The Ravens win a thrilling Thanksgiving game against their rival Steelers, the Broncos complete the season sweep of the Chiefs, and the Seahawks thoroughly dominate the Saints in a potential playoffs preview. Let's recap Week 13!
Green Bay Packers 10 Detroit Lions 40
The Lions turned the ball over a couple of times in the first half, but when they got rolling right before halftime, it was over for the Packers. Mike McCarthy said the Packers have to win out to make the playoffs. He's right in that assessment. However, they'll only win out if Aaron Rodgers returns next Sunday. Matt Flynn can only impress for so long before we realize the inevitable. He isn't that good.
Oakland Raiders 24 Dallas Cowboys 31
Matt McGloin impressed once again, but it's too early to tell if he will be the franchise quarterback going forward. Even though he's 1-2 in three starts, he had the Raiders competitive in every game. For the Cowboys, they need to keep winning to keep pace with the Eagles and keep the Giants in their rear view mirror. The way the game was playing out, it appeared the Cowboys were in for a major letdown. The Raiders at one point had a 21-7 lead. It would've been a crushing home loss.
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| Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin's stunt might cost him a hefty six-figure fine. |
The talk of this game was Mike Tomlin's folly on the sideline, briefly distracting Jacoby Jones as he appeared to be returning the kickoff for a touchdown before being brought down. However, the end of the game was a thriller, and people should talk a lot more about that. It's unfortunate for the Steelers they came up on the losing end, but they can't afford to dwell on that now. With seven losses, the Steelers must believe they have to win the rest of their games. Even in a weak AFC, another loss could effectively eliminate them.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 Carolina Panthers 27
The Buccaneers did all of their scoring in the first quarter, so the Panthers' defense really locked them down from that point forward. Cam Newton accounted for three touchdowns, with two of them being passing touchdowns. Mike Glennon wasn't too impressive, but wasn't poor either. He just couldn't get the offense into the end zone.
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| Jaguars' WR Cecil Shorts catches game-winning touchdown pass with under a minute remaining. |
Josh Gordon remains on fire, racking up another game with 200 yards receiving. However, the Jaguars have impressed as of late, winning three out of their last four games with all of them coming on the road. These former AFC Central foes traded leads throughout the game, but it was Cecil Shorts' touchdown reception with under a minute to go that won the game for the Jaguars. They now have a chance to win four out of five if they win Thursday night at home against the lowly Texans.
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| Patriots' TE Rob Gronkowski celebrates a first half touchdown. |
Antonio Smith couldn't believe the Patriots were able to make adjustments to what he called brand new plays that were installed this week. Smith is bringing up a sensitive topic, as his claims seem to suggest the Patriots may be involved in another edition of Spygate. The Texans are a bad football team, however, but that doesn't mean Smith is wrong. I doubt the Patriots cheated in any way, but if they did, that would be something.
Tennessee Titans 14 Indianapolis Colts 22
The Colts got the win, but their level of play should still alarm fans. They're simply not that good of a team anymore, and if they win the division and capture the fourth seed in the AFC, they'll most likely have to play the Chiefs. That is what the Chiefs are dreaming of right now because the Colts don't look like a team that has any business competing in the postseason.
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| Vikings' K Blair Walsh celebrates his game-winning kick in overtime. |
The Vikings love long overtime periods. It appeared as if this game could be another tie for the Vikings, but a surprising missed field goal from Robbie Gould gave the Vikings an opportunity to get into field goal range to make one of their own. They did miss one themselves early in overtime, so they almost lost. The Bears just can't seem to get the wins needed to overtake the Lions. This loss hurts.
Miami Dolphins 23 New York Jets 3
This was a pathetic game from the Jets, but I don't believe the quarterback situation is the main culprit. There was one pass where Geno Smith had David Nelson wide open, and Smith's pass was so far off, it warranted boos. However, it doesn't matter if Smith or Matt Simms is playing. The wide receivers for the Jets suck, and they can't get any separation at all. It's hard for the quarterback when there is no one open.
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| Eagles' QB Nick Foles eludes pressure as he continues to impress and win games. |
The Cardinals have every right to be angry with the officiating in this game. Patrick Peterson had a clutch interception, but a questionable penalty against Tyrann Mathieu negated that. On the other hand, there was a lot more contact on Michael Floyd when Carson Palmer tried to connect with him on a fourth down pass that fell incomplete, ending any comeback chance for the Cardinals.
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| Toronto mayor Rob Ford was the headliner in this game, which turned out to be a good one. |
The Falcons shocked me a little by coming into Toronto and coming out with a win. Not that the Bills are a great team, but with E.J. Manuel, the Bills are a decent football team. It appears the Bills just don't like to play in Canada. Last year, they were thoroughly blown out by the Seahawks in Toronto. I think they'd prefer to play all of their home games in Buffalo.
St. Louis Rams 13 San Francisco 49ers 23
The 49ers didn't impress in this one, but a win is a win and they'll take it. Coupled with the Cardinals loss, the 49ers have moved ahead of the Cardinals in the NFC West race and in the race for the final Wild Card spot. It might come down to those two teams, so the 49ers must continue to win to keep pace. A battle with the division-leading Seahawks awaits them.
Cincinnati Bengals 17 San Diego Chargers 10
Keenan Allen had eight catches for 106 yards, but it was his fumble that hurt the Chargers the most. The Bengals shocked me a little by going to the West Coast and coming out with a victory. They need wins because the Ravens aren't too far behind. The Bengals are in the driver's seat in the final month of the season. They must play like it.
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| Broncos' QB Peyton Manning and WR Eric Decker celebrates after Decker scores one of his four touchdowns on the evening. |
Eric Decker catches four touchdown passes, so now all of the analysts are raving about how dangerous he is. Truth is any receiver on the Broncos is dangerous. Heck, even Andre Caldwell can come in and catch a couple touchdowns and become a factor and threat. Peyton Manning is simply that good. The win for the Broncos is big. They are in the driver's seat with a friendly schedule the rest of the way. They should be the top seed again in the AFC.
New York Giants 24 Washington Redskins 17
The Giants went down 14-0, and it appeared the Redskins were well on their way to scoring a lot of points. However, they only managed to score three more the rest of the game, and the disappointing season from the Redskins continues. Robert Griffin III and Mike Shanahan seemed to be putting the blame of the loss on the referee blunder. The blunder shouldn't happen at all, but a drop by Fred Davis that would've picked up a first down was devastating. Pierre Garcon went on to convert the fourth down try, but had the ball ripped out of his hands by Will Hill. There's no one to blame but themselves.
New Orleans Saints 7 Seattle Seahawks 34
This was a thorough beating the Saints took at the hands of the Seahawks. I remember the Ravens taking a thorough beating at the hands of the Broncos in December at home, only for those two teams to meet again in Denver in the postseason. The Ravens ended up winning that one en route to winning a championship, so don't completely discredit the Saints. They'll learn from this and if they see the Seahawks again in Seattle, they'll be completely prepared and it'll be a lot closer than yesterday's outcome.
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