The NFL regular season is in the homestretch and the general public knows a lot more about these teams than they did months ago. It has been a long season but there have been some outcomes that do not pass the eye test.
Here are the most surprising games of the season through 14 weeks:
Week 1: Jets 22, Bills 16 (OT)
New York had Aaron Rodgers at the start of the game but it is well-known that did not last long. The Jets could have easily crumbled, much like the Browns did when Nick Chubb suffered his devastating injury against the Steelers, they dug deep and found a way to pull one off in overtime against a division foe.
Josh Allen was intercepted three times as Breece Hall carried the Jets to victory.
Week 6: Jets 20, Eagles 14
"They ain't 12-0 no more," Jets head coach Robert Saleh proclaimed after knocking off last year's NFC Super Bowl representative, which entered the game 12-0 lifetime against New York. A Breece Hall rushing touchdown in the final minutes completed New York's comeback, led by Zach Wilson. Hall's touchdown was New York's first of the game. Kicker Greg Zuerlein was alone in the scoring column up to that point.
The October result was Philadelphia's first and only loss until losing the past two weeks. The Jets have losing streaks of three and five games this season, so toppling a giant like the Eagles served as a statement win.
Week 3: Cardinals 28, Cowboys 16
The Cowboys won their first two games of the 2023 season by a 70-10 margin against the two New York teams. Their encore performance was an egg on the road against Arizona. How long ago was this game? The Cardinals' win was the first of Joshua Dobbs' career as a starting quarterback. He has obviously been traded to Minnesota since.
The Cowboys never held a lead. Matt Prater converted a 62-yard field goal as Arizona was able to wedge a win between eight losses.
Week 3: Dolphins 70, Broncos 20
It was not necessarily a surprise that Miami was able to knock off its AFC counterpart but rather the magnitude of which the Dolphins did. The Broncos have improved a lot as a team throughout the course of the season but it's their defense that has taken the longest strides. The Broncos have the sixth-highest turnover differential (+6) in the league but nothing went right for them in that blowout loss to the Dolphins in Week 3.
Miami scored 14 points or more in each of the four quarters. Four different offensive players had plays of at least 50+ yards and Denver lost the turnover battle (-2). The Dolphins fell two points shy of setting the NFL regular-season record for points scored in a regular-season game.
Week 7: Patriots 29, Bills 25
New England has three wins on the year, including two against teams currently in position to soldier on to the playoffs. The outcome served as head coach Bill Belichick's 300th-career regular-season win, which is third-most behind Don Shula and George Halas. In the week leading up to the game, there was a report from NFL Media that Belichick had signed a contract extension.
New England's win was not a total surprise. The Patriots have been a thorn in the side of Buffalo for years. The margin of defeat is often narrow between division rivals.
Week 8: Panthers 15, Texans 13
The battle of the No. 1 overall selection versus the No. 2 overall selection. It has been a trying season for Bryce Young but the victory snapped Carolina's 56-game losing streak when trailing by at least one point in the fourth quarter. A Tommy Tremble touchdown reception was the Panthers' only touchdown scored as Eddy Pineiro knocked through three field goals.
Week 14: Patriots 21, Steelers 18
Pittsburgh had not lost two games in a row this season until dropping consecutive games against teams with two of the worst records in football: Arizona and New England. There has been a bit of smoke and mirrors with this Steelers team all season. Yes, they are over .500 and still amid a playoff race, but the offense has been so bad that it is also easy to write a script where the Steelers lose these types of games.
New England snapped a five-game losing streak on the performance of Bailey Zappe.
