Shakeup Sunday in the NFC as 49ers vault into conference's pole position

The San Francisco 49ers had about as good a Sunday as they could have hoped.

They prevailed in a wild, back-and-forth tussle with the New Orleans Saints in what might have been an NFC Championship Game preview and arguably the game of the season so far.

Then, the Los Angeles Rams did their longtime division rivals a solid, knocking off the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum and continuing to regain their swagger in the do-or-die moments of the season.

In the span of a few short hours, the 49ers went from wild-card team to the top seed in the NFC in "if the season ended today" scenarios.

Meanwhile, in Foxborough, the Patriots are now on a losing streak, which is a relatively foreign concept for New England. The Patriots are 0-3 against the AFC's other division leaders. That's not ideal when it comes to playoff tiebreakers.

Quick hits: Catch up on Sunday's best

• 32 things we learned: There were plenty of unpredictable results in Week 14, but several outcomes helped bring increased clarity to the playoff chase.
• Winners and losers: The 49ers had a huge Sunday, after defeating the Saints and getting some help from the NFC West rival Rams. 
• Playoff picture: Two more teams joined the AFC playoff field on Sunday, but the real shakeup was in the NFC, where the top seeds were reshuffled.
• First-round draft order: The Bengals remain in position to collect the No. 1 overall choice.
• Odell Beckham Jr. said he wasn't going to talk about "offseason stuff" after a report indicated he wanted to be traded by the Browns.
• Marcus Peters helped clinch the Ravens' win over the Bills, and then took to the stands to celebrate.
• Lamar Jackson's latest highlight-reel run featured a juke move that put Bills LB Matt Milano into a face plant.
• It took three Saints players and a blatant facemask to bring down George Kittle on what might be the biggest play of the 49ers' season.
• The 49ers took advantage of an NFL rule to avoid pass interference on a fake punt attempt by the Saints.
• Despite the Browns' victory over the Bengals on Sunday, Baker Mayfield expressed frustration over the season-long injury woes of Odell Beckham Jr.
• This should come as no surprise, but Steelers fans completely took over the Cardinals' 64K-seat stadium.
• Bears LB Khalil Mack was in the holiday spirit, paying off all active layaway accounts at his hometown Walmart. 
• The Chiefs narrowly avoided having to forfeit one of the biggest games of their season.
• The Patriots were booed off the field by their own angry fans at halftime while trailing 20-7 to the Chiefs.
• The Texans' linebackers put together an absolutely perfect set of "Dodgeball" costumes for Week 14.

• PHOTOS: Best of Week 14 | Cheerleaders | NFL at 100

What our experts are saying

• Don't cry for Patriots after officiating mistakes: Yes, officials appeared to make two mistaken calls that proved costly for the Patriots. But New England is to blame for the loss, writes Jarrett Bell.
• 49ers star credits fan gift after win: After his big reception in the 49ers' win over the Saints, George Kittle rocked a gator-feet necklace that a fan told him to bring to San Francisco, writes Jori Epstein.
• Lions are hopeless: The Lions showed that there's no hope left after dropping a sixth straight game, writes Jeff Seidel.

Week 14 rundown

• Rams 28, Seahawks 12: The Rams are in a near must-win mode for the rest of the season, and this result had a profound impact on the NFC playoff picture.
• Steelers 23, Cardinals 17: Pittsburgh remains in the AFC playoff race after dealing Arizona its sixth straight loss.
• Titans 42, Raiders 21: Tennessee moved into a first-place tie atop the AFC South thanks to this win and the Texans' startling loss.
• Chiefs 23, Patriots 16: Kansas City held on to end New England's home winning streak at 21 games.
• Chargers 45, Jaguars 10: This is now five consecutive losses by Jacksonville by at least 17 points. That's not ideal.
• Jets 22, Dolphins 21: The Jets rallied to avoid a season sweep by the lowly Dolphins.
• Falcons 40, Panthers 20: The Falcons ruined the debut of Panthers interim head coach Perry Fewell.
• Browns 27, Bengals 19: The Browns kept their faint playoff hopes alive with this win.
• 49ers 48, Saints 46: The 49ers pulled out this back-and-forth thriller to remain in contention for home-field advantage in the NFC.
• Broncos 38, Texans 24: The Texans experienced the classic letdown game after last week's huge win over the Patriots.
• Packers 20, Redskins 15: Green Bay did just enough to beat one of the NFL's worst teams.
• Vikings 20, Lions 7: Detroit clinched its second straight last-place finish in the NFC North.
• Ravens 24, Bills 17: In winning their ninth consecutive game, the Ravens became the first AFC team to clinch a playoff berth.
• Buccaneers 38, Colts 35: Oft-maligned QB Jameis Winston accounted for five touchdowns as the Buccaneers further damaged what little hope the Colts have in the playoff race. 
• Bears 31, Cowboys 24 (Thursday): Things are starting to get ugly in Dallas.

Coming this week

Monday: Week 14 wraps up with an NFC East clash between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). Eli Manning is back as the starter for the Giants. With a win, the Eagles can move into a tie atop the division with the floundering Dallas Cowboys.

Tuesday: USA TODAY Sports' NFL experts offer their power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 14. 

Thursday: The Baltimore Ravens will look to push their winning streak to 10 games when they host the New York Jets (8:25 p.m. ET, FOX and NFL Network). Before the game, make sure to check out USA TODAY Sports for expert picks for every Week 15 game.

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