What we learned in NFL Week 13: Eagles keep streak alive, Bills look like AFC’s best

Do the Falcons have a Kirk Cousins downside? Do the Ravens have a Justin Tucker downside?

And do we now have a brand new front-runner within the MVP race?

For the primary time in NFL historical past, a quarterback ran, caught and threw a landing in a single sport — the most recent testomony to the brilliance of Josh Allen, who powered the Payments to a 35-10 victory over the 49ers on a snowy Sunday night time in Orchard Park.

Make it 5 straight AFC East titles for Buffalo, now the primary staff in 2024 to clinch a division title. Buffalo has overwhelmed each of final yr’s Tremendous Bowl groups, the Chiefs and 49ers, in consecutive video games, and hasn’t misplaced to anybody since Oct. 6. It begins with Allen, who’s by no means performed higher, and who retains piling up one spotlight play after one other in crucial moments.

As for groups on the opposite facet Sunday, Atlanta has abruptly dropped three straight. In that span, Cousins — the Falcons’ $45 million improve at quarterback within the offseason — has tossed six interceptions, together with on the ultimate two drives of their 17-13 loss to the Chargers.

And Tucker, the Ravens’ six-time Professional Bowl kicker, in some way leads the league in missed kicks (10) after three extra in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles (two subject objectives and an additional level). It’s been a stunningly poor season for Tucker, who entered the yr as essentially the most correct participant at his place in league historical past. It’s a must to marvel if it will price Baltimore down the stretch — or within the playoffs.

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In Cincinnati, Russell Wilson threw for greater than 400 yards for the primary time in 5 years because the Steelers beat the Bengals 44-38. Pittsburgh is now 9-3 and, coupled with Baltimore’s loss, up two video games within the AFC North. Sunday’s win additionally clinches Mike Tomlin’s 18th straight season with out a dropping report. All instructed, it’s the twenty first straight season in Pittsburgh with out a sub-.500 report, tying the Tom Landry-era Cowboys for the longest such streak in NFL historical past.

In Minnesota, the Vikings stormed again from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Cardinals 23-22. Minnesota now has two separate five-game successful streaks this season and, at 10-2, stays only a sport again of the Lions within the NFC North.

In Jacksonville, the Texans survived a late cost from the Jaguars to flee with a 23-20 win. The Jags rallied with Mac Jones at quarterback — and never Trevor Lawrence — after Lawrence was knocked out of the sport within the second quarter following a nasty, unlawful hit from Azeez Al-Shaair. The play earned Al-Shaair an ejection and will earn him a suspension, as properly.

In Washington, the Commanders discovered the get-right sport they’ve been searching for, routing the Titans 42-19. Jayden Daniels and the offense scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, and this one was by no means all that shut. The win snaps the Commanders’ three-game dropping streak and strikes them to 8-5, at present ok for the seventh and remaining NFC playoff spot.

Elsewhere, Geno Smith exacted a little bit of revenge towards the staff that drafted him, main the Seahawks to a comeback win over the Jets, 26-21. New York has now misplaced six of seven since proprietor Woody Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh in early October. The Jets are 3-9, tied for the third-worst report within the AFC.

“That is as irritating because it comes,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers mentioned. How irritating? After the sport, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich was requested if he’s contemplating benching Rodgers. “Not as of at present,” Ulbrich mentioned. It definitely looks as if a matter of time till the Rodgers experiment in New York involves a merciful finish.

The Seahawks (7-5), in the meantime, have gained three straight and are again in entrance within the NFC West. Each the Cardinals and Rams — who beat the Saints 21-14 Sunday in New Orleans — are a sport again at 6-6.

In Charlotte, Bryce Younger practically led the Panthers to their third win in 4 weeks. However a late rally from the Bucs, together with a game-tying 51-yard Chase McLaughlin subject aim on the finish of regulation, was simply sufficient in a 26-23 additional time victory for Tampa Bay.

Right here’s what we realized throughout the NFL in Week 13:

Eagles’ win streak hits eight

The streak began unceremoniously, with extra deal with the coach’s postgame antics — Nick Sirianni was caught shouting at his personal followers — than the much-needed Week 5 victory. The Eagles edged the Browns, 20-16, to climb to 3-2 and keep away from the scrutiny that might’ve adopted an unpleasant house loss to a awful Cleveland staff.

That was Oct. 13. Philly hasn’t misplaced since.

And the Eagles appear to getting higher. The win streak hit eight on Sunday, and the 24-19 beatdown of the Ravens in Baltimore was essentially the most spectacular effort but. After beginning sluggish — a little bit of an Eagles trademark this season — they proved as soon as once more they’re among the many league’s greatest closers, ripping off a 24-3 run to personal the second half earlier than the Ravens scored a meaningless landing late.

After the sport, Sirianni was requested about matching the Ravens’ physicality. He turned the query round. “They needed to match ours,” he mentioned. “That was our message stepping into — that they needed to match our physicality.”

Baltimore couldn’t. MVP candidate Saquon Barkley punctuated the Eagles’ second-half dominance with a 25-yard landing run to seal it, and Vic Fangio’s protection stifled Lamar Jackson and the Ravens all sport lengthy.

Saquon Barkley rushed for 107 yards on 23 carries in his eighth 100-yard sport of the season. (Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Photographs)

The Eagles have had only one MVP within the franchise’s 92-year historical past, Norm Van Brocklin in 1960. The way in which Barkley’s enjoying — he now has eight 100-yard speeding video games this season — this is likely to be the yr they add a second. Howie Roseman’s transfer so as to add Barkley on a three-year contract price $37.7 million continues to appear to be the offseason’s shrewdest transfer.

Sirianni, in the meantime, is now 44-19 in 4 seasons in Philadelphia. After the criticism he acquired following final yr’s late-season collapse and this yr’s uneven begin, he’s executed a exceptional job of steadying the ship. The Eagles at the moment are 10-2, look playoff-ready and stay Detroit’s greatest challenger within the NFC.

Payments appear to be the AFC’s greatest

The Chiefs have the convention’s greatest report at 11-1, however no AFC staff is enjoying higher than the Payments.

Buffalo is now 10-2 and enjoying a few of its greatest soccer of the Josh Allen period partly as a result of the offense not wants him to be Superman each collection — though Allen can nonetheless slip on his cape on occasion.

James Cook dinner — a weapon all yr for the Payments’ offense — bolted by the snow for a 65-yard landing run within the first half. Rookie Ray Davis added one other. Add in Allen’s second-half theatrics and this one was by no means shut.

Within the race for the AFC’s high seed and the lone playoff bye, the Chiefs are nonetheless a sport forward however have appeared shaky in current weeks regardless of two straight victories. Kansas Metropolis squeaked by three-win Carolina, 30-27, earlier than surviving the two-win Raiders on Friday because of Las Vegas’ late-game gaffe. Sooner or later, you need to marvel what number of extra shut video games the Chiefs can scrape out.

For the Payments, an enormous showdown looms in Week 15 towards the NFC-leading Lions. Apart from that, of their 4 remaining video games, none is towards a staff with a successful report in the intervening time (the Rams, Patriots and Jets). The Chiefs will see 4 groups at present projected to make the playoffs: the Chargers, Texans, Steelers and Broncos. Benefit: Buffalo. And bear in mind, the Payments personal the tiebreaker over Kansas Metropolis by advantage of their Week 11 head-to-head win.

The Chiefs proved final yr it doesn’t matter the place the video games happen — come the playoffs, they will win anyplace. However the AFC operating by Buffalo stays the Payments’ greatest probability to lastly break by and advance to a Tremendous Bowl for the primary time since 1993. The more severe the situations, it appears, the higher the Payments play.

As for San Francisco, the season-long slide continues, and Kyle Shanahan’s staff is likely to be too banged as much as rally. That’s now three straight losses, and making issues worse, star operating again Christian McCaffrey left Sunday’s sport within the first half with a knee harm and didn’t return.

Steichen’s gamble retains Colts alive

As quickly as Alec Pierce hauled in a 3-yard landing with 12 seconds left, Shane Steichen knew what the decision was.

He held up two fingers. Translation: We’re right here to win.

“Put it in (No.) 5’s fingers to go get it,” the Colts’ second-year coach mentioned later.

No. 5 occurs to be Anthony Richardson, the 22-year-old quarterback whom Steichen benched midseason and reinserted into the beginning lineup three weeks in the past. To this point, the gamble’s working: The Colts are 2-1 since Richardson’s return, and Sunday’s 25-24 win over the Patriots retains them alive within the AFC wild-card race.

Indy trailed by a degree after Pierce’s fourth-quarter rating, which got here on fourth down. Kick the additional level and tie it up, then take your shot in additional time? No probability. Steichen immediately signaled that the Colts had been going for 2 and the win. The decision was a zone learn. Richardson had the choice to maintain it himself or hand off to operating again Jonathan Taylor. However because of an incredible pull block from guard Quenton Nelson, the selection was simple.

“As soon as I appeared within the center, I simply determined I used to be gonna take it,” Richardson mentioned. He dealt with the remaining.

Indianapolis (6-7) stays two video games again of the Texans within the AFC South and is at present eighth within the AFC. The Colts path the Broncos, who’re 7-5 heading right into a Monday night time sport versus the Browns, for the ultimate wild-card spot. However the final 4 video games on the Colts’ schedule — Indy has a bye subsequent weekend — all look winnable, beginning with a decisive Week 15 assembly with the Broncos in Denver and ending with the Titans, Giants and Jaguars, three of the league’s worst groups.

After going through the Browns and Colts, the Broncos will see the Chargers, Bengals and Chiefs.

Falcons fading

A month in the past, the Falcons had been 6-3, two video games forward of everybody else within the NFC South. Atlanta’s huge offseason transfer — signing Cousins to that four-year, $180 million contract — was paying off. A staff with expertise all over the place however the quarterback spot had seemingly addressed its most evident want.

All indicators pointed towards a division title and a playoff spot. As a substitute: a three-game dropping streak.

First got here a three-point loss to the lowly Saints, New Orleans’ first win in two months. After that, the Falcons had been embarrassed 38-6 by the Broncos. Then on Sunday, following a bye, got here a 17-13 loss to a Chargers staff enjoying on a brief week.

It begins with the quarterback, who’s been abysmal of late. Throughout his final three begins, Cousins hasn’t thrown for a single landing. What he has executed is toss six interceptions and fumble 4 instances.

“I’ve to play higher,” he mentioned afterward. “You’re taking accountability and return and watch it with a very crucial eye and say, ‘OK, how can I ensure this by no means occurs once more?’ Felt like that was a sport we had an opportunity to win if I had performed at the usual I anticipate to play.”

After the loss, Raheem Morris was requested if he’s contemplating a change at quarterback — bear in mind, the Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. within the first spherical in April — however the Falcons’ first-year coach shot down that hypothesis shortly.

It units up a tasty sport subsequent week: Cousins will face his former staff in Minnesota, the place the Vikings haven’t missed a beat and are 10-2 with Sam Darnold main the best way.

The excellent news for Atlanta? The Falcons stay atop the NFC South with 5 video games to go. They’re at present tied with the Bucs at 6-6 however personal the tiebreaker after sweeping the season collection with Tampa Bay.

(Picture of James Cook dinner: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Photographs)