Week 14 Recap: Death, Taxes, and Aaron Rodgers Owning the Bears

In a world where uncertainties are increasing by the bulk, it is refreshing that one thing remains true and constant: Aaron Rodgers owns the Chicago Bears. Week 14's Sunday Night Football matchup featured the Green Bay Packers hosting the Bears--the first meeting since Rodgers stated the obvious to Bears fans back in October. It was a bit of a shaky start for the Packers; special teams was a total mess for the Green and Gold, though Rodgers delivered two first half TDs, and Rasul Douglas picked up another Pick 6 interception (his second in as many games).

The Packers trailed 10-0, then 24-14, and finally 27-21 at halftime. The 2nd half was all Packers; Rodgers continued connecting, the defense continued to do more things, and whatever special teams issues they had in the first half were completely gone. As a result, the Packers ended up winning, 45-30, over the Bears; one of the more high-scoring affairs in this rivalry. Rodgers improves to 23-5 against the Bears, who are literally counting down the days until their head coach, Matt Nagy, gets fired.

This past Thursday, the NFL world and NFL fans were shocked with the tragic news that wide receiver Demaryius Thomas suddenly passed away at the young age of 33. Thomas played in the NFL for ten seasons (2010-2019), with nearly all of them being with the Denver Broncos. I was shocked by the news; I watched his entire career, and when I heard about Thomas' passing, one thing came to mind:

January 8, 2012. The AFC Wild Card Playoff between the Denver Broncos and the then-defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The game went to overtime tied at 23--the first game to reach OT under the modified rules for overtime (which were only for playoff games until the following season). Tim Tebow was the QB, and after a touchback, Tebow threw a pass to Thomas, and the man known as DT did the rest. One play, eighty yards, touchdown, game over. The Broncos won 29-23 in overtime. I remember that play so vividly, as well as my reaction to it. I was in awe and shock; it was such an amazing moment.

The Broncos honored their beloved #88 in their game against the Detroit Lions, who were coming off their first win of the season. The game actually started with the Broncos lining up with 10 men on offense as a tribute to Thomas, with the play clock running down to zero, resulting in a delay of game penalty that the Lions declined out of respect. As for the game itself, the Broncos won 38-10 over the Lions, but while that game came to an end after just a few hours, Demaryius Thomas remains in the hearts of players and fans, and will do so forever.

That Thursday saw the Minnesota Vikings defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 36-28, though the Vikings actually led 29-0 and nearly blew it. Elsewhere, the Kansas City Chiefs continued their roll with a huge divisional win against the Las Vegas Raiders: 48-9. This was a game that was over at the opening kickoff, and was immensely satisfying for the Chiefs. For one, the last time the Raiders went to Arrowhead, they not only defeated the Chiefs, but they did a victory lap around the stadium. And secondly, the Raiders actually huddled on the KC logo. That fired the Chiefs up. Kansas City has won seven straight since starting 2-4 and being at the bottom of the AFC West.

Mike McCarthy had some hubris of his own in regards to his Cowboys' meeting with the Washington Football Team: he guaranteed victory. Not exactly Joe Namath-esque, but in this case, McCarthy's hubris worked out for him. It was a shaky start for Dak Prescott, but they did pull it out; the Cowboys won, 27-20, over Washington; increasing their stranglehold over the NFC East. This was Washington's first of five straight divisional games to end the regular season, and regarding their rematch against Dallas, that will take place in Arlington as Week 16's Sunday Night Football contest.

Regarding the rest of the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens faced the Cleveland Browns for the second time in three weeks, and it was early in the game that Lamar Jackson left the game due to an ankle sprain. In spite of this, the Ravens made it a game against the Browns, but in the end, Cleveland survived--winning 24-22 and putting a huge dent in Baltimore's division lead. The Ravens' loss opened the door for the Cincinnati Bengals to have a chance to surpass them in the division standings, though their opponents, the San Francisco 49ers, were playing for something as well.

The game ended up going to overtime tied at 20, and Cincy's opening drive resulted in a field goal. However, the Niners' ended their drive with a clutch 12-yard TD pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to Brandon Aiyuk, giving them a 26-23 win over the Bengals. Cincinnati ended up dropping to third place in the division, as Cleveland has a head-to-head tiebreaker over them. As for the Ravens, their first place standing has a glaring omission: they are 1-3 in divisional play--having lost to each of their three foes.

Josh Allen should not have to represent the Buffalo Bills' entire running game. As a Packers fan, I can sympathize; until Aaron Jones entered the picture, Rodgers represented about half of the team's running game. Allen ran for 104 yards and a TD, and at one point, he had all of the team's rushing yards. He is a quarterback. This shouldn't happen. In spite of this, the Bills came back from huge deficit to force overtime against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who ended up winning with Tom Brady's 700th career TD pass.

The Bills' 33-27 overtime loss increased their deficit in the AFC East, as they dropped to two games behind the idle New England Patriots. In addition, the Bills remain a part of the now-larger logjam in the AFC playoff picture, which includes a plethora of 7-6 and 6-7 teams--along with the Steelers at 6-6-1. Even worse, Allen suffered a foot sprain as a result of representing his team's entire running game. The Bills are in a bit of trouble.

Another team in a bit of trouble (but not as harsh as the Bills) is the Arizona Cardinals. After the Packers and Buccaneers' playoff clinching plans fell through, the Cardinals entered their Monday Night contest against the Los Angeles Rams with a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win or even a tie. However, the Cards were off to a shaky start; their first drive ended with a field goal, their second ended with an interception from Kyler Murray very close to the goal line. Despite this, it was 13-all at halftime, but the Rams took over to start the second half. A touchdown bomb from Matthew Stafford to Van Jefferson, followed by Kyler Murray's second interception, and then another Rams touchdown. The Cards were close, but they never caught up.

The Cardinals lost, 30-23, to the Rams--their third loss of the season, and all at home. As a result, not only did the Cards fail to clinch, but they are in the bottom of a three-way tie at 10-3. As for the Rams, they stayed alive in their pursuit of the NFC West, and they needed this win, as a loss would have deemed the divisional race over.

Week 15 kicks off at SoFi Stadium, where the Los Angeles Chargers will face the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. We will see the first bit of Saturday action this season with two more vital AFC games. First off, the Cleveland Browns will host the Las Vegas Raiders, and later, the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts will face each other in a battle between teams who are coming off byes. Sunday Night Football is an NFC South Clash between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints, and it's the NFC North on Monday Night Football: the Chicago Bears hosting the Minnesota Vikings. I mentioned byes, there are no more of those for the rest of the year. We are down to the final four weeks of the season, the period when the races get very intense. It will make for a fantastic month of football.