32 things we learned from Week 14 of 2022 NFL season: Tom Brady outclassed by 49ers, rookie QB
the first team this season to clinch a playoff berth – demolishing the NFC East rival New York Giants 48-22 – and has two more wins than any other club. The Eagles are going to be awfully hard to reel in, and the Dallas Cowboys (10-3) may have the only realistic shot of doing so.
2. One reason for Philadelphia’s dominance is its breadth of weapons. The Eagles are going to the playoffs for the fifth time in the past nine seasons, but this year is the first in that stretch when they’ll have either a 1,000-yard rusher (Miles Sanders) or a 1,000-yard wide receiver (A.J. Brown). But QB Jalen Hurts’ options go much deeper given his own dual threat ability plus the presence of WR DeVonta Smith and expected return of TE Dallas Goedert – to say nothing of what’s probably the league’s best offensive line. No way to look at Philly as anything less than the NFC’s Super Bowl 57 favorite at this point in time.
2a. Sunday, Hurts became the first quarterback to rush for double-digit TDs in consecutive seasons – yet another bullet point on his growing MVP résumé.
2b. Sanders also rushed for his 10th touchdown of 2022, the first Philadelphia RB to hit double digits in 11 years (LeSean McCoy).
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3. And let’s not discount the defense of the NFC frontrunners. The Eagles D ranked second overall in the league entering Week 14 before hanging seven sacks on the Giants, who got a late cosmetic TD after pulling their starters.
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4. In the other conference, the Kansas City Chiefs just about locked down their seventh straight AFC West championship – and a loss by the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night would seal the deal. Whenever it’s official, in terms of league history, the Chiefs’ divisional reign will trail only the New England Patriots’ 11-year dominance (2009-19) of the AFC East.
knocked out in the fourth quarter after getting driven headfirst into the turf at the end of a 14-yard scramble that appeared to leave him dazed.
9. Wilson’s day was ruined by an unfortunate injury. Tom Brady’s homecoming to Northern California was ruined by the San Francisco 49ers almost from the opening snap. The Niners pillaged the NFC South-leading Bucs 35-7, leaving them with a precarious one-game lead over the Carolina Panthers and idle Atlanta Falcons. Brady threw a pair of INTs … and, dare we say it, occasionally looked like a player who should consider not playing in 2023.
10. Sunday’s loss to Niners rookie Brock Purdy was TB12’s first to an opposing quarterback making his first NFL start. Brady had been 6-0 in such instances entering the game.
10a. The defeat was also Brady’s first to a top-ranked defense after victories in his first seven matchups.
11. And while Brady’s emotional histrionics continued, he did sign the footballs intercepted by Niners LB Dre Greenlaw and S Tashaun Gipson after the game. “He’s a good guy to sign that ball after he threw those picks,” said Greenlaw. ” greatest. He’s the GOAT. I appreciate that.”
All-Pro playmaker Deebo Samuel in tears on a medical cart, it appears San Francisco avoided a second catastrophic injury in two weeks – coach Kyle Shanahan indicating after the game that Samuel likely has a high ankle sprain.
14. The Minnesota Vikings (10-3) failed to join Philadelphia in the NFC playoff field – for now – and missed a chance to sew up the NFC North by losing to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The Vikes will almost certainly claim the divisional throne, but their Week 2 loss to the Eagles effectively puts them three games behind them in the race for home-field advantage and the first-round postseason bye.
they rose from eighth to sixth place – good for the second wild card – in the NFC standings courtesy of the losses by the Giants and Seahawks.
29. With 10 points Sunday, Baltimore Ravens K Justin Tucker became the franchise’s all-time leader with 1,473, surpassing another great Ravens kicker, Matt Stover.
30. Maybe we’ve been giving Hall of Famer John Elway too much credit all these years. Both the Cowboys and Baker Mayfield’s Los Angeles Rams mounted 98-yard fourth-quarter drives to lead their teams to come-from-behind victories in Week 14.
30a. But maybe not. According to the NFL, this was the first time in the last 45 seasons with multiple game-winning touchdown drives of at least 95 yards with the game-winning score coming with under two minutes remaining in regulation.
30b. And in Mayfield’s case, it also helped to play the Las Vegas Raiders – who squandered a lead of at least 13 points for the fourth time this year, tying an NFL record for most in one season.
31. Per NFL Research, Mayfield’s two-day stint with the Rams was the shortest for a new starting quarterback in at least 27 years.
31a. Also worth noting that QB John Wolford was credited with the win for LA … because he merely took the first three offensive snaps (and didn’t throw a pass) before giving way to Mayfield on Thursday night.
32. Week 14 marks the conclusion of bye weeks, a half-dozen teams (Atlanta, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Washington) on the couch Sunday.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.