We are getting closer to the business end of the NFL season. Twelve weeks in the books, all but six teams have had their bye week. There is an unofficial NFL saying that the season doesn’t really start until Thanksgiving. Well, that benchmark is this coming week, so buckle up as teams look to secure their division, a wildcard spot, or a January holiday.
Week 12 was full of wild endings, last-second scores, and near upsets, as we continue to be unable to make sense of those teams hovering around .500. With their win against the Cardinals Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks gain a key tiebreaker and top the NFC West. The other two sides in that division, the Rams and 49ers, lost. But it is still all to play for, with the Hawks and Cards now boasting the same 6-5 record, with the other two just one game adrift at 5-6.
Any of those four could make a turnaround and be one of the top four seeds in the NFC. The 49ers, reigning NFC Champions, look like a shell of their former selves. Yes, they have had to endure some injuries to key players – Nick Bosa missed the Green Bay game this week, with Christian McCaffrey only making his second start of the season. QB Brock Purdy, aka Mr. irrelevant, was also ruled out due to a shoulder injury. In stepped Brandon Allen, the backup, who was not terrible but failed to get any offensive momentum whilst the 49er’s defence got trampled by Josh Jacobs in a 38-10 rout at Lambeau Field.
Talking of running backs, Saquan Barkley ran for 255 yards on Sunday night against the Rams, with two scores – a 70 and 72-yard run. Ridiculous! It must have been a tough watch for Giants fans, especially when their franchise chose to keep quarterback Daniel Jone and let Barkley go, only to cut Jones from the roster this week in a torrid campaign. It can’t get any worse for New York football fans right now.
The Jets have now fired their head coach and GM in the season, with the franchise continuing to crumble and their roster misevaluated. It seems as if Aaron Rodgers is orchestrating much of the in-house management. The power that the 40-year-old quarterback has is not the dynamic any outfit should endeavour to have. It is a mess.
The Dallas Cowboys ended their five-game slide against NFC East opponent Washington Commanders in a truly spectacular fourth quarter in Landover. Cowboys fans had taken over many seats on the road, and Cooper Rush led them to their first win since week five against Pittsburgh. But it was an incomprehensible ending to the game. It was 13-9 with just under five minutes left of regulation. And it ended 34-26 to Dallas. Yes, you read that right. How!!!!! The ‘boys returned two kickoffs for a touchdown in this game, with the second including a Madden-like spin move from the fastest man in the sport, KaVontae Turpin.
There were 41 points in the final quarter. Truly incredible. Rookie Jayden Daniels unleashed Terry McLaurin for an 86-yard touchdown with just twelve seconds remaining after Washington had recovered from two scores down inside the two-minute warning. Dallas was the subject of some questionable defensive IQ, with the Commanders down a touchdown and out of timeouts but taking nothing away from the score by McLauirn. Except kicker Austin Seibert then missed the PAT in gutwrenching fashion,n meaning the Cowboys stayed a point ahead.
The ensuing onside kick from Seibert was then recovered by Juanyeh Thomas and returned for another Touchdown. It was a crazy sequence and a game that will go into NFC East folklore. The loss definitely infringes upon the Commanders’ playoff hopes, with the Eagles’ win taking them two and a half games ahead in the division. The Comanders could still make the playoffs as a wildcard, but they will need to reevaluate their offence after struggling against a Cowbys team in freefall that most other teams had been trouncing.
The two-time SuperBowl defending champs Kansas City, who lost their first game of the season last week against Buffalo, needed a last-second field goal against the now 3-8 Carolina Panthers to get a W in Charlotte. The Panthers’ second-year quarterback, Bryce Young, has shown signs of improvement since coming back into the lineup after Andy Dalton’s injury before week eight. Dalton is now healthy, but Young remains in the lineup and plays perhaps his best game in the NFL against one of the best defences in the league, the Chiefs. He threw for 263 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
Not a box score that will blow you away. But just by watching Bryce play, you can see some development. He made serious throws and employed smart decision-making when plays weren’t there instead of turning it over or getting sacked. Young seems to see the field better overall, a promising sign for coach Dave Canales and Panthers fans.
If he can continue showing signs of improvement, even incrementally, then he could cement his role as QB1 in Carolina immediately. He still lacks weapons around him and has utilised rookies Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker (who didn’t play this week) and Ja’Tavion Sanders (who left the game with an injury). Having a career year, Chuba Hubbard had an unusually quiet game but still scored a touchdown and two-point conversion late to keep the Panthers within touching distance. It took a late Mahomes drive, including a signature scramble, for the Chiefs to set up a game-winning field goal. Even Mahomes appeared impressed with Young’s play, ushering words of encouragement after the game. Things could be on the up in Carolina despite a loss.
The Harbaugh Bowl occurred in prime time on Monday night, with the Chargers hosting the Ravens at SoFi. John and Jim, who faced off in the Super Bowl in 2013. John’s Ravens were victorious again, a 30-23 win over the Chargers, with the scoreline making the game seem closer than it was. Derrick Henry rushed for over 155 yards but did not have a touchdown, whilst Lamar Jackson continued to look somewhere close to his best. It was a harsh reminder that although the Chargers are a solid football team, they are far behind their AFC counterparts.
We have two remaining teams, the Chiefs and the Lions, with just one loss this season. Both top their respective conferences and are in place to secure the one seed. But with six games left to go, it could all change by the time January rolls around.
