NFL Week 13 Notes
December 7th, 2009 at 6:04 am by Displaced Cleveland FanThese are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 13 game here.
OK. Before any of you Patriots fans panic, your team is still in first place. But there is certainly cause for concern.
New England lost to Miami yesterday 22-21. This despite the fact that the Patriots were up 21-10 in the third quarter and the Dolphins were without their most dangerous offensive weapon — Ronnie Brown.
The Patriots were winning 21-19 when they punted the ball to Miami with under four minutes to play. All they needed was for the defense to make one more stop. Leading the Dolphins offense was second-year, backup to Chad Pennington quarterback Chad Henne. Surely New England would make this last stop and close out the game, right?
Wrong. Henne led the Dolphins 51 yards down the field in a drive that took just over a minute. It ended with a 41-yard field goal to put Miami on top 22-21. The Patriots tried to come back, but they couldn’t do it.
So now, while the Patriots are still in first place in the AFC East, they have fallen to 7-5, are only one game ahead of the Dolphins and Jets, and fell to 1-5 on the road this year. Of their remaining four games, it’s very possible they win three or four of them and get into the playoffs. But their failure to win games like this has got to worry New England fans.
The Saints had a scare in Washington.
The Redskins were winning 30-23 with two minutes left. They had a chance to kick a 23-yard field goal to seal the win. But they still managed to lose.
The field goal went wide right. Drew Brees led the Saints 80 yards down the field in 33 seconds to score a touchdown to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, the Redskins got the ball first, fumbled the ball away, then let the Saints drive down to the one yard line where they kicked a field goal to win the game.
Big break for New Orleans. They move to 12-0. Tough loss for the Redskins. They should have won this game, but they blew it.
Michael Vick traveled to Atlanta to face his former team. Receiving both cheers and boos, he helped his new team, the Philadelphia Eagles, beat the Falcons 34-7.
Vick had two touchdowns — one passing, one rushing. Good for him. I hope he can continue to turn things around. He deserves a second chance as much as anyone.
The Eagles improved to 8-4 and are now tied with Dallas for first place in the NFC East. The Falcons, who are missing injured QB Matt Ryan, fell to 6-6.
In the Division:
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Lions, 23-13. The win moves them to 9-3, firmly in control of the division. They will have either a two or three game lead, pending the result of Baltimore’s game tonight.
The Pittsburgh Steelers. Reigning Super Bowl champs. Started the season with a 6-2 record. Then what? Four straight losses. The latest came yesterday against the Oakland Raiders. Bruce Gradkowski threw an 11-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left to give the Raiders a 27-24 win over the Steelers. With games yet against Green Bay, Baltimore, and Miami, Pittsburgh may just miss the playoffs. Wouldn’t that be great?
The Baltimore Ravens travel to Green Bay to face the Packers on Monday Night Football. Baltimore is 6-5. Green Bay is 7-4. Both teams are in the hunt for a wild card berth. The Packers are 2-point favorites to win.
Quick hits:
- The Indianapolis Colts improved to 12-0, but had a much easier time staying perfect than the Saints. They beat the Titans 27-17.
- With the loss, the Titans fell to 5-7, just about ending their long-shot playoff hopes.
- The Houston Texans also watched their playoffs hopes disappear this week with a 23-18 loss to Jacksonville. After a 5-3 start, the Texans have dropped four straight.
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers stayed in the hunt for the #1 draft pick with a 16-6 loss to Carolina. Quarterback Josh Freeman threw 5 interceptions in the loss.
- Two elderly quarterbacks faced off on Sunday night. Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals came out on top, beating the Brett Favre led Minnesota Vikings 30-17.
-dcf
Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Brett Favre, Chad Henne, Chad Pennington, Drew Brees, Josh Freeman, Kurt Warner, Matt Ryan, Miami Dolphins, Michael Vick, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Ronnie Brown, Tom Brady, Washington Redskins
