NFL Week 14 Highs And Lows: Raiders, Giants To Chase QBs, Tua Laughs About His Memory, Jets Loser Gene

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We start this edition of NFL Highs and Lows with the bottom of the league fighting for the top of next April’s draft:

So, immediately, we have to note the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday got themselves their first victory since Oct. 20 when they delivered a stirring 10-6 decision over the Tennessee Titans. 

Jaguars Win Doesn’t Affects Draft Order

“It feels great to get back in the win column,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. “It’s been a while. Hats off to the players. They battled their tails off … You can see all of my excitement right here.”

That’s good for Pederson and the 2024 Jaguars. But it’s not awesome for the Jaguars’ 2025 head coach (whomever that will be, including Pederson) and the team’s personnel department (whomever is running that).

That’s because the Jaguars, New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders have been locked in a chase for the No. 1 overall selection in next April’s NFL draft. And the Jaguars just fell behind of the other two.

The other two lost again on Sunday – the Giants in another painful manner to the Saints when an otherwise routine 35-yard field goal for a tie was blocked with 11 seconds to play, and the Raiders when they lost another starting quarterback in Aidan O’Connell, who was injured as the Raiders were overmatched against Tampa Bay.

Raiders, Giants Certain To Draft QBs

And I’ll say this: The Raiders and Giants desperately need the top pick much more than the Jaguars. 

The Raiders and Giants need quarterbacks and them remaining at the top of the next draft would basically confirm that the first couple of picks of that draft will be quarterbacks. No doubt about it.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, are in a logjam with five other hapless 3-10 teams. But they’re not picking a QB in next year’s first round because they already have, and are committed financially to, Trevor Lawrence, regardless of how you feel about him.

There are other teams in the 3-10 group – the Jets, Cleveland, possibly Tennessee – that will also be serious contenders for selecting a quarterback. 

But if the Raiders and Giants continue to lose, and they’ve been quite proficient at it this season, those lows will result in extreme highs next April.

The rest of the NFL’s highs and lows from Week 14:

Highs:

It’s Funny Tua Cannot Remember OTs

Tua Tagovailoa: He threw the winning TD pass in overtime and extended the number of consecutive games he’s completed over 70 percent of his passes to seven. That string began after Tagovailoa returned to the lineup following his third recorded NFL concussion – the last one which sent him to the injured reserve list.

So Tagovailoa was asked if he recalled ever winning a game in overtime.

“I can’t remember,” Tua said. “I can’t remember. It’s probably not a good phrase to be saying, too, can’t remember.”

He had a good chuckle over his answer once his self-awareness kicked in.

“Yeah, yeah,” he joked. “Too soon?”

Tagovailoa, by the way, threw a 41-yard touchdown pass in the National Championship game to give the Alabama Crimson Tide the National Championship in January of 2018.

Andrew Barton Would Be Proud Of Harbaugh

Jim Harbaugh: The Chargers’ coach on Sunday night was feeling the pain of losing to the Chiefs on a field goal that doinked off the left upright and fell in for the game-winner as time ran out.

But the coach handled it like a winner, quoting from the folk song about Sir Andrew Barton, a Scottish privateer of the 15th and 16th century. 

So, what did Harbaugh tell his team?

“Reminded them of Sir Andrew Barton,” Harbaugh answered. “‘Fight on my men,’ Sir Andrew said. ‘I am a little wounded but not slain. I lay down and bleed a while and will rise and fight again.’”

An NFL coach quoting a medieval ballad. Has to be a first in league history.

Darren Rizzi Does It Again 

Darren Rizzi: Look, we all know the Saints are going to conduct a thorough search for their open head coach job. But since Nov. 4 when he took over for fired Dennis Allen, Rizzi has rallied the team.

They’re 3-1 under his direction and that, at minimum, has earned him the right to interview for the team’s job when the season is over. It’s going to happen, but the road gets harder for the Saints now – because quarterback Derek Carr has a fractured left hand and three of the four teams left on the schedule are likely playoff teams.

That didn’t concern the coach as he was enjoying a victory over the Giants which was sealed with that blocked field goal at the end.

“Listen, we’re down here to the end of the year,” Rizzi said. “It’s the middle of December already. When you’re playing games that still matter and still count and still have a chance to affect the final outcome, that’s a big deal. So here we are with four to go, and as I just said to the guys, that’s why we practice with a purpose. We go through the week with a purpose because we’re still playing. We’re still in contention.”

Lows:

Jets May Have A Losing Gene

The New York Jets: With the overtime loss to Miami, the Jets have been eliminated from the playoffs for 14 consecutive seasons. That is the longest active postseason drought, not just in the NFL, but in all of major American professional team sports. 

That includes the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

And afterward, surrounded by reporters looking for reaction to another troubling loss – the 10th of the season and ninth out of the last ten games – receiver Garrett Wilson floated the idea the Jets have a losing gene.

“When you’re up in the fourth quarter, all of a sudden it starts to feel like we have a losing problem, like a gene or some s–t,” Wilson said. “It’s not like we’re going out there and getting our butt beat from start to finish. No, we have a chance to win the game, we’re supposed to win the game, odds are in our favor and we find a way to lose.

“I don’t think it’s the mindset. The mindset is the opposite. Whether or not you can make it right, your mindset is different. No, (our) mindset is right, process is right. But at the end of the day … we got to stop being losers.”

Lordy.

Bears Fail To Show Up On Time

The Chicago Bears: They had 10 days to prepare for the San Francisco 49ers, a team that has been struggling defensively this season. And what did they do when they came out for their first game since the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus?

The Bears gained four total yards in the first half. 

Four.

Their net passing in the first half was minus-3 yards because while quarterback Caleb Williams had 27 yards passing (which is still horrible), the team lost 30 yards on four sacks. 

Despite the fact Chicago more or less showed up after halftime, the 24-0 halftime deficit meant the game was over in the first 30 minutes.