Butt Fumble touchdown is good for the Chargers, bad for the Steelers. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

What We Learned In Week 14 In The NFL:

• Another NFL team mourning the loss of a teammate
• Big Ben back to work but Steelers get worked by Chargers
• Losses by Ravens and Bengals keep playoff hopes alive for Steelers

These are the kinds of Mondays where hopefully your coworkers know enough about you to just stay away.  Not a whole lot of good things to say this morning.  Bright side being the losses by the Ravens and Bengals but the outlook for the Steelers is a whole lot more uncertain given the fact that they just can’t seem to get off this roller coaster of inconsistency.  I fully expect them to bounce back and have a better performance against the Cowboys next Sunday, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the week after that they’ll falter against the Bengals in what could be the playoff-deciding game.  At this point the Steelers have lost 3 out of the last 4 and the playoff hopes could be diminishing.  The only positive thing to say is that if they are able to make it to the playoffs, at least they’ll play against good teams because they seem to play their worst when facing a statistically inferior opponent. (more…)

Think you can pick winners better than the NPC staff?

Here we are about to enter the fourth quarter of the 2012 NFL Season.  Some teams have already clinched either their division and/or playoff berth while some other teams like the Ratbirds were too busy getting beat by the Steelers and our 3^rd string quarterback to clinch anything.  Sorry, had to add that.  Never miss an opportunity to take a cheap shot kids, that’s my one and only piece of advice.  Early signs from practice are pointing to the Steelers getting Ben Roethlisberger back from his rib/shoulder injury while the defense will be missing the services of Ike Taylor for the first time in eight seasons.  Ike’s contribution so far this season has been outstanding, but the play of Cortez Allen last week proved that the Steelers just might have the depth in the secondary we have all dreamt for.  This week we will be treated to my favorite overrated quarterback and yours, Philip Rivers and his underachieving Chargers at home.  No need to take them lightly by any means (ahem, Cleveland game) but with Rivers committing 20 turnovers in his past 12 games, this could be a game where the defense feasts on turnovers and scores some points.  Ideally Ben will be able to start, but I’d be hoping that he wouldn’t have to finish the game and with a comfortable lead Charlie Batch can come in and secure another W.  Craig is pulling further ahead in the overall standings so it’s time to go out on a limb and start hoping for some upsets to knock him off.  As always the NPC staff encourages Steeler Nation to pick along with us or tell us how awesome we are in the comments section.  Here are the overall standings and this week’s slate of games:

Kimmy = 122-69

Craig = 128-63

Dom = 117-74

Kari = 117-74

Andrew = 117-74

Lori = 107-52