. The Bills are hardly guaranteed a postseason slot now that they’ve beaten the Chiefs, but their outlook looks much better than it could have.
Buffalo now has roughly a one in three chance of entering the dance. They’re still the AFC’s No. 10 seed, so they’ll need help from other teams around the conference if they hope to get in. Closing the season with games against the Dallas Cowboys (Week 15) and Miami Dolphins (Week 18) isn’t ideal, but Josh Allen has proven he can win against anyone.
Loser | Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs entered Sunday’s game with a decent chance at earning the AFC’s top seed and a first-round playoff bye. They were still a game behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Dolphins, but they had a better conference record than Baltimore and already defeated Miami, giving Kansas City a head-to-head tiebreaker.
Travis Kelce nearly willed the Chiefs to the ninth win of the year. After hauling in a fourth-quarter pass from Mahomes, Kelce lateraled across the field to WR Kadarius Toney, who walked in for what should’ve been a potential game-winning touchdown. But Toney — whose second season with K.C. has been littered with mistakes — had lined up offsides, bringing the play back.
The Chiefs turned the ball over on downs, dropping the club to 8-5 and shifting their chances of landing the No. 1 seed to less than 10%.
Winner | Baltimore Ravens
Few teams had as good of a Week 14 as the Ravens, who are temporarily atop the AFC standing while they wait for the Dolphins to play on Monday night. Baltimore pulled out an overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, allowing John Harbaugh’s team to retain its ability to control its own No. 1 seed destiny.
Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson’s MVP case got much stronger after Sunday’s effort. He passed for 316 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in the Ravens’ 37-31 victory, adding 70 more yards on the ground. If Baltimore secures the AFC’s top seed, it might be hard to deny Lamar his second MVP trophy.
Winner | Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals
The Ravens weren’t the only AFC North team with smiles on their faces after Sunday’s action.
The Browns are now 8-5 and incredibly likely to land at least a Wild Card berth despite their quarterback upheaval. Joe Flacco tossed three touchdowns as Cleveland pulled off a 31-27 upset over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and head coach Kevin Stefanksi named Flacco the team’s starter for the rest of the season.
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Elsewhere in the division, Jake Browning has the Bengals back in the playoff mix after posting another efficient performance in Cincinnati’s win over the Indianapolis Colts. While Browning wasn’t quite as effective as in Week 13 against the Jaguars, he’s playing much better than anyone thought possible. If Joe Mixon and Chase Brown keep producing from the backfield, the Bengals can make noise if they get in the dance.
Loser | Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans
Indy’s offense couldn’t get anything going against the Bengals. Gardner Minshew hit a few nice throws, but the Colts averaged just 2.6 yards per carry in the run game, while Indianapolis’ defense scored seven points of its own with a Browning pick-six. The Colts could have heavily increased their playoff chances with a Week 15 win, but now they’re a coin flip to enter the tournament.
Nothing went right for the Texans on Sunday. Already without Tank Dell for the rest of the season, Houston lost C.J. Stroud (concussion protocol) and Nico Collins (calf) in a surprising loss to the New York Jets. The Texans are still part of a muddled AFC Wild Card picture and have a shot at the AFC South title, thanks to Jacksonville’s loss. But they won’t go anywhere without Stroud.
Winner | NFC South Chaos
If you like absolute madness in the NFL standings, then Week 14 in the NFC South was for you.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, and New Orleans Saints are all 6-7 with a month remaining in the regular season. Tampa Bay pulled out a late win over Atlanta on Sunday, while New Orleans beat up the one-win Carolina Panthers.
As was the case in 2022, someone has to win the NFC South. But it’s hard to get excited about what either of these three clubs would do in the first round of the playoffs, when they’d likely be facing the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles.
Loser | Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams
The Seahawks looked like near-playoff locks after beating the Washington Commanders to improve to 6-3 in Week 10. But they’ve lost four straight games since then and have to play the Eagles next week. That contest will be difficult if Geno Smith (groin) can suit up and nearly impossible if Drew Lock has to start again.
Seattle’s playoff odds fell below 20% on Sunday, but the Rams’ odds still sit at roughly one in three after their overtime loss to the Ravens. Still, Los Angeles is squarely behind the Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card race and will need help to get in the playoffs.
Winner | Minnesota Vikings, Kind Of?
The Vikings have to be considered a winner, right? Their 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders kept them in the playoff picture as a potential Wild Card team, which is relatively astounding given that Minnesota has played most of this season without Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson.
But Jefferson went down again on Sunday after suffering an internal chest injury. And the Vikings benched QB Josh Dobbs after he continued to struggle, instead inserting journeyman Nick Mullens under center. An offense led by Mullens/Dobbs/Jaren Hall won’t scare anyone, especially if Jefferson isn’t in the lineup.
Winner | Denver Broncos
The 1-5 Broncos — you know, the team that gave up 70 points to the Dolphins in Week 3 — didn’t look like anyone’s idea of a playoff team. But Sean Payton, Russell Wilson, and a rapidly improving defensive unit have gone 6-1 since and are in the thick of the AFC Wild Card conversation.
Payton’s inaugural Denver campaign will now be considered a success no matter how it turns out, but a trip to the playoffs would represent the culmination of an unprecedented turnaround. The Broncos now have roughly a 50% chance of getting in the postseason; a Week 15 win over the reeling Detroit Lions will increase those odds to nearly three in four.
Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!