Does Mike Tomlin deserve Coach of the Year honors and what will we learn in Week 14?

viking: With his old quarterback returning with a new team, Sam Darnold had a near-perfect game Sunday. He finished 22-for-28 for 347 yards and five touchdowns. Minnesota invested heavily in JJ McCarthy, so Darnold would likely be a surprise for the Vikings for a year, but it’s hard to imagine him doing more to help his stock and re-establish himself as an NFL starter. He has up to 28 touchdown passes on the season. These are numbers you can expect more from Kirk Cousins, and he quickly moves up the ranks of the biggest free agents of 2025. And with another win against stiff competition, the Vikings continue to put the pressure on the Lions ahead of their rematch in Detroit in Week 18. — Greg Auman

giants: It’s hard to put into words how bad this team has been, but some fans at least tried. Someone rented a plane and flew over MetLife Stadium before the game with a banner that read “MR. MARA ENOUGH – PLZ FIX THIS DUMPSTER FIRE.” It didn’t help. The few fans who did bother to show up witnessed a nearly lifeless effort with an offense that produced just 325 yards and 11 scores. The Giants actually showed some energy in the fourth quarter and got within 35-yard tying field goal range with 11 seconds left. But of course Graham Gano’s kick was blocked. That’s how this season has gone for this team, which has now lost eight straight and is 0-7 at home. All that’s left for the Giants is competing for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. — Ralph Vacchiano

eagles: The Eagles’ identity is that of an all-out team, and they are very adept at destroying opposing defenses on the ground. But they might be taking it a little too far. Even though they had 211 rushing yards on Sunday and Saquon Barkley set a single-season franchise record, the Eagles kept the Panthers in most of the game because their passing game was non-existent. Jalen Hurts completed 14 of 21 passes and threw for two touchdowns, but passed for only 108 yards. That’s a ridiculous total for a guy with explosive receivers like AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. It was Hurts’ third straight game in which he passed for fewer than 200 yards, and he hadn’t topped 250 yards since Oct. 13. The run game is what has carried the Eagles this far and gotten them through the playoffs. But they’ll need a little more help from Hurts and a passing attack to beat better teams. — Ralph Vacchiano

Offloading Rodgers won’t be easy, but it has to happen this season if the Jets want to avoid an escalation that would see Rodgers hit the 2026 cap hit at a reported $63 million. The dead cap hit for releasing him this offseason would be $49 million, but they can stretch that out over two years, according to ESPN. That’s probably the only play if they don’t want to keep Rodgers and all the baggage that comes with him. For now, Rodgers and the Jets could fade into obscurity as the rest of the AFC playoff field is formed.

dolphin: There is still a chance. The Dolphins don’t control their own destiny when it comes to their playoff hopes. The Dolphins will have to hope for a wild card spot since the Buffalo Bills have shut out the AFC East. They need to get a win and get help from other teams in the AFC. It didn’t look particularly good at home against New York, but quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found Tyreek Hill and then Jaylen Waddle for the tying touchdown. The two teams traded field goals to officially force overtime, and after going head-scratchingly untargeted throughout the game, tight end Jonnu Smith came up with back-to-back catches to help move Miami down the field. The Dolphins put us all out of our misery by scoring a touchdown on their first possession of overtime, but the stress wasn’t over for Miami fans. While the team’s playmakers have come up big when needed, Tagovailoa doesn’t seem to be entirely on the same page as his receivers. Hill and others had mistakes that didn’t hold up through the stretch. — Carmen Vitali

steelers: Continuing the topic of coaches: Mike Tomlin wins Coach of the Year award. Russell Wilson entered this game with the highest yards per game of his career, which is unfathomable considering how bad he was in Denver. He looked like he made a few plays after coming out of retirement last season. Not only did Tomlin help Wilson’s return (with help from OC Arthur Smith), Tomlin chose Wilson over Justin Fields, who played better than he did. Tomlin has never had a losing season and has never won a COY award. There are cases for several coaches, but this is the year you can give it to Tomlin, who has expertly managed adversity, coached the roster’s weaknesses and highlighted its best players. — Henry McKenna

bucks: After a super start with a 14-0 run after 11 minutes, Baker Mayfield had three turnovers in the first half and couldn’t avoid the mistakes that limited his NFL success. Tampa Bay’s depleted defense, down 11 players due to injuries, managed to hold the Raiders to 13 points. Credit to rookie Tykee Smith for getting a huge interception on the first drive of the second half after Las Vegas went 16 and lost with 10 minutes left in the game. The Bucs haven’t had an interception since Week 6 and needed one to survive a tough offense against a bad Raiders team. What is the final result? The Bucs are in first place in the NFC South with four weeks left to play. — Greg Auman

titans: For a Titans team with so many problems, situational football may be their Achilles heel. Tennessee went 0-for-2 in the red zone and 0-for-3 on fourth downs, including from the 2-yard line. The team converted 50 percent of its third downs, but the Titans’ key failure to convert was serious. Down 10-6, on Tennessee’s last second drive, Calvin Ridley had a reception on third-and-5 with plenty of green in front of him, but after gaining only 2 yards, he went out of bounds without knowing where his marker was. It was. This is a game the Titans should have won. Lack of execution at key points was the reason they lost. That was the story of their season, once again pointing to coaching issues. — ben arthur