Our Week 13 Thoughts, Reactions and Recap

6 Dec, 2022

Our Week 13 Thoughts, Reactions and Recap

Jimmy Garappolo Done for the Year

San Francisco got the win over Miami but lost another quarterback for the remainder of the season. Brock Purdy came in in relief of Jimmy and honestly didn’t look as bad as one would think. This 49ers roster is still stacked and if Purdy can just be average or even slightly below average, San Francisco can make it to the playoffs. Unfortunately, it would take a string of crazy luck to go anywhere if they get there. It looks like it will be another lost season for this incredibly talented team.

Joe Burrow Continues to Beat Kansas City

Joe Burrow is the only quarterback to have an unbeaten record against Patrick Mahomes after facing him 3 or more times. The Bengals have no doubt had the Chiefs number for the last two years. It’s not like Cincinnati shredded the Chiefs secondary or torched them on the ground either. They simply played efficient, well-rounded football and were able to take another win from Kansas City. When Buffalo beat Kansas City earlier in the year, I said Chiefs fans should be glad the Bills got their revenge out during the regular season. If the Bengals meet the Chiefs again in the playoffs, I have to think Ried and Mahomes will be throwing every play in the book at them to finally break through this black and orange ceiling.

Philadelphia Demolishes Tennessee

I had under 44.5 in this game. The score landed on 45 which should tell you everything you need to know about my gambling season. Getting back to the game, this was one of the more impressive wins of the weekend. After taking the Chiefs to overtime and nearly beating the Bengals, it looked like Tennessee was becoming a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. That wasn’t the case early Sunday afternoon as Philadelphia took them out to the woodshed to the tune of a 35-10 shellacking. After this game, Jalen Hurts catapulted into the MVP favorite spot. I’m not sure I agree he should be the MVP frontrunner, but you can’t deny he is having an amazing season.

Dallas Scores 33 in the 4th to Rout Indianapolis

This was a great game up until the 13:46 mark of the 4th quarter. Matt Ryan had just found Alec Pierce for a 15 yard touchdown completion to make it 21-19 in favor of Dallas. It was all downhill from there for the Colts as Dallas would go on to score 5 straight touchdowns. The Cowboys have proven they are a top 6, maybe top 5 team in the NFL and definitely in the race with Philadelphia for best team in the NFC (now that Jimmy Garoppolo is done for the year). Their two-headed attack of Pollard and Elliot gets stronger every week and their defense is slowly learning how to stop the run. Something that had weighed them down in their losses so far this season.

The Bears are Still Aaron Rodgers’ Property

This one has to sting for Bears fans. Chicago was leading with 5 minutes left to go in the fourth until a Mason Crosby field goal gave the Packers a 20-19 lead. Justin Fields had a chance to play hero but ended up throwing a bad pick to Jaire Alexander. This led to a game-clinching touchdown run for Christian Watson. The Bears continue to look decent enough to be in most games, they just haven’t found a way to win them yet, especially if Aaron Rodgers is on the other side of the field. Even if Rodgers retires soon, Green Bay should keep him on the payroll just to play the Bears. It seems like beating Chicago is the only thing he still likes about playing football.

The Chargers Keep Stumbling

The Chargers dropped another game they could’ve won and moved to 6-6 on the year. Justin Herbert is still an amazing quarterback, evidenced by this insane throw on 4th and 12. Something on this team is broken though, because they can’t have Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler and Justin Herbert on the offensive side of the ball and only have the league’s 14th highest scoring average. Maybe it’s Staley, maybe it’s Joe Lombardi, maybe it’s a combination of both. Either way, something has to change to stop all this talent from being wasted. Las Vegas on the other hand, continues to win games. They’re still only 5-7, but with games still remaining against LAR, NE, PIT, SF and KC, they have a slim opportunity to go 4-1. That would put them at 9-8 for the season and a possibility to squeak into the playoffs.

Washington and New York Play to a Tie

This feels like a wasted game for both of these teams. The Giants benefited more from the tie as they stayed in the playoff picture and Washington has been knocked out for the moment but still. We all would have liked to see one of these teams come away with a division win. These two teams will match up again in two weeks after Washington goes on their bye. The one star in an otherwise ugly game was Terry McLaurin. He continues to dominate the stat sheet ever since Heinicke has taken the helm. It makes one wonder how much better Washington could be sitting right now if Wentz would have only found a way to get the ball in the Commander’s best weapon’s hands.

Watson Struggled in His Return to the Field

The Browns beat Houston by 13 but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the box score. Deshaun Watson only completed 54% of his passes for 131 yards and one interception. Only 6 of Cleveland’s 24 points can be attributed to their offense. They rode a punt return touchdown, a fumble recovery touchdown and a pick-6 to their victory. It will be interesting to see how the Browns fare next weekend against a top 5 team in the Cincinnati Bengals. For Houston, it’s another sad performance on their way to the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Kyle Allen might be a few tiers worse than Davis Mills and that’s saying something.

Other Notes:

  • Pittsburgh wins again. They’re now 5-7 and within reach of a winning record. It’s improbable but with a little luck, Mike Tomlin might still be able to keep his streak alive. 
  • It was a little dicey, but Geno found a way to lead Seattle to a win. They lost Kenneth Walker to an injury for an unknown time. It’s a big loss for an offense that relies heavily on having a good run game. 
  • Minnesota snuck by Mike White and the Jets. New York is now 7-5 and fading fast. With a top-heavy AFC, they need to get it together quickly or the hot start they had might have been all for nothing. 
  • Tyler Huntley helps Baltimore narrowly escape a loss to Denver. It was a massive come-from-behind win the Ravens badly needed to keep pace in the AFC. Denver dropped another close one and continues to be a disgusting team to watch. Their defense is too good to be wasted by a washed-up Russell Wilson and that blubbering idiot, Nathaniel Hackett. 
  • Tom Brady threw another game winning touchdown as the clock neared zero. Their offense is inept, but I wouldn’t want to be on a team that faces them in the playoffs.
  • Detroit pummeled Jacksonville 40-14. It’s a strange league where a Jaguars team can beat an at the time top-5 Ravens team and then lose by 26 to a bottom tier Lions team. 

Gambling Recap

It might be time for us to pack it in this year. We had another losing week and suffered another loss due to a player getting hurt during the game. This time it was Lamar Jackson killing our chances of covering Baltimore -2.5. We might be the curse no one is talking about. I’m not even going to bother with the graphic as I just don’t have the heart. This gambling season has turned me into a shell of the man I once was.