The NFL Roundup Week 14 - What We Learned

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

What a wild and incredible weekend of football. The playoff picture took quite the hit as underdog after underdog toppled the elite, giving license to the age old saying that anything can happen on game day and these incredible games, made for some incredible stories so let's not waste any time today and get right down to taking a closer look at those particular stories and discuss what we learned from Week 14 in the NFL. 

​The Kansas City Chiefs are scary good right now.
Normally at this time of year, the Chiefs are a team on the bubble, fighting for their playoff lives. But in a wild and crazy 2016 season, Kansas City is now sitting atop the AFC West, and they did it by pulling off one incredible feat...they beat the Oakland Raiders and they did it in impressive fashion. After building an early 21 point lead on the Raiders they let the defense do their thing, neutralizing the Oakland offense and the KC offense played mistake free football, chewing up the clock on their way to this incredible upset and well...this team is firing on all cylinders right now, at just the right time and every team that has to face this team needs to bring their A game because the Kansas City Chiefs are clearly ready to do whatever it takes to win.

The Jeff Fisher era has come to an end in Los Angeles...but the Rams still have lingering issues.
Not that long ago, the entire league took a moment and scratched their heads in collective surprise when the Rams signed Jeff Fisher, the master of mediocrity, to a two year contract extension. It simply didn't make any sense to give a coach who was guiding his team to another losing season more money and well...clearly the extension was merely a symbolic gesture because following Los Angeles' blow out loss to the Falcons this weekend, Jeff Fisher was relieved of his coaching duties yesterday afternoon. But while the move makes sense and well...was necessary for certain, it doesn't fix one burning fact; the Los Angeles Rams front office is an absolute mess. Firing a guy after giving him a contract extension he didn't deserve in the first place speaks to loads of dysfunction, and a lack of communication and direction so my hope is that Owner Stan Kroenke cleans house in the offseason and starts over fresh with a group of solid football minds that are all on the same page, otherwise this same kind of mediocrity will persist.

The New York Giants did what they do best on Sunday Night; dismantle an elite team.
For the most part, the Giants are quite the fickle football team. They can take the field and stun their opponent with some lights out play, or take the field and embarrass themselves. But if there's one thing the Giants are consistent at, it's toppling titans. After all, we can't forget that this is the team that spoiled the New England Patriots dream of a perfect 19-0 season in Super Bowl XLII, and they upset New England once again in Super Bowl XLVI and Sunday Night...they went ahead and did it again, snapping the Dallas Cowboys 11 game win streak in impressive fashion. In fact they did what no other team has been able to do this season, they confused Dak Prescott enough that he couldn't find a rhythm and they finally shut down the Cowboys powerhouse run game. It was truly an upset for the ages and kudos to the Giants for their fearless play and for once again proving that no team is invincible.

The Houston Texans finally played like a team and pulled off an important win.
I'll be the first to admit, that I've been extremely hard on the Houston Texans this year and with good reason. They're a team filled with talent, that has yet to realize their potential. Yes, one of the big problems on this team is their quarterback, but the great teams, the ones that are talked about for years to come, are the ones that come together as a team to overcome their deficiencies and find a way to win and with the Playoffs on the line, the Texans did just that. It wasn't a pretty victory by any means, but hey, they got the job done, they played like a team at long last and that's a huge deal, and a stepping stone for the future and here's to hoping we see more unity from this squad in the future.

The Denver Broncos are a team without inspiration right now. 
Denver's loss to Tennessee this weekend has made some serious waves in the Mile High City. In fact my social media feeds were filled to the brim with one constant theme, that Gary Kubiak was to blame for all of the Broncos woes right now and some even called for him to be fired. That's quite the turnaround from the fans seeing as to how this team you know, won a Super Bowl in February but hey...that's how it goes in this town from time to time. But while there are indeed some coaching issues with this team, it's not their biggest problem, their real glaring issue is that this team takes the field every week without an ounce of heart. Last year, during their championship run this team took the field with a chip on their shoulder, they played with inspiration and well...that's just not present this year...and that's rarely something a coach can give life to. It begins and ends with the players and with their season in the balance, maybe it's time for a players only meeting...to find that swagger once again and to finally discover who on this team is a true leader that everyone on this team can look to...

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