Sunday night saw us head full throttle into the final month of the NFL regular season. All 32 teams are done with their bye week and it’s a sprint to the finish line in a bid to book one of the 12 play-off berths up for grabs.
And as you would expect at this time of the year, a night of high drama (nine of the 14 games played on Sunday were decided by a single score) saw a large number of results and story-lines with play-off implications.
So let's get stuck into six of the bigger stories that caught my eye in NFL Week 14. Spoiler alert… the sixth and final story in this column will focus on the Sunday night game between Dallas and the New York Giants, so if you are avoiding that score - you have been warned!
And then there were two
There are now two teams tied atop the AFC South as the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans are locked up with seven wins and six losses each. The Titans started strongly against the Denver Broncos and then held on for dear life behind a playmaking defence to record a 13-10 victory.
The Texans found the end zone just once and quarterback Brock Osweiler struggled yet again as he threw for 147 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Fortunately, the Texans played good defence and the Colts offered up no protection whatsoever for embattled quarterback Andrew Luck and Houston ran out 22-17 victors.
Of these two division title-chasing teams, I like the look of the Titans a whole lot more but I have to credit Houston for continuing to win ugly. As the NFL likes it, the AFC South could come down to a winner-takes-all clash on New Year's Day as the Texans visit the Titans in Week 17.
MVP candidates battling for the NFC North
Two genuine MVP candidates are currently playing their tails off in the NFC North and Matthew Stafford and his Detroit Lions have a two-game lead over Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers with three to play.
Stafford is simply an undeniable force who wills his team to victory each and every week. He scored on a dramatic, tough and unstoppable seven-yard run to lead Detroit to a 20-17 win over a plucky Chicago Bears team that had its chances. That was Stafford's NFL record-setting eighth fourth quarter comeback win this season, emphasising just how good this inspirational leader is with the game on the line.
Rodgers threw some majestic passes in Green Bay's 38-10 beat-down of the Seattle Seahawks and probably looked on with a fair degree of shock as his counterpart, Russell Wilson, threw five interceptions.
The one worry for Packers fans was that Rodgers left the game with a calf injury and admitted afterwards that he "faces a long week of rehabilitation". And Stafford dislocated a finger on his throwing hand. Both quarterbacks have been outstanding, but those injuries could yet shape their seasons. The Packers and Lions also face off in Week 17.
Two-horse race in NFC South
The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are locked in a race for the NFC South title and they won behind some big defensive plays on Sunday. The Falcons scored points for fun even without the injured Julio Jones in the line-up and romped to a 42-14 thrashing of the Rams in Los Angeles. But they were helped by a Deion Jones pick six and a Vic Beasley fumble return touchdown.
Tampa also did it with defence as they battled to a 16-11 win over the New Orleans Saints. That result gave Tampa Bay their seventh win in their last nine outings so they are playing their best football and getting hot at the right time of the year.
The Bucs continue to be opportunistic and much improved on defence, intercepting Drew Brees three times on the night. There is a scenario where both these teams could make the NFC playoffs and they would not look out of place.
Steelers play it smart
The conditions were miserable in Buffalo on Sunday night as snow fell throughout the Bills' 27-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a tough night to be throwing the football as Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger discovered with three interceptions.
But the Steelers did the sensible thing and handed the football to Le'Veon Bell - 38 times, in fact, to the tune of 236 yards and three touchdowns. It ended up being a physical beat-down of a Buffalo defence that has struggled to stop the run this season.
The loss could yet cost Buffalo head coach Rex Ryan his job. As for the Steelers, they laid down a marker for the Baltimore Ravens and these two challengers meet on Christmas Day in a game that could decide the AFC North in Week 16.
Dolphins suffer loss in win
In more miserable conditions - it rained heavily in Miami - the hometown Dolphins secured a big win to keep pace in the AFC play-off race, kicking an Andrew Franks field goal from 21 yards as time expired for a 26-23 topping of the Arizona Cardinals.
But it was also a devastating night for the Dolphins as they suspect they have lost quarterback Ryan Tannehill (he threw three touchdowns against the Cardinals and was playing well) to torn knee ligaments for the remainder of the season.
It was a low and cheap blow from Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell that sent Tannehill to the trainer's room but back-up Matt Moore was able to get the job done, throwing a long completion to Kenny Stills to set up the winning field goal. It was a good win for the Dolphins, but probably an even bigger loss in the long run.
Giants have Cowboys' number
And so the 'send Dak Prescott to the bench' nonsense has started already, just because the rookie quarterback lost to the New York Giants for a second time this season. Prescott did struggle in the 10-7 loss in wintry New York, but there is no doubt that kind of ridiculousness is not going to fly and this is still very much his team.
There is no quarterback controversy to see with the Cowboys and they remain in great shape in the NFC playoff race at 11-2. But the real story of last night was the form of the Giants defence, even without star pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul.
Time and again, New York's defence frustrated the Cowboys, and largely held Prescott (165 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and three sacks) in check and did not allow Ezekiel Elliott to run wild (24 runs for 107 yards).
The Giants spent heavily on their defence during this past off-season and it is paying dividends. They are playing at an extremely high level and look capable of carrying this team all the way to the post-season.