NFL Week 13 Recap: How the East Was Won

Before this season started, somebody said that the Buffalo Bills wouldn't even make the playoffs. "Diggs is gone, they have no chance." "When the Bills finish 9-8 and miss the playoffs, their fans better apologize to Diggs."

Who said all of that? Oh, right... it was me.

To be fair, I wasn't the only one saying it, but I was very loud with it. Bills fans being the NFL equivalent of Edmonton Oilers fans had something to do with it: the excuses when they lose to KC in January, plus--on a personal note--attacking me and accusing me of actually hating White QBs just because I said Lamar Jackson was better than Josh Allen. So yeah, when Stefon Diggs went off to Houston, I figured the Bills would decline and I was ready to laugh at them. I said they'd finish with nine wins. Bills got to 10 wins before my Packers did.

And Win #10 got them the AFC East.

The Bills trounced the San Francisco 49ers, 35-10, in a snowy Buffalo atmosphere. Thanks to the Packers blasting the Miami Dolphins, all Buffalo needed was a win to capture the AFC East for the fifth straight season. So the Bills became the second team to lock up a playoff spot, but became the first of eight division champions crowned this season. All that's left for the Bills to do is try to get that #1 seed, and while they are one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs, the win they picked up over KC helps. However, last year taught us that home field doesn't really matter between those two in January.

As for the San Francisco 49ers, well, they're screwed. Not only are they down to 5-7, but they have lost both of their top running backs for the season. Christian McCaffrey got injured once again, and after that news, it was reported that their RB2, Jordan Mason, is also on the IR. What an absolute mess. The Niners are now all alone in the bottom of the NFC West, and are eliminated from the chase for the #1 seed, which they did have last season. It's an absolute mess, and from what we've seen, it's more than the injuries. They just can't get it together on the field.

Russell Wilson has arrived, folks! This is what the Pittsburgh Steelers were looking for when they received Russ last year. The Steelers were in Cincinnati against the Bengals, looking to get that taste of their loss in the northern end of Ohio out of their mouths. What they received was a back and forth offense-filled battle that seems to be the norm in the AFC North this season. In the end, Pittsburgh won it... 44-38. Russ threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns, and this was after he threw a Pick Six!! This was the ninth win of the season, meaning Mike Tomlin's streak lives on. 18 seasons of winning seasons. He is the best current coach in the league, and it's by a landslide.

The talk of this game is the Bengals. This is the sixth time that they've scored 30+ points in a game this season. They are 2-4 in those games. The Bengals have four of the seven losses from teams who have scored 30+ points this season. That is damning. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase have been tearing it up all season long, but the team is 4-8. That should not be the case.

Cardinals, you had one damn job! Arizona had the Minnesota Vikings beat; they had a 13 point lead, and they absolutely blew it. The Cards needed to win, because the Seattle Seahawks were facing the New York Jets, and Seattle came back and won and added to Aaron Rodgers' humilation this year. Also, the Los Angeles Rams won in the late window against the New Orleans Saints, so yeah, the Cardinals are in a bit of a bind, but nothing they can't get out of. The Vikings are 10-2. You know what the most angering thing about this is? You would think it would be because they keep staying a game ahead of us, and while that is frustrating as a Packers fan, that's not what bothers me the most. No, what bothers me the most about the Vikings' amazing season is this:

I've been a defender of Kirk Cousins when he was a Viking. I've heard Vikings fans blame him for their losses when the truth was that Cousins had nothing to work with, which was true. When Cousins ended up injured and out for the rest of last season, the Vikings went from having a shot at the playoffs to falling off in the end of the season. My thought: "Maybe now Vikings fans will learn to appreciate Cousins." Instead, they let him go. Sam Darnold's their QB. I'm prepared to laugh at the Vikings. The team is 10-2. As for Cousins, his latest start for the Atlanta Falcons saw him throw four interceptions in a close loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Now you see why I'm bothered? All of this allows Vikings fans, a very arrogant fanbase despite the fact that the team hasn't won shit and hasn't been to a Super Bowl in almost fifty years, to say, "See?! We told you so!" Oh, and get this. Next week: Falcons @ Vikings. Really hoping that it's a revenge game for Cousins, but here's the thing: he may not be starting that game. Falcons fans want Cousins benched, and the team may listen. Oh boy.

The rest of the early window saw the Washington Commanders get back on the winning track against the lowly Tennessee Titans, and the Indianapolis Colts eked out a win over the New England Patriots with a 2-point conversion after a clutch TD. The talk of the window was the Texans/Jags game; Houston won, but that's not the story. The story is this guy: Azeez Al-Shaair. The Houston linebacker delivered an immensely dirty hit to a surrendering Trevor Lawrence, a head hit that concussed him. This is not Al-Shaair's first act of dirty play. He punched Roschon Johnson in Week 2, and delivered a dirty cheap shot to Tony Pollard earlier in the season. After being ejected, Al-Shaair wanted to fight other Jags players. Yikes.

Even worse was the tone-deafness. Demeco Ryans spoke up for him afterwards. Morons are saying Lawrence slid too late; he was actually six yards away from Al-Shaair when he slid. And then there's Al-Shaair himself. In his bullshit apology, he basically accused anyone calling him out for being dirty of being Islamophobic. Oh my goodness.

Regarding the rest of the late window, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won an OT thriller over the Carolina Panthers, but the main story was the battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens. We all know who this man is. Justin Tucker. Undoubtedly, undeniably the greatest kicker in NFL history. The man can make anything, no matter what the distance. He owns the record for the longest FG made: 66 yards. I've said for the longest time that Tucker is literally the only teammate who Lamar Jackson can count on. Sadly, even the greats can become mortal, and that's what has happened with Tucker. He has not been automatic this season, and in this game, it's getting worse. Missed two FGs and a PAT, and the Ravens lost, 24-19. I haven't been saddened by a kicker's decline since Mason Crosby, and honestly, as an admirer of kickers, this hurts worse than Crosby. It happens to everybody, but the fact that it's happening to Tucker, oh man.

Week 13 ended with this big time slobberknocker between the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos, and this was a wild one that had this fantasy owner watching intensely. It was a revenge game for Jerry Jeudy, and he absolutely showed out, as did Jameis Winston. Browns had 552 total yards of offense, Winston threw for 497 yards. However, the Broncos won, 41-32. What was the difference? Winston threw three picks, and two of them were returned all the way, and a third almost did. Thank goodness the third one didn't score. If it had, I would have lost TWO fantasy matchups.

So Week 13 is in the books, and the NFL is officially in the month of December. While the Thanksgiving and Black Friday action saw the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders' seasons end, the rest of the week saw the Jaguars and Patriots eliminated. As for Week 14, that will kick off with the Green Bay Packers in Detroit against the Lions on Thursday Night Football. On Sunday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Los Angeles Chargers, while Monday Night Football will feature the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys, and that game will be simulcast on Disney+, which will air a Simpsons-style broadcast.

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Check out my recap of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday games!