NFL Week 14 storylines to watch: Eagles-Cowboys, Bills-Chiefs and backup QBs galore

It’s Week 14, truly the home stretch of the NFL season. One final quarter of action, and then comes the playoffs.

Intrigue abounds, as it has all season, but especially after last week when elite teams (Eagles and Chiefs) faltered, hot teams (Broncos and Jaguars) cooled and once-promising squads (Steelers, Seahawks, Saints and Browns) sagged. Meanwhile, teams that opened the year with struggles (Packers, Rams, Colts and Falcons) now have some life.

Here are five of the most compelling storylines to follow on Sunday and Monday. (Find the NFL Week 14 schedule here.)

1. Eagles’ response to last week’s loss

Week 13’s anticipated heavyweight bout between last season’s NFC Championship Game contenders ended with the 49ers rolling to a 42-19 victory. The Eagles, who had been regarded as the best team in football, failed to muster their usual potency and resilience and suffered only their second loss of the season. Just an off week? A team physically and mentally depleted after five straight victories, including three straight comebacks? Or, were the Super Bowl runners-up overhyped and no match for a juggernaut like San Francisco?

We’re about to learn the answer to those questions and a good bit more about the Eagles, because they head to Arlington, Texas, to face the Cowboys, who are riding a four-game winning streak of their own. Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts lacked his usual effectiveness against San Francisco, posting a season-low completion percentage (57.8) and also managing just 2.9 yards per carry. Hurts hasn’t suffered back-to-back losses in games he started since October 2021. Will he and his team bounce back, or will familiarity help the Cowboys avenge their 28-23 Week 9 loss to the Eagles?

A Philadelphia loss, and a San Francisco win over Seattle, would move the 49ers into first place in the NFC. An Eagles loss also would create a tie with the Cowboys for first place in the NFC East. (Eagles at Cowboys, 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday.)

2. High-stakes matchup for Bills, Chiefs

At 6-6, with five games left, it’s go time for Buffalo. Viewed during the preseason as Super Bowl contenders, the Bills might not even make the playoffs. They’re 11th in the AFC behind fellow wild-card hopefuls Cleveland, Indianapolis, Houston, Pittsburgh, Denver and Cincinnati and might need a 5-0 finish just to qualify. Ahead of an important game against the Chiefs, the Bills spent the week answering questions about Von Miller’s arrest and Sean McDermott’s 9/11 comments.

Sunday afternoon, they face a desperate Chiefs team that suffered a maddening defeat to the Packers last week and has lost three of its last five games. Kansas City remains head and shoulders above every other team in the AFC West but it’s third in the race for the conference’s top seed, which translates into home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

This matchup is usually a passing battle between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, but Mahomes’ receiving corps remains wildly inconsistent and the Chiefs’ usually potent offense has topped the 30-point mark just three times this season. Allen and Buffalo’s offense also have had their issues. Which defense will succeed at befuddling the opposing quarterback and his supporting cast? That unit will likely wind up winning. The loser will have two straight defeats with time running out. (Bills at Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday.)

3. Backup quarterbacks get their day

This season has been unkind to starting quarterbacks. Three of the seven AFC teams projected to make the playoffs — Jacksonville, Cleveland and Indianapolis — may very well have backups under center Sunday (Trevor Lawrence is expected to be a game-time decision; C.J. Beathard will start for the Jaguars if he can’t go). A fourth, the Steelers, turned to Mitch Trubisky in place of the injured Kenny Pickett on Thursday. Trubisky and the Steelers lost to the lowly Patriots. In the NFC, the Vikings are fighting fiercely to remain in the playoff mix with Josh Dobbs at the helm.

If these teams’ front offices didn’t understand already — and some of them clearly did not — having two starting-caliber quarterbacks on the roster is of utmost importance. It really is a make-or-break decision. Indianapolis got it right by signing Gardner Minshew to back up Anthony Richardson; Minshew has played well enough for the Colts to be in the playoff mix despite Richardson’s season-ending injury in Week 4.

Cleveland was so ill-equipped it had to turn to Joe Flacco, who had not played since wrapping last season with the Jets. Trubisky has proven less than desirable as a starter. Kevin O’Connell impressed with how well he positioned Dobbs for success after he was signed to replace the injured Kirk Cousins. But Dobbs has struggled lately with ball security (five interceptions and four fumbles), and Minnesota has lost two straight. Meanwhile, NFC North rival Green Bay is surging and threatening to overtake them.

For many of these teams, postseason hopes will hinge largely on quarterback depth and play. Blood pressure levels for numerous coaching staffs will be high given their shaky situations at the most important position on the field and the predicaments their teams have gotten themselves into.

4. Risers and fallers

These final five weeks will be interesting because of the parity that reigns supreme in today’s NFL.

The AFC’s four divisional leaders — the Dolphins, Ravens, Chiefs and Jaguars — seemingly are set, though things could change for Jacksonville if Lawrence is sidelined for an extended period. But as many as seven other teams have a shot at the final three playoff slots, and it would surprise no one if at least one of them (perhaps the Texans, Bills and/or Broncos) forced their way into the mix.

The same goes for the NFC: The Eagles or Cowboys will win the NFC East; the NFC South will go to the Falcons or the Saints; the 49ers and Lions should win their divisions. But the Vikings, Packers, Rams and Seahawks all realistically have a shot at postseason berths.

Teams on the rise include the Colts (winners of four straight, with a compelling game against the Bengals on Sunday), the Packers and the Rams (both with three straight wins) and the Falcons (two straight wins).

The Saints, Steelers and Browns all seem to be trending in the wrong direction. The Broncos had won five straight but lost last week to the Texans. Which way will the pendulum swing for them this week?

The Jets are turning back to Wilson after the Tim Boyle era amounted to two dismal losses with just one touchdown pass, three interceptions and two fumbles. First up: Sunday’s duel with anticipated Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans’ talented Texans defense. Yikes.

Wilson had conflicting feelings about reclaiming the starting role, which doesn’t bode well for his prospects for a rebound. On one hand, it’s alarming that as a competitor, the quarterback wouldn’t want another shot at playing. But at the same time, given the awful state of the Jets’ offensive line and Nathaniel Hackett’s inability to design a game plan that will ease pressure on his quarterbacks and mask deficiencies of the unit as a whole, maybe Wilson was right to have reservations.

Either way, he’s back in the saddle now. The bar won’t be very high for Wilson (six touchdown passes, seven interceptions and five fumbles lost) or the offense of a team on a five-game losing streak. This likely is Wilson’s final stand as a Jets quarterback. So he should approach this as an opportunity to muster whatever positives possible in hopes that another team will find his athleticism and other physical gifts intriguing and chalk up some of his deficiencies to the disaster that has surrounded him the last three years. Wilson really has nothing to lose, so his best bet while facing the Texans, Dolphins, Commanders, Browns and Patriots is to let it rip and see if that aggressive mindset helps him land in a more favorable position this offseason. (Texans at Jets, 1 p.m. ET Sunday.)

(Photos of Patrick Mahomes, Sean McDermott, Zach Wilson: Stacy Revere, Bryan M. Bennett, Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)

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