Week 13

GREEN BAY PACKERS (31) vs. DETROIT LIONS (24)

I should have remembered the Detroit Lions and Thanksgiving don’t exactly have the best relationship with each other. This loss to the Packers marks the eighth time in the last nine games that Detroit has lost on a holiday meant to be thankful and optimistic. 

The first half was fierce and competitive, just the way everybody expected. Green Bay got the ball to start the game and played from ahead the entire period. Unfortunately, the Lions lost Amon-Ra St. Brown due to ankle injury, but their offense made enough plays to cut their deficit to three. Getting the ball to start the second half, Detroit needed to get into the end zone, or else they were going to be playing keep-up the rest of the afternoon.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, the Lions got across midfield but faced a fourth and three at the 47 yard line. To nobody’s surprise, Dan Campbell kept the offense on the field. However, he decided to hand the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs in shotgun formation and the play got completely blown up for a loss of two yards. Just a couple plays later, Jordan Love found Christian Watson deep down the sideline for a 51 yard touchdown and the Packers completely blew the gates open. All of a sudden, Detroit trailed 24-14 when they could have led 21-17. 

Despite Jared Goff connecting with Isaac TesLaa for a touchdown to make it a one-score game, the Packers quickly responded with an endzone drive of their own and the defense held their ground for the rest of the day. The next two times the Lions entered enemy territory, they failed to convert on another fourth down try and their final drive ended with a field goal. 

When you look at the box score, the Lions offense didn’t have a bad afternoon. After throwing three straight incompletions to start the game, Goff completed his next fifteen pass attempts. He finished the afternoon going 20 of 26 for 256 passing yards with a couple touchdown passes and zero interceptions. In St. Brown’s absence, Jameson Williams had 144 receiving yards on just seven catches. They went eight for thirteen on third down, two for three in the red zone and held onto the ball for 31 minutes! Unfortunately, those two fourth down attempts were the biggest reason why Detroit lost this game. It felt like watching a carbon copy of the Thanksgiving game between these two teams in 2023 and it felt like Dan Campbell learned nothing!

Jordan Love was phenomenal with four touchdown passes and any time the Lions tried to cut the game close, he made clutch play after clutch play to keep Green Bay ahead. When they went for it on fourth down three times, they not only succeeded, but they turned out to be the biggest plays of the afternoon. Two of them resulted in touchdowns and the last one was a big conversion by Dontayvion Wicks that allowed the Packers to run out the clock. Matt LaFleur beat Campbell at his own game and the Lions simply got outsmarted for 60 straight minutes.

The NFC North is going to get really interesting as we enter the final weeks of the season. Right now, Detroit is not even in a playoff spot and the division is in the hands of both the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Get your popcorn ready, ladies and gentlemen!

The Packers get a huge win on the road and are now 8-3-1, heading back home for a huge matchup against the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, the Lions have once again self-destructed in a loss at home to finish the week 7-5 and will stay home for a must-win showdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.

DALLAS COWBOYS (31) vs. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (28)

Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but the Dallas Cowboys are legitimate playoff threats right now. Since the bye week, they have been absolutely lethal on both sides of the ball. In the span of four days, the Cowboys just beat the reigning conference champions at JerryWorld. We knew their offense had been sensational all season long, but since the trade deadline, their defense has made a massive leap in terms of improvement and now the team has a chance to finally make it back to the NFC Championship for the first time in 30 years.

To start the game, Dak Prescott did the one thing you cannot do against the Kansas City Chiefs: throw an interception. Just one play later, Patrick Mahomes found Rashee Rice on a simple screen for a 28 yard catch-and-run score. Fortunately, the Cowboys offense didn’t shut down for the rest of the afternoon as they managed to score a touchdown on the ensuing possession, but Kansas City still led 14-10 midway through the second quarter. Fortunately for Dallas, their defense forced a needed punt thanks to a holding penalty and sack from Jadeveon Clowney, which allowed the offense to lead a go-ahead touchdown drive to end the first half. The Cowboys were winning by three points, but everybody watching knew this game was far from over.

Both offenses stalled out throughout the third quarter but they eventually got out of their respective funks in the final fifteen minutes. From Kansas City’s perspective, their defense did what they needed to do to make sure the deficit didn’t get out of hand. However, from Dallas’ point of view, they were letting Mahomes hang around and it was becoming a problem. 

On the second play of the fourth quarter, the Chiefs faced a huge fourth down at the three yard line. Waving the special teams off the field, Mahomes fired a strike to Rashee Rice in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown, but Prescott came through with a statement drive of his own. On third and eight at the Kansas City 45 yard line, George Pickens broke free down the right sideline and hurdled his way all the way to the six yard line on an electric 39 yard catch-and-run! A few plays later, Prescott connected with Javonte Williams on the scramble drill to give the Cowboys the lead and a sweet catch in the corner of the end zone by Pickens put the team ahead 28-21! The Chiefs offense went three-and-out on the next drive and thanks to a huge 51 yard catch by CeeDee Lamb, Dallas’ offense did enough to go ahead by double digits with five minutes remaining! 

The euphoria might have consumed everybody at AT&T Stadium, but with all three timeouts in his pocket, Mahomes had more than enough time to pull off a comeback for the second straight week. On his next possession, he escaped two sacks and heaved a 43 yard shot to a wide open Xavier Worthy, setting up Mahomes’ fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon that cut the deficit 31-28.

From here, you might be thinking to yourself; “here we go again.” The Cowboys are going to choke and the Chiefs will reign supreme. To quote the great Lee Corso, “not so fast!” Two pass interference penalties from Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie gave Dallas two early first downs but it was a 13 yard completion to George Pickens that allowed them to run out the clock and take down the defending AFC Champions!

Coming back against the Eagles was one thing, but for Dak Prescott to outplay Patrick Mahomes on Thanksgiving is probably the best victory of his career given the circumstances. When he threw that interception to begin the game, I’m pretty sure everybody had the same thought, which was “here we go again.” However, Dallas never buckled down and it didn’t matter how well Patrick Mahomes played because they were going to make sure they won the game by any means necessary. 

As for the Chiefs, they are no longer as feared as they were in the past. Kansas City is capable of winning quality games at home and they remind us why they are a team to respect in the AFC. However, they look the exact opposite whenever they have to go on the road. Five of the team’s six losses have been away: Buffalo, Denver, the LA Chargers, Jacksonville and now Dallas. Am I going to say their chances of making the playoffs are finished? Absolutely not. Looking at the rest of their schedule, the Chiefs should win out the rest of their games and eek into the playoff race. But even if they do, they will have an extremely tough path to get back to the Super Bowl.

The Cowboys pull off another vintage performance and vault to 6-5-1, with a trip on the road to see if they can pull off a third straight victory as they take on the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Chiefs lose yet another one-score game to drop to 6-6 and will head back home for a must win game against the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football.

CINCINNATI BENGALS (32) vs. BALTIMORE RAVENS (14)

Joe Burrow officially made his return from a turf toe injury on Thanksgiving night and it felt like the minute he jogged onto the field, the Cincinnati Bengals got the spark they needed to go out and pull off a huge upset on the road.

In the first half, the Bengals offense didn’t have any trouble moving the football. However, in their four trips to the red zone, they settled for field goals by Evan McPherson and turned it over on downs at the one yard line. Yet, Cincinnati still led by five at halftime! This is where their defense comes into the fold.

Once again, the Bengals did not have Trey Hendrickson due to a lingering hip injury, but it was clear that they did not need him to win this game. After letting up an easy touchdown run to Derrick Henry on the opening drive, Cincinnati was able to adjust on the fly and they absolutely dominated the rest of the night. In the first three minutes, the Ravens offense turned it over three times; two of them from Lamar Jackson! The worst one by far was on second and nine at the Cincinnati 44 yard line with about eight and a half minutes left in the second quarter. What appeared to be a 44 yard catch-and-run score for Isaiah Likely turned out to be a fumble in the end zone. Before Likely crossed the goal line, defensive back Jordan Battle made an outstanding play by punching the ball out and forcing a touchback! Although the Bengals kept settling for field goals rather than score touchdowns, more momentum kept leaving Baltimore’s sideline after every drive. 

When the second half began, Cincinnati’s offense got in a better groove and made enough plays to put the game out of reach. Burrow completed nine of fourteen pass attempts for 94 passing yards with two touchdown passes in that span to top off a 260+ yard performance in his return. It was also a promising night for both Chase Brown and Ja’Marr Chase, who were able to total over 110 yards and it allowed the Bengals to completely dominate the time of possession.

The Ravens, on the other hand, couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot. Despite a promising touchdown drive midway through the third quarter, Baltimore’s offense turned it over two more times and Cincinnati’s defense completely took over the rest of the game. Struggling against the Browns on the road was one thing because division rivalry matchups on the road are always the most unpredictable. Looking flat against the Jets the following week, maybe it was just another off night. However, this was the third game in a row where their offense looked completely out of sync and now they’re tied with Pittsburgh for the division lead. The AFC North has certainly been in an incredibly weak state and it honestly does not matter who wins it because if the playoffs started next week, one of them looks like they will get completely bounced out of the first round.

From Cincinnati’s standpoint, this is looking like deja vu from last year, in which the team was able to recover from a disastrous start and win out a good chunk of their games to finish with a winning record. However, the fact that they’re even in this position again is just wrong and unacceptable. I get that Burrow missed a huge portion of the season, but if anybody says that them barely missing the playoffs at 9-8 again is a sign of hope, you are absolutely fooling yourself. 

The Bengals pull off a stunning upset on the road to finish the week 4-8 and will stay on the road to take on an even bigger giant as they play the Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, the Ravens get punked on their home field to drop to 6-6 and will stay home for a must win matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

CHICAGO BEARS (24) vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (15)

Okay the Bears are starting to grow on me now. Were they perfect on Friday afternoon? No. However, beating the Eagles in Philadelphia was easily their best performance of the season and if there is any team that has to be the number one seed in the NFC, I’m happy it’s Chicago. 

Once again, it was an up-and-down performance from Caleb Williams. He only completed 47% of his passes for 154 yards with an interception. Yet the running game not only blossomed, it completely dominated the football game! D’Andrew Swift ran for 125 yards on 18 carries, while the standout rookie Kyle Monangai ran for 130 yards on 22 touches. That is 255 total rushing yards against the Eagles defense! As a result, the Bears possessed the ball for 39 minutes and converted 10 of their 17 third down attempts. Even though it was only a one point game at the start of the fourth quarter, Chicago led two masterful touchdown drives to go ahead 24-9 and essentially pull away down the stretch. When the defense can force a fumble on the Tush Push, you know nobody wants that win more than this team. Right now, the Bears are playing with house money and have a great chance of going on a deep playoff run, but my fear is that the magic is going to run out at the worst possible time. I don’t want it to happen because this is an incredibly likable squad, but if the defense cannot force multiple takeaways or the offense cannot run the ball well, it’s just going to be a long afternoon.

If you told me AJ Brown was going to catch 10 passes for 132 yards with two touchdowns, I would have said “finally, the Eagles offense looks good again!” To nobody’s surprise, they did not and they were honestly just as bad as their rush defense was on Friday. In the first half alone, Philadelphia only had two first downs. To their credit, they had a couple of decent touchdown drives. Unfortunately, Jake Elliott missed his extra point attempt that would have tied the game at 10 and on the second one, Jalen Hurts completely missed his target on a two-point conversion attempt that would have made it a one score game with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Even more alarming is how Saquon Barkley has been getting held in check week after week. I don’t want to hear about the injuries on their offensive line. The fact that he picked up 56 yards on just 13 carries just doesn’t sound right. I don’t know if it’s because defenses are figuring out how to slow this offense down or that offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo doesn’t know how to utilize his best players, but the answer is probably somewhere in the middle. 

At one point, the Eagles were 4-0 and it looked like they would easily represent the NFC in the Super Bowl for a second consecutive season. Since then, they’ve been a pedestrian 4-4 and it is looking like 2023 all over again. I don’t like that the fans egged Patullo’s house either, but the fact that Nick Sirianni isn’t even contemplating a change at the play-caller position is just really confusing and at this point, another mid-season collapse looks inevitable. 

The Bears win their fifth straight game to take the number one spot in the NFC at 9-3 and will head on the road for the biggest day of their lives as they take on the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, the Eagles get humiliated once again and are barely clinging on to first place in the NFC East at 8-4, with a trip across the country to play the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (26) vs. CLEVELAND BROWNS (8)

I seriously thought the Browns could win this game. I figured Jim Schwartz would beat Kyle Shanahan at his own game once again and Cleveland could find a way to pull off the upset, but this time, the 49ers just looked like a way better football team. 

San Francisco didn’t look completely impressive. Their offense scored a touchdown, but they only had to move 16 yards thanks to an electrifying 66 yard punt return from Skyy Moore. Even then, they only totaled 81 yards of offense before the defense let up a wide open touchdown to Harold Fannin Jr. and an ensuing two-point conversion to give the Browns the lead! However, Brock Purdy did enough by finding George Kittle down the left sideline for a fantastic 33 yard reception to set up a go-ahead field goal for Matt Gay and the 49ers led by three to end the first half. 

Both teams punted the football to begin the third quarter but on Cleveland’s ensuing possession, the offense stayed on the field to go for it on fourth and one at their own 33 yard line. With Fannin Jr. lined up under center to take a sneak, the rookie tight end fumbled the snap and San Francisco’s defense recovered the football! Their offense capitalized off the turnover with an easy touchdown run for Purdy and since that play, the Browns had no momentum or juice left to get any more points on the board. Not only did the offense get shut down the rest of the afternoon, but they failed to convert on two more fourth down attempts and only had 60 more yards. The 49ers, on the other hand, looked dominant in all three phases. The offense scored on nearly every drive and went eight for nine on third down, the defense sacked Shadeur Sanders three times and held him to just 149 passing yards, and a muffed punt recovered at the 18 yard line put this game completely out of reach. Overall, San Francisco was just the better football team and they looked more convincing than they did last week on Monday Night Football.

The 49ers take care of business on the road and will enter the bye week 9-4 while the Browns get crushed at home to fall to 3-9 and will hope to bounce back as they welcome the Tennessee Titans. 

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (25) vs. TENNESSEE TITANS (3)

Oh that’s right. This was a game. If there is any bright spot, at least Brian Thomas Jr. returned from injury. 

On the surface, this was just an average performance from the Jaguars. They couldn’t run the football, they went three for thirteen on third down and they committed 13 penalties for 98 yards! Jacksonville had somewhat of a strong first half; their offense scored a couple early touchdowns, the defense held Tennessee to just three points and the special teams forced a critical fumble on a kickoff that put the game out of reach. The team began the third quarter with a 15 play touchdown drive to go ahead 25-3, but they totaled -7 net yards of offense on their final four possessions. Fortunately for the Jaguars, they were playing the Tennessee Titans. 

Just when you think they could potentially keep a game close, the Titans just always find a way to look worse. Cam Ward threw for only 141 yards on 24 completions and 38 pass attempts. Tennessee’s offense only had 11 first downs, they went two for twelve on third down, and one for four on fourth. After the opening drive, they failed to score the rest of the game and just simply had no momentum from start to finish. At this point, it’s getting really boring to talk about the same things over and over again. The only good thing about this loss is that it gets the Titans closer to the first overall pick.

The Jaguars get the job done on the road and now lead the AFC South at 8-4, with a trip back home for a huge matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Meanwhile, the Titans lose their seventh game in a row and will be shockingly eliminated from the playoffs at 1-11, taking the road to play the Cleveland Browns.

HOUSTON TEXANS (20) vs. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (16)

It won’t be the last time I say this but I love seeing grudge matches that play out the way I expect them to go. It was a back-and-forth slugfest through the first three quarters and only one team was able to pull through in the fourth. Now the dynamics of the AFC South are starting to shift and the first place spot is up for grabs.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 13. CJ Stroud unfortunately threw a bad interception that set up Indianapolis’ first touchdown of the afternoon, but quickly responded with an end zone drive of his own to take the lead at halftime and kept Houston in striking distance. As a result, Daniel Jones appeared to be the better quarterback. He threw a couple touchdown passes and didn’t turn the ball over, but the momentum started to swing in the other direction in the final fifteen minutes.

The Texans threw the first punch with a touchdown on a reverse from Nico Collins and a wild extra point that somehow managed to go above the uprights, but somehow stayed inside to make the score 20-13. The Colts made their way into scoring territory on their next possession, but a clutch tackle for loss made by Will Anderson forced a field goal to keep them behind by four points. The defense needed to force one stop to give their offense the ball back, but in just three minutes, CJ Stroud already got into the red zone. However, after a Tush Push from Cade Stover failed on third and one, the Houston offense decided to go for it on fourth down. They proceeded to run the exact same play and once again, Indianapolis was not fooled and forced a critical fourth down stop! Jones was going to get the ball with 4:45 on the clock and all it took was a touchdown to win the game.

The drive starts with a powerful first down run by Jonathan Taylor followed by a 22 yard completion over the middle to Alec Pierce into enemy territory. Before the two minute warning, the Colts were in field goal range but a costly drop by Josh Downs forced fourth down and nine at the 31 yard line. Jones tried to fit in a tight pass to Michael Pittman Jr., but Houston’s defense broke it up and one first down run from Woody Marks allowed the clock to run down to zero. 

This game was both a return to form for the Texans and a small fall from grace for the Colts. After starting the season 0-3, Houston has officially leaped back into the playoff race and it is all because of their lights out defense and a slowly improved offense. I still don’t think they have played their best football, but the AFC South is completely wide open again and this win made it a three-team race for first place.

As for Indianapolis, it’s panic time. They went from arguably being the best team in the NFL to one that could potentially be one-and-done in the playoffs. Daniel Jones is a big reason why because when Jonathan Taylor cannot lead the offense to glory, their quarterback has not proven to be the guy that can put everybody on his back and get the win on his own. They were 7-1 not too long ago and now they have lost three out of four. Looking at the rest of their schedule, Indianapolis needs to have a “win or go home” mentality every week or else their season will be labeled as a failure.

The Texans win their fourth game in a row to improve to 7-5 and will stay on the road for a huge showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. The Colts have lost their first home game of the season to finish the week 8-4 and will now take the road for a critical matchup as they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

MIAMI DOLPHINS (21) vs. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (17)

This was truly one of the sloppiest games of the entire week. I didn’t know what was worse: the Dolphins doing everything in their power to give away the win or that the Saints failed to take advantage of it when they had the chance. Miami got off to a promising start by scoring an opening drive touchdown in just six plays, but failed to reach the end zone the rest of the afternoon. They might have been ahead 16-0 at halftime, but the second half was even more frustrating. The Dolphins only had six more first downs, they failed to convert a critical fourth down attempt late in the fourth quarter and even the special teams tried to jump in the fun by simply letting New Orleans recover an onside kick with close to a minute remaining. 

In that span, the Saints slowly but surely got back in the game. The offense didn’t have much of a running game with Alvin Kamara being out, but Tyler Shough completed 19 out of 26 passes for 196 yards with two touchdown passes and zero interceptions! Down 19-11 with 1:17 on the clock, Shough threw a dart in the back of the end zone to Devaughn Vele for a huge touchdown, but New Orleans needed the two-point conversion to tie the game! Unfortunately, the rookie quarterback put the game on ice with a back-breaking interception to Minkah Fitzpatrick, who took it all the way to the end zone to give the Dolphins an extra two points. After the special teams recovered the onside kick, Shough had a chance to redeem himself with a go-ahead scoring drive, but on fourth and one at the 36 yard line, a questionable quarterback sneak got stuffed up the middle and Miami’s defense was able to hold on for the win.

Unfortunately, New Orleans made way too many mistakes to pull off an upset. Shough turned it over twice in the first half and when they actually had a chance to win, he failed to show up in the clutch. Their defense played well enough to give the Saints just their third victory of the season, but the offense let them down. 

Don’t think the Dolphins get let off the hook either because even though they’re only two games behind 500 right now, there is no chance they make the playoffs unless another team in the AFC completely collapses. All this does is make the front office believe that nothing really needs to change in the offseason, when in reality, they still have flaws that seriously need to be addressed. I will say though, I’m happy the players are still fighting for Mike McDaniel and that owner Stephen Ross didn’t panic at the worst time.

The Dolphins win for the fourth time in the last five games to improve to 5-7 and will now take the road to play the New York Jets. Unfortunately, the Saints have been eliminated from playoff contention as they fall to 2-10 and will now travel just a few hours away to visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

NEW YORK JETS (27) vs. ATLANTA FALCONS (24)

It seems like ever since the 28-3 choke job in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, the Falcons always have that one pathetic loss that just makes everybody wonder “this again?” That is what this game was against the New York Jets. I don’t want to hear that the weather was bad or that Drake London was hurt or that Kirk Cousins is just a total downgrade at quarterback. They lost to a Jets offense with a backup quarterback, only one quality offensive skill player and a defense that completely sold at the trade deadline. Every time Atlanta’s offense got on the board, their defense would quickly respond by giving up a tying score. When Cousins actually did have a chance to close the deal on back-to-back possessions, he went three-and-out, giving Tyrod Taylor a crystal clear opportunity to pull off the upset. It’s typical to see the Falcons completely fail to live up to expectations. To be fair, the Jets made a lot of big plays. I will give credit where it is due.

New York’s offense wasn’t particularly sharp in the first half. Taylor only had 37 passing yards in the first half and the only reason why they got in the end zone was because of a muffed punt recovered at the two yard line. However, they were more efficient and promising in the final two quarters. As I said earlier, every time the Falcons took the lead, the Jets always found a way to tie the game. Taylor not only made some incredible throws, but he was incredibly mobile with his legs. The 36 year old finished with over 215 yards from scrimmage and two total touchdowns, including the tying score at 24 with 1:53 remaining. When he got the ball back with 35 seconds left, he made just enough plays to set up the winning field goal attempt from 56 yards away for Nick Folk. Sure, the Jets proved they are a better team with Taylor at quarterback than Justin Fields, but it is not saying much.

The Jets pull off the win at home to finish the week 3-9 and will stay home to see if they can get another victory on the board as they welcome the Miami Dolphins. The Falcons lose once again to fall to 4-8 and will now head back home to play the Seattle Seahawks.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (31) vs. LOS ANGELES RAMS (28)

You know, I should be ecstatic that the Panthers were able to pull off a huge win against the Rams, but instead I feel… nothing. I just don’t get it with this team. Any time you don’t have expectations for them, they win. When you do, they don’t show up! It’s mind boggling to me, but to give credit where it is due, Bryce Young outplayed Matthew Stafford from start to finish.

I thought his win against the Falcons a couple weeks ago was his best of the year, but this one just topped the list. Yes, Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard combined for over 140 rushing yards. However, Young completed 15 out of 20 passes for 206 yards with three touchdown passes and zero interceptions! Two of those touchdowns were on fourth down attempts in the second half from 33 yards to Jalen Coker and from 43 to Tet McMillan. Head coach Dave Canales decided to put the ball in the hands of his quarterback and Young delivered in the clutch at the best possible time. If anybody deserves the most credit for this win, it is him. Make no mistake about it.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Matthew Stafford. Every time we say there is a legitimate MVP winner, that person goes on to have a stinker of a performance and the next guy in line takes the spot. On the opening drive, it looked like it would be business as usual. Ronnie Rivers had a huge kickoff return that set the Rams offense up at the 35 yard line and Stafford threw his 31st touchdown pass of the year on a simple slant to Davante Adams for an early lead. On the next possession, LA’s offense went right back to work and marched all the way inside the five yard line. But on third down at the eight yard line, Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown got his hands on the football and it was intercepted by Nick Scott in the end zone! It was the first time Stafford threw a pick since week three against the Eagles, but that wasn’t even the worst play. On the next drive, he threw a pick six to Mike Jackson and those seven points Carolina scored allowed them to pull through with the win.

Even then, the Rams still had a chance to either keep the game alive or win it outright in the final minutes! Then on third down and ten at the opponent’s 22 yard line, Stafford got strip sacked by Brown and the Panthers defense came up with their third takeaway of the afternoon, essentially putting the game on ice! 

Do I think LA looked past their opponent? Absolutely not. Sean McVay said it himself that this is the NFL and there were things his team could have done better to win the game. I agree 100%. This was a winnable game for the Rams, but the offense turned the ball over three times and the defense had their worst performance in quite a long time. Losing is never fun in this league, but this one can definitely entertain the team and remind them that there are going to be more bumps along the road as they enter the latter course of the season. Give Carolina all the credit in the world, but nobody should overreact or panic whatsoever.

The Panthers get a huge win at home to stay in the playoff hunt at 7-6 entering the bye week. The Rams fall flat on the road but are still in good shape at 9-3 and will have a chance to bounce back in Glendale against the Arizona Cardinals. 

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (20) vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS (17)

I knew this would be a trap game for the Buccaneers since the Cardinals have proven to be a somewhat scrappy football team. Unfortunately, just like in most of their other losses this year, Arizona made too many mistakes to win the game. 

When you look at the box score, you could see Jacoby Brissett didn’t have a horrible performance. He threw for over 300 yards with a couple touchdowns, Bam Knight didn’t have a difficult time running the football, Marvin Harrison Jr. looked promising in his return from appendicitis and they only lost by three points. However, there were too many miscues in between that allowed Tampa Bay to hold on for the win. 

The offense began the first half with an interception in the red zone to Antoine Winfield and started the second with a lost fumble from Bam Knight. Chad Ryland missed a 43 yard field goal and the Buccaneers capitalized with a touchdown run by Bucky Irving to go ahead 17-3. Knight made up for the turnover by getting wide open for a touchdown on the next possession, but soon afterwards, he got blown up on a fourth down toss play at his own 39 yard line. That allowed Tampa to kick a 57 yard field goal and go ahead by double digits again. Arizona got back in the end zone to make it a one score game and the defense forced a needed punt, but Brissett could only pick up eight more yards on the final drive and another failed fourth down conversion gave the Buccaneers the win. 

Baker Mayfield wasn’t even particularly impressive. He only had 194 passing yards, he only picked up five first downs in the second half and converted on two third down attempts. However, he did the bare minimum by managing the game and making sure he didn’t put the ball in harm’s way. Once again, this was a game where the Cardinals had to be near-flawless to have a chance to win and they failed. At this point, it doesn’t even matter how impressive the stat sheet looks. The longer this keeps happening, the more inclined the organization will be to make massive changes and I know nobody wants to see that.

The Bucs get a needed win at home to improve to 7-5 and will stay home to welcome the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, the Cardinals have been eliminated from playoff contention at 3-9 and will head back home to play the Los Angeles Rams.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (26) vs. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (0)

Max Brosmer made his first NFL start on Sunday afternoon against the Seahawks and to say it was rough to watch would be an understatement. Through the first 20 minutes, the Vikings defense kept Sam Darnold in check by holding him to one field goal out of his first three drives. Then with 5:26 left in the half, Dallas Turner came through with a huge strip sack and Minnesota fell on top of the football to set up first down at the 13 yard line. Up until that point, Brosmer wasn’t playing outstanding but he did his best to take what the defense gave him and didn’t make any mistakes. He even got them to the four yard line, but faced fourth down and one. Head coach Kevin O’Connell decided to keep the offense on the field. On a rollout pass to the right, DeMarcus Lawrence fired off the line unblocked and nearly had Brosmer wrapped up for a sack. The undrafted rookie quarterback then tried to chuck the ball away, but it turned out to be a huge mistake as linebacker Ernest Jones came up with the interception and took it all the way to the house. From that point on, the Vikings had no chance of winning this game.

That pick six turned out to be the first of four interceptions Brosmer threw on Sunday; three of them were in the second half. Justin Jefferson caught just two passes for four yards, Aaron Jones had just three rushing yards and a lost fumble, the Minnesota offense went two for ten on third down, they barely totaled 160 yards and they got shut out! Don’t be mistaken that the Seahawks were dominant in all three phases because the Vikings defense did whatever they could to try to win.

Seattle’s offense didn’t score a touchdown until there were nearly nine minutes left in the game. Sam Darnold only threw for 128 yards and got sacked four times, but unlike Brosmer, he didn’t turn the ball over ad nauseum. We knew Darnold was going to struggle against Brian Flores’ defense, but to the quarterback’s credit, he didn’t have to be the hero to win. It was clear and obvious that the Seahawks were the more physical team and unfortunately, Minnesota’s season looks officially lost.

The Seahawks take control at home to get back in the division race at 9-3 and will now take the road for what should be another win as they visit the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, the Vikings lose their fourth straight game to fall to 4-8 and will head back home to welcome the Washington Commanders.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (31) vs. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (14)

In the first half, the Chargers were not in a promising situation. They were tied with the Raiders at seven and Justin Herbert had to exit the game midway through the second quarter due to a broken bone in his left hand. After a convincing 14-play opening touchdown drive that lasted nearly nine minutes, Herbert threw a bad interception in the end zone that would have put LA ahead 14-0. Fortunately, the defense got the ball back two plays later as they forced Geno Smith to throw his 14th interception of the season. Then the offense decided to go for it on fourth and one at the 18 yard line, only for Devin White to wrap up Kimani Vidal, taking more points off the board. The Chargers knew they needed a reality check at halftime quickly and when they returned to the field, they showed no mercy.

On the second play of the third quarter, Vidal took the toss and found an open lane down the sideline for an explosive 59 yard touchdown run, opening up the floodgates for the LA offense. Afterwards, the offense dominated the time of the possession and the defense took care of the rest. Herbert didn’t have a lights-out performance, but he didn’t need to as they totaled 192 yards on the ground, which allowed the Chargers to hold the ball for 36 minutes and go 12 for 17 on third down. 

The defense, on the other hand, sacked Geno Smith five times and the only offensive player that made any sort of impact for the Raiders was Brock Bowers with two highlight-reel touchdown catches. LA was worried that they walked themselves into a trap game, but they managed to pull off the division sweep and took care of business at home. Simply put, there was a small delay but the mission was still a success.

The Chargers win for the fourth time in their last five games to stay in the Wild Card race at 8-4 and will stay home for a huge test as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Raiders are eliminated from playoff contention with their sixth consecutive defeat to fall to 2-10 and will head back home to play the Denver Broncos.

BUFFALO BILLS (26) vs. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (7)

This game wasn’t necessarily just the bounce back win the Bills needed, but it was more of a fall from grace for the Steelers. Yes, they had a 7-3 lead at halftime. Their defense forced a couple of early turnovers and the offense took advantage by taking the lead, but the minute Buffalo regained their composure and focus, it was game over.

On just the first play of the second half, Joey Bosa knocked the ball out of Aaron Rodgers’ hands and it turned into a scoop-and-score for Christian Benford. Rodgers then missed the next series because he reaggravated the wrist injury and just a few plays into the next drive, Mason Rudolph threw a high interception to Benford that blew the doors wide open. The Bills offense proceeded to score points on their only three drives of the second half while Pittsburgh got completely shut out. Rodgers ended up returning from that wrist injury, but completed just four more passes and decided to throw his receivers under the bus after a loss that was his fault as well. In the second half alone, he only picked up four more first downs and totaled just 60 yards of offense. 

However, that Steelers defense was just as atrocious, especially when it came to stopping the run. Josh Allen only had 123 passing yards, but he didn’t have to carry this team to victory. Instead, the Bills ran the ball 51 times and totaled nearly 250 yards on the road! 144 of those went to James Cook on 32 touches! It’s why Buffalo dominated the time of possession 42-18 and went eight for fifteen on third down. Was it their best victory of the season? Probably not. Yet, they were dominant in all three phases and it was exactly the game they needed to get their season back on track, which is something I wish I could say for the Steelers. Thankfully, their division is incredibly weak this year, but who knows how this organization would look even if they backed their way into the playoffs again?

The Bills get a much needed win on the road to get back in the playoff race at 8-4 and will head back home for a huge showdown as they welcome the Cincinnati Bengals. Meanwhile, the Steelers lose for the fifth time in their last seven games to slump to a 6-6 record and will now take the road for a must-win matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

DENVER BRONCOS (27) vs. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (26)

I didn’t think this would be a trap game, but then again, the Commanders did have an extra week of rest and got Terry McLaurin back in time. Washington was clearly motivated to win and had a real shot to pull off the upset at the end, but the Broncos literally made one more play in the end.

Marcus Mariota had a respectable performance on Sunday night with nearly 350 scrimmage yards and he scored a couple touchdowns, one of them a sick one-handed catch from Treylon Burks in the third quarter that gave Washington a one point lead. However, the biggest knock is that he didn’t make the biggest plays to win the game. To start, he threw a bad interception on his second drive of the night to Dre Greenlaw that allowed Denver to go ahead 6-0. In the fourth quarter, the Commanders offense only had 100 yards and settled for two field goals when they had several chances to take the lead. But on his final possession, Mariota found McLaurin on a slant pattern for a clutch touchdown on fourth and goal! Washington decided to go for two and take the win. As the ball was snapped, Jeremy McNichols was wide open on the left side of the field! However, Broncos pass rusher Nik Bonitto fired off the line unblocked and as the ball was thrown, the First-Team All Pro batted it down to seal the win! From Washington’s point of view, they had the momentum and this was their time to end their six game losing streak! Unfortunately, they couldn’t make enough plays.

Let’s take a look at things from Denver’s perspective because this was a game where they could have scored more points. On two of their first three drives, the offense got deep into the red zone, yet only settled for field goals. Bo Nix looked confident for the most part with over 320 passing yards and an impressive touchdown pass late in the first half as he was falling to the ground. But in the fourth quarter, it just felt like the Broncos were doing whatever they could to keep the Commanders in the game. They only had 61 yards of offense in that period, Nix threw a boneheaded interception to Bobby Wagner that gave Washington an extra three points and they stalled out just long enough to give the Commanders a chance to tie the game. To Denver’s credit, they scored on their only possession of overtime, but it shouldn’t have come to that. On the other hand, this is not the first time this team has been in this situation and once again, they made a lot of clutch plays down the stretch to keep their winning streak alive.

The Broncos win their ninth straight game to stay atop the AFC West at 10-2 and will travel back West for what should be a cleaner performance against the Las Vegas Raiders. Meanwhile, the Commanders lose their seventh game in a row to fall to 3-9 and will take the road to play the Minnesota Vikings.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (33) vs. NEW YORK GIANTS (15)

This was the game where I thought it was going to be uncomfortably close for 60 straight minutes. I figured that New York was going to play with a lot of house money, they would have a lead in the fourth quarter and New England would make enough plays to win in the end. However, that wasn’t even necessary because the Patriots completely dominated on Monday Night Football.

Obviously, this wasn’t their most impressive win considering the record of the opponent, but it was clear that New England was the more physical team in all three phases. Their offense was well balanced as Drake Maye threw for over 280 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Rhamondre Stevenson and Treyveon Henderson had an equal workload on the ground with over 100 combined rushing yards. Yet, most of the damage done wasn’t on that side of the ball.

New England’s special teams made three key plays that forced this game to get out of hand. The first was the 94 yard return score from Marcus Jones that put the team ahead 10-0 midway through the first quarter. In the middle of the second, the Giants lined up for a 47 yard field goal to make it a one-score game, but Younghoe Koo slipped on the release and holder Jamie Gillian was forced to take a sack due to the busted play. New England’s offense capitalized off the miscue with a perfectly thrown touchdown pass to Kyle Williams, increasing the lead to 24-7. On the ensuing kickoff, returner Gunner Olszewski got absolutely drilled on the return by Christian Elliss and New England fell on top of the ball again, getting an extra few points on the board!

Throughout the second half, the Patriots offense only scored three more points, but the strategy was to simply play keep-away. The defense took over and never let the momentum swing the other way around and although many fans at Gillette Stadium were hoping for a 50 burger, this team still made more than enough plays to get a convincing win at home. Now both sides will enter much needed bye weeks to recover and recharge.

The Patriots win their tenth straight game to take the league’s best record at 11-2 while the Giants lose their seventh in a row to officially be eliminated from playoff contention at 2-11.