Most of the quarterbacks in action weren’t necessarily big names, but the stakes in play for the rare Saturday NFL tripleheader certainly made for a consequential football trifecta. And the aftermath could be far-reaching, especially as it pertains to the AFC’s playoff picture, with the final quarter of the 2023 regular season continuing to unfold.
So while the obvious winners were the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts, there were quite a few other prominent beneficiaries beyond those three clubs … and most definitely several losers aside from the troika of teams saddled with defeats.
So let’s assess the day’s fallout:
WINNERS
Backup quarterbacks: They’re ubiquitous … and have won five consecutive games league-wide going back to Monday night, the Bengals’ Jake Browning and Colts’ Gardner Minshew II adding to the victory total while bolstering their respective teams’ seemingly unlikely playoff pushes. Browning, in particular, is becoming something of a cult hero in Cincinnati after winning his third consecutive start in Joe Burrow’s stead – two of those triumphs coming in overtime after the Stripes overcame 24-17 deficit to the Minnesota Vikings in the final minute of regulation to prevail 27-24.
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Jared Goff: After accounting for seven touchdowns and nine turnovers over his previous four games, Detroit’s quarterback tied a career high by going off for five TD passes – three to rookie TE Sam LaPorta – on Saturday night, driving the Lions closer to their first-ever NFC North crown.
Buffalo Bills: Beware, AFC playoff hopefuls. The reigning (for now) AFC East champs face a tough battle Sunday with the Dallas Cowboys, but losses by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos continue to increase the odds Buffalo will find its way back into the postseason despite its 5-5 start. Still imposing, the Bills certainly appear to be catching fire (and some good breaks) at just the right time – and moved from 11th place to ninth place in the conference Saturday from the comfort of their hotel.
Premier pass rushers: Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt (2 sacks), Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter (2 sacks) and Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson (1½ sacks) all had big games. Watt now leads the NFL with 16 sacks, a half-sack ahead of Hunter, who established a new career high Saturday, and one up on Hendrickson, whose 15 sacks are also a personal best and tie him with the Los Angeles Chargers’ Khalil Mack for third place league-wide.
Detroit’s run game: Rhythm and Bruise, anyone? It most definitely wasn’t all Goff, veteran RB David Montgomery combining with first-round rookie Jahmyr Gibbs for 185 yards (on 28 collective carries) on the ground. Gibbs’ 12-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter effectively ended the game.
Baltimore Ravens: Saturday couldn’t have gone much better for the AFC North leaders. With the Broncos and Steelers succumbing, the AFC’s projected No. 1 seed has a win-and-in postseason clinching scenario in Jacksonville on Sunday night.
Ty Chandler: Making his first professional start, the second-year Vikings back scored a TD and piled up a career-best 160 yards from scrimmage while stepping in for injured Alexander Mattison, who might have been Wally Pipp’d.
B.J. Hill: That’s an interception each of the past two weeks for Cincy’s 311-pound defensive tackle.
NFL Network: The league-owned cable outlet – and its streaming offshoot, NFL+ – likely raked in quite a few oddballs with a monopoly on Saturday’s games, at least outside local markets, and on the weekend most fantasy football league playoffs commence.
Former LSU wideout: In his first full game since suffering a Week 5 hamstring injury, the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson – he suffered a chest injury that knocked him out of Week 14’s game – hauled in seven passes for 84 yards. He needs 6 more yards to break Michael Thomas’ record (5,512 yards) for the most ever by a player in his first four NFL seasons.
Previously 7-6 AFC teams: The Bengals and Colts find themselves holding the conference’s final two wild-card spots after notching their victories – Cincinnati in an especially good spot, despite a generally bad record in AFC games (3-6), thanks to its Week 14 win over Indy. And, like Buffalo, the idle Houston Texans, who have already beaten Denver and Pittsburgh, saw their prospects improve slightly on day when rookie QB C.J. Stroud was ruled out of Sunday’s game with a concussion.
LOSERS
Previously 7-6 AFC teams: Pittsburgh and Denver both lost convincingly and fell into 10th and 11th place, respectively, in the conference. At least, unlike the College Football Playoff, style points count for very little here, aside from deep-track tiebreakers.
Former LSU wideout: Things didn’t go so well for the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, Jefferson’s former teammate from Baton Rouge and the legendary 2019 national championship team. Chase had a modest four catches for 64 yards but was unable to finish the game due to a separated shoulder – obviously a tough injury when your job is to catch passes.
NFL Network: Unfortunately, the games got progressively worse as the day wore on – and quite a few folks undoubtedly headed out for dinner, drinks and/or dancing well before the final gun of the Broncos-Lions affair.
Bengals’ blows: It wasn’t just Chase. Underrated Cincinnati DT DJ Reader, rookie special teamer DJ Ivey, who was carted off the field in tears, and G Alex Cappa were all banged up Saturday. Cappa managed to return, but Reader and Ivey apparently suffered more serious injuries for a team that’s already down its biggest star, QB1 Joe Burrow.
Colts’ blows: Indianapolis’ top wideout, Michael Pittman, suffered a concussion on a reckless hit by Pittsburgh S Damontae Kazee, who was ejected Saturday. Pittman was trying to become the sixth player to catch eight passes in seven consecutive games. RB Zack Moss was also knocked out of the game with an arm injury. Fortunately for the Colts, backups Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson rushed for a combined 157 yards, and All-Pro Jonathan Taylor (thumb surgery) has a chance to return in Week 16.
Denver D: The unit that infamously surrendered 70 points to the Miami Dolphins earlier this season had only allowed an average of 16 points per since Week 6. Serious regression at Ford Field, where the Lions erupted for 42 – the most allowed by the Broncos this year to a team not based in South Florida.
Vikings’ anniversary: Saturday marked 364 days since they rallied past the Colts on another Saturday showcase, overcoming a record 33-point deficit to win 39-36 in overtime. But against the Bengals, Minnesota came from ahead to lose, squandering a 17-3 fourth-quarter lead before succumbing in OT.
Mike Tomlin: The Steelers’ longtime coach watched his offensively challenged team fall to .500 and well down the AFC standings, to 10th place, after dropping its third straight game. And now – with the Bengals, Seahawks and Ravens lying in wait – Tomlin is suddenly in serious jeopardy of suffering his first losing season at the end of his 17th campaign in Pittsburgh.
Officiating: It struck again, in the form of a horrendous offside call on Denver G Quinn Meinerz – costing the Broncos a touchdown and HC Sean Payton his mind on the sideline … and on a night when he was already getting his butt kicked by mentee Dan Campbell from Detroit’s sideline.
Mitchell Trubisky: He’s appeared in five games this season for Pittsburgh. The Steelers have lost them all, the No. 2 pick of the 2017 draft (by the Chicago Bears) serving up a pair of picks to the Colts. By the time Tomlin turned to his other experienced understudy, Mason Rudolph, late in the fourth quarter, the game was lost.
Russell Wilson: He appeared to be collateral damage during Payton’s refereeing rant. RW3 also just no longer looked like a quarterback who could keep up with the likes of Goff, a guy he outplayed so regularly during their NFC West battles.
Backup quarterbacks: Like I said, they’re ubiquitous … and have lost three in a row going back to Thursday night, the Vikes’ Nick Mullens and Trubisky taking the Ls on Saturday, two days after the Chargers’ Easton Stick went down 63-21 in his inaugural NFL start. Mullens, making his first start since 2021, probably deserved better after throwing for 303 yards and two scores at Paycor Stadium … yet his pair of first-half interceptions were a major reason Minnesota only led 7-3 at intermission. Still, maybe the Vikings, who scored three points in their previous game, have found their answer behind center for the rest of this season.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.
