Vikings’ Sam Darnold on fire, while Cardinals’ Kyler Murray continues cold snap

Eric Williams

NFL Reporter

Doink.

The Kansas City Chiefs still own the AFC West, winning the division for a ninth consecutive time. This year they clinched on a 31-yard field goal by Matthew Wright that ricocheted off the left upright and through the goal posts.

“The bank’s open on Sunday,” joked Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce when asked what he was thinking while watching Wright make the kick.

The Chiefs have had a league-record three different kickers convert field goals to win games for them this season, with Wright joining Harrison Butker and Spencer Shrader.

The Seattle Seahawks took control of the NFC West by throttling the Arizona Cardinals on the road. The Seahawks now face back-to-back NFC North opponents at home in the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, both measuring stick games that will determine how Seattle potentially fares in the postseason.

The Los Angeles Rams held on to defeat the Buffalo Bills in one of the most entertaining games of the season. The two teams combined for 86 points and 902 yards at SoFi Stadium. The loss dropped Buffalo two games behind the Chiefs in the race for the AFC top spot, while the Rams showed they could be a dangerous team if they somehow sneak into the playoffs.

Stick a fork in the New York Jets, as they fail to reach the postseason for a 14th straight year, the longest drought in the NFL. Another also-ran, the Chicago Bears, looked lethargic under interim head coach Thomas Brown in a lopsided road loss to the San Francisco 49ers, who finally looked like the dominant team most NFL observers expected at the start of the season.

Another week in the NFL did not disappoint, so let’s take a closer look at who’s hot and who’s cold from Week 14.

WHO’S HOT

Sam Darnold, QB, Vikings

After scuffling a bit during the middle of the season, the USC product has heated up down the stretch. Darnold completed 78.6% of his passes for 347 yards and five touchdowns, posting a 157.9 passer rating in Minnesota’s decisive win over the Atlanta Falcons, as Kirk Cousins bombed against his former team.

Darnold showed the Vikings that they are fine without Cousins, who has thrown eight interceptions and no touchdowns during Atlanta’s four-game slide. Meanwhile, since Darnold’s three-interception performance against Jacksonville in Week 10, he has thrown 11 touchdown passes and no picks over his past four games.

Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seahawks

Starting running back Kenneth Walker missed Sunday’s game with ankle and calf injuries, the third game he has missed this season due to injury.

But Charbonnet more than picked up the slack, finishing with a career-high 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns in Seattle’s important win over Arizona. According to Next Gen Stats, Charbonnet forced nine missed tackles and generated 108 rushing yards after contact.

Did Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb find his new RB1?

Josh Allen, QB, Bills

Buffalo lost for the first time in eight games, but it wasn’t on the quarterback. Allen threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, along with running for a team-high 82 yards and three scores. Allen became the first player in league history with three rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns in the same game.

His masterful performance keeps him as the front-runner in the MVP race with four games left.

George Kittle, TE, 49ers

San Francisco’s veteran tight end stepped up to give his team some juice in a runaway win over the Bears. Kittle finished with six catches for a season-high 151 receiving yards.

With his effort, Kittle became the third tight end in league history with at least 500 career receptions and 7,000 career receiving yards in his first eight NFL seasons, joining Antonio Gates and Kelce.

San Francisco kept things in the NFC West interesting, with the 49ers improving to 6-7 and hosting the 7-6 Rams on Thursday.

Saquon Barkley, RB, Eagles

The Penn State product continues his memorable first season in Philadelphia, running for 124 rushing yards on Sunday and breaking LeSean McCoy’s single-season franchise rushing record. Philadelphia clinched a playoff spot with its victory over the feisty Carolina Panthers.

With four games left, Barkley has 1,623 rushing yards, eclipsing McCoy’s mark of 1,607 yards, set in 2013. Barkley also broke Wilbert Montgomery’s record for most 100-yard games in a single season with nine.

Barkley remains within striking distance of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record (2,105 rushing yards) and in the mix for MVP.

WHO’S COLD

Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals

Losers of three straight since their bye week, the Cardinals are scuffling and the team’s franchise quarterback is at the center of the struggles offensively. Murray has five interceptions and just three touchdowns over his past three games.

He threw two picks in the first half in a loss to Seattle on Sunday, leading to 14 points for the Seahawks. The Cardinals dropped two games behind Seattle in the NFC West. If 6-7 Arizona is to have any chance of rallying, head coach Jonathan Gannon must figure out how to get Murray to play more consistently and with more confidence.

Brian Daboll, Head Coach, Giants

The Giants have lost eight straight games and appear headed for a total rebuild this offseason. That could mean moving on from Daboll, who’s been unable to get things turned around this season.

Daboll was asked after his team’s latest loss — a 14-11 setback to the New Orleans Saints — about a plane flying over MetLife Stadium before the game with a sign that read: “Mr. Mara Enough. … PLZ Fix This Dumpster Fire.”

Jeff Ulbrich, Interim Coach, Jets

We can’t focus on one cratering New York team without addressing the other. With a loss on the road to the Miami Dolphins, the Jets were one of seven teams officially eliminated from the playoffs over the weekend.

Aaron Rodgers has been a disappointment in New York and appears on his way out. Owner Woody Johnson firing Robert Saleh midseason and replacing him with Ulbrich has not worked, with New York winning just one game since that move. Next.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

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