NFL Week 13 Recap

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
In the wake of tragedy, the Chiefs were able to come together as a team and defeat the Panthers.

Saints vs. Falcons: 23-13 Falcons
Saints Player of the Week: Lance Moore- 7 receptions, 123 receiving yards
Falcons Player of the Week: Michael Turner- 83 rush yards, touchdown

Bummer. The Falcons (one of my least favorite teams, if not obvious) got away with another shady win. It's pathetic that the Saints were still in the game even though Brees threw five interceptions. Yes, the Falcons might have won and hold the best record in the NFL, but when was the last time Matt Ryan played a good game. Remember when he was a serious MVP candidate a month ago? HIlarious.

Jaguars vs. Bills: 34-18 Bills
Jaguars Player of the Week: Cecil Shorts- 7 receptions, 77 receiving yards, touchdown
Bills Player of the Week: Fred Jackson- 109 rush yards

The Bills reassured America how easy it is to beat the Jaguars last week. Either Chad Henne stopped using steroids, or he is just truly a terrible quarterback. Regardless, the Jaguars are doomed once again, but probably will continue to botch top draft picks. This might sound ridiculous, but the Bills are still in the playoff hunt. It's unlikely that they win out but their remaining games are against the Rams, Seahawks (home), Jets, and Dolphins. Maybe Mario Williams will appear for the first time all season.

Seahawks vs. Bears: 23-17 Seahawks (OT)
Seahawks Player of the Week: Russell Wilson- 293 pass yards, 2 touchdowns, 104.9 passer rating
Bears Player of the Week: Matt Forte- 66 rush yards, 30 receiving yards, touchdown

Andrew Luck? Robert Griffin III? What about Russell Wilson? Show the man some love, seriously!  In his last five games, Wilson has 11 touchdowns and only one interception. Despite playing in the NFC, the Seahawks are in shape to make the playoffs this season, something I wonder if Andrew Luck and the Colts would be capable of doing. Let's shift the attention to the Bears though. After starting off the year as the most feared team in the league, the Bears are back to playing typical "Second Half of the Year  Bears Football" (© Chicago Bears). They've lost three of their last four and their once fearless defense is now showing their age.

Colts vs. Lions: 35-33 Colts
Colts Player of the Week: Donnie Avery- 5 receptions, 91 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
Lions Player of the Week: Calvin Johnson- 13 receptions, 171 receiving yards, touchdown

For the second week in a row, the Lions strategically realized they would rather have a higher pick in the draft, so they blew a fourth quarter lead. This week's game though was way more pathetic than the one against Houston. Detroit allowed the Colts to score 14 points in less than three minutes. Great clock management! Andrew Luck and the Colts are now 8-4. Congrats to them, seven of those wins were against teams .500 or worse. How unimpressive that they take advantage of playing in the worst division in football.

Vikings vs. Packers: 23-14 Packers
Vikings Player of the Week: Adrian Peterson- 210 rush yards, touchdown
Packers Player of the Week: Aaron Rodgers- 286 pass yards, 2 touchdowns, 98.0 passer rating

Remember when Adrian Peterson was the most feared running back in the league? Well, All Day is back and better than ever. AP leads the next leading rusher by 300 rushing yards! It's ridiculous how much of a physical specimen Peterson is. He has single handedly led his crappy team to six wins. Credit is due to the Packers though. After a slow start, Green Bay is back to being one of the best teams in football. If they can get hot late in the season, maybe they can pull a New York Giants and make another Super Bowl run.

Texans vs. Titans: 24-10 Texans
Texans Player of the Week: Matt Schaub- 207 pass yards, 2 touchdowns, 95.8 passer rating
Titans Player of the Week: Nate Washington- 3 receptions, 96 receiving yards

Any time you force five turnovers, you deserve to win the game. The Texans did exactly that to improve to 11-1 on the season. JJ Watt continues to be the best linemen in the game, finishing with two sacks, three tackles for loss, and two pass deflections. If the Texans can stay healthy, they might end up in New Orleans come February

Panthers vs. Chiefs: 27-21 Chiefs
Panthers Player of the Week: Cam Newton- 232 pass yards, 78 rush yards, 3 touchdowns, 121.2 passer rating
Chiefs Player of the Week: Jamaal Charles- 127 rush yards

The Cam Newtons lost to the Chiefs last Sunday, just a day after Jovan Belcher tragically killed his girlfriend and then himself. The Panthers may be 3-9, but do not hate on Cam Newton. Week after week I defend him, but it's necessary. The media portrays Newton as a terrible person and player, when really he is one of the most talented athletes in the league. How many teams have one player lead their respective team in both passing and rushing yards? Oh right, only the Panthers. Congratulations to Kansas City for winning with all the drama going on. Brad Quinn rewinded the clocks five years and put on a half-decent performance, good enough to give the Chiefs the win.

Niners vs. Rams: 16-13 Rams
Niners Player of the Week: Colin Kaepernick- 208 pass yards, 84 rush yards, 83.9 passer rating 
Rams Player of the Week: Chris Givens- 11 receptions, 92 receiving yards

The Rams were two minutes away from drawing a second time against the 49ers but ended up with the win. Can an NFC team sneak some Rams onto their team if they meet up in the playoffs? Seriously, this is one of the stranger coincidences in league history. The Rams play their best football against one of the elite teams in the league. Kaepernick wasn't fantastic but he will still get the start next week. If David Akers made a field goal or two, this game wouldn't have needed OT. But it did, and thankfully for the Rams, Legatron was able to drill two 50-yarders  to tie and win the game.

Patriots vs. Dolphins: 23-16 Patriots
Patriots Player of the Week: Wes Welker 12 receptions, 103 receiving yards, touchdown
Dolphins Player of the Week: Reggie Bush- 64 rush yards

It wasn't pretty, but the Pats beat the Dolphins last Sunday. Tom Brady played one of his worser games of the year, so it's good it came against the Dolphins and not in the playoffs. What's crazy to think about is the fact that the Dolphins would be .500 if they had won the game. Jeez, the AFC is really this weak?

Cardinals vs. Jets: 7-6 Jets
Cardinals Player of the Week: N/A
Jets Player of the Week: N/A

These two teams should be ashamed of themselves. I'm going to give back what they gave to me. Next game...

Bucs vs. Broncos: 31-23 Broncos
Bucs Player of the Week: Mike Williams- 6 receptions, 93 receiving yards, touchdown
Broncos Player of the Week: Demaryius Thomas- 8 receptions, 99 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns

The Bucs actually led for half of this game before Peyton and the Broncos woke up in the second half. Denver outscored the Buccaneers 21-0 in the third quarter which was good enough to give them the win. Heading into the season everyone said how tough the Broncos schedule would be. Maybe for the first five games, but their schedule now is a joke. Might even run the table.

Browns vs. Raiders: 20-17 Browns
Browns Player of the Week: Josh Gordon- 6 receptions, 116 receiving yards, touchdown
Raiders Player of the Week: Brandon Myers- 14 receptions, 130 receiving yards, touchdown

What is a Brown and what is a Raider?  Just the team names make you think. Anyways, I never thought I'd say that the Browns didn't let me down before this past weekend. They have flew under the radar since starting the season 0-5 and have actually won four of their last seven. How's this crazy NFL team triangle. The Browns lost to the Giants 41-27, the Browns beat the Bengals 34-24, the Bengals beat the Giants 31-13.

Bengals vs. Chargers: 20-13 Bengals
Bengals Player of the Week: BenJarvus Green-Ellis- 118 rush yards
Chargers Player of the Week: Danario Alexander- 6 receptions, 102 receiving yards

Norv Turner is still the coach of the Chargers? Amazing. No matter how bad this team plays in the second half of games, the owner of the team is too blind to cut strings with the GM and coach. Let's do some simple reasoning. This team has only gotten worse over the past five year's and haven't been good since LT was still in town. Maybe they should try to start fresh? Just an idea.

Steelers vs. Ravens: 23-20 Steelers
Steelers Player of the Week: Charlie Batch- 276 pass yards, touchdown, 89.6 passer rating
Ravens Player of the Week: Ray Rice- 78 rush yards, touchdown

Wow, who would have thought that the Ravens' first loss at home would come to a team starting Charlie Batch at quarterback. Respect to Batch though, he actually played well enough to beat one of the best teams in their home stadium. Big Ben should be back next week, which mean's Baltimore's party will be coming to an end. Bring on the playoffs already.

Eagles vs. Cowboys: 38-33 Cowboys
Eagles Player of the Week: Bryce Brown- 169 rush yards, 2 touchdowns
Cowboys Player of the Week: Dez Bryant- 6 receptions, 98 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns

Anyone remember the last time Philadelphia played defense? Anyone remember the last time the Eagles won a game? Here's a hint: the Phillies have won more recently. Dallas torched the defense for 38 points, including 14 from Dez Bryant. Over the last three games, Bryant has 388 receiving yards and five touchdowns. I'd consider that breakout numbers. This guy is fun to watch and will be a top five wide receiver by next season.

Giants vs. Redskins: 17-16 Redskins
Giants Player of the Week: Ahmad Bradshaw- 103 rush yards
Redskins Player of the Week: Robert Griffin III- 163 pass yards, 72 rush yards, touchdown, 101.9 passer rating

Don't want to talk about this game but oh well. Plain and simple, Washington deserved to win this game. The stadium was packed, RG3 put on a show, and the Giants played dumb football. Any time you commit nine penalties and allow your opponent to convert 50% of third downs you should lose.