Who will end up with the No. 1 pick of the 2017 NFL Draft? Here's a look at four Week 14 games that will help determine the top of the draft order.
Records:Bengals: 4-7-1; Browns: 0-12
Where they stand:The Browns hold a one-game lead for the No. 1 pick of the draft entering Week 14. Sunday's home game against Cincinnati might be the Browns' best remaining chance to notch a win. Robert Griffin III will get the nod at quarterback for Cleveland -- he hasn't played in a game since Week 1 and is returning from injured reserve. A fifth consecutive win in the series for Cincinnati would hammer a key nail into Cleveland's claim on the top pick.
Looking ahead: Cleveland's last three opponents after Cincinnati are a combined 18-18: the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Browns still have a grip (but have yet to clinch) the top pick entering the season finale at Pittsburgh, and the Steelers are still fighting for a playoff spot at that time, you can all but slot the Browns at No. 1.
Records:Jets: 3-9; 49ers: 1-11
Where they stand:San Francisco's best chance to win again this season comes this week. The Niners are at home playing against a Jets team that looked wholly uninspired in a 41-10 loss to Indianapolis, and is coming off a short week as well. Still, San Francisco remains the biggest threat to the Browns for the No. 1 pick, and owns an edge on Cleveland in the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker (the team with the lower SOS picks first if there's a tied record). The Browns' SOS: .569; the Niners': .531. However, a team's SOS changes each week.
Looking ahead: The Falcons, Rams and Seahawks await San Francisco after the Jets game, two of them on the road. Is the win ceiling for the 49ers three? Three wins would net a high pick, but almost certainly not the No. 1 choice. The Jets are slotted fifth in the draft order, and their remaining opponents after San Francisco (the Dolphins, Patriots and Bills) are each .500 or better.
Records:Vikings: 6-6; Jaguars: 2-10
Where they stand:The Jaguars, losers of 7 games in a row, would draft No. 3 overall if the season ended today, but as long as Cleveland and San Francisco keep losing, that's as high a pick as they can hope for. The Vikings have scored just 13 and 15 points the last two weeks, and the Jaguars haven't scored more than 22 since the first week in October, so this figures to be a low-scoring game. A win over Minnesota could put the No. 1 pick just about out of reach for Jacksonville.
Looking ahead: With the Jaguars' sputtering offense set to face one of the league's stingiest defenses in Minnesota, there's little hope for a much-needed offensive outburst for Jacksonville. All four teams remaining on the Jaguars' schedule are 6-6 (Vikings, Texans, Titans, Colts) -- these could be competitive games.
Records:Bears: 3-9; Lions: 8-4
Where they stand:Chicago is tied with the Jets for the fourth-worst record in the NFL, and the Bears are a lot less likely to notch win No. 4 this week than the Jets are (see above). As of now, Chicago's strength-of-schedule rating (.500) is weaker than the Jets' (.517), which would favor Chicago in a tiebreaker for a top pick.
Looking ahead: Chicago is looking at the Packers, Redskins and Vikings to finish the season, who have won six games each. If the Bears' trouncing of San Francisco sparks better play down the stretch, Chicago could easily fall out of the top 5 in the draft order.
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