The Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints were both shocked in domes on the road. The Dallas Cowboys also blew a big lead and lost to the Packers in a home game that felt like they were away in Green Bay. The surprise losses by the Eagles (48-20 in Minnesota) and Saints (27-16 in St. Louis) caused them to lose control of their divisions. The Cowboys, even in their 37-36 defeat, and the Carolina Panthers with their 30-20 win over the Jets, benefited most:

NFC East: The narratives of Tony Romo struggling with critical interceptions and the Cowboys’ defense not being able to stop good offensive teams reared their ugly heads as the Packers erased a 23-point deficit. But thanks to the Eagles (8-6) not being able to take advantage earlier against the Vikings, the Cowboys (7-7) are still oddly in prime position to win the East.

If Dallas beats its free-falling rival Washington in Week 16, whatever Philadelphia does vs. Chicago is irrelevant. The Cowboys couldn’t finish with Romo and their D on Sunday, but doing it in Week 17 at home against the Eagles is all that matters.

NFC South: The Saints (10-4) major trip up against the Rams means the Panthers (10-4)  “control their own destiny.” Given division also-rans Tampa Bay and Atlanta are those teams’ opponents in Week 17, the matchup in Carolina is a de facto title game. If the Panthers hold serve in their series and finish off the Falcons, they would steal the No. 2 seed and bye from the Saints, who would be looking at No. 5 and a wild card. The Panthers must keep winning for another reason: Unlike the Saints, they lose to head-to-head tiebreaker with the Arizona Cardinals (9-5).

NFC North: The Lions (7-6) were losers here, and they don’t even play until Monday night. When they step on the field vs. AFC wild-card hopeful Baltimore, they will be trying to stay ahead of the Bears (8-6) and Packers (7-6-1).  Detroit swept Chicago and has the extra half-game on Green Bay, so a win means it’s still in good shape to take the division. A loss drops the Lions all the way to third, and a long shot behind the no longer Jay Cutler-less Bears and maybe soon-to-be Aaron Rodgers-ful Packers. In other words, the Ravens game has the entire Lions season in the balance.

NFC West: The Seahawks (12-2) are the only reliable team in this conference, as their 23-0 walkover over the hapless Giants put them on the brink of both the division title over the 49ers (10-4) and the No. 1 seed. Looking at how inconsistent everyone else in the conference is, Seattle feels more like a Super Bowl team with each passing week. Just don’t sleep on San Francisco, which won’t give up the NFC crown without a fight even as a presumed wild card.

Quarterback stock watch


Keep spreading the news, but the passer play in New York, New York has been down, down this season:

Falling

Eli Manning, Giants. Call him the anti-Peyton. Hey, at least his five pack of interceptions (25 and counting) against the Seahawks didn’t come with a pick six. It didn’t come with any New York points, either.

Geno Smith, Jets. Another pick six, another road loss in Carolina. Another young athlete who still has lot of work to do to be a polished passer. But he no longer is the most picked passer in New York.

Case Keenum, Texans. With the first pick of the 2014 NFL draft, the Texans select the franchise quarterback (Teddy Bridgewater?) Keenum will back up next season.

Robert Griffin III, Redskins. Mike Shanahan and Kirk Cousins didn’t win. RG3 didn’t play, and he still lost.

Rising

Colin Kaepernick, 49ers. The Buccaneers’ defense on the road was a good litmus test, and he aced it. There was some familiar passing, running and all-out Kaepernicking (19-of-29, 203 yards, 2 TDs, 7 carries, 39 yards) in Tampa.

Alex Smith, Chiefs. Jamaal Charles did most of the work, but what he did (17-of-20, 287 yards, 5 TDs) against the Raiders still counts. Now it’s on him to do when it counts more.

Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins. Outdueling Tom Brady late at home to keep them alive in the division race and improve their wild-card chances? Congratulations on the biggest win of your career.

Matt Cassel, Vikings. Why did they start Christian Ponder or trade for Josh Freeman again? He did that (26-of-35, 382 yards, 2 TDs, INT) against the Eagles without you know who in the backfield.

Game balls

Jamaal Charles, RB, Chiefs. The Kansas City Comet did his best Gale Sayers impression against the Raiders (16 touches, 215 yards from scrimmage, five TDs) in a 56-31 shootout. It made Chiefs’ fans happy, but fantasy football players a whole lot happier.

Eddie Lacy, RB, Packers. The Pack rode the rookie back (21 carries, 141 yards, TD) to lead the big comeback in Big D. He’s about to ride away with offensive rookie of the year honors.

Greg Jennings, WR, Vikings. The former Packer gets the nod for the Vikes against Philly over Cassel, fill-in back Matt Asiata (three TDs) and Jared Allen (two sacks). Jennings flew past the Eagles’ secondary all day (11 catches, 163 yards, TD).

Captain Munnerlyn, CB, Panthers. Aye, aye. He steered the Carolina defense against Jets rookie Geno Smith with two sacks and his 47-yard game-clinching pick six.

Rams’ defense. They had four sacks and two picks of Drew Brees, and held the Saints to just 61 rushing yards and 16 points. They were super in their dome.

PHOTOS:  Week 15 gallery 


VIDEOS:  RedZone recap

Should Rodgers sit rest of season?