With the eyes of the sporting world currently on FIFA World Cup Qatar, it felt as if the NFL like was like the Michael Jordan meme in the last dance….I took that personally. Week 12 was a combination of a rollercoaster, Ferris wheel, and pendulum ride. I don’t even know if its possible, but inventors should consider the endless possibilities. One constant theme this season is the dominance of the AFC and NFC East who were a combined 7-1 over the weekend. Another standout from the weekend was Josh Jacobs for the Raiders and my fantasy team tallying 39 touches for 303 yards and two touchdowns. However, let us dive deeper into the details of what transpired.
1. Thursday Thrillers-most analysts predicted that the Bills would trounce the Lions in the annual thanksgiving game, but I went against the grain and predicted a three-point win in a thrilling finish. It played out exactly as I predicted with the Lions proving to the world that Coach Dan Campbell has changed the culture and mentality of the team. However, in the end, Josh Allen and Stefan Diggs made the big plays to set up the game-winning field goal. The big loss for the Bills in the game is Von Miller going down with a knee injury. Another exciting game was the Cowboys’ 28-20 victory over the Giants. Dak Prescott rebounded from a dismal two-interception performance in the first half to record two touchdowns in the second half. The Cowboys can feel good that Ezekiel Elliot and Cee Dee Lamb led the way in rushing and receiving yards. However, those 13 penalties and 86 yards could have derailed their chances to turn the game around. Finally, the Vikings toppled the Patriots 33-26 on the nightcap, but the game was marred by five blatant missed calls by the referees against the visiting team. In the process, it reignited the debate about what exactly is a catch and irrefutable evidence to overturn a call. Nonetheless, it was an exciting game, and despite Belichick’s attempt to negate Justin Jefferson he still dominated by producing nine catches, 139 yards, and a touchdown.
2. Massive Upsets- usually when a team enters the fourth quarter with leading more than a touchdown, their chances of winning the said game are astronomical. However, the 2022 Baltimore Ravens continue to defy the odds by giving up a 9-point lead as Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars made a tremendous comeback to stun the visiting team. It must feel like deja-vu in the losses for John Harbaugh because the Ravens choked a 14-point lead in week 3, a 17-point lead in week 4, and a 10-point lead in week six against the Dolphins, Bills, and Giants’ respectively. Ouch! Another upset was the Browns’ 23-17 overtime defeat of the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers have struggled most of this season to put points on the board, and on third down the offense struggled in tallying 4 of 15 while the Browns punished the Bucs’ defense with 189 rushing yards. Another talking point in the game is what Todd Bowles was thinking by not calling a timeout on the final drive of regulation. Not trusting Tom Brady in that spot was criminal.
3. Surviving Scares-the hottest match on paper for the weekend was the Bengals’ visit to Tennessee to face the Titans. It was a tight game throughout, but in the end, Burrow and the Bengals found a way to win that mirrors the divisional matchup in January that the visiting team prevailed. The Bengals won this game because they contained Derrick Henry to just 17 rushes and 38 yards in the running game. Another tight finish was the Los Angeles Chargers edging the Cardinals 25-24 on the road. The Cardinals will rue their missed opportunities because they led this game for most of the second half, but finished the game with three drives that ended with punts while Justin Herbert made the big plays to propel his team to a key win.