NFL - Week Fourteen Review

There were some last second thrillers along with surprises around the NFL this past weekend.

Chargers' QB Philip Rivers and WR Danario Alexander celebrate TD.

Perhaps the biggest surprise came in Pittsburgh, where the San Diego Chargers shocked the Steelers, 34-24 behind opportunistic defense and three touchdown passes from quarterback Philip Rivers.
The Steelers had quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back for the first time in four weeks, but it wasn't enough as the Chargers bolted out to a 27-3 lead early in the second half thanks to a defensive score on a fumble recovery in the end zone by DB Quentin Jammer and cruised from there. The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 7-6 in the AFC North.
The Dallas Cowboys got a 40-yard field goal from kicker Dan Bailey at the buzzer to edge host Cincinnati, 20-19 to improve to 7-6 and keep pace with the resurgent Washington Redskins in the NFC "wild card" race.
The Redskins stormed back in  the final seconds to sneak past the visiting Baltimore Ravens, 31-28 in overtime.
Reserve QB Kirk Cousins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon and then ran in for the two-point conversion to force the OT session. Kicker Kai Forbath nailed a 34-yard field goal to win it.
The Ravens (9-4) had a 28-20 lead, but starting QB Robert Griffin III led the 'Skins on a drive down field in the closing minutes before being forced to the bench with a knee injury. That's where Cousins stepped in and finished the drive to propel Washington to a fourth straight win and 7-6 record in the NFC East.
The New York Giants kept their hold on first place at 8-5 in the NFC East with a 52-27 thumping of the visiting New Orleans Saints, who dropped their third straight game.
Giants QB Eli Manning had four TD passes and David Wilson rushed for two scores to go with 100 yards on the ground and also took a kickoff back 97 yards for a third touchdown.
The Minnesota Vikings beat the visiting Chicago Bears, 21-14 behind a big game from running back Adrian Peterson, who ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns to go with a defensive score by the Vikings (7-6) that made the difference. The Bears lost for the fourth time in five games and slipped to 8-5 in the NFC North, one game behind the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers came from behind to top the visiting Detroit Lions, 27-20 in the Sunday Night Football game.
Detroit went ahead 14-0 in the second quarter when QB Matthew Stafford connected with tight end Tony Scheffler for a touchdown pass. But then Green Bay got a huge break when defensive lineman Mike Daniels rumbled 43 yards with a fumble recovery for a touchdown to make it 14-10 in favor of Detroit.
The Packers won for then eighth time in nine games and now are alone in first place (9-4) in the NFC North with big game at Chicago next Sunday.
The "cardiac kids" known as the Indianapolis Colts, did it again  in come from behind fashion with a 27-23 home win over the Tennessee Titans as kicker Adam Vinatieri made two field goals in the final minute of play to provide the outcome for the Colts, who improved to 9-4 in the AFC South and secured a two-game edge over both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in the AFC "wild card " race. Indy trailed 20-7 at halftime before mounting their sixth comeback win this season.
The St. Louis Rams rallied late with a 13-yard touchdown pass from QB Sam Bradford to WR Brandon Gibson with just 48 seconds remaining to edge the host Buffalo Bills, 15-12 and improve to 6-6-1 in the NFC West.

The Seattle Seahawks cruised 58-0 over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Seattle Seahawks (8-5) DESTROYED the visiting Arizona Cardinals, losers of nine consecutive games, 58-0 in the Great Northwest.
Running back Marshawn Lynch ran for 111 yards and scored three touchdowns while the tenacious Seattle defense forced EIGHT turnovers in the easy win.
The New York Jets (6-7) kept very slim playoff hopes alive with a 17-10 yawner win over the host Jacksonville Jaguars behind rushing touchdowns from Shonn Greene and Bilal Powell.
Philadelphia snapped an eight game losing streak and dealt the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers' playoff chances a serious blow with a 23-21 win as QB Nick Foles hit WR Jeremy Maclin on a one-yard scoring pass on the game's final play. The Bucs (6-7) blew a 21-10 fourth quarter lead with their third consecutive loss.
The San Francisco 49ers beat the visiting Miami Dolphins, 27-13 as the defense limited the Dolphins to just 227 yards of offense and the offense scored three rushing touchdowns, including a 50-yard jaunt by QB Colin Kaepernick to put the game out of reach.
The Carolina Panthers surprised the visiting Atlanta Falcons, 30-20 as QB Cam Newton  threw for two scores and also had a 72-yard touchdown run to pace the win. The Falcons (11-2) fell behind 23-0 before mounting a rally with two scoring passes from QB Matt Ryan. But Newton's second TD pass, a 53-yard hook up with running back DeAngelo Williams, put the game out of reach for good with 4:11 remaining,
The host Cleveland Browns (5-8) blew out hapless Kansas City, 30-7 behind a 93-yard punt return for touchdown by Travis Benjamin and two rushing touchdowns by RB Trent Richardson. Jamaal Charles (165 yards rushing) scored the Chiefs' only touchdown on an 80-yard sprint on the first play from scrimmage.

The Denver Broncos outlasted the host Oakland Raiders last Thursday night, 26-13 to improve to 10-3 with their eighth straight win. Quarterback Peyton Manning had a TD pass to go with 310 yards and RB Knowshon Moreno ran for 119 yards and a touchdown. Broncos' kicker Matt Prater made four field goals as well.
The New England Patriots (10-3) served notice to the visiting Houston Texans (11-2) that they are the team to beat in the AFC with a 42-14 thumping in the Monday Night Football game.
Patriots QB Tom Brady (pictured right), the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week, threw for 296 yards and had four touchdown passes, including two to tight end Aaron Hernandez in the first half as the Pats built a 21-0 advantage.