The Good, Bad and Ugly, Week 13: Steelers Prevail, But Colts Might Have Lost Their QB

Pittsburgh held off Baltimore to take control of the AFC North. Plus, a fantastic finish by the Bills spelled doom for Joe Burrow and the Bengals.

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 284 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh's win over the Ravens on Sunday. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

For contenders and playoff hopefuls, Week 14 represents the time to make a move. Unfortunately, it was an injury that defined the early games. 

In Jacksonville, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones collapsed to the turf in the second quarter with an apparent Achilles injury and was ruled out quickly thereafter. While the Jaguars won 36–19 to gain control in the AFC South at 9–4, the story is Jones potentially being out for the season. At 8–5, without Jones and losers of four of its past five games, Indianapolis might be headed for a stunning collapse.

Elsewhere, in Buffalo, the Bills rallied to beat the Bengals, 39–34, with Josh Allen leading the way to a win with 329 total yards and four scores. Meanwhile, the leader in the AFC North was determined in Baltimore, with the Ravens and Steelers battling for the first time this season. Pittsburgh won, 27–22, giving it a one-game lead in the division with four games remaining. 

In the late window, the Packers and Bears will clash for first place in the NFC North on the line. Green Bay will be looking to reclaim the top spot from Chicago, which has won five consecutive games entering the day. It’s still a tight three-team race in the division, with the Lions beating the Cowboys on Thursday night to improve to 8–4. 

Finally, the Chiefs will host the Texans in frigid Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night. Kansas City needs to win to keep its playoff hopes alive, while Houston will attempt to win its fifth consecutive game while tightening up the AFC South race. 

But we start in Baltimore, where the Steelers took the lead in the AFC North.

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Bad: Kirk Cousins’s chances of being a starter in 2026

Come the start of the next season, Kirk Cousins will be 38 years old. If he decides to play, it’s increasingly likely he’ll be a backup somewhere. 

Cousins has stepped in for the injured Michael Penix Jr. over the past three weeks, and the results have been disastrous. The Falcons are winless, and Cousins has thrown for three touchdowns and three interceptions while looking immobile as ever, rushing for five total yards. 

It’s almost guaranteed Atlanta is going to release Cousins from his four-year, $180 million deal this offseason. If the Falcons move off him, they’ll save $22.5 million in cap space next year before recouping $45 million in 2027. Cousins might be the most desirable quarterback on the market, with Daniel Jones injuring his Achilles on Sunday. The only other competition is Aaron Rodgers, who is 41 years old and a non-factor with the Steelers. 

Still, any team looking at Cousins after watching his tape thus far has to be thinking of him as a backup, nothing more.

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Colts quarterback Daniel Jones sustained an Achilles injury against the Jaguars on Sunday. / Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ugly: Daniel Jones’s Achilles injury will have long-term ramifications

Jones tried to get off the field. He couldn’t do it, eventually sitting on the soggy Jacksonville turf, taking off his helmet and slamming it multiple times into the ground. 

At that moment, Jones knew what everyone else was about to find out. He had likely torn his right Achilles tendon, putting him out for the season and potentially a good portion of 2026 as he enters unrestricted free agency. Of course, it also sinks the Colts, who started 7–1 and went all-in by trading two first-round picks for corner Sauce Gardner. Without Jones, Indianapolis might not win another game this year, facing the Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars and Texans over the season’s final four weeks. 

Suddenly, the future in Indianapolis is murky at best. What to do with Jones for general manager Chris Ballard, who assuredly believed Jones was the future after trading away the heart of his subsequent two drafts for Gardner? That deal said less about Gardner and more about Indy’s belief in Jones, who now could be shelved for the long haul after throwing for 3,101 yards, with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

In all likelihood, the Colts will place the franchise tag on Jones. If that happens, it’ll be a $46 million cap charge, taking a massive chunk of their free-agent flexibility. 

After so much positivity during the first two months of the season, everything has come crashing down on Indianapolis.

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Good: Mike McDaniel’s job security after a brutal start in Miami

After starting 1–6, punctuated by an absurd 31–6 loss to the Browns in which Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions, it appeared Mike McDaniel could be fired at any moment. 

Instead, owner Stephen Ross moved on from general manager Chris Grier but kept McDaniel. Since then, the Dolphins have rallied. Miami defeated the Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, moving to 6–7 and keeping its faint playoff hopes alive. But more importantly, they’ve shown fight, even without injured receiver Tyreek Hill and trading edge rusher Jaelan Phillips.

Over the next month, the Dolphins have a tough schedule, including the Steelers, Bengals, Buccaneers and Patriots. But even if Miami finishes with seven or eight wins, that might be enough to convince Ross and the next general manager to retain McDaniel and have a serious conversation about Tagovailoa, who entered Sunday tied for the league lead in interceptions with 14. 

Without question, the season remains a lost one in Miami, barring a miracle. But McDaniel has made his case to stay, something unfathomable in October.

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Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels returned to the lineup on Sunday but hurt his elbow in Washington's loss to the Vikings. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Bad: Playing Jayden Daniels despite being a three-win team

Dan Quinn is a good coach, but playing Jayden Daniels is a poor choice.

On Sunday, the Commanders were shut out by the Vikings, losing 31–0 while allowing J.J. McCarthy to throw three touchdowns in a blowout win. In contrast, Daniels made his first start since dislocating his elbow in Week 9 against the Seahawks, and completed 9-of-20 passes for 78 yards and an interception, while rushing for 16 yards on four carries before leaving again after aggravating his elbow. 

Even if Daniels wants to play, Quinn has to be the steward of his career. Daniels had already been injured twice before this season, dealing with hamstring injuries. At 3–10 and losers of eight straight, there’s no need to play Daniels again in 2025, ensuring his health for next season and beyond. 

Marcus Mariota is a fine backup and should play over the final four weeks. And if the Commanders can find a win or two, terrific. If not, they get a tremendous position in the draft. Nobody’s job is on the line in the front office, nor is Quinn’s. And, with the playoffs a pipe dream, rushing Daniels onto the field is a fool’s errand. 

At some point, the smart move is the obvious one: Daniels should be done for the year.

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Saints quarterback Tyler Shough scored on a pair of touchdown runs to help New Orleans beat the Buccaneers on Sunday. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Ugly: Bucs suddenly no cinch to make the playoffs

Remember when the Buccaneers were 3–0, and Baker Mayfield was getting MVP love? Might as well have been a lifetime ago. 

On Sunday, taking the field with a half-game lead on the idle Panthers in the NFC South, Tampa Bay hosted the two-win Saints with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough at the helm. Instead of handling business, the Buccaneers inexplicably lost in the rain, falling 24–20, and are now tied with Carolina atop the division. 

Mayfield struggled mightily, completing just 14-of-30 passes for 122 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while the defense allowed New Orleans to convert 5-of-11 third-down conversions. The unit also let Shough rush for a 34-yard touchdown (one of his two scores) as the Saints pulled a stunning upset. 

Moving forward, the Buccaneers and Panthers will play twice over the final four games, including at Charlotte in Week 16 and then at Tampa Bay to end the regular season. As we sit, the Buccaneers own the divisional tiebreaker based on win percentage in common games, but that can obviously change with two head-to-head tilts coming. 

If Tampa Bay ends up missing the postseason, it’ll be a shocking fall from grace and raise real questions about whether the Buccaneers have peaked in their current form, with aging stars such as Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Lavonte David and others.

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