What we learned, didn't learn Week 14...

[purplefaithful]

Objects in the Vikings' mirror are closer than they appearMinnesota is still in great shape, obviously, holding a three-game division lead with three to play. But the loss to Carolina kept alive the hopes of both teams that trail the Vikings. The 7-6 Lions have the Bears and Bengals the next two weeks before finishing with the Packers.
And the 7-6 Packers? Maaaannn ... Brett Hundley brought them back against the Browns and might well be able to hand the keys to no less significant a December pickup than Aaron Rodgers this week. Even with Rodgers back, it's not going to be easy for Green Bay. The Packers are in Carolina this week, then home against the Vikings before finishing up in Detroit. The three teams left on Green Bay's schedule have a combined record of 26-13, and it appears they'll need to win all three to extend their playoff streak to nine seasons.
Again, the Vikings are still in very good shape. But you know they won't be comfortable until that little "x-" is in front of them on the standings page. Rodgers has that effect.


http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21743...nfl-season

[Guest]

The Eagles could be the 1999 Rams ... or the 2016 RaidersIs Nick Foles Kurt Warner or Connor Cook? Is it crazier to imagine the Eagles winning the Super Bowl with their backup quarterback, as those Rams did after Trent Green got hurt in the preseason, or flaming out early in the playoffs, as last year's Raiders did after Derek Carr got hurt at the end of the regular season?
Timing-wise, Carson Wentz's injury is more similar to Carr's than it is to Green's, but Foles has enough experience as an NFL starter and in Doug Pederson's system to offer at least some hope that he can pull a Warner -- or, if not, at least a Jeff Hostetler.
Wentz's injury is the latest gut punch in a season that has seen way too many fun stars suffer season-enders. But Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich have shown enough to make you think they can scheme ways to put Foles in the best possible position to succeed. They have enough pass rush to control games on defense and enough running backs to control it when they have the ball. The question is whether Foles can extend drives with third-down plays the way Wentz did, and the answer is probably no, which lumps the Eagles in with the other favorites instead of making them the clear one.

[Guest]

The Seahawks need to be at home to have a chanceIt's a big game this week in Seattle between the Seahawks and the Rams. A Seattle win creates a tie atop the NFC West, and the Seahawks would hold the tiebreaker by virtue of having beaten the Rams twice. They'd still have to finish it off, and they have a potentially tough one in Dallas in Week 16 before finishing at home against Arizona, but a loss would sink Seattle two games behind the Rams with two to play and basically require the Seahawks to play on the road as a wild-card team if they made it to the postseason.
The Falcons still intend to be heardThat was a statement victory over the Saints on Thursday night for a Falcons team that keeps reminding us that it finished last season on a 7-2 run. The question is whether it's too little too late. In spite of having won four of its past five, Atlanta still sits in third place in the very tough NFC South. Losing in New Orleans in Week 16 and/or at home to Carolina in Week 17 would probably kill the Falcons' chances of repeating as division champs. But winning in New Orleans in Week 16 -- especially if the Falcons take care of business against the Bucs this week -- would make things extremely interesting.
Still no idea what to make of the PanthersFive of Carolina's nine wins and three of its four losses have come against teams that have winning records. Its only bad loss was in Chicago. On Sunday, the Panthers beat a Vikings team that hadn't lost since Oct. 1.