NFL scores, Week 14: Live coverage, highlights & more

Cause of Death: For the sixth straight game, the Colts got off to an extremely slow start, heading to the locker room down 14-0. In those six games, Indianapolis has scored a mere 24 total first-half points -- last in the league -- and the Colts haven’t scored a touchdown in the first half since Oct. 20.

Time of Death: Well ...

While the AFC has remained stagnant since the conclusion of Sunday’s late afternoon games, major showdowns on Sunday and Monday night have refocused the playoff picture in the NFC.

The New Orleans Saints grabbed the NFC South lead back from the Carolina Panthers Sunday before the Chicago Bears celebrated Mike Ditka’s jersey retirement with a win over the Dallas Cowboys that pulled them back into the NFC North race.

A winter storm system dropped snow and frigid temperatures around the NFL on Sunday, but couldn’t freeze out the league’s offenses on a record-setting day. The NFL set a new mark for touchdowns scored in a single day, piling up 90 end zone trips across 14 games.

While Brees was lounging in the sheltered environment of the Superdome, the majority of the league was toiling through a nationwide cold front that plunged the temperature to below freezing at all but a handful of venues and made for an unlikely scoring proliferation. It was 32 degrees or below in eight of Sunday’s games, and five were played with significant amounts of snow on the ground.

1. It stopped snowing in Philadelphia overnight. The mercury moved up just enough to turn the tail end of the winter storm’s precipitation into a wintry mix and finally rain. Any snow left in the nooks and crannies of Lincoln Financial Field and the other pro football venues in the Mid-Atlantic should be gone.

Grounds crews are not allowed to clear the snow off the field during an NFL game. That rule didn’t matter. No plow crew in the Northeast had a chance against Sunday’s blizzard. Nor would you have wanted them to. As soon as we had to start squinting to see Chip Kelly standing on the sideline, we were all rooting for the snow. The same stuff that used to keep us out of school and sometimes gets us a day off of work arrived right when the NFL needed it.

Week 14 is in the books, and the sprint to the playoffs is underway. The NFC is coming into focus, while only Houston has been eliminated in the AFC. It’s set to be a wild ending to the season.

• Complete NFL Week 14 coverage | Live scores

Mathieu, who has been one of the great rookie success stories in the NFL this season, was lost for the season after suffering a torn ACL on a kick return in the third quarter of the Cardinals’ win over St. Louis on Sunday. Mathieu’s leg bent awkwardly as it was hit, and although he attempted to leave the field under his own power, he collapsed and was carted to the locker room. Mathieu’s loss is a tough one for a Cardinals squad that is fighting for a wild card playoff berth and that has been stingy on defense.

• Complete NFL Week 14 coverage | Live scores

Monday Night Football could decide the top of the NFC North and East, but Week 14 is in the books with more teams mathematically eliminated from contention.

Clinched: None

But, it wasn’t just that they were throwing snowballs: it was where they were throwing them:

Of course, the only part of this the NFL will care about is Peterson criticizing officials, which could cost him.

Sunday Night Football was touted as one of the top games in Week 14 and so far it’s been a one-sided affair. Carolina got the early lead, but it’s been all New Orleans in the second quarter, with the Saints scoring three straight touchdowns and carrying a 21-6 lead into the half.

Carolina is under pressure following the break to adjust and bounce back, while New Orleans simply needs to keep it up. A shootout isn’t something the Panthers can hang in, especially without their pass rush stepping up. There’s a feeling this could get out of hand quickly.

The 49ers struck first with a short field goal midway through the first quarter. The Seahawks’ offense got off to a slow start, and things weren’t helped by a blocked punt. Seattle’s defense held up to the challenge, holding San Francisco to another field goal.

The game was defined by penalties, as divisional rivalries typically go. The two teams combined for 155 yards on 16 penalties, and that’s not counting a few obvious ones the refs missed.

The team seemed to go out of its way to give Manning a platform to prove his cold-weather abilities, as Peyton was allowed to attempt 59 pass attempts.

A game that the Titans led 21-10 midway through the second quarter ended on a 41-7 run by the Broncos.

Arizona would like to have a lock on a playoff berth, will have to keep winning to do that.

Fantasy Studs and Duds

Things are off the rails in D.C. The Redskins aren’t rebuilding, they’re regressing and it’s painfully obvious to anyone with a functioning set of eyes and empathy that the Washington Redskins will have a different coach for the 2014 season at the latest.

After Dan Graziano’s report that team owner Dan Snyder’s relationship with Robert Griffin III was toxic to the point where Shanahan considered quitting as the Redskins were preparing for a playoff game, the Redskins came out and laid an egg to the fullest extent in front of one of the sparsest crowds you’ll ever see at an NFL game. The media was chomping at the bit to ask Shanahan and Griffin about the report during their postgame press conferences, and both player and coach seemed resigned and defeated.

Mathieu’s left leg bent awkwardly on a kick return in the third quarter and he tried to walk it off, but it appeared his knee buckled and he was carted into the locker room. The Cardinals are currently beating the Rams, 23-3, with little doubt that Mathieu’s presence on defense has something to do with the lack of scoring by St. Louis. Arizona’s second-leading tackler, the rookie safety out of LSU is considered by many to be a good candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

He had his ninth pass deflection of the season on Sunday, and he also has two interceptions and a sack this year.

Thomas caught an eight-yard touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone late in the second quarter to help pull the Broncos back into the game. That pushed him past Sharpe, who reached the 10 touchdown mark twice during his 14-year Hall of Fame career in Denver.

Sharpe, currently an NFL analyst for CBS Sports, offered his congratulations to Thomas shortly after the record was broken on Sunday.

UPDATE: A concussion has been confirmed for Welker and he will not return.

Welker was injured late in the second quarter as the Broncos were driving for a late field goal. Welker took a hard shot to the head while unsuccesfully attempting to haul in a pass. The hit was legal and did not draw a penalty flag from the officials.

• Debrief: Seeing clearly through the snow

• Rob Gronkowski reportedly tears ACL, MCL

• Complete NFL Week 14 coverage | Live scores

• Winter Wonderland Sunday

On the ensuing drive, on first-and-10 from the Cleveland 30-yard line, the refs called a dubious pass interference call on the Browns.

The two-point conversion failed, but the damage was done. Cleveland’s upset bid ended thusly, in the most Browns way possible.

The game wasn’t a wintry wonderland like most of the 1 p.m. games, but there were still chilly conditions at Gillette Stadium. Tom Brady had an ugly start to the game, throwing for just 5 yards in the first quarter. This screencap just about sums it up:

Brady threw for 418 yards and two touchdowns in the winning effort. Josh Gordon had another huge game, grabbing seven catches for 151 yards and a touchdown.

The snow wasn’t falling like it was in Philly, but the Dolphins and Steelers still needed to manage the conditions in Pittsburgh while battling each other. Both teams played well, but ultimately the Dolphins leaned on their quarterback to handle the Steelers in a 34-28 win.

The win ends the Steelers’ playoff hopes after an impressive mid-season surge. Meanwhile the Dolphins move to 7-6, keeping their playoff dreams alive.

In an ugly game marred by a combined seven turnovers and 19 penalties, both teams struggled on offense. Rainey’s big game helped separate Tampa Bay, however. On just the second play from scrimmage, the running back found a hole in the left side of the line, stiff-armed a defender and raced 80 yards for a touchdown.

Jackson was the only Buccaneer outside of Rainey who had a significant fantasy day. The big wideout had three receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown. Glennon threw for two scores but added a pair of picks and had only 90 yards passing.

The Ravens drove down to the red zone with two minutes left and took the lead thanks to Dennis Pitta. Making his season debut after dislocating his hip in training camp, Pitta caught the go-ahead touchdown pass with two minutes left to give the Ravens the lead back. They got the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 15-12.

Things were quiet for much of the first half, but the Vikings suffered a big loss in the second quarter. Adrian Peterson went down with an ankle injury and was carted to the locker room, replaced by Gerhart. Blair Walsh managed to get a 39-yard field goal off in the snowy weather and the Ravens went into halftime leading, 7-3.

Behind the strength of an incredible day on special teams and an efficient day by quarterback Alex Smith, Kansas City beat the Redskins, 45-10, in Washington.

Fantasy Studs and Duds

The loss drops the Falcons to 3-10.

After adding a field goal, the Packers were driving with hopes of taking the lead late in the first half when a costly Flynn turnover changed momentum. Flynn’s poorly-aimed pass careemed off the foot of a defender and into the waiting arms of the Falcons’ Sean Witherspoon, who chugged 71-yards the other way for the pick-six and a 21-10 lead.