NFL Week 12 Takeaways: A Thanksgiving of Terrible Football
For the first time ever the NFL played a game on Black Friday. With football fans anticipating being able to sit on the couch and watch NFL football four out of five days, it turned out that it really meant just having an additional day of horrid football games. To open Week 12, Thanksgiving provided arguably the worst trio of games on the holiday in 15 years. Friday wasn’t any better thanks to another week of terrible quarterback play for the New York Jets. Sunday provided about two decent games and plenty of additional blowouts or bad football. To round out the week, we had a Monday Night Football game that didn’t even have a touchdown scored until just under six minutes left in the game.
Special thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Dolly Parton for giving us anything worth watching in Week 12 of the NFL season.
Eagles Will Their Way to OT Win over Buffalo
The best teams find ways to win even when they are not playing their best. The Philadelphia Eagles have been doing that all season long and now have a league best 10-1 record to show for it. Sunday’s thrilling 37-34 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills was the most recent example of why the Eagles are once again built for playoff success.
In a game in which Buffalo dominated the possession time (40:30 to 26:53) and total offense (505 yards to 378 yards), Philadelphia overcame a 24-14 deficit entering the fourth quarter to eventually for extra time and earn the win.
The Bills made their own comeback after giving up the initial lead. Down 28-24 with 1:52 left in the game, Josh Allen found Gabe Davis for a touchdown pass that gave the Bills the lead. This was just one of Allen’s great plays on arguably his most impressive performance of the season. Allen finished with 339 yards passing, 81 yards rushing, four total touchdowns (two rushing, two passing), and one interception.
As great as Allen was, Jalen Hurts was equal if not better. Hurts and the Philadelphia offense responded by getting kicker Josh Elliott within kicking distance (at a whopping 59 yards) to drill a field goal with just 20 seconds left in the game to knot the score up at 31.
With Buffalo winning the toss in overtime, Allen and the Bills offense worked down the field, having the Eagles against the ropes. On a 3rd & 6 from the Eagles’ 22 yard line, Allen had Davis open down the field, but Davis broke in the opposite direction of Allen’s throw. Buffalo settled for a Tyler Bass field goal.
What followed was an impressive nine play, 75 yard drive by the Eagles offense. The drive was capped off with a delayed quarterback draw by Hurts to the hum of a 12 yard game winning touchdown run. Hurts performance was arguably the most MVP level quarterback performance in a season seemingly short of those types of performances. Hurts finished with 200 yards passing, 65 yards rushing, five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing), and one interception.
With the Eagles win, Philadelphia now finds themselves two games in front of any other NFC team after the Detroit Lions lost on Thanksgiving Day. Philly’s most challenging remaining games will take place over the next three weeks with a home game against San Francisco and two road games in Dallas and Seattle. If Philadelphia survives those relatively unscathed, you can book the Eagles to have home field throughout the NFC playoffs.
On the other side, Buffalo now sits at 6-6 and three places out of the AFC wild card. This game against Philadelphia, which felt at moments like a playoff atmosphere is a promising sign of life, but Buffalo has now not won back to back games since they won three in a row between weeks two through four. With road games against Kansas City and Miami, plus home game against Dallas, Buffalo will need to continue to be this good, if not better.
Field Goal Crossbar Keeps Jacksonville at Top of AFC South
If Jacksonville and Houston are going to be a growing rivalry in the AFC South, it’s possible that Sunday’s matchup could be one of the first major chapters of that rivalry. With Jacksonville holding a one game lead in the division over the Texans and Houston already have a road win earlier in the season, the Jaguars were able to escape with a 24-21 win that went down to the last seconds.
Jacksonville held a lead for nearly the entire game, minus a 14-13 deficit halfway through the third quarter which only lasted one drive as Trevor Lawrence lead the Jags offense right back down the field for a Calvin Ridley touchdown. Lawrence, the elder statesman of the AFC South, finished with 364 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Lawrence’s counterpart was of course C.J. Stroud, one of three rookie quarterbacks drafted to the other teams in the AFC South, but also the unquestionable Rookie of the Year in the NFL. Stroud continued to play at a pro bowl level with 304 yards, two passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. Stroud also provided 47 yards of the Texans’ 91 total rushing yards.
Stroud nearly pulled off the comeback for the Texans. After throwing a touchdown to Nico Collins with 5:15 remaining in the game and Houston stopping the Jacksonville offense, Stroud had three minutes to get the Texans into at least field goal range. After two and half minutes and 50 yards, the Texans drive stalled out, leaving their fate in the foot of kicker Matt Ammendola. Ammendola got a good foot on the kick of 58 yards, heading straight down the middle only to hit the cross bar of the field goal post and fall on the wrong side of the uprights.
Although a win would’ve placed Houston at the top of the division, they now find themselves in third place and just outside of the wild card picture behind the Indianapolis Colts who won their sixth game this weekend. With a winnable schedule that ends with a game on the road in Indy, this season is far from over for the Texans.
Jacksonville now sits with that two game separation in the division, but also in third place of the AFC. With a home game against Baltimore, who currently sits in second place, and a relatively winnable schedule of their own, the Jags may still have room to rise up the playoff standings.
Turkeys Weren’t the Only Things Killed for Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day is a day for family, turkey, and apparently in 2023, bad football games. The three football games on this year’s turkey day combined for a point differential of 60 points, the largest differential on Thanksgiving Day games since 2008.
The first and closest of those three gams was the Green Bay Packers 29-22 surprising road victory over the Detroit Lions. Heading into halftime at 23-6, this game looked like it was going to be about as bad as its Jack Harlow halftime show. The Lions did eventually pull within a touchdown thanks to a Josh Reynolds touchdown and successful two point conversion. Unfortunately with only 41 seconds left in the game the onside kick that followed was unsuccessful.
In game two, the Dallas Cowboys who seemingly beat less teams into oblivion like a playground bully did just that by dominating the Washington Commanders, 45-10. A very uncompetitive game, the one positive is that Dak Prescott continued to do his thing and it’s fair to say he is in the MVP race, if not the current favorite.
The NBC nightcap featured an NFC West slaughtering. Expected to be the game of the day, San Francisco went into Seattle and beat the Seahawks silly, 31-13. San Francisco outscored Seattle 24-3 in the first half. Although Seattle gained ten points on the Niners in the third quarter, they were never really back in the game and a fourth quarter Brand Aiyuk touchdown for San Francisco guaranteed that.
Thanksgiving is always a time to be thankful for what we have. Maybe next year we can be thankful for better football to complement it.
Week 13 Game Watchability Rankings
Teams on Bye: Bills, Bears, Raiders, Vikings, Giants, Ravens
13. Panthers vs Buccaneers: If you’ve watched either Carolina or Tampa Bay this year, you don’t need an explanation. Bryce Young was doomed at the start of the season. Whether he’s running for his life behind the line of scrimmage or trying to throw to receivers who are on the downward trajectory of their career, Young has tried to make something out of nothing and usually fails to do so. Tampa Bay may be better and actually not out of a potential playoff spot with a 4-7 record, but one person can only watch Baker Mayfield play quarterback for so long. Personally, I can’t do it anymore.
12. Chargers vs Patriots: Will Brandon Staley keep his job through the end of the season or Kellen Moore get some time behind the wheel. Another week, another close game that ends in a Chargers loss. It’s about the most sure thing in the NFL at this point. Los Angeles will get arguably their best remaining opportunity to get a win when they play New England. Whether it’s Mac Jones or Bailey Zappa, this Patriots offense is a train wreck. Something that once seemed unfathomable, Bill Belichick may be coaching somewhere else next season as well.
11. Falcons vs Jets: I’m sorry Jets. I wanted to believe your fantastic defense could make something out of nothing after the Aaron Rodgers injury, but I need to check out now. Whether it’s Tim Boyle or Zach Wilson, Garrett Wilson is stuck in receiver hell. It’s a shame the front office in New York hasn’t done anything to help this team SINCE THE FIRST DRIVE OF WEEK ONE. Atlanta is actually coming off of a big win over New Orleans to take the lead in the NFC South. Unfortunately if you’ve seen Arthur Smith’s team you know that the Falcons (or really any team that makes the playoffs out of the NFC South) will be the least impressive playoff team in the NFL.
10. Cardinals vs Steelers: Kyler Murray’s return was fun for a week in Arizona, but one quarterback can’t fix this atrocious Cardinals roster. Arizona will be destined for a top five pick, but Pittsburgh has business left to finish. The Steelers hold the top AFC wild card spot in spite of a very inconsistent offense. If Pittsburgh can stay within striking distance of Baltimore, they may have a chance to bump them from the top of the division in the regular season finale. First the Steelers need to take care of the Cardinals.
9. Colts vs Titans: Indianapolis is one of the NFL’s big surprises this season. In a year where C.J. Stroud has caught the eyes of everyone in the AFC South and NFL, Indianapolis now finds themselves in the AFC wild card position. Gardner Minshew has once against proven to be one of the NFL’s premier backup quarterbacks. The Colts will play division rival Tennessee who has seen some ups and downs from rookie quarterback Will Levis. At the end of the day Tennessee still goes as far as Derrick Henry can take them.
8. Bengals vs Jaguars: Add it to the 2023 list of games that would’ve been great if one of the teams’ quarterbacks didn’t have a season ending injury. Yeah, Cincinnati won’t have Joe Burrow to match up against Trevor Lawrence, but until the Bengals are mathematically eliminated they still have to play for the postseason in a balanced, but relatively weakened AFC. Jacksonville will be coming off a huge road victory over Houston to put them deeper into the driver seat of the AFC South. This is a game Jacksonville can’t afford to slip up.
7. Dolphins vs Commanders: This may be a blowout for Miami when all is said and done, but it should be fun before we get to its conclusion. Miami is the NFL’s most prolific offense and Washington quarterback Sam Howell is maybe the closest thing to a gunslinger this season, leading the league in passing yards. Washington has had moments where they have played well against good teams, but an inability to close games will likely lead to the firing of Ron Rivera at the end of the season.
6. Lions vs Saints: Both Detroit and New Orleans will be coming off of losses to divisional opponents. With Philadelphia moving to 10-1, the Lions may have lost any opportunity to get the NFC top seed. New Orleans can’t make many more mistakes the rest of the season. With Atlanta holding the tie breaker in the NFC South, this disappointing Saints team has to figure things out immediately.
5. Browns vs Rams: Kyren Williams bursted right back on the scene with the Los Angeles Rams after being out weeks with injury. He has been one of the great surprises this season and really changes the dynamics of the Rams offense. The often high powered Rams offense will face off against arguably the best defense in the league in Cleveland, who will be coming off a tough loss to a hot Denver team. The Browns will make Los Angeles earn their points, but just like every week with Cleveland, will their offense put up enough points of their own?
4. Chiefs vs Packers: Kansas City earned a good win on Thanksgiving weekend over the Raiders. Kansas City will be hard to catch atop the AFC standings. Green Bay had their own impressive victory on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. In the Lions’ best season in over 30 years, the Packers took the life out of Ford Field, mostly behind what might have been Jordan Love’s best game. Do the Packers have any of that juice left?
3. Broncos vs Texans: Consider this game one of many reminders in an NFL season of just how long the season actually is. Who would’ve thought in the first month of the season that a Week 13 game between Denver and Houston would have such high ramifications? Two of the hottest teams of the last several weeks, the Broncos and Texans are now the first two teams outside of the AFC playoff picture. Considering tiebreakers at the end of the season, this game will be huge feather in the cap of the winner. C.J. Stroud is still rolling, but will the Broncos continuously improving defense be able to stop him for a Denver road win? We have officially reached “high stakes” football season.
2. Seahawks vs Cowboys: Seattle and Dallas will most likely be NFC wild card teams, but there’s still plenty of work to be done. Seattle is coming off being obliterated on Thanksgiving day and can’t continue to lose games with teams like Green Bay, Los Angeles, and the myriad of NFC South teams sneaking into the picture. Dallas had a better Thanksgiving, taking it to Washington for their turkey day game. With Philadelphia squeaking out another win, it’s getting less and less likely but there’s still hope Dallas could win the division or even clinch the NFC top seed. Dallas still has one game left against the Eagles.
1. 49ers vs Eagles: Last season’s NFC Championship gets to run it back after San Francisco played most of the game without a quarterback after Brock Purdy was injured. At this point, it’s also probably safe to say that this is the favorite to be the NFC Championship once again. Hell, these might be the best two teams in the NFL regardless of conference. The beauty of this game is that San Fran and Philadelphia are also playing very good football right now. Without question, the game of the week.
The Brewball NFL Power Rankings
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-1)
- Kansas City Chiefs (8-3)
- San Francisco 49ers (8-3)
- Baltimore Ravens (9-3)
- Miami Dolphins (8-3)
- Dallas Cowboys (8-3)
- Detroit Lions (8-3)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3)
- Denver Broncos (6-5)
- Cleveland Browns (7-4)
- Houston Texans (6-5)
- Buffalo Bills (6-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4)
- Seattle Seahawks (6-5)
- Indianapolis Colts (6-5)
- Los Angeles Rams (5-6)
- Minnesota Vikings (6-6)
- Atlanta Falcons (5-6)
- New Orleans Saints (5-6)
- Green Bay Packers (5-6)
- Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
- Los Angeles Chargers (4-7)
- Cincinnati Bengals (5-6)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)
- Tennessee Titans (4-7)
- New York Jets (4-7)
- New York Giants (4-8)
- Washington Commanders (4-8)
- Chicago Bears (4-8)
- Arizona Cardinals (2-10)
- New England Patriots (2-9)
- Carolina Panthers (1-10)