Welcome to another installment of my weekly NFL Column. My goal is to watch everything so that you don’t have to. I will present to you the best games to watch back; the craziest moments; the best individual performances and the season-long stat leaders and records. I will also be previewing the upcoming gameweek, too.
If that sounds like something you’re interested in, check in each week.
Not everybody in the UK has the ability to watch almost 20 hours of live NFL every week, but I’ll make sure you don’t miss anything you’d wish you didn’t. Without further delay…
This is what happened This Week in the NFL.
Game of the Week
If you can only watch one full game in its entirety, watch this one:
Kansas City Chiefs @ Cincinnati Bengals
You’ve had your warning…
This was one of the easier picks I’ve had this season for the Game of the Week. A rematch of the AFC Championship in Week 13 is a recipe for a spicy matchup. Travis Kelce even said in the run up to this game that he felt they hadn’t given their best in the postseason and so they needed to set the record straight.
Kansas City Chiefs 24 – 27 Cincinnati Bengals
That record remains very much straight, but not in the Chiefs’ favour. Cincinnati have now won three in a row against Kansas City, which is not something you can find many teams even aspiring to achieve these days.
The Bengals went into this game with confidence, but this was a battle. Their offense did a solid job as you would expect, but their defense is the winner here. To hold the Chiefs to 24 points is very impressive – this was only the fourth game of the year where they scored less than 25 and they won one of those. Even more notable was the fourth-quarter shutout which allowed the Bengals to stage their comeback.
Joe Burrow and co. entered the fourth period down by 7 points at 24-17, and without the help of their D it would have been an incredibly tough ask to win. But after a quick field goal to start the quarter, the tension continued to rise with every drive. Burrow found Chris Evans for a TD with just shy of 9 minutes left, but the Bengals defensive unit stood strong and held off Patrick Mahomes and his teammates to earn the 3-point win.
Other games to watch back
Los Angeles Chargers @ Las Vegas Raiders
Seattle Seahawks @ Los Angeles Rams
Upset of the Week
Indianapolis Colts 19 – 54 Dallas Cowboys
The win here isn’t too surprising, to be fair, but that scoreline… And that final quarter? Good lord.
It could be easy to dismiss this as a big win. Indianapolis are having a rough season and the Cowboys are trying to gear up for a big playoff push. This was never going to be easy for the Colts, I will make that clear. However… Tthat fourth quarter decimation was bordering on bad sportsmanship by the end, it was an absolute nuclear bomb of a period.
Dallas finished the third quarter winning 21-19 in a still closely contested affair. Then, for no discernable reason, it became very not close – Dallas won 33-0 in the final quarter. They scored on every single offensive possession that they had, and they forced a turnover on every defensive posession, including one they scored on.
Touchdown. Scoop and score. Interception. Touchdown. Interception. Touchdown. Fumble. Touchdown. End of game.
Insanity.
Winners and Losers
Winners
Buffalo Bills (9-3)
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3)
Green Bay Packers (5-8)
Detroit Lions (5-7)
Minnesota Vikings (10-2)
Philadelphia Eagles (11-1)
Baltimore Ravens (8-4)
Cleveland Browns (5-7)
Seattle Seahawks (7-5)
San Francisco 49ers (8-4)
Cincinnati Bengals (8-4)
Las Vegas Raiders (5-7)
Dallas Cowboys (9-3)
Losers
New England Patriots (6-6)
Atlanta Falcons (5-8)
Chicago Bears (3-10)
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8)
New York Jets (7-5)
Tennessee Titans (7-5)
Denver Broncos (3-9)
Houston Texans (1-10-1)
Los Angeles Rams (3-9)
Miami Dolphins (8-4)
Kansas City Chiefs (9-3)
Los Angeles Chargers (6-6)
Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1)
Tie-ers!
Washington Commanders (7-5-1)
New York Giants (7-4-1)
Teams on Bye
Arizona Cardinals (4-8)
Carolina Panthers (4-8)
Standout Individual Performers
Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
74% completion rate, 380 passing yards and 3 TD’s. 130.3 passer rating.
There shouldn’t be any surprises when any Eagles feature in this segment, at this point. They have been absolutely dominant all season and that is largely down to their QB really settling in. Jalen Hurts showed flashes from his first involvement, but nowadays those ‘flashes’ are what we expect every single game. This week he tore apart the Tennessee Titans’ well-coached defense with a huge 380-yard performance, just 7 shy of his career-high. He also threw 3 TD’s and even rushed for another on top of that, sealing the stat line of his best-ever performance.
Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
8 receptions on 12 targets for 177 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
The Las Vegas Raiders looked like their season was over, but there are stars on this team that just won’t quit. Last week it was Josh Jacobs. This time it was Davnte Adams. Derek Carr and his best friend continue to show their incredible chemistry and rhythm, as Adams turns in his best game of the season. He caught 8 of his 12 targets and was able to convert those 8 catches into 177 receiving yards. He also scored twice, with one coming on an absolutely incredible contested catch that looked practically impossible on the broadcast camera angle.
Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
26 carries for 144 rushing yards and a TD.
Okay, I might have misspoke when I said Jacobs did his thing last week. He still hasn’t stopped dominating. After his absurd 300-scrimmage-yard game, he followed it up with a 144-yard day on the ground and another TD to bring his total up to 10. The Raiders’ offense is achieving the balance it was hoping to, and winning games, despite missing two of their top five players. If they’re going to make it into the very competitive AFC playoff places, it’ll be on the back of these two elite talents keeping their form up.
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
75.6% completion rate, 340 passing yards and 2 TD’s.
The Detroit Lions are having a great year, not only by doing better than expected but also in the failures of the Rams’ whose first-rounder they own. The man who came the other way, Jared Goff, also happens to be playing some really good football right now. This week he threw it down with the Jaguars and they just couldn’t keep up with him. He completed 31 of his 41 pass attempts (76%) for 340 passing yards and a pair of TD’s that both went to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
11 receptions on 12 targets for 114 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
Speak of the devil, this was a textbook performance from one of the best young wide receivers in the league. The Jeffersons and Chases deserve to be household names, but you should know who Amon-Ra St. Brown is by now. The Lions wide receiver has been legitimately brilliant since he broke out last season – ironically in Week 13. At just 23-years-old, he is becoming the face of the franchise for this team. A 114-yard brace just adds to the tally of great games in his young career.
A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
8 receptions on 10 targets for 119 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
When you talk about young superstars at the WR position, I left one off the list intentionally, because A.J. Brown deserves his own paragraph. I’m not going to try and bill this as a ‘revenge game’, but Brown took full advantage of an opportunity to stick it to his old team. He caught 8 passes for 119 receiving yards and also scored twice as he hosted his old friends to Philly for the weekend.
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
9 receptions on 14 targets for 146 receiving yards and a TD.
Not as young, but a damn good wide receiver, Tyreek Hill is showing no signs of slowing down. The Dolphins talisman had yet another textbook game, putting up almost 150 yards against San Francisco. Miami lost the game pretty convincingly despite Jimmy Garoppolo getting injured early, but that was no fault of Tyreek. Cheetah saw a typical 14 targets, as the de-facto number one on the team, pulling in 9 of them for 146 yards.
Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
3 solo tackles, all of them for sacks, including one strip sack, leading to a TD.
I mentioned above that the Niners were able to defeat a dangerous Dolphins team despite losing their QB early on. What I neglected to mention is the sheer act of dominance that went down on the other side of the ball. Have a day, Nick Bosa. He only made three tackles in the game, all solos, and all sacks. 3 tackles, 3.0 sacks. And, just to put the cherry on top, his third and final sack forced a fumble to set up the scoop and score which put the final nail in the coffin.
Bobby Wagner, Los Angeles Rams
7 combined tackles, 2.0 Sacks and an Interception.
Now that is a defensive stat line. For any basketball fans, this is basically like putting up a triple double. Bobby Wagner balled out, despite the Rams’ season continuing to spiral. The veteran linebacker made 5 solo tackles and also logged two assists. Wagner logged 2.0 sacks against his old team, where he spent a decade at the heart of their defense. He also intercepted Seattle’s Geno Smith. I’m sure he’d rather see the Rams earn their fourth win, but this was an impressive performance.
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs
14 carries for 66 rushing yards and a TD, 2 receptions for 16 receiving yards and 116 kick return yards.
We have to keep an eye on the special-teamers, sometimes, but it’s even better when someone does a bit on offense, too. This week, Isiah Pacheco helped the Chiefs in every way he could. Don’t get me wrong, there are fantasy owners that are angry he didn’t earn the starting RB role, but when you’re on a championship calibre team, you just have to contribute how you can. The rookie only rushed for 66 yards on his 14 carries, although he did score. He contributed more on special teams, with an impressive 116 return yards. He even logged a tackle, for good measure.
Stat Leaders Through Week 13
Passing Yards – Patrick Mahomes KC, 3808
Passing TD’s – Patrick Mahomes KC, 30
Rushing Yards – Josh Jacobs LVR, 1303
Rushing TD’s – Jamaal Williams DET, 14
Receiving Yards – Tyreek Hill MIA, 1379
Receiving TD’s – Davante Adams LVR and Travis Kelce KC, 12
Total TD’s – Jamaal Williams DET, 14
Tackles (combined) – Rashaan Evans ATL, 134
Sacks – Nick Bosa SF, 14.5
Interceptions – C.J. Gardner-Johnson PHI and Tariq Woolen SEA, 6
Week 14 Preview – What to watch
THE BYE-POCALYPSE
Atlanta Falcons
Chicago Bears
Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts
New Orleans Saints
Washington Commanders
Week 14 Best Games
Miami Dolphins @ Los Angeles Chargers, SNF
Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions, 6pm
Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants, 6pm
Tyler’s Bold Week 14 Prediction
The San Francisco 49ers will beat Brady and the Bucs, even without Jimmy G.
Week 14 Storylines
The Bye-Pocalypse.
Can Las Vegas keep up their sudden positive momentum? Raiders @ Rams, TNF
Previously a walkover, a New York win would put them just a game behind Buffalo, Jets @ Bills, 6pm
After a free win, it’s up to Cincinnati to put Deshaun Watson down. Browns @ Bengals, 6pm
Detroit look to keep up their momentum in a tough divisional game. Vikings @ Lion, 6pm
After an impressive comeback in Week 13, Brady and co. face a difficult road game, even without their starting QB. Buccaneers @ 49ers, 9:25pm
Miami’s recovery after a disappointing loss goes through a volatile host. Dolphins @ Chargers, SNF
