NFL 2018 Week 13 Recap

Hello readers! Another week of the National Football League has passed us by yet again. The week that was brought us a few coaching firings, some close games, and kickers failing to do their job again. All this and more in this week's recap. In the recap, I will discuss the firing of Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and the recap of the week's games.

McCarthy Out

With the loss of the Arizona Cardinals, the Green Bay Packers were quick to make a change in the head coaching position. Mike McCarthy, the Packers head coach since 2006, was fired after that loss. McCarthy would be the coach that would oversee the transition from the gunslinger in Brett Favre to the calm, Joe Cool like Aaron Rodgers. He would also win a Super Bowl XLV and get to the playoffs with the Packers from 2009 to 2016.

As far as the decision to fire McCarthy, I don't either blame or condone the Packers decision. There was a certain body language with the players that said "I'm not sure I can buy into what you're trying to do with us" it was a sort of delusion with them I felt. The personnel wasn't there for him to succeed and for Rodgers to succeed. I'm neither a proponent for him to "finish out the season as head coach" nor to "Run the table and get into the wild card on a crazy whim" because the latter worked before and it was a miracle that it did, not so much this time. Whether or not they were trying to get back to the playoffs or not, the loss to the Cardinals did more harm than good, it's not like the Bears or Vikings are going to collapse at this point.

The Recap

New Orleans 10, Dallas 13: TW: Saints, CV: Saints
The game was nothing that the result would show. A combined 23 points put up. I was somewhat expecting the Cowboys to get hung up by 40 or more in the game. The Cowboys did have a game plan in place to keep Drew Brees and company on the sideline for more than 36 minutes of the game. The Saints only had 23 minutes of possession time. Drew Brees only threw for 127 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Dak Prescott threw for 248 yards and a touchdown while Ezekiel Elliot would run for 76 yards. The winning streak ends for the Saints and have to regroup quickly to stay on top of the NFC.

Week 14: New Orleans: @ Tampa Bay; Dallas: vs Philadelphia

TW: 0-1; CV: 0-1

Chicago 27, NY Giants 30: TW: Bears, CV: Bears
Turnovers would be the story in the game. The Bears would give up three turnovers in the game two from interceptions from Chase Daniel. The Giants defense would cause six fumbles, recovering one. The game was still a close one with the two quarterbacks posting similar numbers. Chase Daniel threw for 285 yards and a touchdown while Eli Manning would throw for 170 yards and a touchdown and a pick. The game would go to overtime where the Giants would net a 44-yard field goal from Aldrick Rosas to give the G-men their 4th win on the season.

Week 14: Chicago: vs LA Rams; NY Giants: @ Washington

TW: 0-2; CV: 0-2

Carolina 17, Tampa Bay 24: TW: Panthers, CV: Panthers
It was a tale of two quarterbacks in this game. One threw zero interceptions, while the other would throw four. Cam Newton had one of the rarest days of his career in this game. The Buccaneers would pick him off four times in the contest. Newton did throw for 300 yards with two touchdowns in the game but still to throw that many picks. The Buccaneers started Jameis Winston who threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers had a good game from Christian McCaffrey on the ground racking up 106 yards. Probably spoke more of how the Bucs couldn't capitalize on the mistakes of the Panthers more than anything. The Bucs are now only a game behind the Panthers in the division.

Week 14: Carolina: @ Cleveland; Tampa Bay: vs New Orleans

TW: 0-3; CV: 0-3

Cleveland 13, Houston 29: TW: Texans, CV: Texans
It was a game where you could see the personnel of one team at its best and a team that is struggling to find the right people to fit into its right scheme. Baker Mayfield threw for 397 yards and a touchdown pass, while throwing three picks in the game. The Browns running game of Nick Chubb would only get 31 yards from the ground. While the Texans quarterback, DeShaun Watson, would throw for 224 yards and a touchdown. The running back tandem of Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue racked up a combined 157 yards from the ground. Rough way to go Cleveland.

Week 14: Cleveland: vs Carolina; Houston: vs Indianapolis

TW: 1-3; CV: 1-3

Indianapolis 0, Jacksonville 6: TW: Colts, CV: Colts
The score is indeed correct. The only scoring was from two field goals from Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo. The Colts offense was ineffective as Andrew Luck would only throw for 248 yards and an interception and the Jaguars started Cody Kessler as he would throw for 150 yards. Sure enough I pick the Jaguars, they lose, and when I pick the opposition, they win. Go figure.

Week 14: Indianapolis: @ Houston; Jacksonville: @ Tennessee

TW: 1-4; CV: 1-4

LA Rams 30, Detroit 16: TW: Rams, CV: Rams
The Rams, like the Romans, came, saw, and conquered when they got to the Motor City. Jared Goff threw for 207 yards with a touchdown and a pick while Todd Gurley racked up 132 yards from the ground with two touchdowns. The Lions offense came from Matthew Stafford's 245 yards passing with a touchdown and LeGarrette Blount's 61 yards from the ground. not quite enough to get a win. The Rams became NFC West division champions again.

Week 14: LA Rams: @ Chicago; Detroit: @ Arizona

TW: 2-4; CV: 2-4

Buffalo 17, Miami 21: TW: Dolphins, CV: Dolphins
It was a game where Josh Allen had more rushing yards than the entire Dolphins running back corp, combined. The Bills quarterback threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and two picks. He would rack up 135 yards on the ground. The Dolphins had a good performance from Ryan Tannehill's three touchdowns on 137 yards passing, while throwing one pick. Kenyan Drake only ran the ball for 31 yards.

Week 14: Buffalo: vs NY Jets; Miami: vs New England

TW: 3-4; CV: 3-4

Denver 24, Cincinnati 10: TW: Broncos, CV: Broncos
It was a game that was dominated by one man, Phillip Lindsey. Lindsey ran the ball for 157 yards with two touchdowns. Case Keenum managed the game well with 151 yards passing and a touchdown. The Bengals started Jeff Driskell in the game and managed to get 236 yards passing with a touchdown and a pick. Joe Mixon ran for 82 yards. Cody Core would score the only touchdown for the Bengals in the game. Once upon a time, the Cincinnati Bengals were 4-1, now it seems like a long time ago.

Week 14: Denver: @ San Francisco; Cincinnati: @ LA Chargers

TW: 4-4; CV: 4-4

Baltimore 26, Atlanta 16: TW: Ravens, CV: Ravens
It was a game where both teams traded fumbles for scores. The Falcons got their fumble-six off of Lamar Jackson where Vic Beasley would run it in for 74 yards for the touchdown. The Ravens got some revenge from a Matt Ryan fumble recovered by Kenny Young for a 12-yard touchdown. Lamar Jackson had an alright game with 125 yards passing with zero touchdowns while he would run it in for a score. Matt Ryan threw for 131 yards and a touchdown in the game. The defensive effort by the Ravens in this one.

Week 14: Baltimore: @ Kansas City; Atlanta: @ Green Bay

TW: 5-4: CV: 5-4

Arizona 20, Green Bay 17: TW: Packers, CV: Packers
The game that ultimately spelled doom for Mike McCarthy. The game offensively was good enough for the Packers with Aaron Rodgers throwing for 233 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Jones would score a touchdown on 36 yards from the ground. While Josh Rosen of the Cardinals threw for 149 yards and Chase Edmonds would score the two touchdowns that the Cardinals would get for the afternoon. It would seem that the playoff hopes for the Packers died yesterday. Sad to see.

Week 14: Arizona: vs Detroit; Green Bay: vs Atlanta

TW: 5-5; CV: 5-5

NY Jets 22, Tennessee 26: TW: Titans, CV: Titans
It was a tale of two teams. The Jets started off well, but couldn't finish. The Titans had a terrible start but would recover nicely to get a win. Josh McCown would throw for 128 yards for an interception while Isiah Crowell would run the ball for 98 yards. Trumaine Johnson would score the only touchdown for the Jets from a Marcus Mariota interception. Marcus Mariota would recover from the interception throwing for 282 yards for two touchdowns, while Derrick Henry would run the ball for 40 yards and a score of his own.

Week 14: NY Jets: @ Buffalo; Tennessee: vs Jacksonville

TW: 6-5; CV: 6-5

Kansas City 40, Oakland 33: TW: Chiefs, CV: Chiefs
The news of Kareem Hunt's viral video of him punching, kicking, and headbutting a woman back in February would prove to be a factor in this one. The Raiders had nothing to lose would give the Chiefs quite a fight in the game. Derek Carr would throw for 285 yards on three touchdowns. Jalen Richard would run the ball for 95 yards. Patrick Mahomes would throw for 295 yards on four touchdown passes. Spencer Ware would score a touchdown as well while running the ball for 47 yards. Gotta be a confidence booster for the Raiders if they can run up 30 against a good offensive team.

Week 14: Kansas City: vs Baltimore; Oakland: vs Pittsburgh

TW: 7-5; CV: 7-5

Minnesota 10, New England 24: TW: Patriots, CV: Patriots
Turnovers by the Vikings would kill them ultimately in this game. Kirk Cousins threw for 211 yards with a touchdown pass and two interceptions. Dalvin Cook would have a good game on the ground running for 84 yards on nine carries. Tom Brady threw for 311 yards and a touchdown and a pick. Sony Michel would be the Patriots leading rusher in the game with 63 yards. James Develin would run in for two touchdowns in the game. The win guaranteed the Patriots their 18th straight winning season, 2nd only to the Dallas Cowboys 20 straight winning seasons from 1966 to 1985. Impressive streak to be sure.

Week 14: Minnesota: @ Seattle; New England: @ Miami

TW: 8-5; CV: 8-5

San Francisco 16, Seattle 43: TW: Seahawks, CV: Seahawks
Somehow the Seahawks were in a rebuilding season. Yet they are 7-5 on the year after this game. Russell Wilson threw for 185 yards on four touchdowns. The running back tandem of Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny ran for 69 and 65 yards respectively. Penny would score a rushing touchdown. Nick Mullens had a solid game throwing the ball for 414 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Wilson ran the ball for 61 yards for the Niners in the game. The rebuilding continues for San Francisco.

Week 14: San Francisco: vs Denver; Seattle: vs Minnesota

TW: 9-5; CV: 9-5

LA Chargers 33, Pittsburgh 30: TW: Steelers, CV: Chargers
The Steelers really took their foot off the gas in this game. By halftime, the Steelers were up 23-7 yet the Chargers would go on a 26-7 run to finish the game. The ending of the game was insane as the Steelers were offsides for three straight penalties in the game-winning field goal play. Ben Roethlisberger would throw the ball for 281 yards for two touchdowns while James Conner ran the ball for 60 yards. Phillip Rivers threw the ball for 299 yards for two touchdowns. Justin Jackson of the Chargers ran the ball 63 yards and a touchdown.

Week 14: LA Chargers: vs Cincinnati; Pittsburgh: @ Oakland

TW: 9-6; CV: 10-5

Washington 13, Philadelphia 28: TW: Eagles, CV: Eagles
The NFC East race is staying as tight as possible as both teams after the game are now 6-6, trying to catch the Cowboys. Carson Wentz would throw for two touchdowns on 306 yards passing while both Colt McCoy and Mark Sanchez would combine for 150 yards passing and a touchdown (Sanchez would throw it). Adrian Peterson ran the ball for 98 yards and get a touchdown for his efforts. Could be a race to the finish.

Week 14: Washington: vs NY Giants; Philadelphia: @ Dallas

TW: 10-6; CV: 11-5

Records:

Tom (me)
2018:
Week 1: 10-5-1
Week 2: 6-9-1
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 12-3
Week 5: 6-9
Week 6: 10-5
Week 7: 10-4
Week 8: 11-3
Week 9: 9-4
Week 10: 7-7
Week 11: 8-5
Week 12: 11-4
Week 13: 10-6
Overall: 118-72-2

Cardinal Viking
2018:
Week 1: 8-7-1
Week 2: 9-6-1
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 9-6
Week 5: 9-6
Week 6: 6-9
Week 7: 12-2
Week 8: 10-4
Week 9: 8-5
Week 10: 9-5
Week 11: 7-6
Week 12: 13-2
Week 13: 11-5
Overall: 116-74-2

See you guys on Thursday for the Week 15 picks column! 
-Tom