NFL Takeaways: Week 12
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And here we are.
The last week of the season before the NFL decides to be buttheads and include itself on basically every day of the week.
LEAVE BLACK FRIDAY ALONE! THAT’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAY!
I also was working on Sunday. So all of this hard hitting analysis is simply from listening to the RedZone feed.
The way it should be!
Let’s dive into what we’ve learned.
Browns defeat Steelers 24-19
Three things with this game.
First, divisional games are weird.
Second, Mike Tomlin accepting a 5 yard penalty so the Browns could have two more downs instead of a 4th and 2 is a weird move.
Third, the Browns want to build a dome which would not only ruin the snowy scene in Cleveland, but would also take away a great equalizer the Browns have.
Don’t do it, Cleveland.
Vikings defeat Bears 30-27
We saw both sides of Caleb Williams in this game.
We saw the great Caleb Williams, who led an awesome game tying quarter after the Bears were down 10 and forced overtime.
And then, in overtime, we watched him take a horrible sack and then immediately take a delay of game penalty to back them up even farther.
Rookie pains, but that’s a tough way to end a great game.
Lions defeat Colts 24-6
I was excited to see Anthony Richardson after his great game against the Jets.
After all, if the Lions have one weakness, it would be their secondary.
He was 11-28 and the Colts didn’t score a touchdown.
Oof.
Dolphins defeat Patriots 34-15
The Dolphins with a healthy Tua are a good team.
They’re probably a playoff team.
Will it be a little too late? We’ll see.
But the performance and the upcoming schedule make me feel good about it.
Buccaneers defeat Giants 30-7
When the Giants sat Daniel Jones to avoid him possibly getting injured and having to pay him more money, it showed two clear signs they were tanking.
First of all, that’s a move you do with 4 weeks left. Not 7.
Second, they started Tommy Devito instead of Drew Lock, when they paid a ton of money to Drew Lock to be the backup this year.
They aren’t taking this year seriously anymore, and it showed with their performance on Sunday.
This team has quit.
Cowboys defeat Commanders 34-26
Division games are weird, and this was one of the absolute weirdest ever.
This game ended 34-26 in regulation, after it was 10-9 going into the 4th quarter, it had a kickoff return for a TD, an 86 yard miracle TD followed by a missed extra point, and an onside kick recovery for a touchdown.
It was absolutely bonkers.
Chiefs defeat Panthers 30-27
The benching of Bryce Young may have done him some good, because he is really slinging the ball as of late.
There might be something there in Carolina yet.
Oh and the Chiefs won again but like. Who cares?
Titans defeat Texans 32-27
Everyone was on the Texans to the Super Bowl train this year.
It makes sense. Fun young quarterback. Good young head coach. It was a popular sleeper pick.
But so many people forgot the term “sophomore slump” exists, and that the Texans still went 10-7 last year.
This is a flawed team. It was a flawed team last year.
They’ll still make the playoffs, and the future is still bright, but maybe people jumped the gun a bit too much.
Broncos defeat Raiders 29-19
Bo Nix isn’t perfect, and the film nerds don’t seem to think he’s even good, but he’s doing the job the Broncos need, and the Broncos are playing really good football right now.
That’s all there is to it.
Packers defeat 49ers 38-10
The Niners may not have won this game healthy.
Without Purdy, Bosa, Williams, and Aiyuk?
Yeah. No chance.
And the schedule isn’t getting easier.
They’re in real danger here.
Seahawks defeat Cardinals 16-6
When Mike MacDonald was the Ravens defensive coordinator, he was nothing more than fine.
That is, until the Ravens traded for linebacker Roquan Smith.
That move completely changed the defense, and made them one of the best in the league.
A few weeks ago, MacDonald and the Seahawks made a trade for Ernest Jones from the Titans and in the three games since then, they held the Rams, 49ers, and Cardinals offenses to 36 points in regulation. An average of 12 points per game.
I’m not saying Ernest Jones is the same level as Roquan Smith, or that the Seahawks defense is what the Ravens was the past few years.
But that move does seem to be making huge dividends already.
Eagles defeat Rams 37-20
The Eagles and Lions are the two best teams in the NFC.
If a team other than the Eagles or Lions makes the Super Bowl from the NFC, it is an abject failure on their part.
These Eagles are really, really good.
Ravens defeat Chargers 30-23
This was a big game for the Ravens, as they’re currently a wild card team and the Chargers were right with them. If it remains this way, this could be a big game for seeding purposes.
Lamar Jackson played great in a really big game for the Ravens.
I’m sure that will be mentioned by the same people who said he shrinks in big games after the Steelers made things muddy, which they do to literally everybody.
