2022 NFL power rankings, Week 14: 49ers roll, Colts flop

There were premier encounters in Philadelphia, Cincinnati and San Francisco on Sunday involving some of the top teams in the NFL Power Rankings.

Two teams in the NFC had chances to clinch playoff appearances but it didn’t happen despite both coming up with victories. There were milestone wins in Atlanta and Chicago by the visiting franchises. The AFC playoff picture has suddenly gotten a lot more interesting. Finally, there’s a change at the top of the latest NFL Power Rankings.

The Texans would face their former starting quarterback as Deshaun Watson and the Browns visited Houston. Lovie Smith’s team was its own worst enemy as the offense and special teams gave up touchdowns.

After taking a 5-0 lead in the second quarter, the Texans gave up a 76-yard punt return TDs. Smith finished the game with four turnovers and quarterback Kyle Allen had three of those miscues – two of those turnovers taken back for scores.

The defending Super Bowl champions took a five-game losing streak into their clash with the Seahawks. John Wolford would make his second start of the season in place of Matthew Stafford. It was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Rams take a 23-20 lead with 2:56 to play.

But the Los Angeles’ defense couldn’t stop Geno Smith when it counted most. At 3-9 record, Sean McVay is in the midst of his first losing season as an NFL head coach.

The Bears looked to not only end a five-game winning streak but hoped to snap a seven-game skid to the rival Packers. Things looked good early for the home team as Justin Fields (55 yards) and David Montgomery (7 yards) ran for touchdowns.

The club owned a 19-10 advantage after three quarters but were outscored 18-0 the rest of the way. During Chicago’s current six-game skid, Matt Eberflus’ squad has allowed a disturbing 200 points.

The disappointing Colts were in Dallas for a prime time clash with the Cowboys. Jeff Saturday’s club owned a surprising 10-7 lead after 15 minutes of play but would wind up falling behind by eight points at halftime.

After closing the gap to 21-19 in the third quarter on a Matt Ryan to Alex Pierce TD pass, it got extremely ugly for Saturday’s squad. The Colts turned over the football four times and were outscored 33-0 in the fourth quarter.