2021 NFL Power Rankings Week 13: Cowboys continue to slide, Packers bounce back

The Dallas Cowboys continue to slide in the 2021 NFL Power Rankings while the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had bounce-back wins

Here’s to hoping everyone had a better Thanksgiving weekend than the home teams did on Turkey Day. This week’s 2021 NFL Power Rankings following the Week 12 Weekend were altered by some of the performances we saw on Thursday, especially when the Dallas Cowboys were knocked off by the Las Vegas Raiders.

They were able to get it to overtime, but they were in desperation mode all game and have now dropped three of their last four games. The other two home teams lost as well as the Bills housed the Saints and the Bears got the annual honor of beating Detroit to kick off the holiday.

On Sunday, we saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay get bounce-back wins as well. With all of that being settled, we check in with the 2021 NFL Power Rankings, starting with a familiar face at No. 32.

Detroit Lions keeping pace at the bottom of NFL Power Rankings

The Detroit Lions once again came close to a win. But once again, they were handed defeat during the waning seconds.

This time, it was on Thanksgiving Day as they hosted the Chicago Bears. Andy Dalton was playing for an injured Justin Fields and he put up over 300-yards through the air. The Lions not only struggled to stop Dalton but they also had no passing game of their own. Again.

Jared Goff finished with just 171 yards and while he was good on 21-of-25 passing attempts, there was little-to-no damage done with every throw. Their offense also had to deal with the loss of D’Andre Swift who was injured early on.

Jamaal Williams stepped up with 65 yards on 15 rushing attempts but it was the ability Swift has as a receiver out of the backfield that was sorely missed in this loss.

Detroit’s defense did a good job of limiting the points despite giving up a lot of passing yards but in the end, it mattered little as they couldn’t stop the Bears when it mattered most.

Now at 0-10-1, there’s beginning to be even less hope that they will find even a single win this season. While they would like to get the No. 1 pick next year, they surely don’t want to be the first team to have 16 losses in a season twice.

They knocked off the Buffalo Bills in the shocker of the season but since then, the Jacksonville Jaguars continued their losing ways. Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons made it three in a row and they’re now 2-9 on the season.

In this loss, rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence had 228 yards on 43 attempts and finished with just one touchdown and a pick. However, Carlos Sanchez from Black and Teal says Lawrence is not the reason for their struggles but blames their propensity for mistakes. He talked about a hold on Jawaan Taylor that cost them points while also highlighting some ill-timed drops.

"“Had Taylor not been flagged late in the game, the Jaguars might’ve scored a touchdown instead of a field goal but that’s not the only play that held the team back. Drops again played a role. Running back Dare Ogunbowale had one early in the game and so did Carlos Hyde. The wide receiver corps made some plays but also were responsible for some drops.”"

With a game next week against the Rams, followed by a meeting with the Titans, things don’t look great in the near future for Jacksonville either. In the end, this feels like a lost season for the team as they’re once again thinking about next year.

It just keeps getting more and more obvious that the Houston Texans’ current structure isn’t working. They had a shocking win last week over the Tennessee Titans but then this weekend, they reminded us all what a mess they are.

Tyrod Taylor and the offense managed just 14 points against the New York Jets — and while Taylor had 158 yards passing and two touchdowns, he was sacked five times which took 58 of those passing yards off the team total. He also had an interception on the day which hurt their struggling offense.

As for the ground game, there really wasn’t one. David Johnson was able to get just 39 yards on 10 carries and had it not been for the 30 yard rush from Taylor, it would have looked much worse overall for them.

Defensively, Houston played well against the pass, holding Zach Wilson to 145 yards on 14-of-24 passing. But they struggled with the running game, surrendering 157 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, which proved to be the difference.

Now at 2-9, Houston is in play for the second pick in the 2022 NFL Draft but they need to figure out more than just who to pick in Round 1. They have to decide if David Culley is the right coach and most importantly, they have to end the Deshaun Watson saga which has been looming over their heads all season.

Zach Wilson returned and led the New York Jets to a win. Well, at least he was playing in the game while they got a win over the equally bad Houston Texans.

In one of the least entertaining games of the weekend, two teams with a record of 2-8 met and both offenses were bad. The Jets finished with 109 yards passing and the Texans had 106. Wilson also threw an interception and had no touchdown passes.

He did, however, score on a touchdown run in the game and did just enough for them to move to 3-9 with a 21-14 win over Houston. But it wasn’t really Wilson, who played in his first game since suffering a sprained right knee a few weeks ago, who led to the win. It was the Jets defense.

Not only did they hold Tyrod Taylor to just 158 yards, but they sacked him five times which is how the Texans finished with just 106 total passing yards. They also made a huge play late as Bryce Hall broke up a fourth-down pass meant for Nico Collins to hold off a late comeback try from the home team.

New York will host the Philadelphia Eagles next weekend as they look for their first two-game winning streak of the season.

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. The Washington Football Team

After improving to 3-5 with a win over the Jaguars, the Seattle Seahawks got Russell Wilson back. The star quarterback missed several games after needing surgery on his finger and while things were bad without him, they were still alive. All they needed was for Wilson to work his magic and start winning them games again.

That has yet to happen, however. Wilson and the Seattle offense managed no points at all in his return as the Green Bay Packers knocked them off 17-0. Next was a loss to the Arizona Cardinals 23-13, and that was even more disheartening considering Kyler Murray wasn’t even playing. Instead, it was Colt McCoy — or is it GOAT McCoy — leading the Cards to a win.

So now sitting at 3-7, Wilson and the Seahawks are in danger of seeing the entire season slip away. Throw in the constant whispers that Wilson wants out of Seattle and this just feels like a rough season in the pacific northwest.

As for their Week 12 contest, they head to the Nation’s Capital to take on the Washington Football Team. Coming off two huge wins, including one against Tampa Bay two weeks ago, the Football Team has a real chance of making Seattle’s rough season even worse.

Ugly wins still count as wins, and the New York Giants got themselves an ugly one in Week 12.

After firing offensive coordinator Jason Garrett this week, they promoted Freddie Kitchens to play-caller, and pretty much nothing changed. The Giants offense still was hard to watch as Saquon Barkley had just 40 yards on the ground and Daniel Jones completed just 19-of-30 passes for 202 yards.

They also failed to get the ball to Kenny Golladay consistently as he had 50 yards on three receptions — with seven targets. But they did just enough to put up 13 points and the defense made life hard on Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense.

Hurts did run for 77 yards but his throws were off all game. He finished with 14-of-31 for 129 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Hurts was sacked just once but he spent a lot of the day trying to get away from pressure and had to make several throws under duress — many of which could have been picked as well.

Things get tough for the Giants, however, going forward. Next week, they play the Miami Dolphins who are on a four-game winning streak followed by a matchup on the road with the Los Angeles Chargers. Kitchens and the offense will need to be much better in that stretch or the whole staff could be in trouble this offseason.

Leading up to their Week 12 game, the status of Matt Nagy was all the focus for the Chicago Bears. There were even reporters asking him if reports of his job being on the line were true.

To his credit, Nagy answered the best he could, saying he’s focused on the Lions. He also added that he didn’t believe it was accurate that Thursday was his last game.

"“My focus right now is on these players and on Detroit — that’s it. That’s my job as a head coach and a leader is to do that. These players have been amazing, they’ve been great, and so you have this quick turnaround after a tough loss like that (to Baltimore) and the only thing we can do is focus on the now and do everything we can. So Thursday is going to be here quickly, and we have one objective — and that’s to win the game.” — Nagy via Mark Konkol and Jeff Arnold, Patch.com"

It really was a tough question when you get down to it and while Nagy said he respected it, we sometimes forget the human element of things. Still, he did what he was supposed to do and got a win over the Lions.

Andy Dalton played one of his better games as a Bear and led a game-winning drive. Now at 4-7, they’re technically still alive but need to find a way to win against better teams as well.

In Week 11, the Atlanta Falcons were without Cordarrelle Patterson and they managed to score exactly zero points. While they likely wouldn’t have won with him, they were reminded on Sunday how much he has meant to this offense.

In their 21-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Patterson had 108 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as well as 27 yards receiving. As Nick Halden of Blogging Dirty says, the Jags aren’t exactly an elite team, but this offense seems lost without Patterson.

"“If there is one thing we learned against the Patriots and Jaguars it is how much this offense needs Patterson. Against the Patriots without him, the Atlanta offense couldn’t move the ball and Matt Ryan took a beating. While the Jaguars are a huge downgrade in competition it is noteworthy the drastic improvement this offense saw when Patterson rejoined the action. Patterson is so dynamic in an Atlanta offense that is often dull and unable to move the football without him.” — Halden, Blogging Dirty"

For rookie head coach Arthur Smith, he’s trying to prove there’s hope for the future with this team. At 5-6, they’re not threatening anyone in the NFC but they can keep building for the future.

The only problem is, their best players aren’t exactly spring chickens in Matt Ryan and Patterson, but still, Smith should be proud of this gritty win and hope for more down the stretch.

For the second time this season, the Carolina Panthers thought they had things figured out under center. Cam Newton came back and gave them a huge spark, something they haven’t had since Sam Darnold led them to a 3-0 start.

Newton helped them knock off the Arizona Cardinals and even though they lost to Washington in Week 11, he still played well and had them entering Week 12 with high hopes. He even started out well in this one, tying the game up at seven when he ran in a powerful touchdown. That was a great answer to their special teams giving up a score on a blocked punt.

However, it wasn’t long before we all saw this one was not going to be close. Miami was up 30-10 in the fourth quarter when Newton was pulled for P.J. Walker. The returning star finished 5-of-21 passing with 92 yards and a pick on the day. The only solace for him was that Walker wasn’t any better as he also quickly turned the ball over leading to more points for the Dolphins.

Now at 5-7, the Panthers are in desperation mode — and could have really used a win this weekend. Chances are, there could be some tough answers for this coaching staff following the season as they simply keep going in the wrong direction.

Plays on Monday Night Football vs. Seattle Seahawks

As soon as you figure out the Washington Football Team, go ahead and let the rest of us know what to expect from them going forward.

Washington started out 2-2 and then completely fell apart with four losses in a row. Sitting at 2-6, they were completely counted out. However, the team that won the atrocious NFC East with a record of 7-9 last season decided they weren’t ready to give up just yet.

They had an impressive 29-19 win over the defending World Champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In that win, Taylor Heinicke got the best of Tom Brady which reminded us all how well he did in his start against this same team in the playoffs last year.

Then in Week 11, they took on the Carolina Panthers, head coach Ron Rivera’s old team. Rivera also had to face Cam Newton, his old quarterback, who just returned to Carolina. They overcame a solid performance from Newton, who had three total touchdowns, to win 27-21.

On Monday Night Football, they’re going to be looking to make it three in a row as they face off with the struggling Seattle Seahawks. Russell Wilson is in his third game back from surgery but is looking for his first win post-op. One team will have renewed hope, while the other will start thinking about the offseason following this one.

When Jameis Winston was first injured, it looked as though the New Orleans Saints would be just fine. They were able to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Trevor Siemian under center. But then, the bottom fell out.

New Orleans has now lost four in a row with each game getting progressively worse than the one prior. Their most recent loss was definitely their worst as the Buffalo Bills dispatched them 31-6. They now have a frustrated Cowboys team coming to New Orleans on Thursday for a Prime Time showdown, which doesn’t seem to be ideal for them.

While they need to get things figured out on the field, they also need to decide what the heck they’re doing with Taysom Hill. Once again, they gave him a comically large contract that could balloon up even more if he becomes a starting quarterback. However, they don’t ever want to use him as a quarterback even with Siemian’s struggles.

It makes little sense that Sean Payton keeps touting him as a future starter and they keep moving him along slowly, even though he’s already 31-years-old. If he’s ever going to be the guy, now would be the time to find out. Instead, they just want to give him another weird contract while using him as a tight end/fullback/special teams ace. And for that role, he’s grossly overpaid.

It’s not very often that a team starts out 1-7 and doesn’t just give up. It’s understandable when they do since there’s hardly any chance of doing anything of note. That’s not how the Miami Dolphins saw it, however.

Following a disastrous start that had everyone being questioned from head coach Brian Flores to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins have now reeled off four wins in a row to improve to 5-7. While that record might seem bleak for some teams, it’s really impressive for this club that seemed dead in the water.

This weekend, they scored a victory over the Carolina Panthers at home, and it was a lopsided one. Miami put up 33 while also putting the clamps on Cam Newton. The recently re-signed quarterback had a hot start to his second tenure with the Panthers but then went 5-of-21 with 02 yards and an interception. That led to an embarrassing quarterback ranking of 5.8.

Newton was pulled in favor of P.J. Walker who did little as well. As for Tua, his play was the exact opposite. The Miami signal-caller had just four incompletions in 31 tries and threw an impressive touchdown to Jaylen Waddle — who outshined his teammate thanks to an impressive penguin waddle after the score.

The Dolphins next face the New York Giants followed by the New York Jets, meaning this team has a real shot of getting to 7-7, and if they do, anything is possible.

The Cleveland Browns cannot get their offense and defense on the same page. When they’re able to move the ball and put points on the board, the defense can’t stop a nosebleed. But when the defense is playing well, the offense goes MIA.

That was the case on Sunday Night Football when they held Lamar Jackson and the high-powered Baltimore Ravens offense to just 16 points. If that wasn’t enough, they also recorded four interceptions on Jackson.

Unfortunately for the Browns, their offense mustered up just three points off those turnovers and 10 overall. It was the second week in a row their defense held a team to fewer than 20 and the second week in a row their offense was also under 20 — but at least they beat Detroit 13-10 the prior week.

What’s most discouraging is that they again had the ball with a chance to win at the end. Sure, the task was tough as Baker Mayfield and the offense needed to cover the entire length of the field in just over a minute with no timeouts, but the frustrating part was that they managed just seven yards and were unable to secure even a single first down.

Cleveland now gets rewarded with a re-match against Baltimore in Week 14, but they do have a bye week to prepare. Which they could surely use.

Entering the weekend with a record of 5-6, the Philadelphia Eagles had a huge opportunity in front of them. The Dallas Cowboys, who are leading the NFC East, just dropped their second game in a row and Philly could have gotten within striking distance. All they had to do was knock off the lowly New York Giants and hope for Dallas to continue to struggle.

Instead, they laid an egg as they managed just seven points in a 13-7 defeat at the hands of the Giants. Philadelphia left a lot of points on the board, including when Jalen Hurts threw a pick just before the half when he should have thrown it away to preserve a field goal.

That could have made a huge difference late in the game when they were forced to go for the end zone for the win instead of being able to play for the tie. It was also not the only mistake from Hurts, who threw three picks in the game.

Philadelphia still keeps moving it on the ground, netting 208 yards in this one, but when teams force them to throw, it becomes a problem. Hurts has a lot to like but until he can beat teams with his arm, it’s going to be tough for the Eagles.

The Minnesota Vikings picked a bad time to forget how to protect the football. In a close game (then again, all their games seem to be close), they had two costly turnovers including a pick from Kirk Cousins. That was a bit of a shock as he entered the contest with just two interceptions in the previous 10 games.

Dalvin Cook also fumbled the ball away, and his ended up being much more costly as he was injured on the play and had to be carted off the field. Even with turnovers, Minnesota had a chance to tie it up late, trailing by eight.

However, they twice turned it over on downs. The first came at the San Francisco three, which ended a 12-play, 72-yard drive. They lucked out again as the Niners had their own 12-play drive that also covered 72-yards but Robbie Gould missed a 42-yard kick to give the Vikings one last shot. That chance ended quickly as they moved it just 30-yards on six plays and Cousins missed a fourth-and-eight pass to Justin Jefferson which sealed the win for the 49ers.

Minnesota is now 5-6 and it feels as though they’re in too deep of a hole to do anything this season. Which is frustrating for them since they have really been competitive every week.

If they don’t turn things around in the final six games of the season, things could get ugly for the Pittsburgh Steelers. There were already talks during this past offseason that the front office might be ready to move on from Ben Roethlisberger and now with them falling to 5-5-1 with a rough 41-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, they might start asking if bringing him back was the right move.

Being fair to Big Ben, it’s not all on him. The offensive line hasn’t been playing well and he’s been at his best when he throws the ball nearly as quick as he gets the snap. When he does need to try and let routes develop, the pocket gets muddy and his throws suffer.

On Sunday, that happened a lot and he was 24-of-41 for 263 yards with one touchdown and two picks — one of which went for a touchdown. He also got no help from the ground game with Najee Harris managing just 23 yards on eight rushes, but they did have to abandon the run game in this blowout.

Another huge game comes next week for the Steelers as they host the Baltimore Ravens. A win there could change all the feelings but a loss would be detrimental. Especially if it’s as ugly as this one was.

Following a 1-4 start to the season, the Indianapolis Colts were able to turn things around. They were recently on a three-game winning streak which included an impressive win over the Buffalo Bills by a score of 41-15. They nearly added another huge victory this past weekend, as they were up 24-14 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first half.

However, their defense was unable to slow down Tom Brady and the Bucs in the second half as they were outscored 24-7 in the final two quarters. They did, however, put together an impressive drive late as they went 75 yards on 10 plays, capped off with Jonathan Taylor’s four-yard touchdown.

That score made it 31-31, and led to questions about their usage of Taylor as he was hardly getting the ball early in the game. Sure, Tampa has a great defensive front but Taylor showed he could run it on them when given the chance.

As for the end of the game, the defense couldn’t stop Brady and Leonard Fournette as they covered 75 yards in 3:09 and Fournette rumbled in from 28-yards out for his third score. The Colts were given life with just 20 seconds left when Isaiah Rodgers went 72 yards on the kick return. However, Carson Wentz was picked off by Pierre Desir to end the game.

They’re still 6-6 and with the struggles Tennessee is having, they could still find a way to win the AFC South, but they really could have used this win.

One of the hardest teams to figure out this season is the Los Angeles Chargers. One week, they seem to be an elite team on the verge of breaking out. The next, they’re struggling to move the ball either on the ground or through the air. That was the case this weekend as they lost to the Denver Broncos in a game where they were never really in it.

Quarterback Justin Herbert did have 303 yards passing but he threw two picks, both to Patrick Surtain, one of which was returned for a touchdown. That pick-six was critical as it made the score 28-7 and ended the Chargers attempt at a comeback, which has been something they have been pretty good at to this point.

On that play, Herbert was a little high on his throw but Austin Ekeler still got both hands on it. He was unable to haul it in, however, as it floated in the air right into the arms of Surtain. Unfortunately for L.A., drops were a theme in this one as they made things even easier on the Denver defense.

As for their own defense, they did well against the pass, but had no answers for Melvin Gordon (their former running back) or Javonte Williams. The loss also put them in a three-way tie for second place (or is it last place) and a game behind the Chiefs who are 7-4.

There was a bit of a scare for the Denver Broncos when Teddy Bridgewater had to leave the game against the Los Angeles Chargers with a knee injury. With the Broncos up 14-0, Lock gave some hope to the Chargers when he had a three-and-out and then threw a pick the very next series.

That led to the first touchdown of the game for Los Angeles, but it wound up being their only score until garbage time. Not only did the defense continue to hold off Justin Herbert and the high-flying Chargers, but Bridgewater came back as well and helped put the game away.

He was calm and efficient as he always is but also deferred to his running backs. Melvin Gordon was strong in this one and Javonte Williams was dangerous on the ground and through the air. Williams also ran in a touchdown, as did Bridgewater.

Even with all of that, L.A. was still clinging to hope late as they were moving the ball while trailing 21-7. But then, Austin Ekeler had a pass go off his fingertips and Patrick Surtain was able to grab the ball and run it back for six. It was Surtain’s second interception of the game and from there, the Broncos were only concerned about killing the clock.

The win moved them to 6-5 in a suddenly crowded AFC West where that happens to be the record for every team other than the Chiefs who are at 7-4.

It seems simple. When Derek Carr throws for more than 300-yards, the Las Vegas Raiders win. When he doesn’t, they lose. That’s why the Dallas Cowboys were hosed as soon as he topped that mark on Thanksgiving Day.

Carr was surgical in the Raiders win, completing 24-of-39 passes for 373 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers. He also moved the ball roughly 100 more yards with penalties — although that was an ugly part of this game as the refs were throwing some tacky fouls on both sides.

Still, Las Vegas did what it needed to in order to secure the win. They jumped out to a big lead early and made the Dallas offense work for every yard they got. They also didn’t flinch when the Cowboys fought back and tied it up in the final minutes of the game. Instead, they just stayed the course and pushed them deep into their own territory to start overtime.

The defense then forced an impressive three-and-out before moving the ball into field goal range. After several penalties on Dallas, Daniel Carlson knocked in the game-winner and Vegas moved to 6-5 on the season.

This win ended a three-game losing streak and keeps the Raiders alive. It’s been a crazy season for them but their resiliency should be respected.

Right now, the San Francisco 49ers are one of the hottest teams in the league. They’ve won three in a row and while the Jaguars were one of the teams they knocked off, they also have two impressive wins in the stretch as they beat the Los Angeles Rams to start the streak by a score of 31-10.

Their third win came in Week 12 as they were 5-5 facing another 5-5 club in the Minnesota Vikings. And Minnesota was fresh off a win over the Green Bay Packers which gave them a lot of confidence heading into this one.

Minnesota might have had even more reason for confidence as reports started to surface again before the game that Jimmy Garoppolo could be traded in the offseason.

It’s not the first time such reports have surfaced and Jimmy G continues to ignore them and play well. On Sunday, he had 230 yards passing and a touchdown as he did just enough to help his team get the win. They also had a huge outing from Deebo Samuel who ran it for 66 yards and two touchdowns and rookie Elijah Mithcell also had a touchdown while running for 133 yards.

San Francisco’s defense also was able to do their part as they forced two turnovers and held off Minnesota in the end — including making two huge fourth-down stops.

Life without Derrick Henry is tough. Life without Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, and Julio Jones is nearly impossible.

That’s how it felt for the Tennessee Titans who just dropped their second game in a row. Suddenly, a team that was recently 8-2 and on top of the AFC is sitting at 8-4 and it doesn’t feel like a good 8-4.

While they did manage to put up 270 yards and a touchdown on the ground — that touchdown was a beautiful 68 yarder from Dontrell Hilliard who was recently called up from the practice squad — Tennessee got just 93 yards from Ryan Tannehill.

Even with the low output through the air, they were in the game heading into the second half as it was a 16-13 game. But then, the Patriots outscored them 20-0 in the final quarter, and the more they needed to lean on Tannehill, the more insurmountable the lead seemed.

Of course, it’s hard to beat up Tannehill too much due to the aforementioned injuries. There were already questions about how well he would do without Henry but when the wideouts started to suffer injuries as well, it became much less about Tannehill and more about the overall lack of options in the passing game.

The good news is, they’re still the only team in the AFC South with a winning record after Indianapolis lost but they have to get as healthy as possible in order to make any noise in the postseason.

It’s really hard to figure out the Dallas Cowboys. They were recently on a six-game winning streak and seemed to be one of the best teams in the entire league. Then, they were smoked by the Denver Broncos at home, but that seemed to be a mere blip as they embarrassed the Atlanta Falcons the following week.

But then, they continued to trend downward as they lost in Kansas City despite a great showing from their defense and they struggled defensively against the Las Vegas Raiders at home. That ended in a 36-33 loss on Thanksgiving Day as the Cowboys fell to 7-4.

They’re still in first place in the NFC East and they have a very favorable stretch coming up with games against New Orleans, Washington, the New York Giants, and then Washington again. Having said that, they still don’t have too many signature wins. They secured wins over the Chargers who have been up and down and beat the Patriots before they got hot, but outside of that, they have been beating up on bad teams and struggling to finish against good ones.

One thing that could help them down the stretch, however, would be a return to health. They’re hoping to get Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Randy Gregory, and DeMarcus Lawrence back soon. They’re also considering sitting Ezekiel Elliott for a while to heal up his knee, which would be very beneficial for the stretch run.

Having said all that, something is wrong in Big D and they’re going to keep sliding until they figure it out.

Before the game between the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers even started, there were reasons to expect struggles from Matthew Stafford being thrown out. Several injuries were pointed to and it ended up being a talking point not only before, but also during the game.

However, he still put up 302 yards as he didn’t seem to be affected while throwing the ball. However, the offense couldn’t do enough to keep up with the Green Bay offense. Aaron Rodgers had 307 yards with two touchdowns passing and ran in another for good measure.

Davante Adams torched them for 104 yards and Randall Cobb had a throwback game with 95 yards and a touchdown. The high-priced defense also struggled to get pressure on Rodgers who was able to pick them apart at will.

If there was any good news for L.A. in this one, it had to be the fact that Odell Beckham, Jr. seemed to get going. He shook off an early drop to record 81 yards on five catches and his first touchdown as a Ram. However, it took him 10 targets to get that production, which could also be an issue.

This loss not only hurt since it was against a fellow NFC leader, but it’s the third time in as many games the Rams have lost. They’re trending in the wrong direction at the absolute worst time.

If you were to look at the scoreboard, it would seem as though Joe Burrow must have gone off in Week 12. The Cincinnati Bengals won against the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-10, which may have unofficially ended their rival’s season. But it wasn’t Burrow who went crazy in this one.

Sure, the second-year quarterback played very well and had just four incompletions on the day. But he finished with just 190 yards and a touchdown on 20-of-24 passing. While he did play well, he gladly took a backseat to running back Joe Mixon, who was unstoppable in this one.

The veteran back had 28 rushing attempts for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Pittsburgh had no answers whatsoever for him, but Mixon wasn’t the only issue they had. The Steelers also couldn’t figure out how to put up any points on this defense.

Veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finished 24-of-41 passing with 263 yards and one touchdown against two picks. One of those picks came from former Steeler Mike Hilton, who took it to the house for six.

Their running game was even worse as they had 23 yards from Najee Harris and 21 from Kallen Ballage — but could only run it 15 times since they were down 31-3 heading into halftime. It was an impressive performance all around for the Bengals who are now 7-4 and could make a run for the AFC North title down the stretch.

Suddenly, the Buffalo Bills have more competition than they expected in the AFC East. The New England Patriots have gotten hot and entered the weekend with a half-game lead over the Bills who were 6-4. The Bills, on the other hand, have been reeling a little.

Following a 4-1 start, they have now been a roller coaster as they seem to keep following one loss with a win. During their recent stretch, they even lost by three to the Jacksonville Jaguars and were blown out in Week 11 by the Indianapolis Colts 41-15.

Perhaps that one was the wake-up call they needed as the Bills went into Thanksgiving Night with a new focus. They were stingy against the New Orleans Saints, giving up just six points all game. As for their offense, they put up 31 in the lopsided affair.

It was the only game on the holiday slate that didn’t come down to the wire, and thankfully it was the last one of the day. With it being on after we had all stuffed our faces, it made it a little easier to doze off — if one was so inclined.

Of course, Bills fans were surely tuned in and enjoying their team looking like they were ready to turn the corner. But now, their big test comes on Dec. 6 when they host the Patriots for the first time this season. Suddenly, that game is looming rather large.

Following back-to-back losses, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have now won their past two games to put themselves back into the mix for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Last week, their win was an easy one as they beat up on the New York Giants 30-10 at home as they improved to 7-3. This weekend, however, it was nowhere near as east.

They were on the road playing Carson Wentz and the Indianapolis Colts and the home team gave them all they could handle. Wentz had 306 yards passing and three touchdowns — although the Bucs scored two picks including one to seal the win. At one point, Indy was up 24-14 but Tampa kept fighting and took the lead late.

Tampa Bay also slowed down Jonathan Taylor for most of the game, although he was instrumental in the late touchdown from Indy that tied it back up at 31. But then, Tom Brady and Leonard Fournette led them on a seven-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 28-yard touchdown run from Fournette, who had three on the day.

This team is dangerous not only because of Brady and his ability to get his team back in the game but the fact that they can not only shut down the run but also control the clock with their own ground game is an underrated trait.

When looking at the offensive stats for the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns, it would seem as though they would have suffered a loss. Lamar Jackson had just 164 yards passing with a single touchdown and four interceptions — three of which occurred in the first half.

However, that wasn’t the case. Instead, the Ravens are celebrating a six-point win as the Browns managed just three points off the turnovers and Lamar hit Mark Andrews on a couple of insane plays that made all the difference in their 16-10 win.

In addition to Andrews hauling in a couple of great catches, the defense made life miserable on the Browns. Their running game, which was the best in the NFL coming into the game, had no room to operate. Nick Chubb finished with 16 yards and Kareem Hunt had just 20.

The wideouts also had no room to operate. Every time the Browns needed a big play — like in the final minutes of the game — there were Baltimore jerseys all around the wideouts. Jarvis Landry did get free for 111 yards on six receptions but when it mattered most, he was blanketed.

Baltimore now plays Pittsburgh in Week 13 before having a rematch with the Browns in Week 14. If they can win each of those games, they will be in excellent shape to take the AFC North.

Every time the New England Patriots play, the same phrase is uttered — Mac Jones is playing very well for a rookie. Well, after he went for 310 yards on 23-of-32 passing with two touchdowns and no picks in a win over the Tennessee Titans, it’s time to say he’s playing well — regardless of his status as a rookie.

Jones is not only easily exceeding every other rookie quarterback this season but he’s also out-performing several veteran signal-callers. On Sunday, for example, Ryan Tannehill managed just 93 yards passing for the Pats opponent.

On top of that, the Patriots are now on a six-game winning streak which makes it hard to even remember they started out the season 2-4. It could have been even better as three of their losses were by just one score as they lost 17-16 to Miami, 19-17 to Tampa Bay, and 35-29 to Dallas in overtime.

New England also now owns a half-game lead over the Buffalo Bills, who seemed ready to run away with the AFC East earlier this season. The two teams will meet next weekend as well, in what’s sure to be the game of the week. While they have another meeting a few weeks later, that game could be huge in deciding who wins this tight division.

Remember when the Kansas City Chiefs were falling apart? Good times.

The Chiefs were just 3-4 and having a hard time getting things figured out. They then reeled off a couple of close wins as they barely handled the New York Giants 20-17 before winning 13-7 against a mediocre Green Bay performance led by Jordan Love who was making his first career start.

Then in Week 10, they really got rilling. The Chiefs took it to the Las Vegas Raiders in a 41-14 blowout. They then took on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11 and again had some questions pop up as they managed just 19 points but their defense played lights out.

Dallas managed just nine points and even with Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb out, that was an impressive performance. They made life hard on Dak Prescott and shut Ezekiel Elliott down.

Now, they get a week off to rest up and prepare for a huge stretch that includes three-straight games against AFC West opponents. First is the Denver Broncos, followed by the Las Vegas Raiders, and then the Los Angeles Chargers. Calling these three games make-or-break is too much but if the Chiefs can get through that with three more wins, you can pretty much give them the West. Again.

No one wants to see Matt LaFleur after suffering a loss. Since taking over the Green Bay Packers job, he’s done nothing but win. Overall, he’s now 35-9 but what’s even more impressive is the fact that he has yet to lose twice in a row.

They fell to 7-2 with a loss to the Chiefs and shut out the Seattle Seahawks the following week 17-0. That moved the head coach to 8-0 in his three seasons following defeat.

Then, they suffered another loss, 34-31 to Minnesota last week. Again, that refocused LaFleur who had a huge contest against the Los Angeles Rams who are another powerhouse in the NFC. And Green Bay answered, making it 9-for-9 for the young coach in bounce-back games.

It was a thorough defeat as well for the Pack, who made life hard on the Rams. They were moving it with ease on the ground as well as through the air with Aaron Rodgers getting three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).

Defensively, they gave up a lot of yards but they also were very opportunistic. They intercepted Matt Stafford while also forcing him to turn the ball over on a fumble. J.J. Koski was also guilty of fumbling the ball away, giving it up on a punt return.

Now at 9-3, the Packers are right back in the race for the No. 1 seed and while they trail Arizona by a half-game, they do have an important tiebreaker.

The final team to suffer a loss in 2021 was the Arizona Cardinals. That came in Week 8 when they were defeated 24-21 by the Green Bay Packers. It was nearly another win as well for the Cards as they moved the ball into the red zone but then, Kyler Murray threw a bad pick as he and A.J. Green were on different pages.

Even worse, Murray was injured on the play and suddenly, the Cardinals season seemed to be in trouble. That is, until Colt McCoy came into the game. McCoy has gone 2-1 as the starter for Arizona which has kept them ahead of everyone in the NFC.

Now, the Cardinals enter the bye week in Week 12 and it comes at a great time. They’re still the No. 1 seed and could get their best players, including Murray, healthy for the final five games of the season. And in those five games, they have some tough contests including a game against the Los Angeles Rams, a Christmas Day contest with the Indianapolis Colts, and one in Week 17 against Dallas.

They do also have some that should go in their favor such as games with the Bears and Lions, but they need to beat those top teams to make sure to finish out what has been an extraordinary season.