NFL 2014 Week 13 Recap
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Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions was the Thanksgiving morning game. Early on it was Jay Cutler throwing touchdown passes of 6 and 10 yards to Jeffery sandwiched around a 46-yard Matt Prater field that powered the Bears to a 14-3 lead after the first quarter. After that reality set in. Detroit exploded in the second quarter as Matthew Stafford went deep to Calvin “Megatron” Johnson for a 25 yard touchdown to get the Lions within 14-10. Detroit got it back and soon faced 4th and goal at the one. Jim Caldwell decided to go for it, and Bell got in to put the Lions up 17-14. Detroit got it back at their own 36 with 1:45 left in the half. With 24 seconds left in the half Stafford hit Johnson for a 6 yard touchdown as the Bears led 24-14.
Robbie Gould hit a 35 yard field goal in the third quarter to get the Bears within 24-17. Yet Stafford then led a 12 play, 95 yard, 6 minute drive. On the first play of the fourth quarter the Lions faced third and goal at the one. Again Bell got in as the Lions led 31-17. Prater hit a 40 yarder to lock up the win as the Lions got to 8-4 and all but knocked the Bears out of the playoff race. Stafford finished 34 of 45 for 390 yards, two touchdowns and 0 interceptions. 34-17 Lions
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys was the Thanksgiving afternoon game. The battle for first place in the NFC East saw the revival of Mark Sanchez continue. Sanchez ran for a 2 yard touchdown and threw a 27 yard touchdown pass to Matthews as the Eagles led 14-0 after one quarter and romped. Democrat Murray did score from one yard out in the second quarter to get the Cowboys within 14-7, but the rest was all Eagles. Chris Parkey hit field goals of 31, 22 and 26 yards to put the Eagles up 23-7 at halftime. After Dallas kicked a third quarter field goal, LeSean McCoy broke off a 38-yard touchdown run and Parkey added one more field goal in the fourth quarter. 33-10 Eagles
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers was the Thanksgiving night game. 10 months after Richard Sherman out-dueled Michael Crabtree in an NFC Title Game for the ages, the defenses again ruled. Russell Wilson threw a 13-yard first quarter touchdown pass to Turbin, concluding the offensive highlights. After that the Legion of Boom clamped down. Steve Hauschka kicked field goals of 21 and 36 in the second quarter and 35 in the third quarter. The 49ers avoided the shutout with a 40 yard Phil Dawson field goal, but Hauschka’s 46 yard field goal in the fourth quarter led Seattle to its second consecutive 19-3 win against a division opponent. Richard Sherman silenced the crowd with two interceptions. 19-3 Seahawks
San Diego Chargers at Baltimore Ravens — Joe Flacco threw a 16 yard touchdown pass to Tory Smith on 3rd and 13 to make it 7-0 Chargers. Philip Rivers was the intercepted, giving Baltimore the ball at the San Diego 19. John Harbaugh decided to go for it on 4th and 1 but a delay of game penalty meant a 33 yard Justin Tucker field goal and a 10-0 Ravens lead. Rivers came back and led a 13 play, 80 yard, 7 1/2 minute drive. A 12 yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen got the Chargers within 10-7.
In the second quarter the Ravens drove twice inside the red zone but had to settle for 21 and 29 yard Justin Tucker field goals to lead 16-7. Nick Novak hit a 52 yard field goal to get the Chargers within 16-10 at halftime. Novak added a 26 yarder in the third quarter to get the Chargers within 16-13. Flacco went back to Smith for a 10 yard touchdown and a 23-13 Ravens lead.
In the fourth quarter Ryan Mathews ran for a 14 yard touchdown run as the Chargers got back within 23-20. Flacco led a 12 play, 79 yard, 7 minute drive and got the final yard himself on 3rd and goal as the Ravens led 30-20 with 6 minutes to play. Rivers quickly moved the Chargers 77 yards as Rivers hit Allen for a 23 yard score The Chargers were within 30-27 with 4 minutes left.
The Ravens had a chance to put the game away when Jacoby Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards to the San Diego 30. Yet on 3rd and 4 from the 13, Flacco threw incomplete. Tucker hit his fourth field goal from 31 yards out as the Ravens led by 6 with 2 1/2 minutes to play. Baltimore failed to close the door. From the Baltimore 24, Rivers went deep to the end zone and defensive pass interference put the ball on the one. Rivers hit Eddie Royal for the touchdown as the Chargers had the one point lead.
This time Jones had trouble handling the kickoff and the Ravens had to take over at their own 14 with one timeout left and only 32 seconds left. With 9 seconds left, Flacco went deep Aiken for a 24 yard gain at the San Diego 43. A 60 yard field goal try by Tucker never got attempted because Brandon Flowers tackled Aiken inbounds and the clock ran out. 34-33 Chargers
Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills — A defensive boneblack saw the Browns drive 91 yards in 15 plays and 6 minutes but settle for a 22 yard Billy Cundiff field goal. That concluded the first half highlights. Trailing 3-0, 2 plays changed the game midway through the third quarter. Facing 4th and 3 at the Cleveland 37, Doug Marrone decided to go for it. Kyle Orton went deep to Woods for a 34 yard gain. On the next play a 3 yard touchdown pass to Hogan gave the Bills the lead. On the next play from scrimmage West fumbled and Hughes recovered it and returned it 18 yards for another touchdown and a 14-3 Bills lead.
In the fourth quarter a pair of short fields set up Dan Carpenter for 49 and 34 yard field goals as the Bills now led 20-3. The second field goal was set up by an interception of Hoyer. With 12 minutes left in regulation, Mike Pettine finally gave Johnny Manziel some playing time. Manuel did run for a 10 yard touchdown but Carpenter hit his third and fourth field goals from 34 and 35 yards out to complete the scoring. The Browns fell to 7-5, but the real issue in Cleveland would be if the simmering quarterback controversy has finally boiled over. 26-10 Bills
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans — Ryan Fitzpatrick marched the Texans 80 yards and threw an 8 yard touchdown to Griffin for the 7-0 Texans lead. 2 plays later Mettenberger was intercepted, setting up Houston at the Tennessee 20. On 3rd and goal Fitzpatrick found Arian Foster for the 7 yard touchdown to make it 14-0 Texans. In the second quarter Randy Bullock hit a 37 yard field goal to extend the lead. Fitzpatrick then found Hopkins for a 58 yard touchdown as the Texans led 24-0 at halftime.
The game tightened in the third quarter. Zach Mettenberger hit Wright for a 36 yard touchdown. On the next series Mettenberger was injured and Jake Locker came in. Locker’s first pass was intercepted. McCourty then returned a fumble 62 yards for another score as the Titans got with 24-14. Fitzpatrick went back to Hopkins for a 34 yard touchdown to make it 31-14 Texans.
In the fourth quarter Fitzpatrick kept firing, hitting Andre Johnson for a four yard touchdown. Locker was then sacked and fumbled. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a one yard pass to JJ Watt as the Texans led 45-14. Locker then threw another interception. Late in the game Locker was picked off again, but roughing the passer nullified it, allowing Locker instead to throw a garbage time touchdown. Fitzpatrick finished 24 of 33 for 358 yards and six touchdown passes with 0 interceptions. 45-21 Texans
Washington Redskins at Indianapolis Colts — Colt McCoy got the nod over Robert Griffin III. Meanwhile, Andrew Luck continued to have early struggles. On the first play from scrimmage Luck was sacked and fumbled, setting up Washington at the Indy 15. Despite the gift, the Redskins settled for a 25 yard Kai Forth field goal. Luck came back and threw a 30 yard touchdown to Coby Fleener for 7-3 Colts lead. In the second quarter Herron raced for a 49 yard touchdown to make it 14-3 Colts. Luck then threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to TY Hilton to make it 21-3 Colts.
McCoy threw a 21 yard touchdown pass to Roy Help to get the Redskins within 21-10. In the third quarter McCoy found Paulsen for a 16 yard score as Washington only trailed 21-17. The Colts broke open the game again when Luck found Moncrief for a 48 yard touchdown to make it 28017 Colts. Jackson returned a fumble 35 yards for another touchdown to make it 35-17 Colts. McCoy hit DeSean Jackson for a 42 yard touchdown as the Redskins were back within 35-24.
Luck went back to Fleener for a 73 yard touchdown as the Colts had a 42-24 lead. In the fourth quarter Forth hit a 29 yard field goal, but Luck kept firing. A 79 yard touchdown pass to Moncrief put the game out of reach. McCoy finished 31 of 47 for 392 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Luck was ridiculous, completing 19 of 27 for 370 yards, five touchdown passes and one interception. 49-27 Colts
New York Giants at Jacksonville Jaguars — Tom Coughlin returned to face the team that fired him. Eli Manning led a mind-dumbing 19 play, 91 yard drive that consumed 10 minutes. On the first play of the second quarter Manning got in from 2 yards out to make it 7-0 Giants. Later on Manning found Parker for a 3 yard touchdown to make it 14-0 Giants. The Giants got it back and Rashad Jennings ran for a 17 yard touchdown to make it 21-0 Giants against the toothless Jaguars.
Jacksonville did get a 28 yard Josh Scobee field goal before the half to trail 21-3. All the Giants had to do to protect the lead was protect the football. In the third quarter from the Giants 15, Manning went back to pass, was sacked, fumbled, and saw the Jaguars recover in the end zone for a gift touchdown. Now the Jaguars were within 21-10. Blake Bortles would throw a 30 yard touchdown pass to Lee. The 2 point conversion failed but the Jaguars were within 21-16.
Early in the fourth quarter the Giants faced 3rd and 15 at their own 43. A short completion was fumbled and returned by Colvin 41 yards for another Jacksonville defensive touchdown. The 2 point conversion again failed but the Jaguars led 22-21.
The Giants thought they had overcome their bumbling when Josh Brown hit a 33 yard field goal. The Giants had the 24-22 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left. Blake Bortles took over after a touchback and showed flashes of why he was the number 3 pick in the draft. With 90 seconds to play on 2nd and 15 from the Giants 45, Bortles scrambled for 20 yards. Gus Bradley then played it safe with 3 straight runs up the middle, forcing the Giants to use their timeouts. With 32 seconds left, Scobee came in for a 43 yarder. It was good and Jacksonville had the lead.
With 28 seconds left after a touchback, Manning was sacked and fumbled the ball away again. Coughlin failed to get revenge against the team that fired him. He now for the first time has consecutive losing seasons with his second team, which could lead to him being permanently retired. Coughlin is a disciplinarian. He can’t make his quarterback hold on to the football. 25-24 Jaguars
Carolina Panthers at Minnesota Vikings — Christmas came early for the Vikings as Teddy Bridgewater threw a 4 yard touchdown pass to Rudolph for a 7-0 Vikings lead. After that it was the special teams that had the home crowd rocking. A blocked punt was returned by Adam Thielen 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0. Graham Gano got the Panthers on the board with a 30 yard field goal. Then the Vikings blocked another punt and Eversen Griffen returned it 43 yards for another touchdown and a 21-3 Vikings lead.
Gano hit a 35 yard field goal, but Teddy Bridgwater threw a 17 yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings to make it 28-6 Vikings at the half. An uneventful half saw Cam Newton throw a 32 yard touchdown pass Brown, but nothing more. Blair Walsh hit a 39 yard fourth quarter field goal to complete the scoring. 31-13 Vikings
New Orleans Saints at Pittsburgh Steelers — What looked like a defensive struggle early on turned into an aerial show. Shaun Suisham hit a 49 yard field goal in the first quarter and a 31 yarder in the second quarter to make it 6-0 Steelers. The Brees finally got going and just exploded. He hit Watson for a 15 yard touchdown and Lorig for a 4 yard score as the Saints led 14-6 at halftime. Bree was just getting warmed up. In the third quarter Brees found Nick Toon for an 11 yard touchdown to make it 21-6 Saints.
Pittsburgh got within 21-13 when LeVeon Bell ran it in from one yard out. Brees then went to Kenny Stills for a 69 yard touchdown to make it 28-13 Saints after three quarters. Suisham’s third field goal from 47 yards out got the Steelers within 28-16. Bree then moved the Saints 80 yards and threw his fifth touchdown pass, a three yarder to Marquis Colston. The Saints had a 35-16 lead with only 10 1/2 minutes left in regulation. When Pittsburgh fumbled midway through the fourth quarter and the Saints took over at their own 45, the game seemed over. Pittsburgh held on defense but got the ball back at their own 5 yard line with 6 minutes to play.
Ben Roethlisberger moved the Steelers 95 yards and on 3rd and goal threw a 4 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown. The 2 point conversion was good but the Steelers trailed 35-24 with only 2 1/2 minutes left. The onside kick failed but the Steelers held on defense. Another great punt backed up the Steelers to their own 2 yard line with one minute left. Roethlisberger then moved the Steelers 98 yards, but his 3 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown came on the last play of the game. Another 2 point conversion got the Steelers within a field goal, but this was pure garbage time scoring.
Roethlisberger finished 32 of 58 for 435 yards, but half of those yards and his only two touchdown passes came on the final two drives when the outcome was no longer in doubt. Big Ben was also intercepted twice. Bree meanwhile was 19 of 27 for 257 yards, five touchdown passes, and zero interceptions. The Saints at 5-7 are tied for the NFC South division lead. 35-32 Saints
Oakland Raiders at St. Louis Rams — After taking 10 days to celebrate finally winning a game, that Raiders went back to continuing their march toward the top draft pick. Oakland went 3 and out, the Rams took over at their own 41, and Shaun Hill threw a 35 yard touchdown to Mason to make it 7-0 Rams. The Raiders again failed to gain a first down and Hill moved the Rams 78 yards easily. Hill ran the last 2 yards himself for the 14-0 Rams lead. Tavon Austin then ran for an 18 yard touchdown as the Rams led 21-0.
In the second quarter the Raiders managed to gain a first down on a defensive penalty. Tony Sparano decided to go for it on 4th and 1 from the St. Louis 35. A false start penalty killed the drive as the Raiders punted. A good punt had the Rams pinned back to their own 6. It did not matter. First the Raiders jumped offside. 12 seconds later Tre Mason was off and running for an 89 yard touchdown to make it 28-0 Rams.
The game was already out of hand, but Derek Carr then threw interceptions on the next two Oakland drive. Harley scored from 4 yards out and Greg Zuerlein added a 38 yard field goal as the Rams led 38-0 at halftime. In the fourth quarter Mason struck again from 8 yards out as the Rams led 45-0. Carr was done for the day. The loss was not his fault but there was no point in getting the only halfway decent player on the offense killed. Matt Schaub finally saw action. On his first series he was sacked and fumbled the ball away. On his next series Schaub was intercepted by Johnson, who raced 43 yards for the seventh Rams touchdown on the day. On Schaub’s third series he was sacked and fumbled. 52-0 Rams
Cincinnati Bengals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Red Rifle Andy Dalton was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage, setting up the Buccaneers at the Cincinnati 9. Tampa Bay lost 5 yards and kicked a 32 yard Murray field goal to make it 3-0 Buccaneers. In the second quarter Doug Johnson ran for a 7 yard touchdown to make it 10-0 Buccaneers. A flu-ridden Dalton threw three interceptions in the first half, but managed to run for a 5 yard touchdown to have the Bengals within 10-7 at halftime. In the third quarter Dalton threw a 13 yard touchdown pass to AJ Green as the Bengals led 14-10. Less than one minute into the fourth quarter Murray hit a 42 yard field goal as the Bucs were within one point.
on 4th and 11 from the Cincy 42 with 4 minutes left, Lovie Smith chose to punt and trust his defense. It was the right call as the Bucs got it back just before the 2 minute warning after a touchback. With 43 seconds to play the Bucs had 1st and 5 at the Cincy 31, with a winning field goal try a near certainty. Instead an offensive holding penalty moved the Bucs back. On the next play Josh McCown threw a 21 yard completion to Louis Murphy as the Bengals were now in chip shot field goal range. However, the offense had 12 men on the field and the call was nullified. With 12 seconds left on 4th and 20 from the Cincy 46, Smith decided against a 64 yard field goal try. Rather than throw past the marker, a 13 yard completion saw the Bucs turn it over on downs as the Bengals at 8-3-1 lead the AFC North by 1 1/2 games. 14-13 Bengals
Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons — Some games are just head scratchers. Matt Ryan threw first quarter touchdown passes of one yard to Toilolo and 32 yards to Julio Jones sandwiched around a 20 yard Matt Bryant field goal to make it 17-0 Falcons after the first quarter. In the second quarter Matty Ice went ice cold as an interception by Johnson was returned 88 yards to get the Cardinals on the board. Catanzaro hit a 44 yard field goal to get the Cardinals within 17-10, but Bryant hit from 23 to make it 20-10 Falcon at halftime.
Bryant did the rest in the second half, hitting from 21 in the third quarter and 45 and 28 in the fourth quarter to make it 29-10 Falcons. Arizona added a garbage touchdown. Ryan finished 30 of 41 for 361 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Julio Jones had 189 yards receiving. At 5-7 the Falcons can still win the NFC South. After starting 9-1, back to back losses have the Cardinals going from home field throughout the playoffs to barely leading their division. 29-16 Falcons
New England Patriots at Green Bay Packers — If this is a potential Super Bowl preview, the NFL can only hope that game is as exciting as this one. Early on it was all Packers as Mason Crosby hit field goals of 32 and 35 yards and Aaron Rodgers threw a 32 yard touchdown pass to his non-relative Richard Rodgers to make it 13-0 Packers.
In the second quarter Bolden ran it in from 6 yards out to get the Patriots within 13-7. Crosby added a 33 yard field goal to make it 16-7. Brady hit Brandon LaFell for a 2 yard touchdown as the Patriots were only down 16-14 with one minute left in the half. That was enough time for Rodgers to move the Packers 81 yards as a 45 yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson made it 23-14 Packers at the break.
Early in the fourth quarter Brady hit LaFell for a 15 yard touchdown to get the Patriots within 23-21. With 9 minutes to play the Packers faced 2nd and 5 from the Patriots 10 but Rodgers threw incomplete twice. Crosby hit his fourth field goal from 28 as the Patriots led by 5. Brady moved the Patriots methodically from their 28 to 3rd and 9 at the Packers 20. Brady was then sacked. With 2:40 left, Stephen Gostkowski missed a 47 yard field goal.
12 seconds later the Patriots had taken their last timeout as everything came down to 3rd and 4 at the Packers 43. Rodgers found Randall Cobb for a 7 yard game as the Packers hung on for the tough win. Both of these teams are now 9-3 and tied for the top record in their respective conferences. 26-21 Packers
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs was the Sunday night game. Peyton Manning threw first quarter touchdown passes of 23 yards to Denarius Thomas and 15 yards to CJ Anderson has the Broncos led 14-0 after the first quarter. Anderson also contributed 168 yards on the ground. Newly acquired Denver kicker Connor Barth did the rest. In the second quarter Barth hit from 22 t make it 17-0 Broncos. Alex Smith then threw a 20 yard touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano to get the Chiefs on the board. Barth hit from 24 to make it 20-7 Chiefs at halftime.
In the third quarter Carlo Santos hit from 39, but Barth answered from 30 and again from 33 in the fourth quarter to make it 26-10 Broncos. Smith did throw a 12 yard touchdown pass to Jamal Charles, but the 2 point conversion failed. Barth’s fifth field goal from 37 ended the scoring. Never still leads the AFC West and is now tied again for the top conference record. 29-16 Broncos
Miami Dolphins at New York Jets was the Monday night game. The Monday night game was deja vu all over again. For the second straight year a Dolphins team with everything to play for had difficulty with a Jets team with nothing to play for. This game was Rex Ryan ground and pound taken to the extreme. Salas ran for a 20 yard touchdown and a 7-0 Jets lead, concluding highlights for a large stretch of the game. With 2 minutes left in the game the Jets had run the ball 49 times for 277 yards while allowing Geno Smith only 8 pass attempts. He completed 4 of them for 42 yards.
The kickers then traded field goals, with Nick Folk hitting from 40 for the Jets in the second quarter and Caleb Sturgis answering from 43 to end the half. In the third quarter Sturgis from 44 and Folk’s 45 yarder bounced off the crossbar but went through good to make it 13-6 Jets. The Dolphins caught a break when they partially blocked a punt. One play later Ryan Tannehill threw a low ball that bounced off a receiver’s hands up in the air for an interception.
In the fourth quarter Smith fumbled a snap inside his own 10 yard line. The Jets retained but a penalty on the punt had the Dolphins starting at the Jets 39. Miller got in from 4 yards out to tie the game with 10 1/2 minutes left in regulation. The Jets from their 39 to a 3rd and 7 at the Dolphins 19. Forced to throw, Smith was sacked. Folk then missed the field goal. With 5 1/2 minutes left, the Jets collapse was almost complete.
Tannehill moved the Dolphins and at the 2 minute warning Caleb Sturgis hit the 26 yard field goal to give the Dolphins the lead. Forced to throw on the final drive, Smith completed three of five passes for 23 yards before a ball into triple coverage that could have been caught was intercepted. 16-13 Dolphins