NFL Takeaways: Week 12

Photo by Smiley N. Pool from The Dallas Morning News

It was the Sunday of comebacks.

Some fell short. Some pulled through.

And at the end of it all, we still have no idea who’s good and who isn’t.

And it all started Thursday night.

Texans defeat Bills 23-19

Let’s go over the last four weeks for the Bills.

They beat the Chiefs.

Then, they got destroyed by the Dolphins.

THEN, they beat down the Bucs!

And they followed it up by getting run up and down the field by Davis Mills and losing to the Texans.

Now, this Texans defense is elite, but this had to be a win for the Bills.

Now, they’re going to be a Wild Card team come playoff time.

Wasting a year of Josh Allen’s prime once again.

Bears defeat Steelers 31-28

It’s another win for the Bears where they really didn’t look that impressive and almost lost to a pretty bad team.

But hey, these are wins!

And at the end of the day, that’s what matters.

Patriots defeat Bengals 26-20

This was a winnable game for the Bengals who are somehow still trying to fight for the playoffs.

Would’ve been helpful if they had one of the best receivers in football out there, but Ja’Marr Chase, an adult man, just had to spit at Jalen Ramsey last week.

Might have made a difference.

Lions defeat Giants 34-27

The Lions had to stage a late game comeback to beat the Giants, and I can’t tell if I should be worried they were that close to losing, or ignore it entirely because the Giants seem to do this to everybody they face.

It might just be their calling card.

Packers defeat Vikings 23-6

I know it’s very, very early in the career of J.J. McCarthy, but if he can’t make it work with this coach and these weapons, I just don’t think it’ll happen for him.

This isn’t the Jets.

Seahawks defeat Titans 30-24

This game showed why Cam Ward was the number one pick in the draft.

He made some absolutely incredible plays against a very good defense to keep his Titans alive until the very end.

They fell short, but that was the best game of his young career so far.

Get him some better weapons and an actual coach, and you’ve got something.

Chiefs defeat Colts 23-20

The Colts were handling this game even with a poor game from Jonathan Taylor.

But even still, that wasn’t enough to stop the Chiefs from staging a 4th quarter comeback and winning in overtime.

I don’t think the Chiefs are that good this year, but you’d be foolish if you expected them to not put up a fight.

Ravens defeat Jets 23-10

I said last week that I wasn’t concerned about the Ravens offense despite a poor showing against the Browns.

A poor showing against the Jets is a little more concerning, but they’ve won 5 straight now lead the division.

At the end of the day, that’s what matters.

Browns defeat Raiders 24-10

You can only play the team in front of you, and that’s why I can say Shedeur Sanders was impressive in his first start on Sunday, even though it was just against the Raiders.

He played well.

I will also say, this doesn’t necessarily mean he will continue to be successful going forward, because he won’t be playing the Raiders anymore.

But we’ll see!

Jaguars defeat Cardinals 27-24

I just really hate the vibes between Jags QB Trevor Lawrence and head coach Liam Coen.

Even though they’re winning, something just feels off there.

If it can be fixed, they can be something very special.

But I’m not sure it can be.

Cowboys defeat Eagles 24-21

The Eagles offense looked like it finally clicked in the first part of the game, and then it just went back to being terrible.

They left the window open, and Dak Prescott came crashing through.

Prescott has now won 19 consecutive division games at home.

That’s unreal.

He’s such a good quarterback, and it’s weird so many think that he’s not.

Falcons defeat Saints 24-10

I had absolutely zero interest in anything involving this game and figured I’d just ignore it.

That is, until West Virginia alum David Sills V caught his first career touchdown.

Way to go, David!

Rams defeat Buccaneers 34-7

Matt Stafford, after a lowly 2 touchdown no interception performance last week against Seattle, had an excellent performance Sunday night as the Rams destroyed the Bucs.

They’re the best team in the NFC right now, and likely the best team in football at the moment.

It’s hard to see anyone stopping them.

49ers defeat Panthers 20-9

Brock Purdy was really, really bad.

But it didn’t matter, because Bryce Young was also really, really bad!

What a game!