MNF: 11/18/13: Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots 

I know you guys don't believe me, but I picked Carolina over the Patriots. Only because I just thought it was their time to beat the Pats and they did, 24-20. Believe me, this win did not come without some choice words from the Pats that I won't repeat, this is a PG, FB Blog. LOL. The Panthers held the Pats to 20 points in this game. The Pats had just scored 55 pts in their last game. Newton threw for 209 yards & 3 TD's and he was the leading rusher for this game with 62 yards on 7 carries. That was just crazy to watch. I can't believe the missed sacks that New England could have had on him. There was one minute to go when Newton threw a 25yd TD pass that gave the Panthers the lead. After a controversial finish, the Panthers escaped with the Victory. Just my personal thoughts, I think the refs should have honored the flag they threw down on that play. It was laying there for like 2 hours, well a minute or so. But it seemed like foreverrrrr. This is the second time this season that the Patriots lost a game with a late, controversial call or no call in this case. Both times, those calls made headlines.  Brady threw for 296 passing yard and 1 TD and had 1 int. But you know what I always say, a win is a win and you never know what's coming in the last seconds of the game. Some say they the Panthers are true contenders coming out of the NFC. If the Panthers keep on playing like they are now, look for them to make a run when it matters most. So many write ups about this one. I read so much if I passed it on to you guys, this would be the Panthers & Patriots WEEK 12 update. So I am done. 

TNF: 11/21/13: New Orleans vs. Atlanta Falcons

You wouldn't know that it was New Orleans playing the Falcons by the score 17-13. How do one of the best, leading teams in the NFL let one of the worst teams come that close? Brees threw for 278 yards & 2 TD's. Graham added 5 receptions for 100 yards. Ryan threw for 292 yards, 0 TD's. Ryan was also sacked 5 times in this game. This is Atlanta's 5th straight loss and it's not looking like it's going to get any better. The Falcons had a chance to pull off the upset, driving to the Saints' 29 with less than three minutes to go. But New Orleans turned up the pressure on Ryan, Atlanta missed a long field goal and the Saints ran off all of the clock, they left the last five seconds. This also completes a season sweep of the Falcons by the Saints. I read that the Falcons have been officially eliminated from the division race with five weeks left in the season. SMH, first N Sync breaks up and now this!!! Falcons are done. 

NFC NORTH:

Detroit Lions: 6-5:

Read about this surprising loss to the, waittttt for ittttt, the Tampa Bay Bucs, 24-21.  Yep, the Bucs did the Bears a huge favor winning this one.I don't care how it happened, who dropped what or who sacked who, point is, we are still in a tie for 1st place with the Lions. As I said in my update in Week 10, Tampa Bay has been playing like they are on a mission but I wasn't sure how serious they were. But looks like, they are in it for the long haul. TB was leading the game at 1/2 time with a 14-7. In the 2nd half, Detroit scored 7pts in the 3rd & even though TB had the only score of 7pts in the 4th, they held on to take this one. Who knew the first Qtr would be their undoing. Detroit didn't score in the 1st Qtr and TB only scored a 3pt FG. This looks to be anybody division right about now. Stafford threw for 297 passing yds, 3 TD's & 4 interceptions. C.J. added 115 receiving yds to his resume. Bush wash held to on 17 receiving yds. Glennon thew for 247 yards, 2 TD's while Underwood added 108 receiving yds to the stats. Good luck next week GB. Psychhhh!! Keep on losing while we try to grab a few more. 

Chicago Bears: 6-5:

Man, what the fig, first we lose D. Rose then Brian Griffin (family guy dog) gets the axe, what's next?  This was just unbearable to watch. 23 flags in 2 games for a total of 195 yards andddddddd Hester had his 62yd punt return pulled back, that's the shortest celebration he ever had for a punt return. I don't know about anyone else, I love to see guys do that, return the ball 80, 90, 70 yards for a TD, especially when it's HESTER.  When the dust settled, we lost 42-21. This has got to stop BEARS, we are a better team than this. Some of those flags may have been off the mark, but more than half was right on target. What are we doing people. This is the time to move in and take over this division. Come on man, Rodgers hit the practice field today, so he will be back real soon. McCown played the game well enough for us to win. He threw for 352 yds, 2 TD's & 1 interception. Both his fumble & int were non-factors in this game. Marshall added 10 receptions for 117 yds & a TD. Bennett had 62 receiving yds & 1 TD. Our Defense was man handled in the run game. A victory along with a lost by the Lions & a tie between the Vikings & Packers would have put us in sole possession of 1st place. This was the first time the Rams beat the BEARS since 2003. Clemens had 167 passing yds & 1 TD. Cunningham added 109 rushing yds & 1 TD to the mix. All is happy on the BEARS front with Hester & Steltz, who got the flag on Hester punt return, they were seen walking into the locker room together. Sunday against the Vikings is NOT an option, we must WIN!!

Green Bay Packers: 5-5:

Seriously, this is the craziest thing I ever heard. Who ends in a tie, this ain't Hockey this is the NFL. The Packers and Vikings couldn't get it done in OT so they ended with a tie 26-26. That's just stupid. I really don't know what else to say about this game. Nobody won or lost this game, so I can't say if GB would have did this or the Vikings would have done that. It don't matter, they ended in a tie. Well Minnesota did have 23-7 lead and blew that. Green Bay did erase a 16 point deficit with backup QB Matt Flynn. That's something. Ponder for the Vikings threw for 233 passing yards. A. Peterson added 146 rushing yards. Matt Flynn for the Packers threw for 218 yds & 1 TD after replacing Scott Tolzien. Nothing else to really write about.  (If you want to read more about the new OT rule, I have included an insert from an article from bleacher report at the end of this update).

Minnesota Vikings: 2-8:

Oh yeah, read about the TIE 26-26 against the Packers in Green Bay game recap. Ridiculous! Maybe some people like the new rule, it's just not tickling my fancy. 

NFC EAST:

Dallas Cowboys: 6-5:

The way that Dallas seems to take a lead and then kick it to the curb at the last minute was what I expected to see in this game. Dez Bryant played a much better game, he was much more focused this game and was not arguing.  He helped the Cowboys pull this one off, beating the N.Y. Giants 24-21 and they are in 1st place in their division now. Will they keep it going smoothly and add more wins in and sew up this division?  Depends on Philly too. The Giants looked decent out on the field but a better Cowboy team showed up for the game Sunday and that made all the difference. Tony Romo threw for 234 yds & 2 TD's.  D. Bryant contributed 9 receptions for 86 yds. Manning threw for 174 yds & 2 TD's. Brown had 21 carries for 127 yds. No, I am NOT a Cowboys fan, I try to call it as I see it in my eyes. I am glad they won so Jerry Jones can stop whining, "I am doing a good job."  Who you trying to convince JJ? 

Philadelphia Eagles: 6-5:

The Eagles had a bye this week. Look for them to host the Arizona Cardinals @ noon on Sunday, December 1st.

New York Giants: 4-7:

Read about their loss to the Dallas Cowboys 24-21 in the Cowboys game recap.

Washington Redskins: 3-7:

The Redskins take on the San Francisco 49'ers tonight @ 7:40pm. It's not looking to good at all for the Redskins. They have not shown anything in the past few weeks. This should be easy prey for the 49'ers. Read about this in WEEK 13 update.

NFC SOUTH:

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: 9-2:

Read about how New Orleans barely made it pass the Falcons, 17-13 in the TNF recap. 

CAROLINA PANTHERS: 8-3:

The panthers extended their winning streak to 7 with this 20-16 over the Dolphins.  They looked a little shabby compared to their game against the Saints on MNF.  Newton said "It may not be pretty, but at the end of the game, we get that 3 letter word, and that's gorgeous." Newton threw for 174 yds & 1 TD.  Tannehill, QB for Miami threw for 310 yds, 1 TD & 1 interception. M. Wallace had 5 reception for 127 yds & 1 TD. Newton & company are on the Saints now.  Brees better not fall asleep on them like he does in his NyQuil commercial.  I don't believe that the Panthers will continue this pace to win their next 5 games. But I do believe they will make it to the playoffs. Don't kill the messenger people, just adding my 2 cents, I may be wrong but it's my 2 pennies.  

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: 3-8:

Give TB their props. They beat the Detroit Lions and I am pretty sure no one saw that coming. Read about the Bucs 24-21 win over the Lions in the Detroit game recap. Thank you TB, sincerely the BEARS FANS.

ATLANTA FALCONS: 2-9:

Believe it or not, the Falcons actually had the lead for a minute in this game. The let it get away and the end result was a 17-13 loss. You have already read about this in the TNF recap.

NFC WEST:

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: 10-1:

The Seahawks had a bye this week. Look for them to take on the New Orleans Saints on MNF, Monday, December 2nd. Can they take this one at home and go 11-1 and keep the best record in the NFL for another week. We will see. 

ARIZONA CARDINALS: 7-4:

They played and beat the Indy Colts, 40-11.  I was a little surprised at that. They also kicked the 49'ers down a notch. I thought the Colts had dusted themselves off after that 38-8 loss to the Rams in WK 10 by coming back and beating the Titans 30-17 in WK 11. I don't think they can make up their minds if they want to win or lose. Lately, every time they lose, they just get smacked around and as you can see, the Cardinals followed suit. The cardinals scored in every single Qtr of this game, 20 in the 2nd Qtr alone. The Colts only scored in the 1st & 3rd Qtrs. That explains a lot of the lopsided score. It's a shame when your QB has the second most rushing yards in a game, that's a sign right there that this ain't going as planned. Herron had 4-33yds & Luck had 2-31 yds, he technically beat him right there on yardage. Arizona had 27 first downs to the Colts 15, that's almost double. Palmer threw for 314 Yds & 2 TD's. Floyd had 7 receptions for 104yds. Luck threw for 163 yds & 1 TD.  

SAN FRANCISCO 49'ERS: 6-4:

Check out the 49'ers take on the Washington Redskins in what I believe will be win no. 7 for them. I could be wrong they though. Some of these games this past Sunday were just, should I say, not expected.They play @ 7:40pm tonight. You can read about this in Week 13 update.

ST. LOUIS RAMS: 5-6: 

SMH. Read about 42-21 lashing they gave my Bears in the Bears game recap. 

AFC NORTH:

Cincinnati Bengals: 7-4:

The Bengals had a bye this week. Look for them to visit the San Diego Chargers Sunday @ 3:25pm. 

Pittsburgh Steelers: 5-6:

Just goes to show you how time brings about a change. Back in my Week 8 update the Browns were in 2nd, Ravens 3rd & the Steelers were 4th in the AFC North.  Look at ‘em now. The Browns were kicked all the way down to 4th with their loss to the Steelers, 27-11.  The stats in this game for 1st downs & time of possession were almost duplicate. The game was won by the Steelers holding the Browns to 0 pts. in the 2nd & 3rd Qtrs. Big Ben threw for 217 yds & 2 TD's.  Bell added 23 carries for 80 yds & Brown 6 receptions for 92 yds & 1 TD. Weeden threw for 209yds & 1 TD. Gordon added a nice 237 yds on 14 receptions & 1 TD. There are about what 4 weeks left, this Division could go either way. The Bengals could easily drop 2 while either the Ravens or Steelers win 2 and it's a whole new ball game. 

Baltimore Ravens: 5-6:

The Ravens beat the N.Y. Jets fairly easy, they still have some pushing & shoving to do. They beat the N.Y. Jets, 19-3, improving their record to 5-6, right on the Steelers hills & a short trot behind Cleveland. I saw bits & pieces of this game. At the start, I thought that the Jets had a good a chance as anyone else of winning against the Ravens. I was wrong about that. The Jets only scored 1 time in this game, a FG in the 1st Qtr and that was it. The little engine that tried, ran out of coal in the very start of the game. The Ravens got tired of people saying, "OMG, I can't believe that the Ravens are doing this bad." They have definitely turned it around. They have 5 games left, they pretty much need to win every single one to make this season at least memorable. Joe Flacco threw for 273 yds & 1 TD. J. Jones catches 4 passes for 103yds & 1 TD. Smith threw for 127 yds & 0 TD's. The Ravens are playing better but I think that it's about 3 games to short in the win column in the latter part of the season to make a difference.  

Cleveland Browns: 4-7:

The Browns must be feeling blue by now. They have dropped from 2nd to 4th place in the AFC North.  Read about their 27-11 loss to the Steelers in that games recap. The Steelers seems to be making a hard push in this division. 

AFC EAST:

New England Patriots: - 8-3:

The Pats were losing 24-0 at half time and then BOOM, they decided to play ball and 4 TD's & 1 FG later after halftime, they take a 31-24 lead. When the dust settled the Pats came back to beat the Denver Broncos 34-31. The Broncos didn't give it up easily though, New England had to take it in OT with a 31yd FG with 1:56 left in OT. I know you guys saw the punt that hit Tony Carter of the Broncos, he tried to move but wasn't fast enough. It looked like he was going to wave for a fair catch. Instead the ball hit Carter and deflected off him which made it a live ball.  The Pats recovered the ball at Denver's 13yd line. Perfect set up for the Patriots. FG, win, put it in the books. I guess with that, they got over the "non-call" in their MNF loss to the Panthers.  This was Brady & Manning’s 14th meeting and the Pats succeeded in staying  unbeaten at home. Brady threw for 344yds & 3 TD's, nice job. Edelman had 9 receptions for 110yds & 1 TD's. Manning, unbelievably, threw for 150 yds & 2 TD's. Moreno had a noticeable 37 carries for 224 yds & 1 TD. The rest of the season will be awesome, all the way around. Maybe the Bears will meet either N.E. or Denver in the Super Bowl.  HEY, a girl can dream, you can't steal my dreams. LOL

N.Y. Jets: 5-6:

They lost to the Ravens 19-3. Read about this in Baltimore's game recap. 

Miami Dolphins: 5-6:

The latest victim of the Cam Newton and the Panthers.  Read about their 20-16 loss in the Panthers game recap.

Buffalo Bills: 4-7:

I am sure they are happy for a bye this week. Maybe they will be prepared to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Toronto on Sunday, December 1st, 3:05pm.

AFC SOUTH:

Indianapolis Colts: 7-4:

They just can't put two solid wins together in a row. Read about their 40-11 lost to the Arizona Cardinals in that game recap. 

Tennessee Titans: 5-6:

They beat the Oakland Raiders, 23-19. I am sorry but neither the Titans nor the Raiders hold my attention at all.  I try to watch either team from time to time, especially when they are the only games on for a MNF or TNF game, but it's hard. The Titans being 2nd in this division is not saying too much at all. The true highlights of this game are the stats. Fitzpatrick threw for 320 yds & 2 TD's. Hunter had 6 receptions for 109yds & 1 TD. QB for the Raiders, I never heard of him, McGloin threw for 260yds & 1 TD. Streater had 5 receptions for 93 yds. This was like watching paint dry on a wall. 

Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-9:

I bet the Jaguars are having the last laugh, so far anyway, in this division. They are NOT in last place anymore after they beat the Texans 13-6. The NFL could give the Jaguars the rest of their games and it still wouldn't help them. But they don't care; their main concern was going 16 games and no wins. They took care of that, any other win(s) they get is just a bonus. They beat the Houston Texans 13-6, this was the 1st time they beat them in 6 games and they are in last place now. The Jaguars sent them riding off into the sunset. Henne, QB for JJ threw for 239 yds & 0 TD's. Jones-Drew had 14 carries for 84yds and scored the only TD in the game. Kennum, QB for the Texans threw for 169yds & 0 TD's. 

Houston Texans: 2-9:

All by myselfffff, don't wanna be all by myself, anymore. Yep, the Texans have finally dropped to the bottom in their division. They loss to, for real, I'm not kidding, the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-16. The Texans suck. Read the details in the 3rd place Jaguars recap. Go head on little doggies, ride off into the sunset. 

AFC WEST:

Denver Broncos: 9-2:

Man, how do you drop a 24-0 lead and lose by 3 when all is said and done?  Ask the Broncos how. They lost this one 34-31. Read about this one in New England's game recap.

Kansas City Chiefs: 9-2:

Boy, talk about the luck of the Irish. K.C. loss to the San Diego Chargers, letting the Broncos retain 1st place in this division. I told you it was a crazy Sunday. Read about this game in the Chargers game recap. 

San Diego Chargers: 5-6:

It's funny, whenever I do my picks in the FB pool and I come to the Chargers, I never know how to pick because you never know what Charger team is coming to play that day. Nope, I didn't pick them against the Chiefs, lost that 15 pts. This was the most opportune time for the Chiefs to take 1st place back from the Broncos with their loss to the Patriots. But they didn't, instead they lose this game to the Chargers 41-38. Good job Chargers, you just made it a bit more interesting in the AFC West. QB Phil Rivers for the Chargers threw the winning TD with 24 seconds left in the game. In total, Rivers threw for 392 yds & 3 TDs, not bad for a day’s work. Allen had 9 receptions for 124yds. Alex Smith threw for 294yds & 3 TDs. J. Charles had 14 carries for 115yds & 2 TD's and D. Avery had 4 receptions for 91yds & 1 TD. 

Oakland Raiders: 4-7:

They loss to the titans 23-19. You have already read about this in the Titans game recap. 

Trivia answer for WEEK 12:

This is so easy it's shameful. Who is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, that are still coaching their teams?   There are two, can you name both and the teams they coach?

1. Bill Belichick - Hired in 2000 by the New England Patriots. Unless something else is in the works, Bill will be on his 14th year soon. 

1. Marvin Lewis - Hired by the Cincinnati Bengals in

Both guys have led their teams to multiple Super Bowls, and Lewis has managed to hang on by a thread for the better part of his tenure with the Bengals. 

There are several coaches that have had more years but they are no longer with their teams. There are far too many to mention. As it said in the article, the 10-year + club used to have a lot of members. 

Two notable coaches are Jeff Fisher who spent 17 years as head coach of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, but that's 2 teams. 

Andy Reed spent 14 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. He now coaches the Kansas City Chiefs who are by the way 9-2. I'm just saying. 

THIS DATE IN THE NFL - 11/25

1925 - Red Grange plays his first games as a professional with the Chicago Bears. Would you believe the game ended in a 0-0 tie. 

1976 - OJ Simpson rushes for 273 yards on Turkey Day to lead the Bills to a 27-14 win over the Detroit Lions.

2002 - Ozzie Newsome becomes the first African American general manager in NFL history, signing a new 5 year contract with the Baltimore Ravens. 

2004 - Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning sets an NFL record by throwing at least 4 TD passes in a fifth straight game, getting 4 in the first half alone against the Detroit Lions. Manning adds 2 more TD passes in the 3rd Qtr to lead Indy to a 41-9 victory. That's 6 total TD's in one game. 

2007 - San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson becomes the 23rd player in NFL history to rush for 10,000 yards, reaching the milestone in the Chargers 32-14 win over Baltimore. 

I read this in the Bleacher Report:
The NFL recently changed its rules regarding their overtime scoring and possession system. Before, any team that received the ball and scored–regardless of whether it was a field goal or touchdown–would win the game in a sudden-death format. They have since modified these rules, making it so each team will have at least one possession unless the receiving team can score a touchdown on their first drive. This amendment to the rule has certainly added more excitement to the game, but there are questions whether it is actually a fair extra period if both teams don’t touch the ball. (If you want to read the whole article, you can go to bleacherreport.com and look for "Fixing the NFL's Faulty Overtime Rules".