20 Biggest Winners and Losers from the NFL's Week 14

There are three weeks left in the NFL's regular season and still there is a muddled mess in terms of who will and won't be in the playoffs.

While we saw some teams look they were already in playoff form (Houston, Green Bay), some looked like they were struggling to float above water (Oakland, Tennessee).

And then there were the "surprises" of the week.

With everything that has been happening with injuries, questionable calls and the need to understand if Colt McCoy was hurt when James Harrison landed another vicious hit, maybe we should all sit back, grab some more eggnog and look at this week's winners and losers.

Winner: Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

The "Gronk" is really coming into his own nicely.

The New England tight end caught passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in the 34-27 win over the Redskins.

The two touchdowns allowed Gronkowski to set an NFL record for touchdowns by a tight end in a season with 15.

Loser: Marion Barber, Chicago Bears

With his team driving in overtime, Marion Barber put the ball on the grass and Denver pulled off another improbable victory.

The loss by Chicago, 7-6, put them a game behind Detroit and in third place in the NFC North Division.

They are now on the outside looking in for a playoff berth.

Winner: Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jones-Drew scored four touchdowns in the 41-14 win over the Buccaneers by the Jaguars.

Jones Drew had two scores on the ground and two through the air.

The scores allowed him to become the team's all-time leader in touchdowns, moving past Fred Taylor.

Loser: Cleveland Browns Coaching Staff

Were the Browns coaching staff right in playing Colt McCoy after the hit James Harrison put on their starting quarterback?

That is up for debate. While there is question as to whether McCoy should have been removed from the game following the hit by the Steelers linebacker, the Browns are claiming McCoy did not display concussion symptoms during the contest.

Winner: T.J. Yates, Houston Texans

Yates and the Texans came from behind to beat the Bengals and in doing so, clinched the AFC South and their first playoff berth in team history.

The rookie, who was the third-string passer to begin the season, is now the starter after injuries to both Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart.

Yates threw for 300 yards and two scores on the day in the 20-19 win.

Loser: Minnesota Vikings

Does this loss get blamed on bad officiating or the fact that Minnesota came up short?

Detroit Lions player DeAndre Levy grabbed Joe Webb's face mask and halted a fourth-quarter attempt to pull off the victory in Detroit.

The Lions again are a team of controversy.

Webb had 109 yards rushing on seven attempts but could not carry the team to the win.

Winner: Matt Prater, Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos kicker did it again.

After taking over following a fumble by the Bears' Marion Barber, Prater kicked a 51-yarder to win in overtime, 13-10.

Prater had kicked a 59-yard field goal earlier in the game.

Denver was aided by Tim Tebow, who, for the second week in a row, guided an offense that saw him throw for 236 yards and a touchdown.

Loser: Tyler Palko, Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs quarterback will have nightmares of the Jets pass rush.

Palko was sacked five times in the 37-10 loss at the hands of the Jets.

Palko only threw for 195 yards on the day and was constantly pressured by the Jets during the rout.

Winner: Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals lost starting quarterback Kevin Kolb during the game due to a blow to the head and were able to survive against the 49ers, 21-19.

Larry Fitzgerald had seven catches for 149 yards, including a 46-yarder for a touchdown and a 53-yarder to set up the game-winning score.

Loser: San Francisco 49ers

Did the NFC West champions take their foot off the gas a bit this week?

After the 49ers claimed the division title last week, Arizona overcame the loss of their starting quarterback to beat San Francisco 21-19.

Quarterback Alex Smith completed less than 50 percent of his passes and Frank Gore was held to 72 yards on the ground in the loss.

Winner: Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

Antonio Brown caught a 79-yard strike from Ben Roethlisberger as the Steelers won 14-3.

Brown had five receptions on the night as the Steelers ran their record to 10-3.

They are in a tie with Baltimore for the lead in the AFC North, but the Ravens hold the tie breaker.

Loser: Washington Redskins Defense

It seems every week Roy Helu goes out and performs as if he was on a winning team.

It is far from the truth.

Helu runs for 126 yards and does his part, but the Redskins fall to the New England Patriots.

The Redskins are now 4-9 on the season while the Patriots improved to 10-3.

Winner: Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

Sanchez has continued to show improvement of late. This week, he threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in the Jets' 37-10 win over the Chiefs.

Sanchez and the Jets had the game in hand in the fourth quarter, leading to Sanchez being replaced by veteran Mark Brunell.

The Jets are now 8-5 on the season.

Loser: Oakland Raiders

They lost before they ever got out of the locker room.

The Raiders ran into the Packers, who just don't know how to stop.

Green Bay ran to 13-0 on the season with the 46-16 win.

The Raiders are still without their top runner, Darren McFadden, and have used Michael Bush in the running game.

But Sunday, Oakland was no match for the Packers, who jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead.

Winner: Philadelphia Eagles Defense

The Miami Dolphins had no answer for the Philadelphia Eagles during a nine-minute stretch that saw the defense get three takeaways and score 24 points in a 26-10 win.

Michael Vick returned from injury to throw for 208 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Loser: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton and his team were leading for most of the first half against the Atlanta Falcons.

Only problem is, they had to play another half.

The Panthers could not sustain momentum and fell 31-23 at the hands of the Falcons.

Newton threw for 276 yards and two scores in the loss.

Winner: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Ryan put together a show on Sunday, throwing for four touchdowns in a 31-23 come-from-behind win over the Carolina Panthers.

Ryan and the Falcons had been trailing for much of the first half, but threw for 232 yards in the second half to bring the Falcons, 8-5, back for the win.

Loser: Miami Dolphins

Reggie Bush did his part.

The rest of the Dolphins did not do theirs.

Bush ran for 103 yards on 14 carries, but the Dolphins offense was no match for the Eagles defense in a 26-10 loss.

Miami is now 4-9 on the season.

Starting quarterback Matt Moore threw for 95 yards during the game and was replaced by JP Losman.

Winner: Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints

Colston caught seven passes for 105 yards and two scores in a 22-17 win over the Tennessee Titans.

The win gave New Orleans its fifth straight win and ran their record to 10-3 this season.

Drew Brees threw for 337 yards and the two scores to Colston on the day.

New Orleans holds a two-game lead in the NFC South over the Falcons.

Loser: Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A week after he took some heat for sending one of his players home, Morris and the Buccaneers fell apart in a 41-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Bucs, 4-9 on the season, took an early 14-0 lead and then could not score again.

The team turned the ball over seven times during the game.