HOT HASSELBECK, RELEVANT REDSKINS
In honor of Super Bowl 50, the 50 things we learned in Week 12:
1. Matt Hasselbeck is 4-0 as the Colts starter this season. He should get some extra AARP points for that.
2. Replay review I: Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. did it again. His one-handed TD catch was the highlight of a hardto-watch NFC East game.
3. The Twitterverse was going crazy over Bills WR Sammy Watkins (six catches, 158 yards, two touchdowns), but the guy on the other team, Chiefs WR Jeremy Maclin, might have had a better game with nine catches for 160 yards and a TD. And Maclin’s team won.
4. And, oh yeah, Watkins went without a catch in the second half. Still, he was trending.
5. “Manning throws three interceptions.” And Peyton didn’t even play.
6. The Jaguars were the first to score with a field goal. The Bengals soon followed with the day’s first TD when the Rams forgot to cover A.J. Green.
7. The most surprising thing was no college coaches were fired in the time between those two scores.
8. Replay review II: Catch the clip of referee Walt Coleman announcing the decision after being in the replay booth: “The ruling on the field is confirmed of a completed catch. … No, incomplete. Pass is incomplete.”
9. Yep, it’s been that kind of year for the referees. 10. Those Seahawks won’t go away. 11. Not sure if Chip Kelly has them on his fantasy team, but Maclin, DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy scored TDs.
12. Who are we kidding? With the way Kelly’s season is going, he probably started Nick Foles on his fantasy team.
13. Jameis Winston was 4 when Matt Hasselbeck was drafted. So there’s that.
14. Giants QB Eli Manning has thrown an interception on the opening drive in two of his last three games. The Redskins, in fact, picked off two of his passes in the first quarter. And turned them into zero points. Ah, the NFC East.
15. The Cardinals were coming off emotional wins vs. the Seahawks and Bengals, so it was safe to assume they’d have a letdown. A classic win-and-moveon game for them and an important division victory against the 49ers.
16. We were critical of J.J. Watt this season, so it’s only fair we point out he has 91⁄2 sacks in his last five games.
17. The Texans hadn’t scored on their opening drive all year. Then they played the Saints. TD! We blame Rob Ryan.
18. The Titans missed an extra-point kick for the first time since 2006.
19. Replay review III: The “touch” on Tyrod Taylor’s TD pass to Watkins in the second quarter. Sweet.
20. The Giants are so banged up they used Montori Hughes, at 350 pounds, on the kickoff team.
21. Thursday flashback I: Hall of Fame QB Bart Starr won the day. Sorry Panthers, Lions and Bears.
22. Saints CB Brandon Browner must have been so surprised he had yet to be penalized, he got flagged for a block in the back on a mate’s interception return.
23. A half-filled stadium in Kansas City? Wow. We know it rained, but that can’t sit well with the NFL folks who worry about things like that.
24. A half-filled stadium in San Francisco? Well, yeah. That’s what happens when you aren’t good.
25. Shown on the Kiss Cam at the Texans game: former president George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara. Woot!
26. Thursday flashback II: The question isn’t whether Tony Romo came back too soon, it is why the team allowed him to come back and play twice in five days. Remember that when the league boasts of its concern for players’ health.
27. Giants fans must just love it when they see DeSean Jackson walk along the goal line the way he did at the end of his 63-yard TD catch Sunday. The last time he did that was when his 65-yard puntreturn TD gave the Eagles a victory vs. them on the last play of a game in 2010.
28. Dolphins running backs Jay Ajayi and Lamar Miller combined for 8 yards on eight carries.
29. Replay review IV: Watch Tavon Austin’s 60-yard end-around and just marvel at his speed.
30. Bengals TE Tyler Eifert has 12 touchdown catches. Yeah, we all saw that coming in the preseason.
31. Our favorite tweet came from our own Tom Pelissero, who was at GiantsRedskins: “Referee Carl Cheffers just forgot his mic was on, pulled out a Kleenex and blew his nose into it. Quite a treat for 70,000 in attendance.”
32. The Chiefs allowed as many points (16) in the first half vs. the Bills as they did in any game during their fourgame winning streak entering Sunday.
33. Matt Ryan. What the heck happened to him?
34. Is it just us or does Jaguars QB Blake Bortles throw more passes after he crosses the line of scrimmage than he does from behind it?
35. Thursday flashback III: Luke Kuechly. Just wow.
36. Beckham wore Charlie Brown and Snoopy cleats in warmups. And that just about sums up the game the Giants turned in against the Redskins.
37. So has it really come to this? The ’Skins’ Kirk Cousins is one of the most consistent quarterbacks right now?
38. If we’re the Panthers and we were watching these games Sunday — and even the Packers game Thursday night — we’re saying, ‘Shame on us if we can’t beat these teams to win the NFC. ”
39. It’s games like Sunday’s why we aren’t ready to say Ryan Tannehill is ready to be a franchise QB. Simply can’t avoid the poor decision.
40. We don’t pretend to have all the answers, but one thing we’re sure of: The Rams need to give Todd Gurley more than nine carries.
41. On the other hand, the Rams had a Wildcat look with Gurley and Austin in the same backfield. It’s about time St. Louis got creative with the pieces it has. 42. Now, if the Rams could find a QB. 43. We bet the NFL was pleased to see McCoy’s “make it rain” TD celebration first used by former Patriots tight end and current convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez.
44. We love when coaches smell a weakness and exploit it. The Giants lost CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and the Redskins went right after backup Jayron Hosley — the result was the 63yard TD catch by Jackson.
45. The Titans have lost 11 in a row at home. That is all.
46. It’s time we give Alex Smith credit for his role in turning Kansas City’s season around. The last time he threw an interceptions was in Week 3, and now the Chiefs are in the AFC wild-card race.
47. Adrian Peterson with his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season.
48. Al Davis would be proud: The Raiders are 4-0 when being flagged for 10 or more penalties.
49. Replay review V: Jimmy Graham’s juggling catch that gave the Seahawks a first-and-goal in the third quarter and led to the TD that pulled Seattle within one of Pittsburgh at the time.
50. Carson Palmer got his first rushing TD since 2012. He needs a lot of work on that spike, though. Awkward.