It’s your last chance to get caught up on the happenings at PFF before the next slate of games is upon us and our new ‘PFF Week’ posts provide quick access to the week that was. The ‘Out West' edition covers all things pertaining to the AFC and NFC West divisions for a one-stop Saturday shop built to keep you in the loop and on top of your football-watching game.
The top of the AFC playoff picture is a little more uncertain now with the Chargers' impressive upset victory over the Broncos on Thursday night. The Patriots, Broncos, Chiefs, and Bengals all still have legitimate shots at the No. 1 seed. The Chargers' win also greatly improves their chances of making the playoffs as they are now a half-game back of the Ravens and Dolphins though both of those teams obviously still have to play this week. In the NFC, the Seahawks' loss to the 49ers opens the door just a crack for the Saints to snag homefield advantage throughout the playoffs as New Orleans is now one game back and they would lose the tiebreaker to Seattle based on their head-to-head loss. All that said, let's review and preview all of the AFC and NFC West action.
Week 14 Wrap
Three of this past week's games (including the Thursday nighter) were interdivisional matchups and each of them had playoff implications. The Cardinals beat the Rams in a game where their stars (Patrick Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald, and Darnell Dockett) played like stars, the 49ers got the better of the Seahawks in part because of a strong effort from the San Francisco secondary, and the Chargers upset Denver as some of their young talent played well in primetime. All of that and more is covered in this week's ReFocused pieces.
ReFo: Chargers @ Broncos, Week 15
ReFo: Titans @ Broncos
ReFo: Seahawks @ 49ers
ReFo: Rams @ Cardinals
ReFo: Giants @ Chargers
ReFo: Chiefs @ Redskins
ReFo: Raiders @ Jets
32 Observations for Week 14 chooses a player from each team who is set to be a free agent next year. Included in the list from the West are Eric Decker, Branden Albert, and Donte Whitner. Keenan Allen continues to push for the top spot in the Race for Rookie of the Year but Sheldon Richardson may have put that No. 1 too far out of reach for Allen. Though Tyrann Mathieu's season is over, he still checks in at No. 7 on the list. Three-fifths of the PFF Week 14 Team of the Week offensive line belong to the Denver Broncos as they had a great performance against the Titans. The ‘Had a Bad Day' Team of Week 14 features only three West players. The latest Power Rankings have five West teams in the Top 10 as Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Kansas City, and a surging Arizona squad are all included. Sam Monson's Analysis Notebook: TNF examines how the Chargers were able to have success running the ball on the Broncos' defense.
Looking Ahead to Week 15
The AFC West keeps it a family affair with both games (including the Thursday night Chargers-Broncos game) being divisional games. In Chiefs-Raiders, a number of Matt McGloin positives are highlighted as well as the importance of Jamaal Charles in this game. Other key players in this weekend's slate of games include Robert Quinn, Zac Stacy, Larry Fitzgerald, and Kam Chancellor. You can find your favorite team's 3TFO piece linked below.
3TFO: Chiefs @ Raiders
3TFO: Seahawks @ Giants
3TFO: 49ers @ Buccaneers
3TFO: Saints @ Rams
3TFO: Cardinals @ Titans
Check out our experts' picks for the week at PFF Pick'em.
Additionally…
Mike Renner put together a really great piece on Pass Blocking Efficiency for the league's RBs and TEs and Oakland's Darren McFadden is identified as the RB with the worst PBE in the league. Little-known Kansas City special-teamer Ron Parker graded very well in this week's Third Phase. Gordon McGuinness identifies this week's set of players deemed to be Secret Superstars.
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