Mort & Schefter's Week 14 notebook

— -- Topics this week include a rundown of what a team of undrafted free agents would look like,?the bitter rivalry between the? New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens, the value of running backs in the NFL draft and more.

The 2016 undrafted free-agent team

Seattle is a model for others and an inspiration for players. The Seahawks have an NFL-high 25 undrafted free agents on their roster, in large part because the players are worthy, but also because they offset the cost of the high-priced superstars Seattle also has signed.

This is a season in which undrafted free agents have made a bigger mark than usual. It is enough to send a strong message to each college player that even if you go undrafted, the dream is not over. For many, it is just beginning.

This year's all undrafted free-agent team isn't just good -- it would be good enough to make its own run deep in the playoffs:

-- Adam Schefter

Bad blood in the AFC

It isn't Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning, but it's not a terrible stretch to say the rivalry between the Patriots and the Ravens has been just as compelling and certainly nastier. There's more than one reason to buckle up for the Monday matchup between the two teams at Gillette Stadium.

The last time the Patriots and Ravens met was in Foxborough during an AFC divisional-round playoff game in January 2015. New England fans celebrated the 35-31 victory after the Patriots twice overcame two-touchdown deficits.

The Ravens? They were bitter in defeat, in part because Patriots coach Bill Belichick successfully maneuvered the substitution rule that governs eligible and ineligible receivers during one scoring drive. It raised the ire of Baltimore coach John Harbaugh, who protested loudly to the game officials and again when asked during the postgame news conference whether he had ever seen the play.

"No," Harbaugh said. "Nobody has ever seen it."

Brady himself had a snarky response: "Maybe those guys gotta study the rule book and figure it out."

Three months later, the competition committee altered the mechanics of the rule.

The nastiness has been evident between Brady and Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs, as the two stars have often exchanged words during and after games.

"I don't like him," Suggs said in 2013. "He don't like me. I don't like his hair. I don't like his smug attitude."

Even Wednesday, Suggs conspicuously did not mention Brady by name when he was asked about Brady breaking the record for most wins ever by an NFL quarterback.

You almost expected Suggs to remind media members that the Ravens have handed Brady two of his only three home losses in the postseason. The Ravens believe they should have won at least three of those four playoff games that have been played in Foxborough.

The Patriots won the 2011 AFC Championship Game, 23-20, when Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal after belatedly racing onto the field because the scoreboard he was looking at showed it was third down instead of fourth down. Two plays earlier, Lee Evans failed to secure a go-ahead touchdown pass from Joe Flacco.

That was the same game Brady had some testy responses when he was hit hard twice by Ray Lewis, including once when Brady scored what proved to be the winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak. Brady angrily spiked the football when he cleared the pile.

The teams' regular-season meetings since 2009 have proved memorable, too. Who can forget Sept. 23, 2012, when Justin Tucker kicked a 27-yard field goal to give the Ravens a 31-30 victory as time expired? Belichick chased an official, physically grabbing one to get his attention amid the bedlam, because the coach was convinced Tucker's kick had missed, just outside the upright.

The history between the two franchises is understated and rich with drama and irony, in part because Belichick was the Cleveland Browns coach whom the late Art Modell fired in mid-February of 1996 after the team split for Baltimore. The two franchises have combined for six Super Bowl titles since that time and Belichick's fingerprints are everywhere.

This season, the Patriots are 10-2 and the Ravens are 7-5. The Patriots are playoff bound, but every win counts for home-field advantage in the AFC. The Ravens would love to foil that goal but, truth be told, they also would gladly head to New England again in January. They're scrapping for a playoff berth, and scrapping seems to come quite naturally between the two teams.

-- Chris Mortensen

Running back draft value

When LSU running back Leonard Fournette announced his intentions this week to turn pro, it solidified a draft class that NFL executives have been discussing for months.

Last summer, one NFL general manager said that the expected 2017 running back draft class would be one of the best in years. He believed that there was no other position that had as much depth in the 2017 draft as at running back. Others have shared similar sentiments. Any team that needs running back help is going to be in business.

Fournette is expected to be at the head of the class. "Put him in the top 10 right now," said former Buccaneers general manager and current ESPN analyst Mark Dominik.

And over the course of one year, with Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott running his way into contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Most Valuable Player, the conversation about selecting running backs too high in the draft has shifted dramatically. When Fournette's name is mentioned as a potential top-10 pick, no one should question whether it is too high. If the player is worthy, it's simply not.

However, the history of running backs drafted in the top five still will be raised. The list is, to say the least, not pretty. Here's a look at the running backs selected among the top five over the past 15 drafts:

Once Fournette is off the board, any number of running backs will hear their names called shortly after. Florida State's Dalvin Cook, Stanford's Christian McCaffrey, Texas' D'Onta Foreman, Tennessee's Alvin Kamara, Ohio State's Curtis Samuel and Georgia's Nick Chubb are expected to be some of the draft's top running back prospects. But one year after Elliott made his mark in Dallas, other running backs are expected to have a chance to make theirs in one of the deeper running back classes in years.

-- Adam Schefter

A well-timed return to glory for the Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are America's Team and a prime-time team. Dallas has returned to prominence and will play the third of a record four straight night games. Dallas plays at the New York Giants on Sunday night, then host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday.

In a season in which the ratings have been down, the Cowboys are giving hope to Dallas and the NFL that they can save the year. Dallas has been pure ratings gold.

Last Thursday night's Dallas-Minnesota game had 21.8 million viewers and was the most-viewed Thursday night game of all time, according to the NFL. The Cowboys' previous weeknight game, on Thanksgiving Day against the Washington Redskins, was the NFL's highest-rated game of the season with more than 35 million viewers.

Dallas at Pittsburgh in Week 10 (28.8 million viewers), Dallas at Green Bay in Week 6 (28 million) and the Giants at Dallas in the season opener (27.5 million) were the NFL's other highest-rated games of the season. In other words, Dallas has been the NFL's best antidote to sagging ratings.

Sunday night's Cowboys-Giants game will do another monster number, and the numbers on Dallas' playoff games are likely going to be off the charts as well. The NFL and networks must be beyond happy that Dallas looks to be the NFC's top seed, with a real chance to host a Divisional Playoff game, then the NFC Championship game. Two Dallas home playoff games will be two more huge ratings.

Few teams draw or rate like the Cowboys. And even though this is a down year for ratings, the playoffs have a chance to be huge, largely because of Dallas.

From 1978 to 1991, the prime-time soap opera "Dallas" was the top-rated show on television. Twenty-five years later, Dallas still is this country's top TV draw.

-- Adam Schefter

Emptying the notebook

• The Titans-Broncos game in Nashville on Sunday could be more revealing than the Texans-Colts when it comes to the AFC playoff picture. The Titans are coming off a bye, quarterback Marcus Mariota has begun to blossom and the team is physical, built by design for December and January. They appear to have some momentum despite their pedestrian 6-6 record. Can the Broncos, with either Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch at quarterback, exploit the one glaring weakness of the Titans, which is their secondary? If not, Denver could be in trouble.
• Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has dismissed retirement talk, as well as a health problem that briefly sent him to the hospital. He said most coaches get "sick as a dog" at the end of the year "because your immune system is shot." This rings true. Coaches' immune systems are challenged during the season. Titans coach Mike Mularkey spent the first two days of his bye last week laid up with flu-like symptoms.
• Note to the Browns, 49ers, Bears and Jets: As ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. has pointed out this week, the 2017 draft class might not be the year for finding a franchise quarterback at the top of the first round. The early consensus is that Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett could provide another necessary tool to build a championship roster. If you can't find a closer on offense, you better find at least one on defense. Look what Von Miller has done for the Broncos and Khalil Mack for the Raiders. As Hall of Fame exec Bill Polian often preaches, you better have at least two pass-rushers -- one on each side. The Chiefs have three with Justin Houston back from knee injury, Tamba Hali and Dee Ford.
• Nobody has said anything publicly, but word is that Bears quarterback Matt Barkley has played well enough to get a good look during the final four games now that Jay Cutler has been placed on injured reserve. At the very least, Barkley has a shot to prove he can be a solid No. 2 in a league where he was just starting to get kicked around.
• This is one of the more confounding and startling stats of the season: Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles now has more NFL interceptions returned for touchdowns than wins. Since entering the league in 2014, Bortles has thrown 11 pick-sixes and won only 10 games. The 11 are the most by a quarterback in his first three seasons in NFL history, per Elias.
• One final thought on Tiegate: As it turns out, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton addressed his dress-code violation with the Carolina offense at a meeting on Saturday night, per a team source. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera addressed it at the full team meeting Saturday night, per the same source. The entire organization knew Derek Anderson, and not Newton, would be starting Sunday night vs. Seattle due to the dress-code violation. Both men, Newton and Rivera, were upfront about it, explained the full situation, and their postgame comments basically match up to what privately was told to the team Saturday night.

-- Adam Schefter and? Chris Mortensen