Welcome to the NFL Week 12 Round Up
It took 23 years as Patriots coach, but it appears that Bill Belichick has finally hit rock bottom in the NFL. The “Patriot Way” is now the “Wrong Way.” The Patriots suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of Week 12 in a 10-7 setback to the Giants.
- They became the first NFL Team in 30 years to lose back-to-back games despite surrendering 10 or fewer points in each game.
- Belichick has now lost two straight games when his team allowed 10 or fewer points. Before this season, Belichick had only lost two such games in 28 seasons as a head coach.
- NFL teams are 49-2 this season when allowing 10 or fewer points, which breaks down like this: The Patriots are 1-2 while the rest of the league is 48-0.
With that in mind, let’s get to the grades for Week 12, starting with Eagles thrilling win over the Bills:
Philadelphia Eagles 37-34 over Buffalo (OT)
Jalen Hurts lifts clutch Eagles over Bills in a thriller. In what might have been the game of the regular season thus far, the Eagles overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to tie the game with a 59-yard field goal in the waning moments of regulation — then won it on Hurts’ back in overtime. Hurts threw three TD passes and ran for two more scores, the final one a walk-off score in OT. Hurts didn’t have a whopper of a statistical game otherwise, and his second-quarter pick fueled a 14-0 Bills run. But when it was money time, Hurts delivered. He led four TD drives after halftime and set up the game-tying kick, even if the Eagles’ execution in the rain wasn’t pristine. Hurts drifting to his left and hitting Olamide Zaccheaus on a 29-yard TD fade was just silly. But DeVonta Smith was Hurts’ preferred target in other clutch situations, as that connection has come alive in recent games. One way or another, no matter who is on the field, the Eagles seem to find a way late.
N.Y. Giants 10-7 over New England
Bill Belichick played mind games all week about who his starting QB would be, and as it turns out, it didn’t matter, because they were both bad. Mac Jones started the game, Bailey Zappe played the second half and although he did lead a TD drive, he threw a back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter. This entire loss was an indictment on Belichick. Not only did his quarterbacks struggle, but his hand-picked rookie kicker missed a 35-yard field goal that would have sent the game to OT.
The Patriots offense has been horrible this year and the Giants took advantage of that on Sunday. The Giants were able to come away with a win thanks to a defense that came away with three interceptions. Bobby Okereke made one of the biggest plays of the game with a 55-yard interception return in the second quarter that set up a Tommy DeVito TD pass. The Giants also got a field goal following a Xavier Mckinney interception in the second half.The Giants have somehow now won two straight games, which should have this team feeling good heading into their Week 13 bye.
Jacksonville Jaguars 24-21 Houston Texans
The Jaguars (8-3) avenged their 37-17 home loss to Houston (6-5) in Week 3 and created some separation at the top of the division.
CJ Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns as Houston’s three-game winning streak was snapped. He has 3,268 yards passing this season to move past Justin Herbert (3,224) for the most in NFL history by a rookie in his first 11 games.
The Texans led by one after a touchdown run by Stroud midway through the third quarter. Lawrence responded with by throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley and hitting Ridley for the two-point conversion to make it 21-14. Brandon McManus tacked on a field goal early in the fourth quarter to pad the lead, and Jacksonville’s defense stopped Houston on fourth down.
But McManus missed from 55 yards with seven minutes left. Stroud then orchestrated a 55-yard drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown reception by Nico Collins, to cut the lead to 24-21 with just over five minutes to go. The Texans got a stop but couldn’t move the ball and settled for the long field goal attempt on fourth-and-12 instead of giving Stroud and the offense one more shot.
Baltimore Ravens 20-10 Los Angeles Chargers
The 9-3 Baltimore Ravens moved up to the No 1 seed in the AFC after beating the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football. The Ravens defense forced four turnovers in another dominant performance as the pressure increased on Chargers coach Brandon Staley, whose team are now 4-7.
Kansas City Chiefs 31–17 Las Vegas Raiders
After spotting the Raiders a quick 14-0 lead, the Chiefs took over after that. They finished the game by outscoring the Raiders 31-3 and a big reason for that was because Patrick Mahomes was on fired. Mahomes completed 79% of his passes and he’s dealing like that, the Chiefs are nearly impossible to beat.Of course, the most important thing for the Chiefs offense is that it finally produced some points in the second half. After going three straight games without a second half touchdown, the Chiefs scored two against the Raiders.
For the a good chunk of the first half, the Raiders looked like the best team in football. With 12 minutes left to play in the second quarter, Josh Jacobs had already rushed for 91 yards and the Raiders defense had held the Chiefs to just 24 yards of total offense. It looked like the route was on, but instead, the wheels fell off the wagon after that for the Raiders. Although Jakobi Meyers and Davante Adams both made some big grabs, the offense had trouble moving the ball over the final two and a half quarters of the game.The Raiders are a much better team with interim coach Antonio Pierce running the show, but they have to play four quarters of nearly perfect football to beat a team like the Chiefs and they only got one quarter of that on Sunday.
Pittsburgh Steelers 10–16 Cincinnati Bengals
Kenny Pickett threw for a season-high 278 yards and the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4) showed new life on offense days after firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada, beating the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals (5-6). The Steelers totalled 421 yards, snapping a streak of 58 games without gaining 400 yards. Pat Freiermuth had a career-high 120 yards receiving as the Steelers outgained an opponent for the first time this season under. Chris Boswell kicked two fourth-quarter field goals to keep the Bengals at bay. Cincinnati got a field goal from Evan McPherson just before the two-minute warning, but the Steelers recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
Cleveland Browns 12–29 Denver Broncos
Things got out of whack for the Browns after Dorian Thompson-Robinson suffered a concussion early in the second half that knocked him out of the game. At that point, the Browns trailed by just five points but then proceeded to watch the Broncos score 12 unanswered points in his absence. Cleveland struggled to protect backup P.J. Walker, who was sacked four times in his short stint, including a late safety. While the wheels came on at that point, the Browns were sluggish to start this game offensively.
This was a hard-nosed win for Denver, which extends the club’s winning streak to five games and is over .500 for the first time this season. The Broncos came out of the gate putting the football on the ground and finding tremendous success, including first-half rushing touchdowns by Samaje Perine and Russell Wilson. They also picked up chunk plays through the air when they needed to. While the offense did its job, the defense was particularly stellar for Denver.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20–27 Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor ran for two scores, Gardner Minshew added another and the Indianapolis Colts defense came up with a late turnover to preserve their victory over Tampa Bay. Indy have won three straight to climb above .500 for the first time since the end of September. The Bucs have lost four straight road games, this one in uncharacteristic fashion. Indy gashed the usually stingy Tampa Bay run defense for 155 yards and 5.7 yards per carry. Taylor’s one-yard TD run with 7:30 to play made it 27-17 and the Bucs couldn’t get in the end zone again.
Los Angeles Rams 37–14 Arizona Cardinals
When the Rams rushing attack is working, their offense is nearly unstoppable and their rushing attack was working in this game thanks to Kyren Williams. The running back, who was playing in his first game sinc Week 6, totaled 204 yards, with 143 of those coming on the ground.With this win, the Rams have creeped their way back into the NFC playoff race.
The Cardinals offense got off to a fast start on Sunday, but then everything fell apart for them after that. After scoring a TD on their opening drive, the Cardinals got only one first down total on their final five possessions of the first half combined. With the offense sputtering, Arizona needed its defense to do something, but that didn’t happen. With the Cards getting destroyed, it will be interesting to see if Jonathan Gannon can keep his 2-10 team motivated over the final six weeks of the season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20–27 Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor ran for two scores, Gardner Minshew added another and the Indianapolis Colts defense came up with a late turnover to preserve their victory over Tampa Bay. Indy have won three straight to climb above .500 for the first time since the end of September. The Bucs have lost four straight road games, this one in uncharacteristic fashion. Indy gashed the usually stingy Tampa Bay run defense for 155 yards and 5.7 yards per carry. Taylor’s one-yard TD run with 7:30 to play made it 27-17 and the Bucs couldn’t get in the end zone again.
New Orleans Saints 15–24 Atlanta Falcons
If the Saints could have done anything in the red zone, they probably would have won this game, but they completely fell apart every time they drove inside Atlanta’s 20 on Sunday. The Saints made five trips into the red zone and they came away with zero touchdowns. Two of those trips ended with a turnover, including a brutal 92-yard pick-six thrown by Derek Carr.
The Falcons finally decided it was time to get the football to their best playmakers — and surprise, surprise — that strategy actually paid off. Bijan Robinson totaled 123 yards and two touchdowns on 19 touches. The Falcons running back caught a 26-yard TD in the fourth quarter that essentially iced the game. Drake London also got involved on offense with five catches for 91 yards. Defensively, the Jessie Bates signing continues to look like one of the best moves of the offseason. Not only did the Falcons safety record a 92-yard pick-six, but he also forced a key fumble in the second half. The Falcons suddenly look like the team to beat in the NFC South.
Carolina Panthers 10–17 Tennessee Titans
Derrick Henry ran for two touchdowns and 76 yards helping the Tennessee Titans (4-7) snap a three-game skid as they beat the Carolina Panthers (1-10). This was just the fourth game in Music City this season for the Titans, who played at home only once over the past seven weeks. Tennessee improved to 4-0 when playing at Nissan Stadium this season. Arden Key had a sack and forced fumble recovered by two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. The Titans had four sacks. The Panthers remain winless away from home and have lost four straight.