NFL

Here are 5 winners and losers from an NFL Saturday with major playoff ramifications

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If you missed the NFL's triple-header on Saturday, don't worry, you (mostly) didn't miss much.

In short, the Bengals, Lions and Colts came a step closer to securing a playoff spot. And three other teams... did not.

Let's take a closer look at everything that happened this past Saturday in the NFL with five winners and losers:

WINNER: Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals lost Joe Burrow for the season, and since then they have not seemed to miss a beat.

In Browning's first four starts since Burrow's season-ending injury, the Bengals are 3-1 and have scored more than 30 points in two of them.

In Saturday's game, the Bengals scored 27 points against a good Vikings defense.

The other two teams Browning has beat are the Colts and the Jaguars (granted, Trevor Lawrence left the game in the fourth quarter due to an ankle injury), all playoff teams at the moment.

Browning isn't the next Joe Burrow, but the Bengals have not fallen off a cliff and still stand a chance in the playoff picture.

LOSER: Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers, after their brutal 30-13 loss to the Colts, fell to last place in their division and dropped to 7-7 on the season.

The team just hasn't been the same since starting QB Kenny Pickett was ruled out for the season with an ankle injury requiring surgery. The Steelers have lost three in a row and face the Bengals, Seahawks and the Ravens to finish out the season.

What looked like a season that would see head coach Mike Tomlin's Steelers back in the playoffs appears to have fallen apart.

WINNER: Detroit Lions' voodoo

The Lions had been on a highly concerning skid before Saturday's 42-17 win over the Denver Broncos.

In their previous five games, the Lions had gone 3-2 and had not won a game by a margin more than a touchdown.

Questions swirled about if whether the Lions had a defense able to withstand ploayoff football. Those questions will still remain, but at least now they have a solid win to hang their hats on.

LOSER: Sean Payton's vocal cords

At a critical moment in Saturday's game, something that appears to have made Sean Payton's head explode.

On a fourth and inches with the Broncos down 28-10 in the third quarter, the Broncos have a touchdown nullified due to an offensive offside that has everyone baffled. It was called on the center's helmet being offsides, but the call makes the Kadarius Toney call last week look like the best call of the year.

After Payton yelled at the refs, he was seen yelling at QB Russell Wilson on the sidelines. Some speculated that Payton was angry at Wilson because on the previous play, it appears the Broncos did actually score a touchdown, but a challenge flag was not thrown in time before the snap.

However, a still steamed Payton denied that is why he was yelling at Wilson, telling reporters, โ€œWhat I talk with Russell about is none of your business.โ€

The Broncos needed to win this game to keep their incredible in-season comeback alive, but now they fall to 11th in the AFC and have a high hill to climb to make the playoffs.

LOSER: Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings have three more games this season, and two of them are against the Lions.

The other is the team sitting right behind them in the NFC standings: The Green Bay Packers.

While the Vikings still sit as the sixth seed for now, they have a five 6-7 teams behind them set to play on Sunday.

With their current starting quarterback Nick Mullins throwing footballs into the face of defensemen sacking him, the odds do not seem in their favor.

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