Around the AFC
OROY back. Sunday’s OT loss to the Broncos might’ve been the last gasp at salvaging the 2025 season for the Commanders, now sitting at 3-9 in head coach Dan Quinn’s second season. The silver lining: second-year QB Jayden Daniels will return in Week 14 against the Vikings, after a long hiatus from a dislocated left elbow suffered in early November. Daniels was last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Let the QB1 hunt commence. The collegiate calendar has officially hit conference championship and playoff time, as a host of needy franchises get a couple final evaluations on this 2026 quarterback class. The problem? There’s no real runaway standout. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is a high-IQ processor who’s led the Hoosiers to a 12-0 record. Oregon’s Dante Moore has maybe the most arm talent of the bunch, but he’s young at 20 years old and might return to school. Alabama’s Ty Simpson has SEC pedigree. The Raiders, Browns and Jets could and probably should all be on the lookout for a QB in this class, and there’s plenty of room for shakeups across the next few months.
Myles Garrett is going for it. What do you do as an offensive lineman when a 6-foot-4, 270-pound dude with the muscles of a Greek god hits a euro-step off his initial break off the edge? Nothing, apparently. There’s nothing that can be done. Garrett’s now recorded a sack in six straight weeks after another tally against San Francisco this past weekend, and is on his way to the greatest pass-rushing season in history. He has 19 sacks in just 12 games this season. Somehow, the Browns are still 3-9 in all this.
Around the NFC
Fading stars in Dallas. The Cowboys are in an exceedingly tough spot after a 44-30 loss on Thursday night to the Lions, sitting at 6-6-1 with a defense that couldn’t stop a toddler carrying a Nerf football through the B-gap. To make matters worse, top wideout CeeDee Lamb entered the concussion protocol after his head hit the ground on a scary fall. WR2 George Pickens, meanwhile, looked utterly disengaged at times in a 37-yard performance. The season’s rapidly slipping to the brink.
Young Panthers. The greatest shred of evidence that this NFL season carries as much parity as any in recent memory: the Carolina Panthers, riding a perfectly adequate 3-3 record in their previous six games, put away the streaking Rams last Sunday. By the transitive property, that’d probably make Carolina the best team in the league. The Panthers are certainly streaking toward a playoff berth, though, now sitting at 7-6 behind an offense that has shot completely across the map this season. Third-year QB Bryce Young is playing legitimately good football, with seven touchdown passes in his last three games.
Trying to avoid (Four and) Nine. Loop the Vikings in with the Commanders as one of the biggest disappointments of this NFL season, as JJ McCarthy has had one of the worst starting runs of any first-round rookie QB in history. McCarthy — who’s dubbed his own football-playing alter ego as “Nine” — now has 10 interceptions in six games. And there’s plenty of ramifications for 4-8 Minnesota under head coach Kevin O’Connell; receiver Justin Jefferson doesn’t exactly seem happy while putting up pedestrian WR1 numbers. If the Vikings aren’t careful, Jefferson might want out.
Game of the Week
Chicago at Green Bay
At his introductory presser in Chicago in January, Bears head coach Ben Johnson took a not-so-subtle shot — even if intended as a joke — at Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
“To be quite frank with you,” Johnson said then, after giving kudos to the coaches in the NFC North, “I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”
Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich added some fuel to the fire this week, ahead of the rivalry.
“You take it personal, for sure,” Stenavich said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
The bulletin-board material is off the hook for this one, a 2:25 MT start between the 9-3 Bears and 8-3 Packers in a game with massive playoff implications. Chicago is rivaling Denver with its string of close-game wins, including a huge 24-15 victory over the Eagles last week. The Packers’ defense, meanwhile, has leveled up since adding Micah Parsons. Must-watch.
Packers 24, Bears 17
Upset of the Week
Cincinnati at Buffalo
Joe Shiesty is back in full form, as the Bengals brutalized the Ravens 32-14 on Thursday night in late November. Cincinnati is well-rested after a mini-bye and back aligned with Burrow as their QB1, after the star missed much of the middle of the season with a toe injury. And the Bengals’ defense looked a whole lot better against an admittedly struggling Baltimore unit. The 8-4 Bills have shown plenty of vulnerability this season with inconsistent bouts of offense, and Cincinnati might actually be better-poised behind Burrow to turn this game into a shootout. This would be a bit of a stunner for Buffalo, but there’s intrigue here.
Bengals 28, Bills 24
Lock of the Week
Los Angeles at Arizona
The Rams probably needed to lose a game. Carolina dismantled their six-game winning streak, and now the Cardinals will be the unenviable target of Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford’s wrath on Sunday. Arizona has officially lost former QB1 Kyler Murray for the year, and despite some heroic efforts by backup Jacoby Brissett to carry a Cardinals offense that lacks a running game, Arizona’s lost four straight. This could be a blowout.
Rams 34, Cardinals 20
