With the regular season officially three-quarters over, Week 14 provides plenty of NFL action on the schedule that can play a huge role in how the playoff seedings turn out.

The schedule is so stacked that a game featuring two of the three teams tied atop the AFC West, the 6-6 Kansas City Chiefs and the 6-6 Oakland Raiders, did not quite make the list. Here are the five most important Week 14 games.

5. Seattle Seahawks (8-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4)

The Seahawks’ impressive 24-10 win over the Eagles in Week 13 made them the current sixth seed in the NFC.

The Jaguars have now won five of their last six games after Sunday’s 30-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts (Dec. 3), and they sit in first place via a tiebreaker over the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South due to their head-to-head win.

Leonard Fournette may find it difficult to run on a Seattle defense that has allowed less than 100 yards on the ground in five straight games. During that five-game stretch, opposing runners have only averaged 2.8 Yards Per Carry.

Jacksonville enters Week 14 as the No. 1 scoring defense, allowing just 14.8 Points Per Game. Their 45 sacks lead the NFL and Russell Wilson has been sacked at least three times in half of the Seahawks’ 12 games.

4. Minnesota Vikings (10-2) at Carolina Panthers (8-4)

The Vikings have been firing on all cylinders and have now won eight in a row, including their Week 13 victory over the Falcons, 14-9. The Panthers are currently the fifth seed in the NFC. They saw their four-game win streak come to an end with a 31-21 loss at the hands of the Saints last Sunday.

Even with Teddy Bridgewater back from injury, Case Keenum refuses to give up his starting position as he remains a darkhorse MVP candidate. In his last four games, he has completed 74 percent of his passes for 1,093 yards, nine touchdowns, and a 116.7 quarterback rating.

The Panthers’ chances of success are relied upon a lot by 2015 MVP Cam Newton.

In the team’s eight wins, he has thrown for 13 touchdowns and three interceptions for a quarterback rating of 97.0. In Carolina’s four losses, he has thrown three touchdown passes and eight interceptions for a quarterback rating of only 59.0.

3. ‘Thursday Night Football’ New Orleans Saints (9-3) at Atlanta Falcons (7-5)

The Saints got a huge 31-21 win over the Panthers last Sunday. That gives them a one-game lead over them in the NFC South while also owning the tiebreaker for winning both head-to-head matchups. They still have two games in the next three weeks against the Falcons, who are two games behind them. Atlanta couldn’t muster much offense last week in their 14-9 loss to the Vikings.

For once, Drew Brees hasn’t had to shoulder the majority of the offensive load.

That is because of the two-headed monster that New Orleans has at running back. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara have combined for 1,528 rushing yards on 5.7 yards per carry, 869 yards receiving on 102 catches, and 20 total touchdowns.

Part of the reason last season’s NFC Champions, the Falcons, have slipped a little is because of turnovers. After turning the ball over only 11 times last season, they have 13 this year with four games remaining. They forced 22 last season but have taken the ball away just 10 times so far this year. Their -3 turnover margin is a far cry from the +11 they had in 2016.

2. ‘Sunday Night Football’ Pittsburgh Steelers (10-2) at Baltimore Ravens (7-5)

The Steelers won in comeback fashion over the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Monday (Dec.

4). The game between the two AFC North rivals had its violent moments and has resulted in a one-game suspension for receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Week 14 pits them against another AFC North rival, the Ravens. Baltimore stayed in the final AFC Wild Card spot with a 44-20 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 13.

Pittsburgh has now won seven in a row and won the last two despite a -4 turnover margin in those games. The offense has no problem moving the ball as they have out-gained their opponent yardage wise in 11 of their 12 games. They rank just 12th in the league in scoring, though, in large part because they score touchdowns in only 45.7 percent of their red zone trips which is just 26th-best.

Ben Roethlisberger faces a Ravens defense that leads the NFL with 29 turnovers forced and 20 interceptions. During their current three-game winning streak, their opposition has turned the ball over 11 times with seven interceptions.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) at Los Angeles Rams (9-3)

The Eagles saw their nine-game winning streak finally come to an end last Sunday in a 24-10 loss to the Seahawks. They still sit tied with three other teams for the best record in the NFL. The Rams have now won two straight and six of their last seven after their Week 13 win over the Arizona Cardinals, 32-16. They sit one game up on the Seahawks in the NFC West.

These are the two top scoring teams in the NFL as both have scored 361 points (30.1 points per game).

The 10 points Philadelphia put up last week was exactly half the amount of their previous season-low of 20 back in Week 2.

Look for the Eagles to establish a run game that is currently ranked second in the NFL in yards per game on the ground. As great as the Rams have been this season, they haven't always had success stopping the run. Their 4.7 yards allowed per carry ranks 30th out of 32 teams.
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