NFL Week 13: Thanksgiving Week Edition

Yes it was Turkey Day in the US of A and that means a big day for the NFL as two key games took place on Thursday that could shape the play-off schedule. Week 13 also saw a potential Superbowl teaser with the Patriots travelling to Lambeau to take on one of the hottest teams at home in the Packers.

Chicago travelled to Detroit in the first of 3 divisional rivalry matchups on the day. It started well for Chicago taking a 14-3 lead at quarter time but after that it was all Detroit and Calvin Johnson who started to find his groove again after being kept quiet after coming back from an ankle injury a couple of weeks ago. Detroit needed this after losing their last two games. (17-34) Lions

It was a big test for Philadelphia as they travelled to Dallas to face off with their divisional counterparts where the winner would be in control of the NFC East. The Dallas offence couldn’t get anything going and the Eagles offence ran rings around the Cowboys defence. Dallas suffered their third straight home defeat something they can ill afford to continue to do if they want to be their come the end of the season. (33-10) Eagles

A week ago Jim Harbaugh said Kapernick was a great QB with a capital G, well this week he was shit with a capital S. This is a season that hasn’t gone well for the 49ers and it didn’t get better as they faced a Seattle team that is starting to look very ominous as they shake off the early season rust. Come the end of the year the 49ers could be without a head coach and potentially their QB. (19-3) Seahawks

If you get benched in favour of Colt McCoy things are looking bad but when he outplays you then things are as bleak as they can get. On the other hand Andrew Luck threw a career high 5 TD passes and passed for his 10th 300yd game against the Redskins who just want the season to finish. Also Trent Richardson is as bad a running back as RGIII is a quarterback. (27-49) Colts

Things are going from bad to worse for Tennessee. Mettenberger managed to hurt his shoulder forcing him out of the game but then they had to sit through Ryan Fitzpatrick tossing up 6 TDs and DeAndre Hopkins having 238yds on the night. J.J. Watt again dominated and surely has to be the MVP. (21-45) Texans

Oh how I loathe thee Cleveland. Why? Seriously for the love of all that is holy WHY? Now we have a week of will Manziel be the starter. God I hate you. The Bills conversely are just flying under the radar a little bit and quietly accumulating wins to keep their playoff hopes well and truly alive. (10-26) Bills

In one of the games of the round San Diego went into Baltimore where the Ravens were 11-0 against West Coast teams and hadn’t lost in November since 2009. It took not one but two amazing efforts from Philip Rivers and his Chargers team but they somehow came out with the win and their 3rd straight victory. The Ravens couldn’t afford to drop this one with the logjam that is the AFC North. (34-33) Chargers

In one of the most embarrassing games of the season the Giants managed to squander a 21 point advantage to the might of the Jacksonville Jaguars. This game has all but sealed the fates of Coughlin and Manning as there is no way you can lose to the Jags and keep your job. At least Odell Beckham Jr looks the goods but otherwise there has been nothing but disappointment for the Giants this season. (24-25) Jaguars

Luckily for the Bengals for as bad as they played the Buccaneers were worse. Dalton once again had a bad game throwing for 3 INTs in the first half which against a decent side would’ve spelt the end for the Bengals. Also it was just a bad game. (14-13) Bengals

In a flash back to the glory days of the Greatest Show on Turf the Rams absolutely dominated the Raiders in what I thought could be a danger game given the Rams propensity to stuff things up when they shouldn’t. It was a brutal display by the Rams defence as they notched 6 sacks, 3 INTs and forced 3 fumbles and recovered 2. (0-52) Rams

It seems the whole of the AFC North doesn’t want to win the division. Pittsburgh is no exception to that as they once again put in another sloppy performance as they were beaten at home by a Saints side that has been remarkably underwhelming for the majority of the season. Pittsburgh needs to fix it’s issues and quickly otherwise play-offs will slip from their grasp. (35-32) Saints

The Panthers have quickly turned into kittens this season as the Vikings blocked two punts and returned both for TDs to ruin any hope the Panthers had of winning their division. It was only the 5th time in NFL history that has occurred. Cam Newton hasn’t had a good season and at this point in the season I think Carolina wants the season to end. (13-31) Vikings

Injury ravaged and depleted the Cardinals are losing their tenuous grip atop of the NFC West as they suffered a shock loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Julio Jones put on a clinic torching Patrick Peterson for 10 catches, 189yds and 2 TDs. The 8-1 Cards have slipped to 9-3 and Drew Stanton isn’t getting the job done. The Falcons won their first game of the season against a non-divisional opponent. (18-29) Falcons

In boxing terms this game was the Main Event as the Patriots duked it out against the Packers. It was Brady v Rodgers, Belichick v McCarthy in the end the Rodgers/McCarthy combination won out in what could be a potential Superbowl matchup against two of the best QBs in the league. Surprisingly it was the Packers defence that managed to win the match with a key sack on 3rd down forced the Patriots to attempt a field goal that was missed letting the Packers hang on for a win. (21-26) Packers

It seems Alex Smith is adverse to throwing TD passes to his wide receivers this season. The QB he was facing is the exact opposite as Peyton throw another 2 TDs but then had a surprisingly bad second half to let the Chiefs have a sniff at victory. It didn’t happen though as the Broncos did enough to secure another victory and put them in the box seat for a bye in the first week of the play-offs. (29-16) Broncos

After suffering a close lose last week the Dolphins managed a close win this time over the New York Jets. It was old school football from the Jets as they rushed for 49 attempts and 277yds while only attempting 13 passes for 65yds. The Jets managed to stuff this one up enough and let the Dolphins walk away with a hard fought victory also keeping their play-off hopes alive. (16-13) Dolphins

Things to look forward to in Week 14:

  1. Will Manziel start?
  2. Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati
  3. Baltimore @ Miami
  4. Indianapolis @ Cleveland
  5. Buffalo @ Denver
  6. Kansas City @ Arizona
  7. Seattle @ Philadelphia
  8. New England @ San Diego
  9. Which play-off hopefuls will fail and who will rise to the top?