Another week, another full slate of NFL action nearly in the books. And Week 14 has already been chock-full of drama, from the upstart Carolina Panthers taking another contender to the wire, to the New York Jets blowing yet another late lead, to the Minnesota Vikings blowing out Kirk Cousins in his anticipated return to town.
Here are some of Sunday’s biggest winners and losers:
On the day Kirk Cousins made his Minnesota homecoming, the quarterback’s bargain-bin successor completely stole the show, launching five touchdowns to guide arguably the most impressive Vikings win of the season. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison did heavy lifting to help, absolutely torching the Atlanta Falcons secondary, but Darnold has now been giving Kevin O’Connell borderline top-10 production for much of the year.
Loser: Kirk Cousins
It was always going to be a high-stakes Sunday for Cousins, trying to not only outduel his old squad but snap a personal slump on a middling Falcons team. Things started fine for the veteran against the Vikings, but the longer the matchup went, the more his 2024 habit of floating passes reared its head, resulting in two picks and an irrevocable hole against Brian Flores’ opportunistic group. Atlanta is sinking fast in the ugly NFC South.
Winner: Mike Tomlin
The face of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tomlin has warranted Coach of the Year consideration just about every other season, if not more often. Now he should be as close to a lock for the award as ever: Sunday’s 27-14 win over the Cleveland Browns, which confirmed a firm hold on the AFC North, pushed Pittsburgh to 10-3 on the year and saw Russell Wilson deliver yet another clutch, efficient outing under center. Tomlin’s got himself a real playoff contender.
Loser: Jeff Ulbrich
Aaron Rodgers actually had a decent showing under center for the deflated New York Jets, hitting 300 passing yards for the first time in three years and putting Gang Green in position to upset the rival Miami Dolphins. Ulbrich’s defense folded in crunch time, though, allowing Miami to steal it in overtime. The Jets have gone 1-7, blowing multiple late fourth-quarter leads, under his watch as interim head coach.
Almost everyone wrote him off when the Carolina Panthers benched him early in 2024, thinking the former No. 1 overall pick had little to no future with his original NFL team. But Young was arguably the best player on the field against the superior Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, keeping Dave Canales’ squad in the mix and threatening a last-minute comeback. It continued a streak of poised outings from the youngster.