NFL’s Week 13 winners, losers
As the NFL heads into the final quarter of the season, now is when games start, in earnest, to become much more significant.
And, as four teams – the New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs – are now tied for the best record in the AFC at 8-4, the margin of error becomes that much smaller. The Ravens, however, might be the team most in trouble. Awful injury luck and a loss against the Steelers dropped them from the No. 1 seed.
As we wait for the Patriots to play the Bills on Monday night, let’s celebrate the no-longer-winless Detroit Lions, who snapped a 15-game losing streak.
Here are the Week 13 winners and losers.
Winners
Chiefs: Don’t look now, but the Chiefs, after an early season slump are tied with three other teams for the best record (8-4) in the AFC after they took down the Denver Broncos, 22-9. Kansas City still has its explosive offense, as much as defenses have dropped deep safeties to try to eliminate the big passing play. But this revival for the Chiefs has come on defense.
Part of what has made this defense so much better is how it has clamped down in the red zone. Denver scored touchdowns on just one of its three trips inside the 20, including a 20-play drive in the second quarter that took 11:07 off the clock and resulted in a turnover-ondowns. That alone, should scare the rest of the conference – and maybe even the NFL.
Jonathan Taylor for MVP: It has gotten lost, and it did Sunday after the Colts dropped Houston in a 31-0 shutout, but Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor is recording a historic season. And, as so many quarterbacks have suffered through spells of spotty play, he might be an under-the-radar frontrunner to become the first non-QB league MVP since Adrian Peterson won it in 2012 as a member of the Vikings.
Against the Texans, Taylor ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. Consider some other numbers: Taylor leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,348), carries (241) and rushing touchdowns (16).
Surging WFT: The streaky Washington Football Team has suddenly won four in a row, the latest a 17-15 victory against the Raiders. Mainly through a defense that erases opposing rushing games and clamps down once offenses get in goal-to-go scenarios, Washington (6-6) has allowed only 17.5 points per game over its winning streak. On offense, quarterback Taylor Heinicke has extended plays and spread the ball around well enough.
Two of Washington’s next three games are against the Cowboys (8-4), with the first coming Sunday at home.
The 1-10-1 Detroit Lions: Finally. The Detroit Lions won their first game of the season, 29-27, against the Vikings. It’s a momentum-building victory, and one that had been building all season long.
Despite having clear deficiencies on the roster, rookie coach Dan Campbell’s squad has played hard and even almost eked out victories in other key games.
Perhaps the best takeaway for the Lions is how the team answered late after it was outscored by a margin of 21-3 from the start of the second half until the final minute of the game. Quarterback Jared Goff made sound decisions and exploited the soft defensive coverage Minnesota played on the final drive, even during the touchdown.
Losers
Mike Zimmer: But, let’s be clear here: just as much as the Lions took a step forward today, the Minnesota Vikings, and above everyone else coach Mike Zimmer, are deserving of pointed criticism.
Zimmer’s seat could be warming as Minnesota (5-7) is spiraling and in danger of missing out on the playoffs for the second year in a row, and third time in four seasons. Against Detroit, Zimmer’s game management and defensive play calling in the final drive are inexcusable. The Vikings’ defensive backs played offcoverage, allowing Goff to go nine-of-14 passing for 80 yards in the final series, though three of those incompletions were spikes.
Bengals: First, let’s give Cincinnati credit for battling back from an early hole. They faced a 24-point deficit early in the second quarter and eventually cut that down to two points midway through the third. But the Bengals eventually lost, 41-22, in large part because of selfenforced errors – especially turnovers – during critical situational moments.
There was a strip sack of quarterback Joe Burrow in the first quarter, a Burrow interception that receiver Ja’Marr Chase had cradled into his hands but bobbled away, another Burrow interception midway through the fourth. But the most devastating, game-swinging play was a fumble by running back Joe Mixon earlier in the fourth – a concentration lapse play – that was scooped up and returned 61 yards by cornerback Tevaughn Campbell for a touchdown.
Flawed Ravens: Following the trend of AFC teams who climb to the top seed in the conference one week, only to drop out of it the next, the Ravens dropped two spots after a 20-19 loss against the AFC North rival Steelers.
Baltimore (8-4) has scored just 61 points over its last four games. And a main culprit is the 2019 NFL MVP quarterback, Lamar Jackson, who is pressing, likely feeling the pressure of needing to carry the offense with so many injuries elsewhere, and committing far too many turnovers. His interception, a heave off of his back foot, while Baltimore was in the red zone, is the type of mistake one would expect from a rookie, not from a four-year veteran.
Niners’ wild-card hopes: A 30-23 loss against the Seahawks didn’t knock the 49ers completely out of the NFC playoff picture (they’re currently in the No. 7 seed), but it’s the kind of defeat that could cost them down the road. And the problem against Seattle was quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and that offense.
With star receiver Deebo Samuel out with a groin injury, Garoppolo struggled to connect with players other than tight end George Kittle. Frankly, the game shouldn’t have even been that close. The Niners were gifted a couple of lucky turnovers, both coming at the expense of Seahawks tight end Gerald Everett inside San Francisco’s own 5-yard line, as Seattle was about to score.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak in which San Francisco (6-6) looked like it was starting to find its rhythm on offense.