Week 13 Takeaways for the 2024 NFL Season
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! One team who had a really good week was Buffalo. The Bills got LB Matt Milano back from injury, made a ridiculous play through Josh Allen and Amari Cooper magic, and clinched the AFC East for the 5th-straight year. Conversely, Jacksonville has less to be thankful for. QB Trevor Lawrence left with a concussion after a dirty hit from Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair (suspension required) and fell to 2-9. Whether you want to give thanks for your team or curse their very existence, hopefully you can enjoy my week 13 takeaways for the 2024 NFL season!
Turkey Day Football: Recaps of the 3 Thanksgiving Games
Lions 23, Bears 20: Eberflus Fired After –When Detroit started the game with an 8-minute drive, I expected a long day for Chicago. The Bears stiffened in the red zone though, holding the Lions to 3 points. That would become a theme, as Detroit scored TDs on just 2 of 5 red zone trips. In one case, RB Jahmyr Gibbs (104 scrimmage yard) fumbled away possession on a likely TD. Other times, penalties short-circuited drives. Chicago did nothing (0 points) in the first half, but the Lions’ miscues allowed them to hang around. As has been the case the past few weeks, the Bears got hot in the second half.
QB Caleb Williams (20/39, 256 yards, 3 TDs; 4/39 rushing) led the charge, throwing a TD just 1 play after hurting his knee when he stupidly stayed inbounds. WRs Keenan Allen (5/73/2) and DJ Moore (8/97/1) helped Chicago cut the lead to 23-20 with 3:31 to go. The Bears had the ball back at their own 1 and worked down to the Detroit 25. However, they bungled the clock, committed a penalty, and took 2 sacks. They never got an FG attempt off, and HC Matt Eberflus thinks he did nothing wrong. Now, he and Chicago’s playoff hopes are gone. Detroit had good moments, but I expect they’ll be happy to use a win as teaching tape.
Cowboys 27, Giants 20: Cowboys Earn First Home Win of Season–Fans of quality football probably didn’t enjoy this game too much. It started off reasonably enough, with New York taking a 7-3 lead. Believe it or not, that was the Giants’ first lead since early October. That didn’t last of course, with Dallas scoring a field goal and a pick six by LB DeMarvion Overshown. The telegraphed throw came courtesy of QB Drew Lock (21/32, 178 yards, INT, FUM, 6 sacks; 4/57/1 rushing), who got the start in place of the injured Tommy DeVito. Though Lock somehow led NYG in rushing, he looked terrible as a passer, even with garbage-time stats.
Dallas ran away with this game despite what the final score may suggest. They got an efficient if unspectacular game from QB Cooper Rush (21/36, 195 yards, TD), and RB Rico Dowdle (22/112/1) had the best game by a Cowboys runner this season. However, the caveat is that Giants star DT Dexter Lawrence left with a dislocated elbow, leaving a gaping hole. Dallas is mathematically alive at 4-7, but a win over New York doesn’t inspire any newfound confidence. New York is probably just hoping this season comes to a merciful end, as the team’s answers at QB and tackle are not on the roster and can’t be addressed until later.
Packers 30, Dolphins 17: Dolphins’ Cold-Weather Questions Continue–Let me start off with a clear distinction: I’m saying that the Dolphins have problems playing in the cold as a team. This is not an indictment of QB Tua Tagovailoa (36/45, 357 yards, 2 TDs), who played great. The much-maligned passer completed his first 8 passes and was highly accurate; his stats mostly came before garbage time. His teammates didn’t help him almost at all. The Dolphins committed 10 penalties, lost a fumble on a muffed punt by WR Malik Washington that spotted the Packers an early 7-0 lead, and ran for just 39 total yards as an offense.
TE Jonnu Smith (10/113) continues to look reborn in Miami, and WR Tyreek Hill (6/83/1) finally got more involved. The positives end there though, as the defense struggled even more than the offense. Green Bay moved the ball at ease, with QB Jordan Love (21/28, 274 yards, TD) having one of his finest statistical outings. Defensively, the Packers bent but rarely broke, earning 2 crucial 4th-down stops. RB Josh Jacobs (117 scrimmage yards, TD) has been great, providing balance for the offensive attack. Residing in the NFC North means that Green Bay is 2 games out of first at 9-3, which is unreal, but they’re morphing into a complete team.
Black Friday Football: Shaky Chiefs Get Lucky Yet Again
Certain teams seem to always find a way to win. The Chiefs, two-time defending Super Bowl champions, are such a team. However, this season, it seems like they’re more often finding a way to make their opponents implode. This week against the 2-9 Raiders, Kansas City should not have needed such a meltdown, but they did. Patrick Mahomes-lead teams rarely score just 19 points, and every one of them was necessary here. While Mahomes (26/46, 306 yards, TD) had a good statistical game and passed Len Dawson for the most TD passes in franchise history, his connections with his weapons are still lacking.
In a welcome sight, the Chiefs got RB Isiah Pacheco (7/44) back from injury. I don’t know if the team was easing him into the game or if the script went away from the run (16 attempts as a team), but Pacheco played sparingly. Vegas saw QB Aidan O’Connell return from a broken thumb, and he looked very rusty to start. He led the Raiders to just 3 first-half points, but that wasn’t entirely his fault. K Daniel Carlson had an uncharacteristically poor day, missing 3 FGs from 55, 56, and 58 yards. Those are tough kicks, but even one of them could’ve swayed the outcome. Luckily, O’Connell bounced back.
A great Ameer Abdullah kick return set the Raiders up on a short field, and O’Connell found star TE Brock Bowers (10/140/1) for a TD 2 plays later. Bowers isn’t just a great rookie TE; he’s a great TE period. On LV’s next drive, O’Connell fired a 58-yard bomb to WR Tre Tucker for another TD and the Raiders’ first lead. He finished with 340 yards and those 2 scores. Late in the 4th quarter, with Vegas down 19-17, the defense forced a KC punt. This defense played its tail off, earning 5 sacks and keeping an experienced unit under wraps. Starting from his own 8, O’Connell calmly led the Raiders to the Chiefs’ 32-yard line.
With 14 seconds left, the Raiders approached the line, but C Jackson Powers-Johnson heard something and fired off the snap. Nobody was ready for it, and the Chiefs recovered. The play was ruled an illegal shift, not a false start that kills the snap. Thus, the Chiefs declined it and got the win, while Carlson had no chance at redemption. O’Connell heroically took the blame, but I don’t think he was responsible. Regardless, this was a tough way to become the first team eliminated from playoff contention this year. Conversely, KC clinched the first playoff spot of the year. Their play the last two weeks does not spell “repeat” to me though.
Ravens Fall to Eagles Amid Full-Blown Kicker Crisis
On paper, the matchup between the 9-2 Eagles and the 8-4 Ravens was our clear game of the week. With two great ground games and MVP candidates on both sides, we anticipated an offensive shootout. Instead, we got a defensive battle that was arguably decided by special teams. In keeping with their tendencies this year, the Eagles scored 0 first-quarter points. Baltimore, led by QB Lamar Jackson (23/36, 237 yards, 2 TDs; 8/79 rushing) and RB Derrick Henry (19/82; 3/29 receiving), posted 9 points. It should’ve been 10, but K Justin Tucker missed his PAT attempt, adding to his career-worst season.
Amazingly, Tucker missed 2 more kicks in this game. Both were FGs that were highly important. When he missed his first FG to start the 3rd quarter, the Eagles had already taken the lead (14-12), and Tucker prevented Baltimore from regaining it. On the next drive, he missed his other field goal attempt, keeping the Ravens behind. Philadelphia RB Saquon Barkley (23/107/1) found his mojo in the second half and put his team up 21-12 with a 25-yard TD burst. After Philly tacked on 3 more points, Baltimore scored a garbage-time TD to make the final score (24-19) look respectable, but Tucker’s 7 lost points were painfully missed.
This was only Jackson’s second-ever loss to an NFC team, and I wouldn’t even say it was his fault. Would Baltimore have been better off converting more of their drives into TDs? Of course. However, the best kicker in NFL history should be dependable enough to bail out some stalled possessions. Philly will gladly take the win, as they’re firmly in control of the NFC East at 10-2. The Ravens are standing behind Tucker, undoubtedly because of his history, but how much more can they take? He is the reason Baltimore sits 1.5 games behind Pittsburgh right now. Worse still, I’m not sure the team can trust him in a potential playoff game.
Race for League-Worst NFC South Tightens Considerably
So much for the NFC South no longer being the laughing stock of the NFL. Following this week’s action, the leaders have mere 6-6 records, while the other two teams have 3 and 4 wins apiece. Atlanta basically had this division locked up a few weeks ago. The Falcons were 6-3 with a season sweep over the flailing Buccaneers. They’ve been in meltdown mode ever since. We knew something was wrong when they lost at New Orleans a few weeks ago. They followed that up with a 38-6 demolition at Denver. Fresh off a bye, I expected a better effort against the Chargers. Wow was I wrong.
QB Kirk Cousins had one of the worst outings of his career, if not the worst. He threw a whopping 4 INTs, with all but the final desperation heave being of the back-breaking variety. The picks sabotaged a great showing by the defense. Atlanta’s maligned pass rush sacked Justin Herbert 5 times and held the Chargers to just 17 points. Yes, the Falcons likely would have won if K Younghoe Koo made an earlier FG (Atlanta would’ve been down 17-16 instead of 17-3, enabling an FG to win the game). However, this team has been on the downswing for nearly a month, and people are calling for Michael Penix Jr to start at QB.
I think Cousins will be fine, and inserting Penix now would be a massive overreaction. However, Tampa Bay has managed to pull even with the Falcons, though Atlanta’s head-to-head sweep keeps them in front for now. Moving to the Bucs, their game against Carolina was not nearly as easy as it should’ve been. Tampa got some major help from Panthers K Eddy Pineiro, who recently claimed the title of most accurate kicker in league history thanks to Justin Tucker’s struggles. Naturally, once the announcers said something, he missed 2 very makeable FG attempts. Carolina really needed those in a close game.
Lost in the shuffle is how much better the Panthers have become on defense. Bucs QB Baker Mayfield (21/33, 235 yards, TD, INT) had his worst game of the season, though rookie RB Bucky Irving (25/152/1; 3/33 receiving) had his finest outing to date. Carolina QB Bryce Young (26/46, 298 yards, TD) has steadily improved since his benching, and he has perhaps rewritten his career trajectory if he keeps this up. In fact, he deserved a win. Tied 23-23 in OT, he drove Carolina into FG range, but RB Chuba Hubbard coughed up the ball. Tampa then immediately drove down and scored a walk-off kick.
Had Carolina pulled off the upset, they’d have been 4-8 and only 2 games out of first. Instead, at 3-9, they’re in dire shape. The same goes for New Orleans, whose Darren Rizzi effect wore off in a big way. They had won 2 straight games and actually shut out the Rams in the first half. However, the offense struggled, especially once do-it-all weapon Taysom Hill left with a torn ACL. The defense caved, and the Saints fell to 4-8 in a 21-14 loss. Nobody is completely out of race, but two teams are clear frontrunners. Tampa Bay is trending in the right direction, but Atlanta has more talent. Sadly, one of them will host a playoff game.
MNF: Jameis Winston Throws 6 TDs but 2 to Wrong Team in Loss
Monday night’s game between the Browns and the Broncos might have been the most quintessentially Jameis Winston game of all time. The man who once threw for 5000 yards, 30 TDs, and 30 INTs in the same season put all of those qualities on display against Denver. To put it bluntly, when you ask Winston to throw 58 times as Cleveland did in this game, you don’t really know what you’re going to get. Why did the Browns use such a pass-heavy approach? They couldn’t really run the ball. Unfortunately, that means we have to talk about what’s going on with RB Nick Chubb.
The fan-favorite back shredded his knee last year and only returned to action a few weeks ago. While his pass protection is as good as ever, he hasn’t been the same as a runner. In this game, he rushed 9 times for just 21 yards, receiving 0 carries for over 15 minutes of game time. The strength of Chubb still appears in flashes, but the burst simply isn’t there. Jerome Ford (9/41) looks noticeably more spry, but Chubb could return to form as he moves away from the injury. At his price tag though, it’s fair to question whether Cleveland will keep him around despite everything he means to the organization.
The other reason Winston had to throw so much is because the Broncos kept scoring. Rookie QB Bo Nix (18/35, 294 yards, TD, 2 INTs) didn’t play great, but he was the victim of some drops and he did have a stellar 93-yard TD pass to WR Marvin Mims (3/105/1). His connection with #1 WR Courtland Sutton (6/102) also continues to impress. Denver gashed Cleveland on the ground as well. RB Jaleel McLaughlin (14/84) got the bulk of the work and is clearly better than Javonte Williams right now. Additionally, the Broncos got some help scoring from Winston himself, ad the gunslinger is wont to do.
Winston threw two damaging pick sixes. On the first, he telegraphed a throw under pressure, and OLB Nik Bonnito took it 71 yards to the house. The second one hurt even more. Trailing 34-32 with under 3 minutes remaining, Winston threw to the wrong shoulder of WR Elijah Moore (8/111), allowing CB Ja’Quan McMillian to catch it falling down before getting back up and scoring. That one lost Cleveland the game by a score of 41-32, and Winston added an end-zone pick on the final drive for good measure. However, it’s important to note that Winston was the main reason the Browns were even in this game.
He carved up the Broncos secondary, picking on CB Levi Wallace a ton. The man Wallace found himself matched up against was Jerry Jeudy. The former Bronco was very determined to show up his former team, and that he did. Jeudy caught 9 passes for 235 yards and a TD. That yardage total is the most ever by a player against his previous employer. Thanks to Jeudy’s big night, Winston earned 497 passing yards, which was a franchise record, and 4 TDs. The highs and lows always accompany Winston, but he’s at least fun. That’s what sports are about, and we certainly couldn’t call the Browns “fun” with Deshaun Watson at QB.