Giants head coach fired AFC West tightens
Hereare the 40 things we learned from Week 13 of the NFL season:
1. December 21, 1997: Prior to Sunday, it was the last regular-season weekend when a Manning did not start at quarterback somewhere in the league.
2. November 14, 2004: Prior to Sunday, it was the last time Eli Manning did not start for the Giants. Tony Soprano was still in his heyday.
3. Geno Smith didn’t play terribly (212 yards, TD) in Eli’s stead, but the Giants still lost 24-17 to an undermanned Raiders squad that doesn’t play defense. Smith is now 12-19 as an NFL starter, so not sure how much more Ben McAdoo needs to see.
4. Oh, the Giants have never scored 30 points in the 29 games McAdoo has been their head coach.
5. Marshawn Lynch had his first 100yard day as a Raider. With 48 touches over the past two weeks, it appears Oakland (6-6) is ready to ride Lynch on a belated charge toward the AFC West title.
6. Props and prayers for Chargers CB Casey Hayward, who rejoined his surging team despite losing his brother in a car accident six days earlier.
7. Frank Gore passed Hall of Famers Jerome Bettis and LaDainian Tomlinson on Sunday, moving into fifth place on the all-time rushing list (13,697 yards). Of the top 12 runners in NFL history, only Gore and Adrian Peterson are not yet in the Hall of Fame.
8. Players with 1,200 career receptions: Jerry Rice, Tony Gonzalez, Larry Fitzgerald. End of list.
9. Blossoming Saints star Alvin Kamara became just the third rookie with 600 yards both rushing and receiving in the same season. The others, Hall of Famer Charley Taylor (1964) and Billy Sims (1980), were both named offensive rookie of the year.
10. Kamara and fellow New Orleans RB Mark Ingram combined for 200 yards from scrimmage for the fifth straight game, a 31-21 defeat of the Panthers that kept the Saints atop the NFC South. The duo remain on pace to become the first teammates to each exceed 1,500 yards from scrimmage.
11. The Texans averaged 35 points per game against the Titans this season. Houston posted 57 in Week 4 with Deshaun Watson at the helm... and 13 in Sunday’s loss at Nashville.
12. Chiefs QB Alex Smith became the first player in the Super Bowl era with a 70-yard pass and a 70-yard run in the same game. Of course, Patrick Mahomes would have completed that pass for 80-plus yards and finished off that run for an 86-yard TD. Back to Smith – he is definitely the weak link after passing for 366 yards and four TDs in Kansas City’s latest loss. For what it’s worth, he ran for 70 yards (on that lone run), and the rest of the Chiefs combined for 42 yards on the ground.
13. The most impressive throw from a Kansas City player Sunday – it definitely wasn’t from Smith’s arm – came when hot-headed CB Marcus Peters chucked an official’s penalty flag into the stands.
14. Finally, the Jets were thrilled to see former teammate Darrelle Revis, who suited up with the Chiefs for the first time. The Jets posted 38 points and 488 yards, both season bests, on Revis and the Kansas City defense... but Alex Smith really deserves the blame.
15. The Jets could wind up with a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse. They really miss Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.
16. The Vikings quietly moved into the No. 1 spot in the NFC playoff field Sunday night after Philadelphia lost. Minnesota travels to Charlotte next weekend, then finishes against three teams which are .500 or worse. Playing the Super Bowl on their home field is starting to look increasingly feasible for the Vikes.
17. DL Calais Campbell now has 12½ sacks. No player in the 23-season history of the Jaguars has had more in a season.
18. New 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo is now undefeated in three career starts, the first two coming with New England.
19. However Garoppolo suffered his first career interception Sunday. It came on his 104th attempt.
20. And Garoppolo received a major assist from Niners K Robbie Gould, whose five field goals accounted for all of San Francisco’s points in a 15-14 win at Chicago. Gould never had more than four FGs in a game in his 11 seasons with the Bears.
21. RB Tarik Cohen has produced TDs this season off a punt return, rush, reception and pass. The last rookie to do it was fellow Bear Gale Sayers in 1965. Terry Metcalf was the most recent player with that kind of grand slam (1975).
22. Atlanta’s final four games are against NFC South rivals, including two matchups with the Saints. The reigning NFC champion Falcons may have to sweep out to return to the playoffs after Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.
23. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan’s record of 64 consecutive games with 200-plus passing yards was snapped on November 20. With 173 yards Sunday, he’s now been held to fewer than 200 in