Final NFL Week 14 Observations ... With Miami Dolphins Angles

Now, that was some wild finish to Week 14, wasn't it?

The Monday night matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns not only was great television, it also was very significant in terms of playoff ramifications.

It was not a good outcome for the Miami Dolphins, who just might end up battling those Ravens for the seventh and final spot in the AFC playoffs.

The Dolphins current hold that seventh spot because of a better conference record, but they also face a much tougher closing schedule with the Patriots, Raiders and Bills compared to Baltimore's finishing trio of Jacksonville, the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The game once again showcased the magic of Lamar Jackson, this time with a crazy twist.

Despite losing, the Browns showed they're a legitimate playoff team, though they likely blew their chance at overtaking the slumping Steelers for the AFC North title.

Here's what else stood out from Week 14:

-- Good to see former Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon making an impact for the Browns. Vernon always has been a solid player, going back to his time in Miami, though injuries often have been an issue.

-- We mentioned the Steelers, and they came up way short in their showdown against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. For those quick to dismiss them as legitimate contenders, that defense remains championship-caliber even after taking some hits lately. This isn't quite the dominant group it was before Devin Bush and particularly Bud Dupree were lost for the season and the Steelers also were without star cornerback Joe Haden (concussion) against the Bills. The offense is a mess, though, between the lack of a running game, a bevy of dropped passes and Ben Roethlisberger suddenly looking very mediocre. Against the Bills, it was the ugly pick-six that Big Ben threw that completely turned that game around.

-- If we're talking about the Steelers game, we have to mention the one play involving 2018 Dolphins first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick, who went softly on Bills receiver Stefon Diggs over the middle after a short completion, only to watch Diggs bounced off him and continue downfield for a long gain. Fitzpatrick has overall had a good year for the Steelers, though not nearly as splashy as what he did after the trade from the Dolphins last year.

-- Other than the Dolphins-Chiefs matchup at Hard Rock Stadium, the fourth game in Week 14 involving two AFC playoff contenders matched the Colts and the Raiders, and it wasn't particularly close. The Colts easily handled the Raiders thanks to the combination of mistake-free football from Philip Rivers, a nice game by T.Y. Hilton and the running of rookie second-round pick Jonathan Taylor, whose performance was painful to watch given the Dolphins' struggles running the ball and their decision not to use any of their five picks in the first two rounds of the 2020 NFL draft on a running back.

-- The Colts (9-4) are tied with Tennessee for first place in the AFC South, but find themselves staring at a wild-card spot because of their Week 1 against Jacksonville, which looks even more stunning now considering the Jaguars haven't won a game since then.

-- The Raiders, meanwhile, are in danger of repeating their nose dive from a year ago. They're 7-6 now after starting 6-3 and just fired defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. They began 6-4 last season before finishing 7-9. The one thing in their favor is that two of their final three games are against the Chargers (4-9) and Broncos (5-8). The other one, of course, is against the Dolphins in the Saturday night game in Week 16. It could turn out to be a huge game.

-- And for those keeping tabs on Raekwon McMillan, he played six snaps on defense for the Raiders against the Colts.

-- Lastly, there was a big shift in both conferences this weekend because the top seed switched in both, from Pittsburgh to Kansas City in the AFC and from New Orleans to Green Bay in the NFC. This is very significant because, remember, there's only one bye per conference this year.

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