NFL Game Recaps: Week 13, 2021

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Cowboys 27, Saints 17

The Saints were completely undermanned entering this game, as they were missing Alvin Kamara and their top two offensive tackles. The Cowboys didn’t have some of their coaches, but had a healthy roster for the first time in weeks. That new health, along with some luck, allowed the Cowboys to improve to 8-4 with a win in New Orleans.

The Cowboys were the better team, but were fortunate that some bounces went their way. One such instance was an amazing interception made by Jayron Kearse. A pass to Kenny Stills was tipped and sailed into the arms of Kearse, who hauled in the turnover while falling out of bounds and dragging his feet on the green turf. The Saints were in field goal range, so this robbed them of at least three points. Taysom Hill’s second interception was deflected by a defender in the pocket and just floated into the arms of a Dallas defender. Some awful calls went against the Saints as well, including a horrible blind-side block call that wiped out a big gain.

This was a tight game throughout despite the Dallas double-digit victory. It was a 13-10 affair for a while in the third quarter when Tony Pollard took a pitch in the backfield and sprinted past the entire defense, including safety Marcus Williams, who misjudged his speed. Pollard scored on the 58-yard touchdown to give Dallas a 13-point lead, which the Saints couldn’t overcome with their depleted roster.

Hill didn’t play a bad game for most of the evening. Considering the depleted supporting cast and an injury to the middle finger that he suffered early in the evening, Hill was doing fine until the fourth quarter. That’s when he imploded. His third interception occurred because he underthrew a pass in Trevon Diggs’ direction. The fourth pick sealed any chance of the Saints covering the spread. Down 20-10, Hill launched a pass right at Carlos Watkins, who rumbled the other way for the pick-six.

Hill made some nice runs on designed plays, but his injured finger clearly affected him as a passer. He was 19-of-41 for 264 yards, two touchdowns and the four picks, but if you remove a nonsense 70-yard touchdown pass in garbage time to Deonte Harris, his stat line was 18-of-40 for 194 yards, one score and four interceptions. He at least was able to run for 101 yards on 11 scrambles.

The Cowboys didn’t have great quarterbacking from Dak Prescott either. He looked rusty with his receivers back from injury, and he saw more pressure than expected. Prescott made some mistakes throughout the evening. An early fourth-down attempt was thrown behind CeeDee Lamb. He missed several other throws and threw an interception when he fired the ball late while under pressure. He finished 26-of-40 for 238 yards, one touchdown and the pick.

Lamb was the primary receiver in this contest, catching seven of his 14 targets for 89 yards. Dalton Schultz was next on the stat sheet (5-43), while Michael Gallup (5-46) reeled in Prescott’s only touchdown. Amari Cooper struggled with two receptions for 41 yards. He did not appear like he was completely healthy.

Speaking of Dallas’ banged-up players, Ezekiel Elliott didn’t look right either. He picked up just 45 yards on 13 carries. There’s no reason he should have played, especially when Pollard was the better option anyway. Pollard sprinted for 71 yards and a touchdown on just seven attempts.

The Saints struggled to run the ball as well with Kamara sidelined. Mark Ingram was limited to 28 yards on 10 carries. For some reason, he saw just two targets go his way in the passing game, and he caught one pass for minus-2 yards.

Thanks to his garbage-time touchdown, Harris led the Saints in receiving with four grabs for 96 yards and the score. He dropped a pass, but made up for it with a clutch catch on fourth down. Lil’Jordan Humphrey (2-49) snatched Hill’s other touchdown.

Eagles 33, Jets 18

The Jets seemingly had a chance to prevail in this game when reports during the week indicated that Jalen Hurts was severely limited by his ankle injury in practice. A hobbled Hurts wouldn’t be able to run very well, making things problematic for the Eagles because Hurts’ passing can be described as woefully inconsistent.

The Eagles, however, opted to make a switch at quarterback, announcing Saturday evening that Gardner Minshew would start. With Minshew at the helm, the Eagles had a viable NFL passer for the first time since Carson Wentz was benched last year. Minshew didn’t disappoint, displaying terrific accuracy while making big throws against New York’s bewildered defense. In fact, Minshew didn’t toss a single incompletion until there was 1:29 remaining in the second quarter, and that pass was thrown away because of pressure. This drop didn’t end up mattering, as Minshew converted a third-and-19 off his back foot to Quez Watkins to set up a field goal heading into intermission.

Philadelphia didn’t do as much scoring in the second half, settling for a trio of field goals after stalling in the red zone on a few occasions. But with the Jets struggling to move the ball following intermission as a result of seldom having control of possession, it was more than enough, as Minshew and the Eagles were able to hold on to the victory.

Minshew finished with five incompletions, three of which were thrown away because of pressure. Minshew was 20-of-25 for 242 yards and two touchdowns. One of his best throws occurred when he bought time in the pocket and then fired a bullet to Jalen Reagor to convert a third-and-9. The Eagles have a bye upcoming, so they’ll have plenty of time to decide if they want to keep using Minshew as the starter over Hurts.

Minshew loved throwing to Dallas Goedert. His first touchdown went to Goedert, which Minshew released as he was getting hit. Goedert bounced off some bad tacklers and ran into the end zone. Goedert scored again lately, ultimately hauling in all six of his targets for 105 yards. He also drew an interference flag, though it was a questionable call. DeVonta Smith, conversely, did next to nothing with two catches for 15 yards.

It was a bittersweet game for Miles Sanders owners. On one hand, Sanders rushed for 120 yards on 24 carries. On the other hand, Sanders’ owners watched Kenneth Gainwell (12-54) vulture a touchdown and handle most of the receiving work. Sanders caught three passes for 22 receiving yards, while Gainwell snatched five receptions for 33 yards. Adding injury to insult, Sanders suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter.

As for the Jets, they got off to a good start with Zach Wilson scoring his first touchdown in two months when he found Elijah Moore following a great kickoff return to begin the game. This was one of three scoring drives the Jets engineered in the opening half. They scored all sixes instead of sevens because of a pair of missed extra points and a failed two-point try. Still, down 24-18 heading into halftime, the Jets were very much in the game.

That completely changed in the second half, however. Wilson was 12-of-14 for 108 yards and two touchdowns prior to intermission, but was just 11-of-22 for 116 yards and an interception afterward. His pick was a poor overthrow, and it came immediately after missing Moore for what should’ve been a deep completion. The Jets’ offense ran just three snaps in the third quarter because the Eagles sat on the ball for a big chunk of the second half.

Wilson finished 22-of-38 for 226 yards, two scores and the pick. He endured three drops by his receivers, but he played miserably in the second half. His poor accuracy surfaced, and he showed no pocket awareness. He’s lucky he wasn’t picked a second time, as linebacker T.J. Edwards dropped a potential interception when Wilson fired the ball into a crowd over the middle of the field. Wilson also took a bad sack when he ran into a defender while trying to navigate the pocket.

Moore continued to thrive as the Jets’ new No. 1 receiver. He caught six of his 12 targets for 77 yards and a touchdown. He nearly caught a second score, but dropped what would’ve been a very difficult reception in the end zone. This didn’t matter for the score because Ryan Griffin (2-15) snatched a touchdown on the very next play. Besides Moore, Jamison Crowder (4-62) was the only other Jet with more than 19 receiving yards, as Corey Davis was limited to to receptions for 15 yards because of a groin injury. Davis was guilty of a drop.

The Jets ran better than expected, with Tevin Coleman gaining 58 yards on just 11 carries. He also caught three passes for 19 receiving yards, but was responsible for a drop.

Buccaneers 30, Falcons 17

The Buccaneers appeared as though they were going to run away with a blowout victory at one point in the second quarter. When Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski down the seam for his third touchdown of the afternoon, the Buccaneers went up 20-10. In fact, they got the ball back to have a chance to extend the lead heading into halftime. However, the Falcons were able to score on a very unusual play, as Falcons defensive tackle Marlon Davidson read Brady’s eyes like an instinctive linebacker or safety. He jumped the route, a dump-off to Leonard Fournette, and took the ball back for six.

This allowed the Falcons to climb to within 20-17 heading into the third quarter. In fact, they had a good chance to either tie or take the lead when they advanced into Tampa territory on the opening possession of the second half, but Russell Gage lost a fumble on a Pierre Desir strip. It didn’t take much longer for Brady to throw his fourth touchdown, which also went to Gronkowski, as Tampa Bay was able to pull out of Atlanta’s reach.

Brady had a great game outside of the pick-six. He finished 38-of-51 for 368 yards, four touchdowns and the interception. His numbers would’ve been even better if it weren’t for a potential long gain dropped by Gronkowski in the second quarter. Gronkowski, however, made up for it with the two touchdowns. He concluded the game with four catches for 58 yards.

Elsewhere among Brady’s receivers, Chris Godwin had a monster game, hauling in 15 of his 17 targets for 143 yards. Mike Evans also did well with seven catches for 99 yards, though he didn’t appear to show much effort on one play when he seemingly could’ve dived for a pass and didn’t.

Brady’s other touchdowns were thrown to Cameron Brate (1-3) and Leonard Fournette. The veteran back scored only once this week, failing to do so on the ground. He rushed for 44 yards on 13 carries, but was much better as a receiver with seven catches for 48 receiving yards and the touchdown.

The Falcons ran better than expected. Cordarrelle Patterson broke free for a 39-yard gain at some point, but didn’t do much else otherwise. He gained 78 yards on 13 carries. He also caught three passes for 18 receiving yards. Like Patterson, Mike Davis had a long rush, a 17-yard score in the first quarter. Davis had just three attempts the rest of the way.

Matt Ryan had a chance for the back-door cover at the end, but ran out of time inside the Tampa 10-yard line. He didn’t perform poorly despite the loss, going 30-of-41 for 297 yards. He likely would’ve eclipsed the 300-yard barrier if it weren’t for Gage’s aforementioned fumble.

Speaking of Gage, he made up for the turnover with a mostly great game otherwise, snatching 11 of his 12 targets for 130 yards. I say “mostly” great because he dropped a potential touchdown at the end of the game that would have covered the spread. Kyle Pitts didn’t do as well overall, logging four receptions for 48 yards.

Chargers 41, Bengals 22

The Bengals possessed a red-hot offense heading into this game following a 41-point output against the Steelers’ defense last week, but there were reasons to be skeptical about them maintaining the momentum in this game. The reason for this was that two starting offensive linemen, Riley Reiff and Trey Hopkins, were sidelined. Little did the Bengals know that this would only be the start of their offensive injury woes in this contest.

The missing blockers were prevalent early in this game when Joe Burrow took some sacks, losing a fumble on one of them. This helped the Chargers establish an imposing 24-0 lead. The Bengals scored a couple of touchdowns to trim the margin to 24-13, but Burrow hurt his pinky finger during the second scoring drive. The sideline reporter, watching Burrow throw on the sidelines, described it as, “Burrow is grimacing every other throw on the sideline.” That was a mild description. I would have said Burrow was “roaring in agony.” He looked like he was in terrible pain.

Burrow showed his toughness by remaining in the game, but struggled to throw the ball at times. He was able to move the chains at times, so he wasn’t totally inept, but he heaved an interception into the end zone in the second half. This was one of two killer turnovers the Bengals had late in the game. The other occurred when the score was 24-22. The Bengals crawled all the way back, thanks to their defense hounding Justin Herbert, but Joe Mixon, perhaps still bothered by an injury that made him miss some snaps in this game, lost a fumble despite being untouched. The scoop and score was returned for six to give the Chargers a two-score advantage.

Burrow, as mentioned, wasn’t quite himself because of the pinky injury. Still, he was able to go 24-of-40 for 300 yards, one touchdown and a pair of interceptions. His protection failed him in this game, as he was sacked six times.

Mixon also disappointed. He didn’t have running lanes early in the afternoon – he had just 18 yards on 10 carries at halftime – and he suffered an injury in the third quarter. Mixon was limited to 54 yards on 19 attempts. He scored a touchdown to salvage his fantasy performance, but his lost fumble was an absolute killer because it seemed as though the Bengals would be able to complete their inexplicable comeback from down 24-0 before that give-away.

Burrow and Mixon weren’t the only Bengals guilty of turnovers. The same can be said of Ja’Marr Chase, who was responsible for Burrow’s first interception. Burrow, back before the pinky injury, hit Chase for a deep pass that may have gone for a touchdown, but he bobbled the ball, which popped into the arms of a Chargers defender. Chase had a disappointing game overall, catching five passes for 52 yards.

Tee Higgins, conversely, was exceptional. He caught nine of his 14 targets for 138 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Boyd (5-85) also outgained Chase.

As for the Chargers, they were very fortunate the Bengals self-destructed with turnovers because it looked like they would have an implosion for the ages. Their 24-0 lead nearly disappeared, as the offensive line couldn’t pass protect for Herbert in the middle of the game. Herbert got off to a hot start – he tallied 232 passing yards and three touchdowns in the opening half – but the Bengals began dominating in the trenches.

Herbert barely did anything in the second half, finishing 26-of-35 for 317 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, which was a deep shot on third down just prior to intermission. Despite the near-meltdown, Herbert made some amazing throws during the early portion of this game.

Two of Herbert’s touchdowns went to Keenan Allen, wh hauled in five of his eight targets for 34 yards and two touchdowns. He also found Jalen Guyton in the end zone. Guyton reeled in all four of his targets for 90 yards and the score. Mike Williams outgained everyone – five catches, 110 yards – but didn’t score.

Austin Ekeler was mostly responsible for the Bengals’ near-comeback. He lost a fumble in Cincinnati territory in a 24-6 game, allowing the Bengals to trim the margin to 24-13. He then lost yet another fumble in the third quarter, setting up Mixon’s touchdown. Ekeler tried to make up for it otherwise, rushing for 59 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and catching five passes for 45 receiving yards.

Lions 29, Vikings 27

The Lions had the lead for a big portion of this game, but it never felt like they were going to get their first win of the year. They were up 20-6 at one point, but the feeling was that the Vikings would come back and eventually take the lead, given all the misery and misfortune the Lions have endured during the season.

And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. The Lions saw their 20-6 lead disappear as the day progressed. Eventually, they were up just 23-21 with four minutes remaining. Marooned in a fourth-and-1 on their own 28-yard line, Lions head coach Dan Campbell decided to take matters into his own hands and go for it. The Lions ran a play-action pass, but Jared Goff had no one open. He lost a fumble, giving the Vikings a very short field. Minnesota scored a touchdown on a Kirk Cousins pass to Justin Jefferson to go up 27-23.

All hope wasn’t lost for the Lions, who had 1:50 remaining. Goff had endured major struggles for most of the year, but he came up huge in the clutch. He ripped through Minnesota’s injury-ravaged defense on one final possession. He converted two third downs on the drive, but his third attempt failed when he tried to hit Josh Reynolds in the end zone. However, there were four seconds remaining, so Goff had one more chance on his final down. He made the most of it, drilling a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown for the victory.

Goff, perhaps saving his job heading into next year, went 25-of-41 for 296 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. The pick was a horrible decision, which was heaved into heavy traffic as he stared down T.J. Hockenson. Goff also fumbled, but he was just trying to make something happen on a desperation fourth down where the play blew up.

Speaking of Hockenson, he caught one of Goff’s touchdowns. He reeled in four catches for 49 yards otherwise. The Vikings are usually stout against tight ends, but they were missing two linebackers, including All-Pro Eric Kendricks. It was no surprise that they struggled to defend the middle of the field without Kendricks.

Hockenson was outgained by two players: Josh Reynolds (4-69) and St. Brown, who had a monster game with 10 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. St. Brown is a rookie with plenty of upside. He could be Detroit’s No. 2 receiver of the future.

Jamaal Williams was expected to have a big performance with D’Andre Swift sidelined. That never materialized despite the Lions’ constant lead. Williams rushed for 71 yards on 17 carries.

Alexander Mattison was the more successful of the backup running backs in this contest. Playing for the injured Dalvin Cook, Mattison rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He also caught three passes for 34 receiving yards.

Cousins was guilty of an early fumble on a strip-sack. That was part of a sequence in which the Vikings had five drives into Detroit territory in the first half and came away with just six points, thanks to the lost fumble, a punt and a turnover on downs.

Cousins rallied with a big second half, however, finishing 30-of-40 for 340 yards and two touchdowns. He accumulated 207 yards and both of his scores after halftime.

Jefferson enjoyed a monstrous outing, catching 11 of his 14 targets for 152 yards and a touchdown. He needed to pick up the slack after Adam Thielen suffered an injury in the first quarter. With Thielen out for most of the game, K.J. Osborn also stepped up with four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.

Dolphins 20, Giants 9

The last thing the Giants needed was another injury to a wide receiver. Already down Kadarius Toney and Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay got banged up in the second quarter and was never seen again until the third frame when he just didn’t look right and ultimately sat on the bench late in the game. This limited the Giants to three points in the opening half despite dominating the time of possession until the final drive prior to halftime. The Dolphins, who weren’t trailing, thanks to Golladay’s injury, finally engineered a touchdown drive to go up 10-3 heading into the break.

Miami scored one more touchdown in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 17-6. The Giants, severely limited with their countless injuries, settled for too many threes instead of sixes in Miami territory. The field goals weren’t quite good enough, as the Dolphins were able to prevail because of their touchdowns.

Tua Tagovailoa had struggles early in the year when he committed too many turnovers in the red zone, but he was mostly terrific in this game. He made a mistake early on the opening drive when he fired too high for Jaylen Waddle, but he eventually converted deep in New York territory and was mostly accurate overall. He finished 30-of-41 for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He did a great job of buying time for his receiver in the pocket on the second score, waiting for the Giants to make a mistake in coverage, which eventually occurred.

It should come as no surprise that Waddle led the Dolphins in receiving. He caught nine of his 11 targets for 90 yards, with his lone blunder being a dropped pass on what would’ve been a long gain. He got banged up on one play, but didn’t miss much time after that. Meanwhile, DeVante Parker was second on the receiving chart in his return from a lengthy absence; he caught all five of the balls thrown to him for 62 yards. Parker made a phenomenal back-shoulder sideline catch toward the end of the first half, and yet it wasn’t even his best reception of the afternoon. That came in the fourth quarter when Miami was trying to milk the clock. Parker moved the chains on a third-down reception with a sideline catch where he grabbed the ball way behind him. Mike Gesicki (7-46) was next on the stat sheet.

Myles Gaskin failed to take advantage of the Giants’ poor run defense. He was limited to 44 yards on 15 carries. The Giants, meanwhile, ran the ball better than the Dolphins, but only by default. Saquon Barkley ran for 55 yards on 11 carries, though most of his yardage came on a 23-yard burst. He was guilty of a drop in the red zone and then another drop later in the game.

Mike Glennon went 23-of-44 for 187 yards and an interception. His pick was an irresponsible deep shot into double coverage early in the game, but he otherwise remained clean against Miami’s blitz-heavy defense. He couldn’t get much going, however, thanks to Golladay’s injury, and his receivers dropping six passes didn’t help either. Glennon played much better than the stats indicate. If Golladay remained healthy, this would have been a much different game.

Speaking of Golladay, he got off to a hot start with three catches for 37 yards, but did nothing after he got hurt. Still, he finished second in receiving, trailing only Evan Engram (4-61), who was also guilty of a drop. Darius Slayton (2-13) dropped two passes.

Colts 31, Texans 0

If the Texans wanted to give themselves a chance to upset the Colts as double-digit home underdogs, they needed to play a clean game, as making mistakes against a superior squad would have been a death sentence. The Texans apparently didn’t get the memo; they committed two turnovers on their first five plays from scrimmage. In fact, the very first snap was a Tyrod Taylor interception on a lazy throw to the sideline. This set up the Colts with a Jonathan Taylor touchdown run. Soon after that, a promising Texans drive that advanced into Indianapolis territory ended when Pharaoh Brown lost a fumble. Houston didn’t score off this turnover, but it ruined a potential scoring opportunity for itself.

This was a 7-0 game for a while, but the Colts, who struggled on third down to begin the afternoon, made some clutch conversions to eventually allow Carson Wentz to find Ashton Dulin in the end zone. This gave the Colts momentum heading into intermission, and they were able to capitalize off of it with an opening drive in the third quarter that resulted in another Taylor touchdown. The Texans, down 21-0, didn’t have a chance to mount a comeback because of a Tyrod Taylor injury.

It should surprise no one that Jonathan Taylor had a monster game. He rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. The Texans actually did a decent job of bottling him up in the opening half, limiting him to 67 yards on 19 attempts, but Taylor wore them down as the afternoon progressed.

Wentz didn’t have to do much with Taylor trampling the Texans in the second half. He misfired on just six occasions, going 16-of-22 for 158 yards and a touchdown. He should’ve thrown a second score, but Michael Pittman committed a bad drop in the end zone.

Despite the dropped touchdown, Pittman led the Colts in receiving with six catches for 77 yards. No one else on the team logged more than 32 receiving yards. T.Y. Hilton usually dominates the Texans, but he saw just two targets, catching both of them for 22 yards.

Tyrod Taylor never got a chance to accumulate garbage time because of his injury; he finished 5-of-13 for 45 yards and the aforementioned interception. Davis Mills stepped in and was inept as usual, going 6-of-15 for 49 yards.

Brandin Cooks didn’t log a single catch in the first half, hauling in his three receptions for 38 yards in garbage time. He was the only Texan who registered more than 23 receiving yards.

Rex Burkhead “led” the Texans in rushing with 30 yards on eight carries. This team sucks.

Cardinals 33, Bears 22
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: It was nice to see Kyler Murray back in action. I’d say it was good that the Cardinals proved that they could play in rainy and windy conditions, but if they keep winning, they won’t need to worry about that.

The Cardinals welcomed back their connection of Kyler Murray to DeAndre Hopkins and cruised over the inept Bears. Andy Dalton threw four interceptions, making Arizona’s job easy with short fields for quick points.

On the opening drive of the game, an inaccurate pass from Dalton tipped off the hands of the receiver. Jalen Thompson picked off that ball to set up Murray just inside the Bears 30. On fourth-and-2, Murray lofted in a 21-yard touchdown to Hopkins. The next Chicago drive went deep into Arizona territory, but Cole Kmet dropped an easy completion and Budda Baker picked off the deflection. Baker raced 76 yards down the field before getting tackled by Dalton at the Bears 15. On third-and-goal, Murray ran the ball into end zone to give Arizona a 14-0 lead.

Chicago responded with a good drive led by David Montgomery and a fourth-down conversion to Jakeem Grant. To finish the drive, Montgomery went up the middle for a short touchdown. Arizona responded with a quick drive going downfield. James Conner made a fabulous one-handed catch in the flat and then coasted down the sideline for a 23-yard touchdown. That gave the Cardinals a 21-7 lead at the half.

Arizona added a field goal in the third quarter, and Chicago responded by moving down the field with Montgomery continuing to run well. At the goal line, Dalton connected with Jimmy Graham for the touchdown, and the Cardinals’ lead was reduced to 24-14.

Early in the fourth quarter, Dalton had a pass deflected at the line and Byron Murphy caught the errant pass to set up Arizona in just inside the Chicago 30. A completion to A.J. Green and wildcat run by Conner moved the ball to the goal line, but a Bears goal-line stand held the points to a field goal. Midway through the fourth quarter, Zach Allen intercepted a screen attempt and ran just outside the 10. Murray then ran the ball in from a few yards out to clinch the road win.

Murray completed 11-of-15 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns passing. He also rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns.

Conner ran for 75 yards on 20 carries and took two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.

Hopkins made just two receptions for 32 yards, but one went for a touchdown.

Dalton completed 26-of-41 passes for 229 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.

Montgomery ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He had eight catches for 51 yards.

Grant led the Bears in receiving with five catches for 62 yards and one touchdown.

Redskins 17, Raiders 15
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s obviously nice for the Redskins that they won, but what in the world was Taylor Heinicke thinking on that final interception? The Redskins deserved to lose based on that play alone.

Both teams needed wins to help their playoff hopes, and the Redskins prevailed in their fourth straight to improve to 6-6 on the season. If the playoffs were today, Washington would have a wild-card spot and Las Vegas, at 6-6 as well, would miss out. With five games remaining, the Redskins are in better position because there is less wild-card competition in the NFC.

Washington took the opening kickoff down the field with Taylor Heinicke spreading the ball around. Logan Thomas made superb leaping touchdown catch to give the Redskins an early lead. Their defense shut down the Las Vegas offense for the majority of the first half. Just before halftime, Derek Carr started moving the ball with a key completion to Bryan Edwards and two runs by Carr that totaled 24 yards. Daniel Carlson then drilled a 52-yard field goal to make it 7-3 at intermission.

Midway through the third quarter, Carr hit Foster Moreau down the seam for a gain of 34 yards, and that led to another Carlson field goal. The officials helped the Redskins get moving with a ridiculous penalty on Johnathan Abram, and they then hit a completion to Logan Thomas for 35 yards. That set up a short touchdown pass to Antonio Gibson.

The Radiers responded with Carr throwing a beautiful pass to Hunter Renfrow for a gain of almost 30 yards, and a roughing-the-passer penalty moved the ball inside the 20. Renfrow then drew a pass interference in the end zone to set up a short rushing touchdown for Josh Jacobs. Carr had Zay Jones wide open, but missed him on the two-point conversion by throwing too high. Those missed points proved to be huge, and Washington clung to a 14-12 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Maxx Crosby hit Heinicke’s arm as he threw, and the ball floated to Raiders defensive back Nate Hobbs for an interception. Carr threw a few completions, but the drive stalled and Las Vegas settled for a field goal. With 2:24 remaining the Raiders were up 15-14.

Heinicke responded by hitting Adam Humphries on a few completions to move the ball into Las Vegas territory. Trevon Moehrig dropped a would-be interception, and new Redskins kicker Brian Johnson made a 48-yard field goal to get them their sixth win of the year.

Heinicke completed 23-of-30 passes for 196 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Gibson ran for 88 yards on 23 carries.

Logan Thomas led Washington in receiving with three catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. He suffered an injury in the second half.

Carr completed 28-of-38 passes for 249 yards.

Jacobs has 13 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. He had nine receptions for 38 yards.

With Darren Waller out, Renfrow caught nine passes for 102 yards.

Rams 37, Jaguars 7

The Jaguars never gave themselves a chance to win this contest. As double-digit underdogs, they needed to play a clean game on top of competing with a superior team. That didn’t happen when James Robinson lost a fumble following an opening Rams field goal drive. Los Angeles turned the fumble into a touchdown, giving it a 10-0 lead. Jacksonville scored a touchdown on an ensuing possession, but only via a Jalen Ramsey taunting penalty. The Jaguars generated nothing else offensively for the rest of the afternoon, while the Rams found an offensive spark in the second half.

Matthew Stafford was nearly perfect in the second half. He was 13-of-16 for 156 yards and three touchdowns in the second half alone. He had some struggles to begin the game, so his final numbers were “only” 26-of-38 for 295 yards and the three scores. Stafford’s stat line would have been much better if the Jaguars could’ve been competitive, but he obviously didn’t have to throw the ball at all for a chunk of the fourth quarter.

Stafford would have topped the 300-yard barrier if Van Jefferson didn’t commit a drop on third down near the red zone in the first half. Jefferson made up for it after halftime, however, catching six passes for 41 yards and a touchdown. He finished behind Tyler Higbee (5-48), who nearly scored a touchdown, and Cooper Kupp, who snatched eight receptions for 129 yards and a score. Odell Beckham Jr. (2-28) also found the end zone.

Darrell Henderson was active for this game, but didn’t play at all. Sony Michel handled the entire workload until he was removed from the game late in the fourth quarter. He rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He would’ve scored a second time, but he ran into Stafford on an awkward handoff when Stafford tripped on the center’s feet.

Robinson didn’t run nearly as well as Michel. It could be argued that he wasn’t in a position to do so because of the constant deficit and a nagging injury, but he lost a fumble and dropped a pass. Robinson was not seen for the rest of the opening half following his fumble, but he returned following intermission. Robinson rushed for 24 yards on eight carries, and he saw Carlos Hyde (9-24) vulture a score. Hyde also lost a fumble, doing so in the second half.

Trevor Lawrence posted yet another underwhelming stat line, going 16-of-28 for only 145 yards. He didn’t have much of a chance, as he was constantly harassed in the pocket behind his dreadful offensive line that lost center Brandon Linder to injury. Lawrence made a couple of great throws, including a fourth-down conversion to Marvin Jones where Lawrence fired a dart to his veteran.

Lawrence, however, was dreadful at times, and he’s very fortunate he wasn’t charged with multiple interceptions. An early throw of his was a potential dropped interception by Von Miller when Lawrence threw the ball right to the linebacker. Lawrence later fired a pass behind James O’Shaughnessy that was nearly intercepted. Jacksonville dropped yet another potential pick following halftime. Lawrence was extremely lucky the Rams’ defense didn’t capitalize on his blunders.

Laquon Treadwell once again led the Rams in receiving with four catches for 62 yards, as most of his production came on Jacksonville’s lone touchdown drive when a defender fell down. Lavisa Shenault (3-30) was the only other Jaguar with more than 13 receiving yards, but he played about half the snaps.

Steelers 20, Ravens 19

Lamar Jackson struggled against the Browns last week with four interceptions, but was able to get away with a victory because of an amazing play he made on a touchdown pass to Mark Andrews. Jackson tried to repeat this during the opening drive, heaving a pass to Andrews while drifting way in the pocket. However, this play resulted in an interception this time, ruining what was a promising opening possession against Pittsburgh.

The Ravens eventually got on the board after Jackson connected with Andrews on a trio of third-down conversions during a 99.5-yard drive that lasted 10:29 minutes. It seemed as though this would shift the momentum completely in Baltimore’s favor, especially with the Steelers struggling offensively. Pittsburgh generated just 93 net yards of offense in the opening half. It was bleak, as the Steelers had to settle for lifeless 3-yard passes on third-and-11.

However, the Ravens made mistakes and lost numerous cornerbacks to injuries, including Marlon Humphrey. Jackson, meanwhile, missed some throws in the second half, completing just 11-of-19 passes for 123 yards following intermission. The injuries to the corners was huge, however, as the Steelers’ offense was able to come alive following halftime. The Steelers finally got on the board when Ben Roethlisberger hit Diontae Johnson for a touchdown because of a miscommunication. Johnson scored again late in the fourth quarter, putting the Steelers up 20-13.

Jackson led a drive down the field despite seeing lots of pressure and ultimately fired a touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins. However, given the cornerback issues, John Harbaugh opted to go for two. Jackson had Andrews available for the score on a well-designed play, but he fired wide of his tight end. Jackson slammed his helmet in frustration on the sideline following the failed attempt, as Pittsburgh held on to its 20-19 lead.

Jackson finished 23-of-37 for 253 yards, one touchdown and the aforementioned interception. Jackson’s fantasy owners needed that final touchdown for their quarterback to not be a complete failure for them. Jackson didn’t play at his best because of the relentless pressure.

Marquise Brown led the Ravens in receiving with five catches for 55 yards. Andrews (4-50) was next, but he dropped a pass. As mentioned, Andrews converted three third downs during Baltimore’s 99.5-yard drive, including one where he bulldozed through some Pittsburgh defenders to advance the chains on a third-and-10. Watkins, who caught the touchdown, hauled in four balls for 39 yards.

Devonta Freeman looked to pick up where Joe Mixon left off against the Steelers’ poor run defense, and he had plenty of success. Freeman looked spry, dashing for 52 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. He also caught five passes for 45 receiving yards. The Steelers had “sloppy tackling,” as CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Tony Romo noted during the telecast.

Najee Harris posted similar numbers to Freeman, but didn’t score. He improved as the afternoon progressed and the Baltimore defense was injury-ravaged and fatigued. Harris rushed for 71 yards on 21 carries, and he also caught five passes for 36 receiving yards.

Roethlisberger was able to benefit greatly from the injuries to Baltimore’s cornerbacks. He finished 21-of-31 for 236 yards and two touchdowns. He had 156 of those yards after halftime. Roethlisberger was nearly intercepted on two occasions early in the afternoon, but was very sharp later in the game.

Diontae Johnson had a monstrous output, catching eight of his 11 targets for 105 yards and two touchdowns. What’s crazy is that Johnson dropped a potential touchdown in the second quarter, so his stat line could have been much better. Chase Claypool (2-52) didn’t do much outside of a 40-yard reception. Pat Freiermuth (3-26) caught a two-point conversion.

Seahawks 30, 49ers 23

The Seahawks have dominated the 49ers, beating them in 14 of the previous 16 meetings. However, for more than half the game, it seemed as though the result would go the other way. Excluding a touchdown that was the result of a fake punt, very little was going right for the Seahawks in the first half of this game. Gerald Everett set up the 49ers with an easy touchdown after losing a fumble deep in his own territory in the first quarter. Russell Wilson took several sacks, including one that resulted in a lost fumble on a fierce Nick Bosa hit, forcing Seattle into a second-and-43. The Seahawks later had to call a timeout to prevent a delay of game, only to be penalized for a delay of game coming out of the timeout. Everett then dropped a touchdown, only to have the ball pop into the arms of a 49er defender.

Almost everything was going San Francisco’s way, but not Wilson’s health. Wilson looked much better than he has in previous weeks. There were only a couple of throws that seemed to be impacted by his previously injured finger. He misfired just three times in the opening half. Of course, it mattered that the 49ers lost their top healthy outside cornerback, Emmanuel Moseley. Wilson was able to torch the 49ers whenever he had time in the pocket.

Eventually, it was the 49ers’ turn to make mistakes. Garoppolo took a safety, and he also heaved an interception on an overthrow. This led to a Seahawks’ touchdown, so all of Seattle’s second-half points came off these blunders. The Seahawks had a chance to extend the lead to 10 or 14, but Everett made yet another mistake, losing a fumble on a pitch at the 1-yard line. The 49ers took over possession, down 30-23 with 4:03 remaining in regulation as a result. San Francisco drove into the red zone, but a fourth-and-goal attempt was batted at the line of scrimmage, preserving Seattle’s victory.

Wilson made great strides in his health, and the stats showed that in this game. Wilson finished 30-of-37 for 231 yards, two touchdowns and the Everett interception.

Tyler Lockett caught seven passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. He suffered an injury at one point, but was able to return to action and eventually catch the decisive score. D.K. Metcalf, meanwhile, nearly found the end zone at one point, but was tackled just shy of the goal line. He reeled in five balls for 60 yards.

The newly signed Adrian Peterson made history in this game, tying Jim Brown for 10th in career rushing touchdowns. Peterson mustered 16 yards and a score on 11 attempts. He split touches with Rashaad Penny (10-35).

Elijah Mitchell was the leading rusher in this game with 66 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He appeared to suffer an injury on what seemed to be a lost fumble in the third quarter, but he was ruled down and OK to continue playing.

Garoppolo went 20-of-30 for 299 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He had some bright moments in this game, but hurt the team with some killer mistakes. In addition to the safety and the aforementioned interception, Garoppolo threw another pick, which occurred because he didn’t see Bobby Wagner in coverage.

George Kittle had a terrific performance, catching nine of his 12 targets for 181 yards and two touchdowns. With Deebo Samuel absent, Brandon Aiyuk (3-55) was next on the stat sheet. Both dropped passes, but Kittle more than made up for it. His second touchdown was a thing of beauty, as he was able to tight-rope the sideline for the long score.

Chiefs 22, Broncos 9

The good news for the Chiefs, quite simply, is that they won. They defeated a divisional rival, which was necessary with the Chargers prevailing earlier in the day. Thanks to a solid defensive effort, they improved to 8-4, giving themselves a good chance to earn the AFC’s only bye.

The bad news is that their offense reverted to the pre-Raiders victory struggles. They made numerous mistakes and really scored just 16 points in this contest, as six came via a Teddy Bridgewater pick-six.

Kansas City players dropped four passes in this contest, with one being a Tyreek Hill drop turned into an interception. Patrick Mahomes, who was limited to fewer than 200 passing yards as a consequence, looked frustrated on the sidelines.

Mahomes barely completed half of his passes, going 15-of-29 for 184 yards and one interception to go along with 12 rushing yards and a score on the ground. Mahomes led an impressive opening touchdown drive, but struggled to move the chains after that. The drops hurt, though it should be noted that there was a violent, swirling wind at times during the evening.

Perhaps a sign that the wind was a problem happened to be that the Chiefs’ two leading receivers were both running backs. Darrel Williams caught three passes for 60 yards, while Clyde Edwards-Helaire hauled in as many receptions for 28 yards. Edwards-Helaire rushed for 54 yards on 14 carries as well.

As far as Mahomes’ other targets, Kelce caught three balls for 27 yards, while Hill struggled with two receptions for 22 yards. Hill dropped two passes, including the ball that turned into Mahomes’ interception.

The Broncos had turnover issues of their own. Bridgewater threw two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six that put this game away. This turnover wasn’t Bridgewater’s fault because there was a deflection at the line of scrimmage, but Bridgewater was fortunate to have two other potential interceptions dropped. His other pick that counted occurred because he didn’t see safety Juan Thornhill in coverage.

Bridgewater put together some nice drives that entered Kansas City territory, but just couldn’t convert once he reached the red zone. He finished 22-of-40 for 257 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Javonte Williams had his chance to carry the workload by himself for the first time with Melvin Gordon injured. Williams was spectacular. Breaking countless tackles all night, Williams rumbled for 102 yards on 23 carries, and he also caught six passes for 76 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Jerry Jeudy barely edged out Williams for the team receiving lead with four catches for 77 yards. Bridgewater struggled to get the ball to Courtland Sutton (2-15) and Tim Patrick (1-9).

Patriots 14, Bills 10

It’s difficult to gauge anything from this game because of the violent, 40-mph winds that made running a normal offense nearly impossible. The Patriots prevailed by four, but they made just one big play, and if that didn’t happen, they would have lost by three. Conversely, the Bills shot themselves in the foot repeatedly, making things even more difficult for them.

The one big New England play was a 64-yard touchdown run by Damien Harris. N’Keal Harry and Isaiah Wynn threw tremendous blocks to spring Harris’ touchdown. Excluding that play, the Patriots generated only 177 net yards and six points (they went for two following the touchdown). They certainly stole this victory from the Bills, who saw Stefon Diggs drop a deep touchdown and Dawson Knox drop two third-down conversions and commit a false start in the red zone at the end of regulation. Buffalo also had an asinine game plan in which it stuck with the run for far too long and didn’t lean on Josh Allen, who had decent success cutting through the wind with his massive arm strength.

The stats don’t show it, but Allen should have enjoyed a solid performance, considering the circumstances. Allen went 15-of-30 for 145 yards and a touchdown in the extreme windy conditions, but remember that Allen should’ve thrown a second score to Diggs, and he should have completed a couple more passes to Knox. The Bills had the advantage in this game with their strong-armed quarterback, but tried to run the ball way too much. They squandered two red-zone opportunities in the fourth quarter by wasting one down on each drive with a rushing play that went nowhere.

Conversely, Bill Belichick had no faith in Mac Jones completing any passes. Jones attempted three throws, completing two of them for 19 yards. One completion was a ridiculous catch by Jonnu Smith where he batted a poorly thrown ball to himself. Jones’ lone misfire was broken up by Tre’Davious White’s backup.

It was no surprise that the Patriots had more success running the ball than Buffalo. Harris gained 111 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries before leaving the game with a hamstring injury. Rhamondre Stevenson was a load to bring down, rumbling for 78 yards on 24 attempts. However, the Bills seemed to figure out the Patriots’ ground attack in the fourth quarter, as New England didn’t have any success running the ball late in the game.

Harris and Stevenson were the two leading rushers in this game. The Bills were paced on the ground by Allen, who scrambled six times for 39 rushing yards. Devin Singletary (10-36) was the best Buffalo back, but only because of a 17-yard burst in the fourth quarter. Both Zack Moss (8-21) and Matt Breida (1-3) struggled. Breida was responsible for a lost fumble that set up the Harris touchdown, though the Patriots later muffed a punt that gave Buffalo its lone end zone trip.

As for the receivers, Diggs led the Bills in that category despite the dropped touchdown, catching four balls for 51 yards. Gabriel Davis (2-30) snatched Allen’s lone touchdown. Emmanuel Sanders (3-22) and Cole Beasley (1-11) barely did anything, while Knox (2-14) ruined the Bills’ chances of winning this game with his three mistakes.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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