NFL Week 13 Recap: Leftovers

If there's a holiday known for leftovers, it's Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving leftovers could span about two extra days, three if you're lucky. In the case of the NFL's Thanksgiving weekend, following the three Turkey Day games and the Black Friday game, we get a lot of leftovers--in the form of the remaining 12 games (11 on Sunday, and one on Monday). The one that is giving me the most concern is the meeting between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, and regarding the former, they entered Sunday on top of the AFC North due to the Ravens fizzling. They had a 7-3 lead at halftime; it was looking good.

And then the first play of the second half happened. Aaron Rodgers fumbled, it was scooped up and returned all the way. Bills went up 10-7 and never looked back. Buffalo went on to win, 23-7 to improve to 8-4, but the Steelers? Dropped to 6-6, and out of first place. Steelers and Ravens have the same divisional record (2-1), but it's common games that puts Baltimore ahead. It's a one game difference, and I know where the difference is: Chicago. Ravens beat them, Steelers didn't.

Remember when the Steelers were 4-1 and set to run away with this division? We all do. Then they lost to the Bengals. I didn't think much of it, but that loss began a terrible skid. The Steelers have lost five of their last seven and are behind a Ravens team who played a full month without Lamar Jackson. Speaking of Baltimore, that's where the Steelers head next. The first of two meetings between the Steelers and Ravens will take place next week--one of three big division games coming up. The Steelers need this, but most of all, Mike Tomlin needs this, because a win will silence the wannabe Klansmen who want him fired solely because he has the same pigment as me.

The AFC South has become interesting as well! The Indianapolis Colts' fraud level continues to grow, this time with a home loss to the rival Houston Texans, 20-16. So a week after blowing it against the Chiefs, they fall at home in a division game. The AFC South ran into each other this week, as the other two teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans, clashed this past Sunday. It was a cakewalk for the Jags, winning 25-3, and as a result, the Jags took over the division lead. The Jags and Colts have identical overall and division records, but similar to the AFC North, common games are the difference, and the Jags have that edge. And guess what, folks? The Jags and Colts face each other next week--first meeting of the season.

As for the Titans, the loss eliminated them from playoff contention, which was no surprise. Three other teams were eliminated in Week 13. One was the only team to lose to the Titans this year: the Arizona Cardinals, who were defeated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thanks to TB's win, the Saints were eliminated when they lost to the Miami Dolphins. Finally, the Las Vegas Raiders' season ended when they were blasted by the Los Angeles Chargers. The New York Jets faced elimination, but they avoided it with a 27-24 win over the very lowly Atlanta Falcons.

The biggest upset from Week 13 had to be the Carolina Panthers winning over the Los Angeles Rams, 31-28. Even though the Panthers are on the rise, it still looked like it would be somewhat easy for the Rams, but Matthew Stafford had quite a faulty game--two INTs and a lost fumble. So the Panthers are still keeping pace with the Bucs in the NFC South, but we are still weeks away from that first meeting of the season between the two clubs. The Bucs and Panthers will not run into each other until Week 16, and that serves as the first of two meetings in three weeks. As for the Rams, the loss resulted in a new holder of the NFC's #1 seed: the Chicago Bears. Of course, that's until Sunday, when the Bears head to Lambeau and do what they do best: kiss the Green and Gold ring.

The 49ers and Seahawks were happy to capitalize on the Rams loss; the Niners blasted the Browns, 26-8, while the Seahawks actually shutout the Vikings, 26-0. Regarding the fantasy numbers, the Hawks defense didn't give up a point (10 points), had four sacks (4 points), four interceptions (8 points), a fumble recovery (2 points) and a touchdown (6 points). Thirty fantasy points! Sunday Night Football saw the Denver Broncos win, 27-26, in overtime over the Washington Commanders, who only avoided elimination because someone won on Black Friday, and on Monday Night Football, the New England Patriots dominated the already eliminated New York Giants, 33-15, to regain #1 in the AFC.

So that's that. No playoff spots clinched, and four more teams ousted after 13 weeks. Five weeks remain, and Week 14--the first full NFL week of December--kicks off with the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions clashing and each playing their second straight Thursday game. On Sunday Night Football, the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs face each other in a very important game for both teams, and on Monday Night Football, the Los Angeles Chargers and the Philadelphia Eagles face off. This is the final week with byes, with the Panthers, Giants, Patriots, and 49ers each serving as the last teams to have byes this season.

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