NFL Week 13 Recap

Week 13 NFL Recap

Atlanta Falcons over New Orleans Saints

Well the Falcons were completely unimpressive again this week but came out victorious this week as they clinched the NFC South.  They force Drew Brees into 5 interceptions and ended his record breaking touchdown streak.  The Falcons are in all likelihood going to be knocked out in the first round of the playoffs but who knows maybe they can continue this streak of success into the post season despite not really being elite at anything.  On the other side the Saints lost a game where there season was completely on the line as they moved to 5-7 and in all likelihood out of the playoff hunt.  Shockingly it was because of a performance by Drew Brees and not their defense.  This team should be back better next season with the return of Sean Payton and still has the talent to be dangerous as the season progresses. 

Houston Texans over Tennessee Titans

The Texans didn’t completely dominate the Titans this week but put got another victory as they moved to 11-1 and take control of the race for home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.  They have a very good offense and an elite defense that should be able to carry them quite far.  They have a season defining game next week against the New England Patriots because a victory all but guarantees the AFC’s top seed.  The Titans on the other hand are a team far from playoff contention.  A 6 turnover game against the Texans drops the team to 4-8 in a year that has gone far from ideally.  This team is probably lucky to have the 4 wins they do with a below average defense, a young unproven quarterback and a disappointing running game. 

New England Patriots over Miami Dolphins

The Patriots earned a hard fought victory over the Dolphins this week as they won their 6^th game in a row and won another AFC East title.  The Patriots offense didn’t play that well but Tom Brady was able to make enough plays and the improved defense stepped up mightily.  The offense clearly missed the presence of game changing tightend Rob Gronkowski but the Patriots picked up another victory to keep pace in the AFC.  They have the most difficult part of their schedule coming up as they have to play the Texans and 49ers back to back in what should be tough physical games.  The Dolphins in moving to 5-7 played quite well against a good Patriots squad holding their own throughout the game as they tried to make it a contest.  They got a great effort from their extremely underrated defense as they slowed the Patriots down dramatically and gave Ryan Tannehill a chance.  The Dolphins still are alive on the fringes of fringes of the AFC playoff picture and have enough defensive talent to prove dangerous.

Buffalo Bills over Jacksonville Jaguars

In the type of game that Bills fans have been clamoring for all season the Bills got a victory through their vaunted running attack and defensive dominance.  Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller ran the ball a combined 39 times an amount that goes in line with the talent that both players have.   Fitzpatrick was able to manage the game for the most part while the running game and Mario Williams led defense did the job.  This is probably too little too late for the Bills but it was still an encouraging performance to see.  Also a fair point to be made about the Bills victory is that it was over a Jacksonville team that is among the worst in football.  They got a dramatic improvement from the quarterback position by starting Chad “mediocre” Henne in at quarterback.  Their defense is no good and their running game has been plagued with injuries all season.  This team is hard to watch at points and a victory over them has to be taken with a grain of salt. 

Indianapolis Colts over Detroit Lions

I don’t know how the Colts keep doing what they are doing but their seems to be something to the great story that is Chuckstrong and the magic of Andrew Luck.  This team has been outscored by over 40 points this season and yet still finds itself at 8-4 and in the playoffs as of now.  The Colts are a flawed team with one of the worst defenses in football and a turnover prone offense.  However Andrew Luck might be one of the best players in football already, especially in the 4^th quarter with the game on the line.  The Lion’s loss this week really gives you a good idea of how their season has been going.  The victory is all but guaranteed when the Lions can’t run the ball out or come up with a stop despite having a “vaunted” defensive line.  Calvin Johnson put up another other worldly performance while Matt Stafford played pretty well in his own right.  The Lions have nobody to blame but themselves for the season they’ve had.  This is a disorganized and dirty group of players that have turned into one of the league’s top villains and don’t even have the talent to hold the title. 

 Kansas City Chiefs over Carolina Panthers

I’m going to keep my thoughts on this game short as my thoughts go out to everyone involved in the sad Jovan Belcher story.  The Chiefs were able to win an emotional game led by Brady Quinn while the Panthers lost in a game that long-term doesn’t say much probably about either team because of the emotion of the game.  This is a sad story and something that the Chiefs would have to deal with for the rest of their lives, as do the families of all the victims. 

New York Jets over Arizona Cardinals

This game was an embarrassment to the sport that is known as football as both teams’ offenses were completely terrible.  Some offensive numbers from the Cardinals, despite 4 Jets turnovers the team scored 6 points.  They got 137 yards of total offense, and 5 first downs.  Ryan Lindley was the worst quarterback on the field in a game that featured Mark Sanchez throwing 3 interceptions completing less than 50% of his passes and less than 100 yards.  Ryan Lindley is challenging Caleb Hannie of last year’s Bears as the worst quarterback in NFL history as the Cardinals collapse continues.  The Jets got a win after benching Sanchez and putting in the much heralded, college star who won a national championship, Greg McElroy.  He went 5-7 with 29 yards 1 touchdown and no INTS, so basically he put up a dominating performance.  Who knows what the Jets’ quarterbacking situation will be going forward but this team is still 5-7 and on the fringes of the playoff race.

St. Louis Rams over San Francisco 49ers

Well the Rams got the victory this time in a game that looked like for a while that it might be the 2^nd tie of the season between these two teams.  The Rams were able to win without scoring an offensive touchdown thanks to a safety, and a timely productive turnover by the young Collin Kaepernick.  The Rams are now 5-6-1 and seem to continue proving that they have a defense that will keep them and games and can make them dangerous.  The 49ers lost this week in a game where Kaepernick struggled mightily.  He had a horrible turnover that cost them the game and at the end of regulation ran out of bounds giving the Rams a chance to lead a game tying drive.  Their defense still played really well though and it seems like the season is going to come down to whether or not Kaepernick plays well or continues making stupid mistakes.

Green Bay Packers over Minnesota Vikings

Packers got a win this week moving the Vikings to .500 but I think the real lesson from this game is that Adrian Peterson is really really really really good at football.  He is back to being the best running back in football after tearing his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve of last season.  That is an insane and almost inhuman recovery time for an injury that almost always 2 years to fully recover from.  The Vikings are a team that while still in playoff contention is going to have a tough time making it in.  The Packers were able to get a victory moving themselves to 8-4 and putting themselves in a tie with Chicago in an increasingly competitive NFC North division title race.  Rodgers played sensationally again this week as he attempts to carry this team to another NFC North title and another Super Bowl.

Seattle Seahawks over Chicago Bears

In what might well be their most impressive victory of the season the Seahawks were able to go into Chicago and get a victory led by a sensational performance by rookie Russell Wilson.  He was able to lead the team on a 97 yard drive to take the lead in regulation and lead the game winning drive in overtime against the best defense in all of football, all outside of Seattle a situation they have struggled in all season.  This has to be a tough loss to a Bears team that now moves into a tie with Green Bay in the division title race as this team tries to win the division.  Their defense probably played their 2^nd worst game of the season, considering they allowed 23 points in an overtime game that’s probably a better sign then not.  This team is going to have to prove that they can rely on more than Cutler forcing it to Brandon Marshall offensively because good teams will be able to slow that down.

Denver Broncos over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Broncos won their 7^th game in a row and with a game against Baltimore coming up really has a chance to steal the AFC’s 2^nd seed.  This team is led by the great Peyton Manning offensively, a player who will likely be deserving of MVP even if he didn’t have the narrative on his side.  The defense is much improved over last year’s as the team has transformed from the Tebow team of last season to the elite team of this year.  The Buccaneers on the other hand lost their 2^nd game in a row moving them to 6-6 as this team tries to claw itself into the playoffs.  They struggled this week but against one of the best teams in football that is nothing to be ashamed about.  Every single game on their remaining schedule is winnable though which is important for a team that is probably going to have to win out to make the playoffs at all.

Cincinnati Bengals over San Diego Chargers

Well the collapse of the Chargers continues.  The team lost its 4^th straight game moving it to 4-8 in a season that should likely be the end of Norv Turner and AJ Smith.  The Chargers have made the transformation from underachieving but extremely talented team that would be on the edge of the playoff race to a team that has average talent that plays like one of the worst teams in football.  Rivers has went from being considered a possible top 5 quarterback to a man playing like he barely deserves a starting job.  The Bengals on the other hand won their 4^th game in a row as they attempt to sneak into the AFC playoffs for the 2^nd season in a row.  This team has enough offensive firepower, AJ Green and co, that even with average quarterback play they can score every week.  While they end the season with a fairly difficult schedule this team has a definite edge in the fight for a wild card spot in the AFC.

Cleveland Browns over Oakland Raiders

The Browns got their 2^nd victory in a row, this week it came at the expense of a struggling Raiders team that has now lost 5 games in a row.  The Browns have been a team that has been playing better than their record all season and now seems to be getting the victories to back that up.  While I still disagree with the selection of Brandon Weeden, he is older than Aaron Rodgers and is nowhere near that level of play he has been playing halfway decent recently.  The defense is still good while the offense can move the ball against certain teams.  Down the stretch they definitely have the talent to play good teams close.  The Raiders on the other hand have been an absolute disaster and might actually be playing worse than any team in football right now.  The defense is a joke while the offense is turnover prone, and doesn’t have the spark that so many were expecting. 

Pittsburgh Steelers over Baltimore Ravens

The Steelers got their crucial 7^th victory of the season in a big victory over the Ravens with a decent performance from Charlie Batch.  After being much maligned last week Batch put up a decent performance leading the Steelers to 23 points and a comeback in their win over the Ravens.  The Steelers now remain entrenched in the playoffs for now and if Big Ben can comeback healthy this team will be quite dangerous come playoff time.  The Ravens lost this week and this team remains far from the team that beat New England earlier this season.  They have a struggling quarterback and aging and an injured defense.  They will likely will the AFC North but the Steelers got themselves into the race this week.  The Ravens look like a team everyone would want to play come playoff time and are poised to be knocked out in the first round.

Dallas Cowboys over Philadelphia Eagles

The Cowboys got a big victory over the Eagles to keep their slim playoff hopes alive as they moved to 6-6 thanks to an impressive performance by Tony Romo.  Tony Romo has seem to gotten over his early season troubles as he has played quite well in the last few weeks as he hopes to lead the Cowboys to the playoffs.  Their defense is far from great in allowing Nick Foles and company to score 27 offensive points.  However the return of Demarco Murray makes them a more dangerous offensive team as the team can start to be more two dimensional offensively.  For the Eagles their slide continues with their 8^th straight loss.  They played fairly well in this game but their defense has completely collapsed over the course of the season and the offense is still fairly dysfunctional.  Clearly it has become obvious from all sides that it is time for Andy Reid to leave. 

Washington Redskins over New York Giants

RGIII is really good at football, a point I have made approximately one million times in these weekly recaps but one I will continue making.  The team is a threat to score on every play because of the big play ability of his arms and legs.  He has now led the Redskins to 3 straight wins and put them in great position to take the division from the Giants considering they have an easier schedule over the last 4 games then the Giants.  Also you have to give credit to the Redskins defense which had as much to do with this victory as RGIII as they held the Giants to 16 points and forced them to settle for field goals multiple times.  The Giants inconsistent play continues though as the team now is going to be on the brink of playoff contention.  The team will probably win a game against a great team down the stretch and lose to a bad team while sneaking into the playoffs because that is what they always do.  RGIII is a dangerous enemy to make for the Giants and seems destined to take over the NFC East if not this year than for a long time in the future. 

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