RADIO
The NFL seems to have saved its best product for the home stretch - Week 14 provided surprises, shakeups and scintillating individual performances.
With five teams in each conference contending for wild card berths, we can look forward to more high-stakes games in the coming weeks, but for now let's take a look at what mattered most this weekend.
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What just happened?
Le'Veon Bell's monster game lifts Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Bell ran for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns on 38 carries in the Steelers' 27-20 win over the Bills in a Buffalo snowstorm. He also contributed 4 receptions for 62 yards. It's great for the Steelers, as it gives them a one game lead over the rival Ravens. It's great for Le'Veon Bell owners in fantasy football, as he scored 47.8 points in standard and actually dropped a 50-bomb in PPR. It's not so great for people playing against Le'Veon Bell, though, especially if they like sleeping in. You just know there's some poor sap on the West Coast who slept in and woke up at 12:45, checked his lineup, and just gave up on his day. There's no coming back from that.
The Rams scored their sixth touchdown in Los Angeles. So did the Falcons.
After Atlanta's 42-14 victory in the Coliseum, the Falcons and Rams have officially scored the same amount of touchdowns in Los Angeles in 2016. The good news for Rams fans is that it finally resulted in the firing of Jeff Fisher. The bad news for Rams fans is just, like, everything. They don't get their first-round pick in the upcoming draft because they traded it to the Titans, they got the player they traded that pick away for murdered in garbage time, and Todd Gurley the rookie phenom has been replaced by Todd Gurley the guy who gets hit 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage. But hey, at least they have the best special teams in the league!
The Chargers have clearly infuriated some deity.
So far this season, the Chargers have sustained injuries to their best cornerback (Jason Verrett) and their best wide receiver (Keenan Allen, although to be fair everyone knew that would happen). You'd think they would've gotten a pass from the unknowable cosmic forces who control injuries, especially considering the rumors of relocation. You'd think maybe the team and its fans have suffered enough. Apparently, you'd be wrong, as the Chargers lost both rejuvenated running back Melvin Gordon and rookie pass-rushing monster Joey Bosa to injury in their game against the Panthers. At this point, the Chargers should probably find the guy in their organization who pissed off God and fire him right quick.
The Titans beat the Broncos in a defensive slugfest.
Wait, what? Marcus Mariota went 6-of-20 for 88 yards and the Titans won? Honestly, that shouldn't be allowed. There needs to be a guy who says "30% completion rate and no TDs? Might need to veto this one." That's a horrifying statline, and the Broncos lost to that, which also dropped them to 8-5, two games behind the Raiders for second place in the AFC West and leaving them within striking distance of the Dolphins, Ravens and Titans for the second wild card slot. Tony Romo can't get to Denver fast enough, eh?
The Jets somehow beat the 49ers after going down 14-0.
I have a friend who is a Jets and Rams fan. In the process of gloating about Carlos Hyde to my fantasy opponent this week, I brought this up. I literally sent the text "man, it must suck for your teams to be the only 2 wins the Niners get this season." Then, approximately five hours later, I got an opportunity to check the scores and saw that the Jets won in overtime. I don't even know how that happened. I did kinda feel like an asshole, though.
