15 biggest disappointments of NFL Week 14
Jimmy Graham, TE, Seahawks
Seattle’s touchdown machine suddenly stopped working on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Graham enteredd the game hot, having scored at least one touchdown in four consecutive games and seven of his last eight. Not only did he not score a touchdown on Sunday, but Graham was held without a reception for the first time in three years. Ultimately, Russell Wilson was simply looking elsewhere, and the Jaguars did a good job — not that it’ll be any consolation to him.
Latavius Murray, RB, Vikings
Minnesota’s eight-game win streak was halted by the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and the fact that they were able to bottle up the Viking run game was a big reason why. Murray has been a consistently strong contributor to the Minnesota offense since roughly October, but he didn’t get it going here, with only 14 yards on nine carries. That forced Case Keenum to make plays. The QB couldn’t quite make enough, resulting in Minnesota’s first defeat since Oct. 1.
Greg Olsen, TE, Panthers
Olsen was back in action against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, but didn’t have much to offer. He had one brief moment where he left the game to have his problematic foot checked, but he returned to action. Even so, he was targeted only once and didn’t make any catches. Minnesota limited Carolina’s passing game, but the issue of Olsen and Cam Newton not quite being in sync dates back to his first attempt to return from injury. Hopefully it’s just a rust issue.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals had been playing pretty good ball over the past month. They had beaten the Broncos and Browns, and they were leading the Steelers on Monday Night Football until blowing that game. They had a good opportunity to inch back into contention with a matchup against the Bears at home, and they blew it. The Bengals allowed 33 points to what was one of the league’s least productive offense entering the game. They surrendered 482 yards to a team that entered the game last in the league with 275.8 yards per game. They allowed 232 rushing yards and couldn’t stop Jordan Howard or Tarik Cohen, who both had big games. On offense, Andy Dalton couldn’t get anything going, while A.J. Green did very little. Overall, the injuries from Monday night’s brutal game against Pittsburgh may have caught up to Cincinnati in this one.
Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense
Just like the Bengals, the Steelers may have been feeling the effects of a rough Monday night game. Pittsburgh, previously the No. 4-ranked scoring defense, allowed 38 points to a pretty pathetic Baltimore offense. They couldn’t stop Alex Collins, who rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown. Joe Flacco tied a season high in passing yards. The defense didn’t record a sack in the game despite being second in the league in sacks entering the contest. Luckily their offense was able to outscore Baltimore. They sure look like they already miss Ryan Shazier.
Dontae Johnson, CB, 49ers
DeAndre Hopkins turned in one of the biggest games of the weekend for a wide receiver with 11 catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He can partly thank Dontae Johnson for that. Pro Football Focus graded Johnson out at a lowly 26.8 out of 100. They say he allowed nine catches out of 10 balls to his zone for 140 yards and a touchdown. On top of that, he was called for three penalties. He simply could not hang with Nuk.
New York Giants’ defense
The Giants entered Week 14 allowing the most yards per game in the NFL (390.8), so seeing them give up big plays is somewhat expected. Still, what happened on Sunday was just unforgivable. The Giants’ defense allowed three plays of 50 yards or more to the Dallas Cowboys. Rod Smith had an 81-yard touchdown; Dez Bryant had a 50-yard TD; and Cole Beasley broke a 54-yard play. These plays mostly came on catches and runs where the Giants’ linebackers and secondary just allowed Dallas’ receivers/backs to get behind them. That’s been the story of the season for the Giants’ defense, and it’s an embarrassing one.
Sterling Shepard, WR, Giants
Eli Manning’s return to the starting role didn’t end up doing much for Shepard, who was suffocated by the Dallas defense. He got three targets and caught two of them for a total of 16 yards, his second-worst game of the season and worst output overall in two months. The Cowboys were up for this one, and Shepard was always going to have a rough time, but this was a really disappointing showing — especially when you consider that he and Manning have linked up nicely this year.
