Welcome to Part II of my Monday Morning Quarterback Post for Week 13. This post will cover the late slate on Sunday plus the Monday Night matchup. A couple of close games and upsets left to cover. A few blowouts as well. Really a typical week of NFL action.
I'm running a little behind this week so appreciate your patience. Stuff gets hectic as the holidays get closer, but I'll power through.
The Panthers, Browns, Packers and Titans were all on a bye this week. Just remember I am a Dallas Cowboys fan and I'm extremely biased. Feel free to agree or disagree about anything mentioned here. All comments are welcome.
Something a little different this week, starting Part II with the Monday night game.
The Empire Strikes Back
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Patriots 14 Bills 10
Last year when Tom Brady parted ways with New England and the Patriots found themselves in a salary cap hell with no legitimate starting quarterback on the roster, it sure seemed that the NFL’s Evil Empire of the 21st century had finally fallen. And it had. For a season. Don’t look now but Bill Belichick used his wizardry to take advantage of a crazy weather situation in Buffalo to put the Patriots back to where have found themselves plenty of times before: the top seed in the AFC.
How did this happen? Weren’t the Bills in a prime position to be the new beast of the AFC East? As Vince Lombardi once famously asked “What the hell is going on around here?”
The Patriots and the Bills both took a seat behind Mother Nature Monday night. The old hag whipped up the winds in Buffalo, with gusts reaching 60 mph. Neither team would be able to employ their regular offense with success. So the Patriots wisely adopted a radical game plan. The Bills stuck to their guns and paid the price.
It is extremely hard to accurately pass the ball in such windy conditions. So the Patriots didn’t. They ran the ball, then they ran the ball some more. New England rushed the rock 45 times on Monday, they attempted only three passes. That was an extreme game plan, but the Pats stuck with it because it worked behind an excellent game by their defense.
Of course the Patriots could use such an odd strategy because they have established a solid running attack this season to support Mac Jones. The Bills have neglected their running game all year long and it bit them on the ass this week. Buffalo’s offense has been too reliant on the arm and legs of Josh Allen this season. With the wind neutralizing Allen’s passing effectiveness, the Bills offense was lost and never found.
The Bills blew this game right away in the 1st quarter. The Patriots had the wind in their face and went three and out with their first two possessions. The wind hung up their punts and Buffalo twice got the ball with excellent field position, once at midfield and the other at the Patriots 40-yard line. Despite having the wind at their back, the Bills failed to score on both possessions.
The Patriots commitment to the run was reward on their 3rd possession. Facing a 3rd and 5, Damien Harris broke through the line and ran 64 yards into the endzone. New England converted the two point play and went ahead 8-0.
The Bills didn’t go far on their next possession, but caught a break on special teams. The Bills punted and the Patriots muffed the kick. The Bills took the ball at the Patriots 14-yard line and didn’t waste their break as Josh Allen threw a TD pass. Buffalo kicked the extra point and the 1st quarter ended with New England ahead 8-7.
That was pretty much it as far as offense was concerned for the rest of the game. The blustery conditions held each team down. New England kicked a field goal in the 2nd quarter with the wind at their back. Buffalo kicked a field goal in the 3rd quarter with the wind at their back. In the 4th quarter, once again with the wind at their back, New England kicked another field goal to go ahead 14-10.
Buffalo battled until the end, but came up short. Twice in the 4th quarter they drove down inside the Patriots 15-yard line. The first time they attempted to kick a 33-yard field goal into the wind and it was blown wide right. The second time, with the clock running out, Buffalo needed a TD but turned the ball over on downs. From there New England ran out the clock.
It was all about the run for New England. Damien Harris (10 rushes, 111 yards, 1 TD) scored the Patriots lone TD with his long run. Rhamondre Stevenson (24 rushes, 78 yards) handled the bulk of the rushing chores. All together the Patriots gained 222 yards on 45 carries. Mac Jones (2/3, 19 yards) spent 99% of the game handing the ball off.
New England’s defense propped up the offense by shutting the Bills down. They held the Bills to 10 points despite Buffalo making four trips into the red zone. Well three trips really, they were gifted one with the muffed punt. The Patriots improved to 9-4, first place in the AFC East and the AFC in general. They have a bye next week.
The Bills main problem on offense all season has been the lack of a good running attack to complement Josh Allen. It did them in on Monday. The Bills running backs only gained 60 yards on 19 carries. Allen (6 rushes, 39 yards) did better on the ground than all of them. However Josh Allen (15/30, 145 yards, 1 TD) wasn’t able to do much in the air with all that wind. You would think a team based in Buffalo would better prepare themselves for games played in inclement weather.
Buffalo wasn’t any better on defense. They rarely loaded the box despite the fact it was obvious New England had no intentions of passing the ball. The Bills got out-coached on both sides of the ball in embarrassing fashion. Buffalo fell to 7-5, second place in the AFC East. Buffalo will probably find better weather next week in Tampa Bay when they play the Buccaneers.
Steeltown Showdown
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Steelers 20 Ravens 19
When it comes to the Steelers/Ravens rivalry you can throw the records out the window. These two teams hate each other, which I love. Hatred is a good thing when it comes to NFL rivalries. It doesn’t matter where the game is played, the outcome isn’t normally decided until the final few seconds. This game was no different.
The Ravens received the opening kickoff and had a chance to get off to a hot start. Baltimore made it as far as the Pittsburgh 10-yard line, but the drive was killed when Lamar Jackson threw an interception. So much for the hot start. The rest of the quarter featured a lot of punting and ended with no scoring.
Baltimore had the ball first in the 2nd quarter with a drive that began on their own 1-yard line. The Ravens methodically moved the ball down the field, gaining 99 yards and scoring a TD in a drive that ate 10 and a half minutes of off the clock. The Steelers squeezed in a field goal before the quarter ended and the Ravens took a 7-3 lead into halftime.
The 3rd quarter featured a lot of defense. Baltimore did kick another field goal to extend their lead to 10-3. The Steelers offense was pretty much missing for the first three quarters. Things changed quickly in the 4th quarter.
It took a long time, but Ben Roethlisberger finally found his groove in the final quarter. He started the 4th quarter by leading the Steelers to their first TD of the game. Pittsburgh missed the extra point and still trailed Baltimore 10-9.
The two teams traded successful field goal kicks on the next two drives. With seven minutes left in the contest the Ravens had a 13-12 lead and the ball. A long scoring drive might have iced the game, but we’ll never know as the Ravens lost five yards and punted after keeping the ball for less than a minute.
Now it was the Steelers chance to take their first lead of the game. They didn’t waste it. Roethlisberger handed the ball off a lot to eat up clock and finished off the drive with a TD pass. Pittsburgh went for two and converted, they took the lead 20-13 with less than two minutes left on the clock.
Baltimore caught a break when the Steeler’s kickoff went out of bounds, giving them possession on their own 40-yard line. They still needed to score quickly so the offense turned to Lamar Jackson. Jackson hit on five out of six passes, the final one good for a TD with 16 seconds left on the clock.
The Steelers lead was cut to 20-19. An extra point would tie the game, but John Harbaugh didn’t want to go to overtime. He decided to go for the two point conversion and the win. I applaud the ballsy decision. Unfortunately for Baltimore, tight end Mark Andrews dropped the pass and the Steelers escaped with a one point victory.
It took a long time for them to get going, but the Steelers came alive in the 4th quarter by scoring 17 points. Ben Roethlisberger (21/31, 236 yards, 2 TDs) stepped up like the veteran he is to gain the crucial yards. Pittsburgh has struggled to run the ball most of the season, but Najee Harris (21 rushes, 71 yards) had a decent game.
The Steelers defense sacked Lamar Jackson seven times and forced the game’s only turnover. Outside of Jackson escaping the pocket, they contained the Ravens running game. The Steelers desperately needed a win to keep playoff hopes alive and they got it. Pittsburgh improved to 6-5-1, third place in the AFC North. They don’t have much time to enjoy the victory since they head to Minnesota for a Thursday night game.
Tough loss for the Ravens. A brutal turnover on their first possession cost them at least three points. Lamar Jackson (23/37, 253 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) had an up and down game not made any easier by the Steelers pass rush. Jackson (8 rushes, 55 yards) was also the Ravens leading rusher. The rest of the running backs only gained 52 yards on 17 carries.
The Ravens defense was dominant for three quarters before falling apart in the 4th. Baltimore had a chance to take control of the AFC North, but it didn’t happen. The Ravens fell to 8-4, first place in the AFC North by a game. The Ravens travel to Cleveland next week.
Around The League
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Chiefs 22 Broncos 9
The Kansas City Chiefs have entered the Twilight Zone, where up is down and left is right. Their potent offense is gone, struggling to put up points. Now the defense, which was mediocre at best early in the season, is suddenly carrying the team forward.
The Broncos received the opening kickoff, gained one yard and punted. The Chiefs took possession on their own 28-yard line. We all know the first drive is scripted and for Kansas City it was their only good offensive drive of the game. They marched the ball right down the field and Patrick Mahomes finished the drive with a 10 yard TD run for a 7-0 lead. It was the Chiefs offense’s only TD of the game.
Not a lot offense followed that initial TD drive for either team. We got a boring game for the second week in a row on Sunday night. The Chiefs took a 13-3 lead into the 4th quarter.
The Broncos muffed a punt and the Chiefs started the 4th quarter with the ball on the Broncos 16-yard line. And they still couldn’t tack on another TD. The Chiefs settled for a field goal and a 16-3 lead. Denver still had time for a miracle, but Teddy Bridgewater tossed a pick-six and the KC defense increased their lead to 22-3. The Broncos added a TD in garbage time, but it meant nothing.
The Chiefs offense made an appearance two weeks ago in Las Vegas, but have gone back into hiding. Patrick Mahomes (15/29, 184 yards, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD) still doesn’t look right. Clyde Edwards-Helaire (14 rushes, 54 yards) didn’t find a lot of running lanes. Outside of their first scripted drive the Chiefs did very little on offense.
The Chiefs defense carried the day by forcing three turnovers and making big stops on third down. KC gave up some yards, but didn’t give up many points until garbage time. The Chiefs improved to 8-4, first place in the AFC West. They will host the Raiders next week. If Kansas City can’t overcome their issues on offense they will be making an early exit from the playoffs.
The Broncos defense deserves some credit for keeping the Chiefs offensive woes alive. The Broncos held Patrick Mahomes under 200 passing yards and the Chiefs running game to under 90 yards while only surrendering 16 points. That kind of effort should have resulted in a win.
Yet it didn’t because the Broncos offense was a mess. Denver moved the ball some on offense, but the Chiefs shut them down before they reached scoring range. Garbage time also helped puff up their numbers. Teddy Bridgewater (22/40, 257 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) wasn’t accurate with his passes. Javonte Williams (23 rushes, 102 yards, 1 receiving TD) earned his yards by breaking a lot of tackles. The Broncos fell to 6-6, tied for third place in the AFC West with the Raiders. They host the no longer winless Lions next week.
Eagles 33 Jets 18
For the second week in a row the Eagles had to play an away game at the old Meadowlands in New Jersey. Their second trip to America’s hell hole went much better than the first one did. It almost had to.
Jalen Hurts missed the game with an injury so backup quarterback Gardner Minshew started in his place. Minshew hadn’t seen any game action since last season when he played for Jacksonville. He must have been practicing though because Minshew came out of the gate hot, completing 14 of his first 15 pass attempts.
The Jets received the opening kickoff and returner Braxton Berrios ran the kick back 65 yards to the Eagles 21-yard line. The Jets didn’t waste the premium field position as Zach Wilson connected on a TD pass. The extra point was no good, so the Jets led 6-0.
The Eagles responded with a TD of their own as Gardner Minshew connected with Dallas Goedert for a 36 yard TD reception. Philly made the extra point and went ahead 7-6.
The defenses for both teams were nowhere to be found in the first half as the offenses kept moving. The Jets and the Eagles both scored TDs on their next two possessions. The Jets missed another extra point and failed on a two point conversion. The Eagles made both their kicks to take a 21-18 lead. The Jets offense finally went cold on their fourth possession as they lost yardage and punted. The Eagles were able to squeeze in a field goal before the break and take a 24-18 lead into halftime.
The scoring calmed down in the second half. The Jets used up all their bullets early, they didn’t even come close to scoring again. The Eagles drives started to stall before they hit pay dirt, but Philly did kick three more field goals in the second half to leave town with a 33-18 victory.
Gardner Minshew (20/25, 242 yards, 2 TDs) looked like a guy who had been starting all season. He found a mismatch in the Jets defense with tight end Dallas Goedert (6 receptions, 105 yards, 2 TDs) and he exploited it. Philly provided Minshew with plenty of ground support as Miles Sanders (24 rushes, 120 yards) led a ground attack that accumulated 185 yards.
The Eagles defense was shaky early as the Jets scored a TD on each of their first three possessions. They recovered to shut out the Jets in the second half. The Eagles improved to 6-7, third place in the NFC East. The Eagles have a bye next week. After his impressive debut, we’ll have to wait and see if Philly gives him another start or goes back to Jalen Hurts.
The Jets offense started strong, but faded. The defense started poorly and stayed that way all game. The Eagles scored on their first seven possessions of the game.
Zach Wilson (23/38, 226 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD) continues to show flashes of greatness, but his overall play still needs a lot of work. Tevin Coleman (11 rushes, 58 yards) did well with limited carries. The Jets fell to 3-9, last place in the AFC East. They will host the Saints next week.
No-Names 17 Raiders 15
This would have been a good game for Thanksgiving since you could have napped for the first three quarters and then woke up to see most of the game’s action in the 4th quarter. The No-Names nearly gave this game away at the end, but recovered in time to notch their fourth consecutive victory.
Washington received the opening kickoff and put together a 75-yard TD drive to take an early 7-0 lead. After that the Raiders and No-Names combined to punt the ball six possessions in a row. Yeesh. Las Vegas finally found a little traction and squeaked in a field goal right at the end of the 2nd quarter. Washington led 7-3 at the half.
Things didn’t improve much to start the second half as both teams punted on their first possession. The Raiders then managed to kick another field goal and cut the No-Names lead to 7-6.
Things picked up finally in the 4th quarter. Washington had the ball first and Taylor Heinicke hit a few big passes to lead the team to its first TD since the 1st quarter. The No-Names were ahead 14-6. The Raiders were in trouble, but they rallied. A combination of a couple of long throws by Derek Carr and a few Washington penalties enabled the Raiders to finally find the endzone. Las Vegas went for two to tie the game, but failed to convert. They still trailed 14-12.
With 10 minutes still left to play Washington needed to add to their lead. They drove the ball to midfield, but then Heinicke was picked off by the Raiders. Las Vegas was able to take the ball down to the Washington 18-yard line, but the drive stalled there. They settled for a field goal and their first lead of the game 15-14.
Washington got the ball back on their 25-yard line with a little over two minutes left on the clock. Plenty of time to score. Heinicke quickly led them into Las Vegas territory and Brian Johnson connected on a 48 yard field goal. The Raiders had a few plays left to try and come back again, but a final Hail Mary pass was incomplete
The No-Names offense didn’t do much, but they did enough to win. Taylor Heinicke (23/30, 196 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) almost threw the game away with his interception. Lucky for him the defense was able to hold the Raiders to a field goal. Antonio Gibson (23 rushes, 88 yards) handled the bulk of the running game.
The Washington defense that was lost to begin the season has looked much better lately despite losing a few key contributors like Chase Young to injury. Fourth win in a row improved the No-Names record to 6-6, second place in the NFC East. Next week they’ll host a team that has a name, a majestic name. The Dallas Cowboys.
Coming off a big win in Dallas the Raiders had a chance to firmly improve their playoff positioning. Instead they crapped out. Derek Carr (28/38, 249 yards) had a hard time finding receivers open for chunk plays. He had to settle for a lot of shorter throws. When he fails to throw for over 300 yards the Raiders lose and he wasn’t close.
Maybe thing would have opened up more for Carr if the Raiders ran the rock. Kenyan Drake got one carry and was injured. Josh Jacobs (13 rushes, 52 yards, 1 TD) played well, but didn’t get a lot of chances. The Raiders were never down by many points, there was no reason to forget about the run game. The Raiders fell to 6-6, tied for third place in the AFC West with the Broncos. They have a huge divisional showdown next week in Kansas City.
Rams 37 Jaguars 7
After going 0-3 in November, the Los Angeles Rams desperately needed a win. The football gods looked upon the Rams with pity and sent a team to L.A. who could solve their woes: the Jacksonville Jaguars. Predictably the Rams annihilated the Jags. It wasn’t pretty.
Good teams are supposed to crush bad teams so this game wasn’t a shocker. The Rams got the first possession of the game and scored a field goal. The Jaguars took their first possession and promptly fumbled the ball away to Los Angeles. The Rams took advantage of the short field to score a TD and take an early 10-0 lead.
Some punting followed that before the Jags made their one decent drive of the game. They needed 14 plays to cover 61 yards, but they finished in the endzone to cut the Rams lead to 10-7. It was all downhill from there for Jacksonville.
The Rams added two more field goals in the 2nd quarter to take a modest 16-7 lead into halftime. Los Angeles slammed the door on Jacksonville after that, scoring three TDs with their first three possessions of the second half. At that point the game was gone and they just hung around waiting for the clock to run out.
Matthew Stafford (26/38, 295 yards, 3 TDs) had a strong game. As usual he did most of his damage when throwing the ball to Cooper Kupp (8 receptions, 129 yards, 1 TD). Stafford also got plenty of support on the ground as Sony Michel (24 rushes, 121 yards, 1 TD) had a great game filling in for an injured Darrell Henderson.
The Los Angeles defense hardly broke a sweat in holding the Jaguars to under 200 yards of total offense. Jacksonville couldn’t even pad the stats in garbage time. The Rams improved to 8-4, second place in the NFC West. Critical game for L.A. next Monday night as they play the Cardinals. If they lose all hopes for winning the division will be gone.
The nicest thing I can say about the Jaguars is they are well balanced. The offense and defense both stink. With a young team in the middle of a rebuild expectations are low, but you hope to see improvements as the season moves along. The Jags look just as bad now as they did in Week One. Trevor Lawrence (16/28, 145 yards) isn’t getting any better. Of course it doesn’t help that he doesn’t have any reliable receivers.
He also didn’t get any help on the ground as the running back committee only gained 61 yards on 25 carries. Ouch. The Jaguars dropped to 2-10, last place in the AFC South by tiebreaker. They head to Tennessee next week.
Seahawks 30 49ers 23
Like the Rams, the Seahawks also went 0-3 in November. But the football gods didn’t feel so bad for Seattle. The Seahawks had to face a hot 49ers squad who were riding a three game winning streak. Yet for the first time in a long time the Seahawks looked like a real football team. They used big plays on offense, defense and special teams to pull out the win.
Seattle took the opening kickoff, but couldn’t move the ball. They lined up to punt from their 27-yard line but executed a fake punt instead. It went pretty well:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1467609281981829120
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Good start for Seattle but it didn’t last. They fumbled on their next possession, setting the Niners up for an easy short field TD. Later the Seahawks intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo to set up a short field of their own, but not only didn’t they score a TD, they missed a field goal attempt. The Niners recovered to score another TD and take a 14-7 lead into the 2nd quarter.
Both defenses took a nap in the 2nd quarter as each team scored with both of their possessions. The Niners got a field goal and a TD, while the Seahawks scored two TDs. The Niners held a slim 23-21 lead at halftime.
The second half started out ugly for both squads. The Niners received the opening kickoff and fumbled it away, giving the Seahawks the ball on the Niners 26-yard line. Seattle moved the ball down to the five yard line, but Russell Wilson was picked off and San Francisco got the ball back on their own three yard line. Three plays later Garoppolo was sacked in the endzone for a safety. The two points for Seattle tied the game at 23-23.
Seattle got the ball back after the safety, but couldn’t go far and punted back to San Francisco. Disaster struck again for the Niners as Garoppolo was intercepted for a second time. Seattle got the ball on the Niners 28-yard line and took advantage of the short field when Wilson hit Tyler Lockett with a 12 yard TD pass. Seattle took a 30-23 lead into the 4th quarter.
San Francisco had the ball first in the 4th quarter, but punted. A TD could have iced the game for Seattle. The Seahawks drove the ball all the way down to the San Francisco 2-yard line, but Gerald Everett fumbled the ball and the 49ers recovered.
With 4 minutes left the Niners needed to drive the ball 97 yards to tie the game. They almost made it. They got as far as the Seattle 3-yard line where they faced a 4th and goal. Garoppolo dropped back to throw, but his pass was incomplete. The Seahawks ran off the final seconds of the clock and secured a hard fought win.
Seattle missed a few opportunities to wrap up this game earlier in the second half, but in the end it didn’t matter as the defense made a final goal line stand. Russell Wilson (30/37, 231 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) still doesn’t look fully recovered from his thumb injury, but he found a way to make some plays. Travis Homer (3 rushes, 80 yards, 1 TD) had the play of the game with his 73 yard run for a TD off of the fake punt.
The Seahawks defense were like Wilson, not great but they made big plays in the clutch. The Seahawks improved to 4-8, last place in the NFC West. They travel to Houston next week.
The Niners simply made too many mistakes to win this game. On top of that they got away from running the ball, which had turned their offense around. Jimmy Garoppolo (20/30, 299 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) had to carry the load and he made two turnovers. One of them set up Seattle’s winning score. Garoppolo was only effective when throwing the ball to George Kittle (9 receptions, 181 yards, 2 TDs), who had a monster game.
Eli Mitchell (22 rushes, 66 yards, 1 TD) gained nearly all of the Niners yards on the ground. The San Fran offense really missed Deebo Samuels this week. The 49ers dropped to 6-6, third place in the NFC West. They will head to Cincinnati next week.
That's a wrap for the better late than never Part II post this week. Thanks for reading and feel free to make a comment below.