The Rejuvenated Cowboys, Most Desperate NFL Teams, Lane Kiffin’s LSU Move, and Guess the Lines With Cousin Sal, Todd McShay, and Van Lathan

What It Covers

Bill Simmons, Cousin Sal, Todd McShay, and Van Lathan break down Week 13 NFL results including Denver's overtime win, the Cowboys' playoff resurgence, the Chiefs' alarming six-and-six record, fan base despair rankings across four franchises, Week 14 game lines, and Lane Kiffin's departure from Ole Miss to LSU mid-playoff run.

Key Questions Answered

• •Cowboys playoff math: Dallas sits at six-and-five-and-one with a realistic path to winning the NFC East, currently priced at plus-650 to win the division. The team features two receivers ranking among the league's top six-to-eight at their position, a defense generating three times more pressures from Quinton Williams post-trade, and faces a Thursday elimination game against Detroit that functions as a de facto playoff qualifier with four more high-stakes games to follow.
• •Chiefs collapse indicators: Kansas City sits six-and-six, two games behind the final wild card spot, and has gone three-and-six against playoff-caliber opponents including losses to the Chargers, Eagles, Jaguars, Bills, Broncos, and Cowboys. FanDuel's plus-104 odds to make the playoffs appear inflated given tiebreaker disadvantages against multiple teams they already lost to. The Sunday night home game against Houston functions as a genuine must-win with no margin for error remaining.
• •NFC wild card threshold: Eleven wins represents the projected entry point for a wild card berth in the NFC, based on current standings where Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco each sit at nine wins with Green Bay at eight-and-three-and-one. Teams currently at seven wins face near-elimination scenarios. This benchmark means six-win teams like Dallas must run the table while hoping multiple teams above them lose two or more of their final games.
• •Lane Kiffin's LSU move timeline: Sources in Baton Rouge confirmed the deal was effectively closed approximately ten days before the public announcement, with Kiffin having already secured housing in Louisiana. The delay in announcement was strategic, allowing him to coach Ole Miss through the Iron Bowl while preserving optionality in the unlikely event Alabama's situation changed. Agent Jimmy Sexton, who represents 14 of 16 SEC head coaches, orchestrated the move.
• •Fourth-down game management errors: Cleveland's decision to go for it on fourth-and-one from their own 33-yard line while leading San Francisco by two points in poor weather conditions stands as the clearest coaching error of Week 13. With a 25-mph wind advantage, a dominant defense allowing roughly 250 yards, and an opponent generating no sustained drives, punting to pin San Francisco deep represented a near-certain path to victory that the coaching staff abandoned for analytics-driven aggression.
• •Pittsburgh's structural collapse: The Steelers, once sitting at approximately five-and-one, now face a plus-250 line to make the playoffs after consecutive offensive failures. Aaron Rodgers played through a broken wrist while publicly criticizing receivers postgame. The team passed on drafting a developmental quarterback and now cycles between Rodgers and Mason Rudolph with no viable long-term solution. Their remaining schedule includes home Miami, at Detroit, and at Cleveland — a path requiring wins they have not demonstrated the capacity to produce.
• •Lions fan despair case: Detroit represents the most acute fan disappointment among four franchises analyzed — Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, and Lions. Unlike Kansas City fans who hold multiple Super Bowl titles or Ravens fans with sustained playoff appearances, Lions fans watched a perceived championship window close without a title. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson's success with Chicago's Bears, generating wins despite Caleb Williams completing under 48% of passes, underscores how much of Detroit's offensive identity departed with him.