NEWSLETTER
We’re down to the last month of the NFL regular season, and given how things are unfolding, the final four weeks should be a lot of fun. The Bears are one game out of the playoffs while also holding the 5th pick in the NFL Draft. That should tell you how wide-open the NFC is. The Bengals refuse to quit in the AFC despite being down Joe Burrow. It’s going to be a fun run to the finish! Let’s get to the stock check.
NFL Week 14 Stock Check
Stock Up: Cincinnati Bengals
A few weeks ago, it seemed like the Bengals were dead in the water. Joe Burrow was lost for the season and they had just gotten beat by Baltimore on Thursday Night Football. The week following, they lost 16-10 to the Steelers and things seemed to be spiraling. But then on Monday Night Football two weeks ago, the Bengals went into Jacksonville and beat the Jags behind a great performance from backup QB Jake Browning, and followed that up with a dominant win over the Colts. Just like that, Cincinnati is tied for the last playoff spot at 7-6 with two very winnable games in their next two weeks.
A lot of credit has to be given to Zac Taylor. For whatever reason, Taylor seems to get very little credit when the Bengals succeed but a lot of the blame when they fail. With Joe Burrow out and this team not only showing signs of life, but putting up 34 points in back-to-back games Taylor has to get his praise. He’s done an amazing job scheming open the several dangerous weapons Cincinnati has and has made life easy on Jake Browning. Cincinnati might not make the playoffs, but given how bad they were down after the Burrow injury to where they are now, Zac Taylor deserves a round of applause.
Stock Down: Philadelphia Eagles
Is it officially time to worry for the Eagles? I was debating whether Sunday Night Football was more of a “Stock Up” game for Dallas or a “Stock Down” game for Philly. Dallas was outstanding, but they’d been trending that way for a few weeks as well. I think I’m a little more jarred by how lost the Eagles’ defense has looked the last two weeks and by how “boom or bust” the offense has been. Sunday Night marked the third straight game the Eagles had allowed 33+ points. The secondary has been susceptible and the pass rush hasn’t looked quite as dangerous as it did last year.
Offensively, it just feels like Philly can’t find a rhythm. Jalen Hurts doesn’t look totally right, and neither does the offensive line. The Eagles still have an elite WR tandem in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but it kind of feels like their offense is just totally reliant on them to make big plays. There’s still time left in the season, and that team is incredibly talented. I do think they’ll figure it out and be dangerous come playoff time, but they now no longer control their own destiny in terms of NFC home-field advantage, or in the NFC East.
Stock Up: Chicago Bears
I try to keep them out of this post as often as possible simply due to bias, but even to the unbiased eye it’s hard to not be impressed with how the Bears have looked the last few weeks. Defensively, since the Montez Sweat addition, Chicago has been outstanding. Sweat has been great, but the way he’s played has seemingly opened things up for the rest of the defense. Quite literally all the other regular defensive linemen have seen their numbers improve. It’s impossible to not give Matt Eberflus some credit for the dramatic turnaround this defense has made.
Offensively, the Justin Fields debate will rage on for the rest of the season until a decision gets made. But the numbers suggest he’s been improving. The offensive line has been significantly better in front of him. DJ Moore has turned into a legitimate No. 1 receiver in the NFL and Cole Kmet is only getting better at tight end.
As of now, Chicago sits just a game outside of the playoffs in the NFC, but a bunch of teams are in the hunt for that playoff spot. Given how bleak things were after the 0-4 start, things are certainly looking up for the Bears in terms of the building blocks they have on the roster already, and the assets Ryan Poles will have to work with in the offseason.
Stock Down: Green Bay Packers
Just when it seems like the Packers are about to hit their stride and go on a run, they go and fall flat on their face on Monday Night Football against Tommy DeVito and the Giants. After back-to-back wins over the Lions and Chiefs in which Jordan Love looked fantastic, the Packers QB came back down to earth in their 24-22 loss. The Green Bay offense had a hard time getting anything going against the Giants and turned the ball over three times.
What’s even worse for Green Bay was that they had a chance to not only inch even closer to a Lions team that looks much more gettable than we thought atop the NFC North, but they could have put themselves a game clear of the final playoff spot. Now they sit just one game ahead of the Bears and Giants and tied with the Rams, Falcons, Seahawks, and Saints. They still have a light schedule for the next two weeks, but Monday felt like a big missed opportunity for some playoff positioning breathing room.
Stock Up: Joe Flacco
I could have gone with the Browns as a whole, but really they’ve been a solid team and a very good defense all year. But how about Joe Flacco? The 38-year-old quarterback hadn’t caught on with a team this year. Gets a call from Cleveland when they have their quarterback trouble, and then he comes in and throws for 565 yards in two starts with 5 touchdowns and two interceptions. He led the Browns to a massive 31-27 home win over the Jaguars on Sunday that went a long way in terms of getting Cleveland to the playoffs.
The biggest issue for the Browns this season has been consistency at quarterback. While it’s only two games for Flacco, he’s done that thus far. If he can step in, win a few more games, and lead the Browns to the playoffs that would be a really cool story for a guy who looked like he was closer to retiring than starting in the NFL a month ago.
Stock Down: Houston Texans
The Texans have been one of the more fun surprise stories in the NFL this season, but it appears the clock might be about to strike midnight for them. On Sunday they got throttled by the Zach Wilson-led Jets 30-6, and to add injury to insult they lost Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner C.J. Stroud to the concussion protocol. As of this writing, Stroud remains in the concussion protocol and his status is unknown for Sunday’s game at the Titans.
Sunday’s loss also dropped Houston out of a potential playoff spot and into 8th place in the AFC, when a win would have had them in sixth-place in the conference. All hope isn’t lost, however. Who knows, maybe Stroud won’t miss much if any time. They can still make a run and make the playoffs, and quite honestly seven wins this year is already a great accomplishment for first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans and company. Long term, Houston’s stock has skyrocketed this year. That said, for the short term, Sunday’s loss was a big step in the wrong direction.
