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Week 14 games for NFLonTVinSLC:
Washington at Eagles, 11 a.m., Ch. 13
Philly receiver Dorial Green-Beckham has a reputation as a talented idiot, and the latter part is true, at least. His on-field numbers (33 catches, 359 yards,two TDs) are pedestrian, but the $6,076 fine he just earned was attention-grabbing, at least.
DGB was punished by the league for failing to grasp the nature of their "My Cause, My Cleats" campaign, in which players were allowed to violate the uniform code for a game by donning footwear supporting various charities and social issues. He instead took it as an opportunity to wear some of rapper Kanye West's "Yeezy" brand shoes, subsequently claiming he did so to bring attention to "the Yeezy Foundation," which is not actually a thing.
I'm sure there's no correlation, though, between giving prominent roles to players displaying the level of intelligence and commitment Green-Beckham does and a slide in which the Eagles have lost seven of nine, including three straight by double-digits. At least he looked straight fire, though.
Broncos at Titans, 11 a.m., Ch. 2
This game's been billed as being of great import to each team's playoff chances, though that doesn't mean everything's essentially equal. Denver is 8-4 but third in the AFC West. Tennessee's 6-6 but tied for first in the South. So, it could be argued, this game is of more consequence to the Broncos, as a single division fielding three playoff teams occurs infrequently, and also, because even if the Titans do secure their division's guaranteed berth, their constant .500-ness is an indication that they're not to be taken seriously anyway.
Except …
The Titans are averaging a league-best 30.8 ppg since Oct. 6. DeMarco Murray is second in the league in rushing. Marcus Mariota is fourth in the league with 25 passing TDs, and fifth with a 101.9 rating — a number that's spiked to 117.7 over his past eight games. Can they keep it up against Denver's defense, though? THEN I'll take them seriously.
Seahawks at Packers, 2:25 p.m., Ch. 13
While the talking heads will fixate on the broken leg of Seattle All-Pro Earl Thomas, Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy wryly noted to reporters, "We're not going to drop back and throw 50-yard post routes all day because they've got a new free safety." Meanwhile, while McCarthy surely isn't crying about the lack of crying over his own team's injuries, they're no less impactful.
Look at the linebackers alone: Nick Perry, out; Clay Matthews, limited by injury; and starting inside linebackers Jake Ryan and Blake Martinez finally back, but still limited by injury. Seattle, which has averaged 173.0 yards rushing the last three weeks, including 240 last week vs. Carolina, might be breaking off 50-yard runs to the goalpost if the Pack, sans anyone healthy among the four in their 3-4 system, proves unable to stop the run.
Cowboys at Giants, 6:30 p.m., Ch. 5
The stakes are pretty simple on each side: A Dallas win clinches the NFC East and enables the Cowboys to avenge their lone loss of the season. A New York victory keeps the Giants in the running for a wild-card berth and proves their 20-19 Week 1 victory was no fluke.
I don't like the G-Men's chances, though. Considering that their defense is unlikely to limit Ezekiel Elliott to 51 yards this time around, especially with Jason Pierre-Paul now out of the lineup, and that their own offense still hasn't reached 30 points in a game this season, it's doubtful this one will be close enough for Odell Beckham Jr. to blame on any ref's resemblance to Stevie Wonder.
Twitter: @esotericwalden