Things I Noticed: Week 12

The week kicks off on Thanksgiving day, with the traditional games hosted by Detroit and Dallas, followed by a night game that this year was in Baltimore.  Bye weeks are over, giving us a full slate of games again this week, so the three Thursday games help break up the week a bit.

Here are some things I noticed this week:

• The Packers have to lose a game eventually, right?  Given their remaining schedule, this week looked to be the most likely chance for their streak to end, which is why I picked against them for the first time all year.  Apparently I was wrong, as the Pack continued to roll to their 11th win of the season behind another nearly flawless game from Aaron Rodgers.

• Not helping the Lions chances was the fact that their star defensive tackle, Ndamukong Suh, got himself ejected from the game early in the third quarter.  After a brief scuffle on the ground following a key third down play near Detroit's goal line, Suh was clearly seen repeatedly shoving an opponent's head into the ground.  After finally managing to get to his feet, Suh then stomped on the arm of the Packers lineman.  Suh denies any intention of the incident, but replay showed it pretty clearly.  Given his reputation, the league wasn't going to take his word for it and slapped him with a two game suspension.  Since the start of last season, when Suh came into the league, he leads the league in personal foul penalties with 7.
• As Mike Pereria, the former vice president of officiating for the NFL who now works for Fox as a rules analyst, tweeted after the game, "Stomping on a guy is way over the line. He's not a dirty player, he's a filthy player."  Hard not to agree with him after seeing this latest incident.
• It took a last second FG to put away the surprisingly resilient Dolphins, but Dallas was able to win it's 4th straight game.  It's also the 4th win this season for the Cowboys that was decided by a FG in the last two minutes or overtime of a game.
• Laurent Robinson continues to shine in the absence of Miles Austin.  He collected 7 catches for 79 yards and 2 TDs this week.  One of those trips to the endzone was in the 4th quarter, giving him 4 TDs in the 4th quarter of games this season, which is tied for the best in the league.
• Miami was able to move the ball surprisingly well against the Cowboys defense, but too often had to settle for field goals.  All four of their FGs came on drives that stalled in the red zone and their only TD of the game came on a deep pass to Brandon Marshall.  Their ineffectiveness in the red zone turned out to be the deciding factor in the game.
• Thanksgiving is a family event, but this year it pitted the Harbaugh brothers against each other in the night game between the 49ers and Ravens.  It was the first time in league history that two brothers have opposed each other as head coaches in a game.  In the end, it was the older brother John that walked away with the victory and the bragging rights to be had over family dinner.
• The game was a defensive battle until the Ravens finally managed a TD pass to start the 4th quarter.  Each team had only one possession in the third quarter, with each drive ending with a score after a grueling drive.
• The Ravens defense tied a franchise record with 9 sacks in the game.
• Atlanta got off to a good start and seemed well on their way to putting the Vikings away early, until Percy Harvin helped the Vikings make a second half run to make things interesting.  Harvin took a pass from Ponder 39 yards to the endzone to pull within a field goal.  After the Falcons countered with a FG of their own, Harvin returned a kickoff 104 yards to start the Vikings next drive on Atlanta's 3 yard line.  It was the longest non-scoring play in league history.  With Adrian Peterson sidelined with an ankle injury, the Vikings struggled to punch it in from short distance and ended up turning the ball over on downs, which allowed the Falcons to run out the remainder of the clock.
• Matt Ryan threw three TD passes, while Roddy White had another big day with 10 catches for 120 yards and a TD.
• The Bengals needed a last minute FG to do it, but they put away the Browns to keep themselves in the Wild Card picture.  AJ Green's return helped (3 catches, 110 yards), as he appeared not to miss a beat after missing the previous game with an injury.
• Petyon Hillis returned to the Cleveland backfield, but his presence wasn't enough to help the Browns hold their early lead.
• The Titans and Bucs both struggled to hold on to the ball due to the poor weather conditions, as the teams combined for 9 turnovers in the game.

• Chris Johnson looked like his old self again in piling up 190 yards on the ground to lead the Titans over the Bucs.  With Matt Hasselbeck struggling, possibly still feeling the effects of last week's elbow injury, the Titans were desperately in need of some support from their running game and this time it delivered.
• Mike Williams topped 80 yards and added a TD for the second straight week.  He's finally starting to make up for his miserable slow start.
• The Colts actually showed some signs of life this week in a game that was within reach, but they couldn't finish against the Panthers. Reggie Wayne topped 100 yards and scored a TD.  It's the first time since Week 1 that he's done either.
• Patrick Peterson does it to the Rams again.  It wasn't in OT this time and it didn't seal the game, but Peterson's 80 yard punt return for a TD was pivotal in the Cardinals second win over the Rams this season.
• As bad as the Rams kick return coverage was, their run defense was just as terrible.  Beanie Wells ran wild for 228 yards and a TD against the league's worst run defense.  A lot of that damage was done on a 71 yard TD run, which was the longest run of his career.  The Rams defense is now responsible for franchise rushing records for Dallas and Arizona this season.
• Mark Sanchez threw a career high 4 TDs to beat the Bills and give his Jets a winning record and a chance to stay in the Wild Card race.
• Meanwhile, after falling to 5-6 after their 4th straight loss, Buffalo is just about out of the race.
• Despite being blanketed by Revis all game, Stevie Johnson managed to find space to catch 8 passes for 75 yards and a TD.   Johnson seems to play well against the type of physical press coverage that Revis uses by making several quick moves with his feet to create some space between himself and the defender before he takes off.

• Regardless of his production, Johnson may have done more to hurt his team.  He was flagged for a tasteless endzone celebration, in which he faked shooting himself in the leg - clearly mocking Plaxico Burress for the self-inflicted shooting that led to him being imprisoned for two years.  The penalty, enforced on the kick off, was followed by a botched on side kick attempt, which resulted with the Jets starting their drive on Buffalo's 36 yard line.  The Jets managed a quick score off of that, which was capped off fittingly by a TD pass to Burress.  With a chance to redeem himself late in the game, Johnson dropped what could have been a game winning TD pass. 
• The Texans chances took another hit when Matt Leinart was knocked out with a broken collarbone. Houston has already lost Matt Schuab for the season and now may have lost his backup. TJ Yates was adequate in relief to help the team hold on to beat the Jaguars, but it remains to be seen how well he'll perform as we approach the playoffs.  The Texans will need to rely on their running game and defense now more than ever.
• For those of you wondering, adding a veteran to compete with the rookie for the starting job is a likely solution, but Brett Favre is reportedly not an option.  Will rumors of another return from retirement ever go away?
• The Jags were forced to make a QB change as well, but it was Blaine Gabbert's miserable performance, not an injury, that got him planted on the bench.
• That wasn't the only change the Jags made this week.  Earlier today the team announced that coach Jack Del Rio has been fired after nearly 9 seasons with the team.  On top of that, the owner also announced he will be selling the team. 
• The Raiders couldn't find the endzone until late in the 4th quarter, but still managed to put up points behind Sebastian Janikowski's 6 field goals.
• Caleb Hanie had his ups and downs in his first start since taking over for the injured Jay Cutler.  He turned the ball over three times, but also showed some poise under pressure in leading a TD drive in the final minutes to make it a one score game.
• As good as he looked down the stretch, his performance may most be remembered for how it ended.  After completing a pass near mid-field with only seconds remaining and no time outs left, Hanie hurried his team to the line to spike the ball.  Stopping the clock would have given them one last shot at a desperation toss to the endzone.  Hanie took the snap, but hesitated before spiking the ball.  It looked almost like he was going to fake the spike and throw deep, a la Dan Marino, but then changed his mind and ultimately spiked the ball. However, the refs ruled that he took too much time for the play to be considered a spike and instead flagged him for intentional grounding.  The penalty resulted in a 10 second run off, which ended the game, depriving the Bears of their last chance.
• The Seahawks led by 10 in the 4th quarter, but couldn't hang on against the Redskins, who scored 17 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.  Seattle entered the game with the 3rd longest active streak in the league of wins in games where they led in the 4th quarter.
• Rex Grossman's 50 yard bomb to Anthony Armstrong put Washington ahead for good.
• Roy Helu was the pick of the week in the Redskins backfield this week and he didn't disappoint.  He aided his team's comeback by hurdling a would be tackler and smashing through another on his way to the endzone.

• Tim Tebow does it again, as he somehow willed his team to an OT victory in San Diego.  Tebow didn't complete a pass on the final drive, but ripped off a couple of runs to get his team into Chargers territory.  Willis McGahee did the rest, bursting through for a 24 yard gain to put the Broncos in position to kick the winning FG.
• Tebow is getting a lot of the credit for Denver's 5-1 run since he took over, but their underrated defense deserves a lot of credit as well.  Could Tebow's presence somehow be inspiring play on the other side of the ball?  The Broncos defense was giving up 28 points per game earlier this season, before Tebow took over.  Since then they've given up only 20 points per game, including a total of only 33 points in their last three games combined.  Part of this surely has to do with the Broncos style of constantly running the ball.  Tebow rarely turns the ball over (only 3 turnovers all year), so combine that with keeping the clock moving by running the ball and the result is that the other team's offense stays off the field longer.
• The Chargers once again find a way to lose late.  They had time to try to drive for the winning FG late in the 4th quarter, but seemed content to instead play conservatively and wait for overtime.  That plan backfired, as they later went on to lose.  The Chargers are not 0-2 in OT games this season.  Maybe next time they'll be more inclined to avoid waiting around for OT.
• Tom Brady won his 119th career game, moving him up to 6th all time for wins by a starting QB. His .773 win percentage is the best all time for a starting QB.
• Brady carved up the Eagles vaunted secondary for 361 yards and 3 TDs.  Two of those TDs went to Wes Welker.  On his first TD catch, the defense badly bit on a play action fake that resulted in Welker being wide open in the middle of the field for a 41 yard strike that allowed him to coast into the endzone untouched.  The guy leads the league in receiving.  Maybe someone should cover him!
• Brady's other TD went to Rob Gronkowski, who now has 11 on the season, which is the second best total in the league.
• Chad Ochocinco was inactive for the game with a hamstring injury, but there have been some rumors around Foxboro that it may be a bit of a phantom injury, used as an excuse to scratch him from the lineup.  Interesting to note, despite having Ocho out of the lineup, Taylor Price failed to make it on the field, despite being active.  Freshly signed Tiquan Underwood played ahead of him, which is not a good sign for Price's future with the team.
• This game was a perfect example of why the Patriots defense gets such a bad wrap.  Vince Young racked up 400 yards against them, but the majority of it came in garbage time when the game was well in hand.  Despite the lofty stats, the Eagles were never really in the game at any point in the second half.
• Philadelphia fans are known for voicing their disgust when things aren't going their way.  A city that once booed Santa Clause had no problem booing Andy Reid as the Eagles nightmare season continued to sink further out of the playoff race.  You have to wonder if this means the fans wish to "Fire Andy!" will soon come true.  I have a feeling the Eagles will be willing to give Reid one more season, with a full off-season to prepare this time, but he's clearly on thin ice.
• Not that a comeback was likely anyway, but it was interesting to see that DeSean Jackson was benched for the game's final few minutes, despite that his team was still trying to score.  A few key drops in the endzone could be partly to blame.  Just another chapter to the drama Jackson has brought on himself all year.
• Tyler Palko had a rough first half, turning the ball over on three straight possessions in the first half (2 very ugly INTs, 1 Fumble), but the Chiefs defense somehow kept them in the game all the way until the end.  Palko improbably had a chance to redeem himself in the end, but this third INT of the game clinched the victory for the Steelers.
• That last pass from Palko was intended for Dwayne Bowe.  The ball was thrown a bit high, but Bowe should have had a chance at it.  He and the defender both jumped in the air for it, but Bowe didn't so much as put a hand up to try to catch it.  He seemed almost indifferent to the play as the defender easily picked it off.  Bowe could have at least tried to knock the ball down and give his team another chance, but he seemed to be more concerned with avoiding being hit than saving his team with the game on the line.
• Ben Rothlisberger was only sacked once in the game, but narrowly avoided being taken down on numerous occasions.  On his TD pass he dodged a defender, stepped to the side and fired into the endzone for the score.  You think of Rothlisberger as one of the toughest QBs in the league to take down due to his size and ability to scramble to extend a play.  Yet surprisingly, since Big Ben came into the league in 2004 he's been sacked over 300 times, which is the most in the league since that time.
• Drew Brees was dominant against a depleted Giants defense, throwing for 363 yards, 4 TDs and adding a rushing score for good measure.  
• Tight Ends are more of a threat throughout the league than ever before. While Rob Gronkowski is second in the league in TD catches, Jimmy Graham of the Saints is 4th in the league in receiving yards.  In addition to those two, Jason Witten and Fred Davis are also on pace for 1,000 yard seasons. Not bad for guys at a position that is often needed to stay in and block with the linemen. 
• Eli Manning managed to pad his stats in the second half, with Victor Cruz (9 catches, 157, 2 TDs) being the primary beneficiary.  Eli's first quarter INT in the endzone on the Giant's first drive of the game shifted momentum sharply in the Saints direction and they never looked back.
• Drew Brees leads the league in passing with 3,689 yards.  Brees, Brady and Rodgers are all on pace to break Dan Marino's season passing record.  Cold weather games late in the year may cut down on their pace, while meaningless games in the final weeks (especially for Rodgers) could prevent the record from falling.  Yet it's still pretty spectacular that three QBs are still on pace for it this late in the season.