NFL snap judgements, week 14: Miami Miracle downs Patriots and Amari Cooper heroics help Cowboys sweep Eagles

Occasionally one of those NFL weeks comes along which has it all. Week 14 of the 2018 season was absolutely one of them. We got two overtime games, fourth quarter comebacks galore and one of the most outrageous endings to a game you will ever see in the Patriots' defeat to Miami. I've already watched it about 15 times, and I'm not sure I've even got started.

This week also saw the Saints clinch their division and the Chiefs nail down a spot in the playoffs. That means the league's three most fun teams (the third being the Rams) are all confirmed to be playing in January. And yet they've all looked a little more vulnerable over these past two or three weeks. The race for the Super Bowl is still wide open, and teams like the Cowboys are still very much in the hunt.

Let's get to it then - here's the best of the action from week 14 - only three to go until things really get serious.

Play of the season continues Pats' Miami woes

Last season gave us the Minneapolis Miracle, last night we got the Miami Miracle. You know a play is special when it earns itself a nickname within minutes, and the Dolphins' last-second game-winning touchdown was the moment of the season so far. From his own 31-yard line Ryan Tannehill fired downfield to Kenny Stills, who tossed a lateral to DaVante Parker. Parker then popped another lateral to Kenyan Drake, who dodged his way past five Patriots defenders before turning on the afterburners to rush past Rob Gronkowski - who had been put back at safety to guard a hail mary attempt - and into the end zone. That's 34-33 and the ball game.

That insane play means the Patriots have now lost five of their last six down in Miami, and puts them in genuine danger of missing out on a first-round playoff bye for the first time in a decade. The Dolphins move to 7-6, and are right in the hunt for a wild card spot. This was the most fun Miami have been all season - Kenny Stills went off for 135 yards and a score, Frank Gore had 12 carries for 92 yards and there were even two touchdowns for former Patriot Brandon Bolden, who had been a non-entity all season.

The Patriots lost despite one of Tom Brady's best games of the season and a return to form for Rob Gronkowski (as a tight end, not a safety). Brady completed 27 of 43 for 358 yards and three touchdowns and Gronk caught eight passes for 107 yards and a score. Brady connected with Cordarrelle Patterson on a good-looking 37-yard laser in a first half which saw the teams consistently trade scores, but it's now hard to argue the Dolphins don't have his number.

Bears' win over Rams shows defense is now starting to pay

This is typically the point in the season where defensive teams start rising to the top, and that's exactly what happened in the Bears' 15-6 win on Sunday Night Football. If you like quarterback play don't go back and watch highlights of this one - Jared Goff looked like the absolute worst, rookie version of himself, completing less than 50 per cent of his passes and throwing four picks, a fact only made slightly better by Mitchell Trubisky generating just 110 passing yards for Chicago and throwing three of his own.

It was the first time this season the Rams have failed to find the end zone, and they couldn't muster a single point in the second half despite chasing the game. After last week's stutter against the Lions there is now genuine cause for concern in Los Angeles, who aren't exactly steaming their way into January. For the Bears, despite Trubisky's day, this was a perfect blueprint of how to win important football games. Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen combined for 173 yards on the ground and the four picks - from Kyle Fuller, Prince Amukamara, Eddie Jackson and rookie Roquan Smith - castrated the Rams supposedly elite offense all night.

What was perhaps even more impressive than all the turnovers was how the Chicago defense shut down Todd Gurley in a way no other team has been able to. Gurley finished the night with just 28 rushing yards, at an average of 2.5 per carry, and was a non-factor in the passing game, too. No one's really been talking about the Bears as genuine Super Bowl contenders. It's time we started.

Amari Cooper makes Cowboys genuine contenders

Amari Cooper had another monster game as the Cowboys beat the Eagles 29-23 in overtime to move into a commanding position in the NFC East. Cooper went off for 217 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard score to give Dallas the lead late in the fourth quarter and the game-winning overtime touchdown, which he caught after Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas batted Dak Prescott's pass up in the air.

Since joining the Cowboys for week nine Cooper has more receiving yards than any other player in the league. Dallas are 5-1 in that period after starting the season 3-4, Prescott is passing for 83 more yards per game and has a passer rating of 105.7, up from 87.4 in weeks one to eight. Prescott had the most prolific game of his career on Sunday, completing 42 of his 54 passes for 455 yards and three touchdowns. He also turned the ball over three times on a very hot and cold night. Thankfully for the Cowboys Carson Wentz was a little off too. The numbers looked OK - 22 of 32 for 228 and three scores - but he doesn't look like the same quarterback who lit up the NFL last season.

This was a game which blew up in the fourth quarter - the Cowboys led 9-6 at the end of the third in a defense-first scrap before the offenses decided to take charge. Ezekiel Elliott fell just short of 200 scrimmage yards on yet another massive day - he and Cooper combined with of the league's elite defenses mean the Cowboys can beat anyone on their day, and could be dangerous in the playoffs.

Steelers' inexcusable loss means they might miss the playoffs

The Steelers continued their horrible trend of losing on the road to bad teams by laying a big, rotten egg against the Raiders in Oakland. Ben Roethlisberger missed much of the second half with a rib injury, and his absence probably cost Pittsburgh the game. Josh Dobbs threw a pick to Tahir Whitehead in Big Ben's stead which the Raiders converted into points before the game ended in farce. Chris Boswell had the chance to kick a short game-winning field goal for Pittsburgh, only to slip and see his effort blocked.

The 24-21 defeat leaves the Steelers in a precarious position in the AFC playoff picture. They're 7-5-1 and still have the Patriots, Saints and Bengals still to play. If they can't beat one of New England or New Orleans they'll slide to 8-7-1 on the season, which lets the Ravens back in in the AFC North and probably isn't good enough for a wild card spot either. Surely Mike Tomlin has to be concerned about his job if they miss out?

Pittsburgh really struggled to run the ball without James Conner, and funneled much of their offense through JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had another very lively game. The second-year receiver had 130 yards from eight catches and two touchdowns, one a stunning grab in the back of the end zone where he somehow got the tips of each cleat down before falling out of bounds.

Derek Carr had his second straight impressive showing for Oakland. He completed 25 of 34 for 322 yards and two touchdowns - to Derek Carrier and Lee Smith - but tight end Jared Cook was once again his favourite target, going over 100 yards for the fourth time this season.

Chiefs pushed to the limit by Baltimore

The league's number one defense took the league's number one offense to overtime, but Harrison Butker's field goal meant the Chiefs edged it 27-24 and cliched a playoff berth. Patrick Mahomes didn't have one of his best games, and yet still finished the day with 377 yards and two touchdowns. He also made one play no other quarterback in the NFL outside of Aaron Rodgers could, scrambling to his right under huge pressure before launching a deep ball to Tyreek Hill on the move. Mahomes also had a pick - an ugly pass into the hands of Chuck Clark - but was ultimately the difference between these two teams. He's neck and neck with Drew Brees in the MVP race.

The Ravens gave the Chiefs a really good game, and Lamar Jackson absolutely looked the part lining up opposite Mahomes. He had 147 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 71 from 13 carries. He has a fumble late in the fourth quarter which looked like it would lose the game for Baltomore, but Butker missed the late field goal chance before making amends in overtime.

Pittsburgh's defeat means the Ravens now have an excellent shot at stealing the AFC North and earning a direct route into the playoffs. If they can hang with the Chiefs like this they can do it with anyone. Teams with good defenses and solid run games tend to rise up later in the season, and that's exactly what Baltimore have with Jackson under centre. They're definitely a dark horse in the AFC.

TY Hilton fights through the pain to snap Texans' winning streak

TY Hilton was a game-time decision to even play this week, and yet he still blew up the Texans for 199 yards to snap their nine-game winning streak with a 27-24 victory and keep the Colts' playoff hopes alive. Andrew Luck bounced back from putting up a big fat zero against the Jaguars last week by completing 27 of his 41 passes for 399 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. He threw a beautiful arching pass to Zach Pascal and also typically found Eric Ebron in the end zone - that's the tight end's 12th score of the season, the most of anyone at his position. On the other side of the ball Darius Leonard continued to press his case for Defensive Rookie of the Year honours - he had a sack to go with his 12 tackles on the day.

The Texans have built a lot of their success on running the football this season, but had their ground game totally shut down by the Colts. Lamar Miller had just 33 yards from 14 carries and Alfred Blue managed just 21, but both did find the end zone on short runs. Deshaun Watson's 35 yards actually led the team in rushing, and he also completed 27 of his 38 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown. Houston are 9-4 and still comfortable in the AFC South with a very favourable schedule down the stretch, but probably needed the win here to keep the dream of a first-round bye alive.

Saints survive scare to clinch back-to-back NFC South crowns

The New Orleans Saints have won the NFC South two years straight for the first time in their history. They came alive in the fourth quarter in Tampa Bay after being held to just 11 points in the opening three quarters, running out 28-14 winners. Drew Brees had another fairly quiet game - he completed 24 of 31 for 201 yards, a touchdown and a pick. You may never have heard of Zach Line before today, but the fullback caught Brees' one-yard pass for just the sixth touchdown of his career.

Credit must go to the Buccaneers, who beat the Saints back in week one and looked for a while like pulling off an unlikely clean sweep. Their defense came up big for the second week in a row and tight end Cameron Brate was a massive factor in the end zone. He caught both of Jameis Winston's touchdown passes as the Bucs jumped out to a first half lead. Winston had his first pick in three games in a 213-yard performance, but continued to be a useful asset in the run game. He led Tampa Bay in rushing with five carries for 47 yards.

The Saints' win and the Rams' defeat means New Orleans have taken back control of the number one seed in the NFC. They still have to play the Panthers twice and the Steelers so that race is far from done and dusted, but Sean Payton now knows that crucial home field advantage rests in his own hands.

Chargers keep AFC West dreams alive

The Chargers know they have a shot at the AFC West title if they can take down the Chiefs on Thursday night after grinding out a 26-21 win over the Bengals at the StubHub Center. This game was much closer than anyone thought, but the Chargers never really looked like losing it. They led the whole way after Keenan Allen made a great catch in the end zone to open the scoring in the first quarter. Allen finished the night with 78 yards from five catches and was the focal point of the offense with Melvin Gordon out. Austin Ekeler stepped up in his absence, rushing for 66 yards and a touchdown, but aggravated his neck injury and could end up missing Thursday night's vital clash. Los Angeles will really struggle against the Chiefs if they have to play without both Gordon and Ekeler.

On the Bengals side of the ball Jeff Driskel was solid in his second start, completing 18 of 27 for 170 yards and a touchdown, to a wide open John Ross in the first half. Joe Mixon had one of the best games of his short career, rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown from 26 carries. The Bengals are running the ball more with Driskel under centre and it worked well for them on Sunday night.

Cam Newton shouldn't play again as Panthers' season ends in Cleveland

The Panthers lost their fifth straight game and slipped to 6-7 after starting the season 6-2. They're now all but done in the NFC playoff race, and if they're sensible will sit Cam Newton for the rest of the season. Newton's reaggravated shoulder injury is clearly a big issue, and keeping their star man on the field for these final three games would be a dumb move for a team which needs him 100 per cent if they're to bounce back next year.

The Browns came from behind in the fourth quarter to seal the 26-20 win. Baker Mayfield completed 18 of his 22 passes for 238 yards and a score, and Jarvis Landry had a big day - he had a rushing touchdown to go with a brilliant receiving score and finished the game with 111 yards from scrimmage. The Browns can record their first winning season since 2007 if they win their remaining three games, and still have an outside shot at the playoffs. That's not going to happen, but to even be relevant in mid-December is a massive step up for the Browns. You can finally say with relative security that there are bright days ahead in Cleveland.

For Carolina, they again had opportunities to win the game and again squandered them - the story of these last five weeks. They had big drops in key situations and the defense crumbled when crunch time came around. Ron Rivera is now firmly on the hot seat, which is why Newton will probably be forced back onto the field next week. Back-up Taylor Heinicke is totally unproven in the NFL, and unlikely to save Rivera his job.

Josh Johnson wins starting QB job but Redskins' season is surely done

Mark Sanchez completed just six passes for 38 yards, had two picks and recorded a passer rating of zero before being hooked in favour of Josh Johnson and the Redskins were blown out by the rampant Giants. The G-Men put up 40 unanswered points before Washington managed to put up 16 in garbage time in a statement game which hammers a nail into the coffin of a once-promising season in America's capital. Johnson was a marked improvement on Sanchez, completing 11 of 16 for 195 yards, a touchdown and a pick, and well as picking up a rushing score, but it was far too little, far too late.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, Saquon Barkley was outstanding once again for the Giants. He rushed for 170 yards from 14 carries and ripped off a 78-yard touchdown run in the second quarter on which he went completely untouched. It was also a good day for Eli Manning who's been light years better in the second half of the season. Manning completed 14 of 22 for 197 yards and three scores before giving way to Kyle Lauletta late in the game, and that was without Odell Beckham Jr. on the field - the star wide receiver was a late scratch because of injury.

Both Sterling Shepard and Russell Shepard had touchdown receptions in Beckham's absence. Unfortunately, this doesn't change one of them either needing to change their surname or move to a different franchise. Sorry, I don't make the rules.

Broncos trip up in San Francisco

The 49ers put a huge dent in the Broncos' playoff hopes by jumping out to a 20-0 lead in the first half and holding off the Denver comeback to win it 20-14. This defeat will sting - it drops the Broncos to 6-7 and leaves them behind the Steelers, Ravens and Colts in the race for the final wild card spot in the AFC. Hey, if you can't beat the 49ers then you don't really deserve to be playing in January anyway.

This game was all about George Kittle. He reeled in a miraculous 210 passing yards, all in the first half , including an 85-yard score on which he got wide open and strolled into the end zone untouched. Kittle's performance was a record for a San Francisco receiver and just four yards shy of the biggest receiving game for a tight end in NFL history. It looked inevitable that Kittle would pass Shannon Sharpe's 16-year high of 214 yards but he didn't catch a single pass in the second half.

It didn't impact the result. The Niners' defense was able to limit Phillip Lindsay to just 30 yards from 14 carries, and Case Keenum struggled to get much going in the passing game outside of a few nice shots to Tim Patrick. He was outplayed by Nick Mullens, who had his best game since his first start and finished 20 of 33 for 332 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Elsewhere in the NFL...

• The post-McCarthy era started with a win in Green Bay. The Packers blew out the Falcons 34-20, with 13 of those 20 Atlanta points coming in garbage time. Aaron Rodgers completed 21 of 32 for 196 yards and two scores, Aaron Jones again showed why the starting running back job shouldn't even be a competition, and a Bashaud Breeland pick six helped the 5-7-1 Packers make light work of the now 4-9 Falcons. A lot of people thought this might be the NFC Championship Game back in September - just goes to show how wrong so-called experts can be, eh?

• A fourth quarter comeback gave the Jets their first win since week six as Sam Darnold's return to action inspired a 27-23 win over the Bills in Buffalo. Darnold had one stunning touchdown, a red zone strike to Robby Anderson in which he scrambled all the way to the right touchline and then back to the middle of the field before unleashing a pinpoint pass into the end zone. He finished 16 of 24 for 170 yards, one touchdown and one pick. Elijah McGuire's rushing score late in the fourth quarter sealed the comeback for New York, who put up 14 points in the final period. They won despite another great rushing performance from Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Allen rushed for 101 yards and a score - his second straight game going over 100 - but also threw two interceptions to Jets cornerback Trumaine Johnson.

• The Cardinals reverted to type after last week's upset win over the Packers, falling to a 17-3 defeat at home to the Lions. Neither team was able to generate much offense, but Darius Slay's pick six meant it was a pretty comfortable night for Detroit. Matthew Stafford had just 101 yards passing to Josh Rosen's 240 but neither QB threw a touchdown. The most notable moment of the night was Larry Fitzgerald passing Jerry Rice for the most receptions for a single team in NFL history - he now has 1,286 catches for Arizona. A true legend of the game.