Week 14 of the NFL season kicked off on Thursday night with the Detroit Lions taking down the Dallas Cowboys and essentially eliminating them from playoff contention. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. There are loads of games this weekend that will have massive playoff implications.

By this point of the season, usually you have a good idea about where most teams stand, but with just a few weeks left, I don’t think there’s a sure-fire Super Bowl favorite. Every team has its issues, which makes the playoff race even more exciting than normal.

This is a big week of NFL football, so here’s my one big question for every single NFL Week 14 game.

Texans at Chiefs

Is this finally the end of Kansas City?

It feels like we’ve been asking the same question for weeks now, but this game could spell the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ season. They are currently 6-6 and two games out of the AFC playoff picture. To make matters worse, they’re behind two other bubble teams – the Texans and Ravens – one of which they play on Sunday night.

I stand by the fact that the Chiefs are still a very good team. They’ve won some big games, and when they do lose, which has been six times this year, they’re losing by one score to some great teams. Just look at their losses this year. There isn’t a single bad one on there.

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These are the kinds of games Kansas City is used to winning. It used to be, if you were in a close one with Kansas City in the fourth, odds are you’re going to lose. That has not been the case this season. They’re 1-6 in one-score games this season, which has ultimately been their downfall.

So, can the Chiefs avoid falling out of playoff contention this week? Right now, the Chiefs have a 35 percent chance to make the playoffs. Those odds jump to 49 percent with a win, but fall all the way to 11 percent with a loss. They have not played a game as important as this one all season, and it comes against a tough opponent.

The Texans boast the best defense in football. They have shut almost everyone they’ve played down, and Kansas City’s offense is next in line. This should be a fairly low-scoring and close game, so it’s going to come down to Patrick Mahomes making a big play late to save their season. He’s done it plenty of times in year’s past, but they need him to come through again this weekend.

Bears at Packers

Have I been completely wrong about the Bears?

For weeks now, I’ve been waiting for Chicago to finally lose. I haven’t been convinced that they’re actually a great team. They were scraping by bad teams for weeks, but after their win last week against the Eagles, I admitted I may have been wrong about them. However, I still have my doubts. Can Caleb Williams actually be competitive in the playoffs? Is their defense really good enough to compete with the NFC’s best?

Well, this is their week to really prove it to me. If they beat the Packers in Lambeau, I will take back every single bad thing I’ve said about them. It will be a statement, and it may end up winning them the NFC North. 

This is a massive game for both sides. If the Bears’ offense can put up 24+ on this Green Bay defense, all of my doubts about Williams and Co. will disappear. I hope they prove me wrong because my brother is a massive Packers fan, but a part of me isn’t quite sure they will be able to.

Bengals at Bills

Can the Bills avoid the upset?

Joe Burrow is 8-0 in his last eight starts, and now that he’s back, the Cincinnati Bengals are a lot more dangerous. They just dominated the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving Day, and now they’ve had 10 days to prepare for the Buffalo Bills, who are 8-4 and the 7-seed in the AFC playoffs. So my question is, can the Bills avoid the upset?

The Bills are 5.5-point favorites in this game, but the Bengals are a completely different team when Burrow plays. Their offense is a threat to score 30+ every game, and their defense seems to play better every time Burrow’s in the lineup. 

The Bills have had a couple of slip ups this season, which we’re not accustomed to seeing from them, and with New England sitting at 11-2, chances are they won’t win the AFC East this year. The Bills have to make it as a Wild Card, and right now, the AFC has three teams at 8-4, the Texans at 7-5 and the Chiefs at 6-6. Every loss from here on out will be huge, so the Bills need to make sure they don’t slip up to the 4-8 Bengals. But Burrow and Co. won’t make it easy.

Titans at Browns

Can Shedeur Sanders get the Browns’ offense rolling?

The Cleveland Browns scored just eight points last week. Shedeur Sanders didn’t look bad, but he wasn’t great either, completing 64 percent of his passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. He was very careful with the football with half of his attempts coming within five yards of the line of scrimmage (six of which were behind the LOS), so I want to see him push the ball downfield and really attack this Titans defense.

Tennessee’s defense hasn’t been great this year, so this is the perfect opportunity for Sanders to show what he’s capable of. Honestly, I don’t think the Browns are too worried about winning games this season, so why not let Sanders push the ball downfield and try to elevate this offense? So far neither he nor Dillon Gabriel have proven they deserve to be the Browns’ franchise quarterback, so if I’m Sanders, I’m throwing caution to the wind and trying to show the front office they don’t need to pick a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Colts at Jaguars

Can Jonathan Taylor get going against the No. 1 rush defense in the NFL?

Jonathan Taylor is the key to every Colts game. If he runs well, they win. If he doesn’t, they lose. It’s as simple as that, especially now that Daniel Jones is injured and isn’t playing as well as he was early in the season.

The problem for the Colts is that they’ve played two of the best defenses in the NFL – the Chiefs and Texans – the past two weeks. They were able to limit Taylor and, therefore, limit the Colts’ offense. While on paper, Jacksonville’s defense isn’t as intimidating, they’re actually the No. 1 rush defense in all of football, giving up just 82.4 rushing yards per game.

So, the question is, will Taylor be able to get things going against the Jags? Or will Jacksonville shut him down? Because if they do, they likely win this game and the Colts could fall all the way out of the playoff picture.

Steelers at Ravens

How chippy does this game get?

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers hate each other. There’s no other way to put it. These two teams are not friendly, and they want to beat each other more than anything. With both of them sitting at 6-6 and the AFC North lead on the line, this game is going to get chippy.

The main question is, who will take control of the AFC North? But because that is the obvious question, I want to go for something a little different. Just how chippy will this game be? If this game is close in the fourth quarter, tempers are going to flare, and I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s an ejection or two.

The tension is at 100 heading into this game, and once the opening kickoff happens, the chirping and shoving will begin. Hopefully, both teams can keep their heads and we get a great fight for the AFC North lead, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we see a key player or two get thrown out. This should be a classic, heated game between these two arch rivals.

Eagles at Chargers

How hampered will Justin Herbert be with his injury?

It appears that Los Angeles Chargers starting quarterback Justin Herbert will play on Monday night when they host the Philadelphia Eagles. Herbert, who just had surgery on his left hand this week, has been trending to play all week, but we likely won’t know for sure until the Sunday injury report.

Herbert has been fantastic this season, throwing for 2,842 yards, rushing for 353 and totaling 22 touchdowns. He’s led the Chargers to an 8-4 record, and they’re currently the 5-seed in the AFC, but things could get ugly for LA if Herbert isn’t healthy or is playing poorly because of his injury.

This is already a tough game. I know the Eagles have a ton of flaws, but they’re still 8-4 and one of the best teams in the NFC. It’s going to be an extremely tough game, but when you look at LA’s remaining schedule, this feels like a must-win game for the Chargers, who still have to play the Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans and Broncos. And with two other teams sitting at 8-4 and one at 7-5, there is very little room for error for LA.

So, Monday’s game against the Eagles will tell us a lot about how the rest of their season will go. If Herbert comes out and looks good despite his injury, they’ll still have a good shot at securing a playoff spot. However, if he comes out shaky and it looks like his hand is affecting his play, they could quickly find themselves outside of the playoff picture.

Herbert’s health is going to be very important for LA as they make their final playoff push, and MNF will tell us a lot.

Seahawks at Falcons

Can Sam Darnold get back on track?

Sam Darnold has not been playing well these past three weeks. Over that span, he has thrown for 651 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Considering how he was playing before this three-game stretch, Darnold is in a massive slump right now, and Seattle desperately needs him to break out of it.

Luckily, Darnold has a great chance to do just that this weekend. While Atlanta’s defense only allows 188 passing yards per game, Tyrod Taylor and Bryce Young have both played well against them recently, so there’s no reason to believe Darnold can’t take advantage of this matchup as well.

With the playoffs right around the corner, Darnold needs to get some confidence back. Last year, when he was with Minnesota, he folded in the postseason and the 14-3 Vikings lost in the Wild Card round. If Darnold wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again, he needs to find his form and start believing he can get back to playing like he was early in the year.

Commanders at Vikings

Can J.J. McCarthy get anything going?

J.J. McCarthy didn’t look half bad in his first three starts. There were some mistakes, but he also showed there was stuff the Minnesota staff could work with. However, these past three weeks have been a disaster for McCarthy, and now it feels like Minnesota’s going to have to be in the QB market this offseason.

Over his last three starts, McCarthy has thrown for 485 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions. He has looked like the worst quarterback in the league, and Vikings fans were relieved when he missed last week’s game, just for their backup to throw four interceptions. The Vikings, who were once 4-4, are now 4-8 and basically eliminated from playoff contention.

With their focus on 2026, my question is, will McCarthy be able to do anything to prove he should be the starter next year? Washington’s defense is one of the easiest they’ll face for the rest of the season, so if there’s any time for McCarthy to prove he’s got something in him, it’s this week.

Based on what we’ve seen from “Nine” recently, I don’t think he’s going to be able to do much of anything this week, but hey, you never know.

Dolphins at Jets

Can the Dolphins keep it up?

The Miami Dolphins are on a run of great form right now. After a 1-6 start, they’ve won four of their last five to improve to 5-7 and keep Mike McDaniel’s seat from catching on fire. Granted, outside of Buffalo, the best team they’ve beaten in that stretch is the 4-8 Falcons, but still, I didn’t see this coming.

This week, the Dolphins have another great opportunity to get a win. They play the Jets on Sunday afternoon, and while New York is also playing better now than at the start of the season, I don’t think they’re as good as Miami.

So, will we see the Dolphins pick up their fifth win in the last six games and move to 6-7? Or will their streak finally come to an end before playing four tough matchups to end the year?

Saints at Buccaneers

Can the Buccaneers maintain their one-game lead in the NFC South?

It’s crazy to think that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could lose their one-game lead NFC South lead this week. After their hot start, they looked like the sure-fire favorites to win the South, but after a few losses, the Carolina Panthers are right back in this race.

The Panthers, who are 7-6, are on a bye this week. The Buccaneers, who are 7-5, play the Saints this week. If the Bucs were to lose, they would fall to 7-6, but would maintain the lead of the South. However, their one-game buffer would go away, and these two teams have yet to meet, so there will be two chances for Carolina to snatch the lead away from them.

I still believe the Buccaneers are the better team, but Carolina just keeps finding ways to win, and Tampa hasn’t looked all that great recently. The Panthers will be the Saints’ biggest fans this weekend, because a loss for Tampa would make the NFC South WAY more interesting.

Broncos at Raiders

Will Denver take control of the AFC?

With a win on Sunday, the Denver Broncos will seize control of the AFC from the New England Patriots. They’d both be 11-2, but because of tiebreakers, the Broncos would control their own destiny for the 1-seed in the AFC.

All that stands between the Broncos and the 1-seed is the Raiders. While the Raiders are 2-10, they just played the Broncos close a few weeks ago, losing 10-7. Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense looked lost in that game, so if the Raiders can replicate that performance, they’ll give Denver a very hard time.

The Broncos should be able to take the lead in the AFC, but we’ve seen weirder things happen. Denver has to host Green Bay the following week, so if they’re caught looking ahead to that game, they could trip over their own feet and find themselves a game behind New England heading into Week 15.

Rams at Cardinals

How does Matthew Stafford bounce back from his first bad game in months?

Matthew Stafford was in MVP form up until last week. He’d gone eight games where he threw 25 touchdowns without tossing a single interception before he threw two against Carolina, which ultimately cost them the game. The Los Angeles Rams fell to 9-3, and if it weren’t for a couple of costly mistakes, they’d be 10-2 and completely in control of the NFC right now.

There is no doubt in my mind that Stafford will bounce back and have a great game this weekend against the Cardinals, but if he doesn’t, maybe it’s time to be concerned about LA. Again, I think he and the Rams will be totally fine – for my money, they’re the best team in the NFL – but another bad performance could be a bit concerning.