Washingtonpost
One key thing to know about every NFL Week 12 game
M.Davis3 months ago
Entering an NFL weekend stuffed with turkey, shopping and a new Black Friday game, the Philadelphia Eagles have gained some separation from the rest of the league, standing at 9-1 after their victory over Kansas City . But a tough stretch for them starts Sunday with a game against the Buffalo Bills, followed by games against the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks. Here’s a look at some other interesting facts entering Week 12. There are no byes this week.Packers (4-6) at Lions (8-2), 12:30 p.m., Fox, Fox Deportes: Detroit — 16-4 in its last 20 games — is 5-17 on Turkey Day despite having home-field advantage and has lost six in a row. Last year, they fell 28-25 to Buffalo on a 45-yard Tyler Bass field goal with two seconds left.Commanders (4-7) at Cowboys (7-3), 4:30 p.m., CBS: Washington’s new management wouldn’t fire Coach Ron Rivera on a holiday weekend, would it? Things are bad and not just because there’s no hot water in the showers at FedEx Field. Rivera’s team lost to Tommy DeVito at home and has been swept by the 3-8 Giants. Brock Purdy’s perfect passer rating (158.3) was the first for a San Francisco quarterback since Joe Montana in 1989 and he admitted, “I still don’t even really know what it means, honestly.” His 115.1 passer rating for the season is nine points better than any other quarterback’s.
Black Friday
Dolphins (7-3) at Jets (4-6), 3 p.m., Amazon Prime: The Jets have lost three in a row and have started seven different offensive line combinations, which helps a little to explain Zach Wilson’s struggles and raises the serious question of why on earth it would make sense for Aaron Rodgers to return to play behind this “protection.”Saints (5-5) at Falcons (4-6), 1 p.m., Fox: Both teams are coming off their byes and, when last we saw Atlanta, the Falcons averaged 2.9 net yards per pass play against an Arizona defense that ranked among the league’s worst against the pass.Steelers (6-4) at Bengals (5-5), 1 p.m., CBS: Jaylen Warren accounted for more than 25 percent of Pittsburgh’s offensive production (249 total yards) with his 74-yard touchdown run in the loss to Cleveland, and he finished with 145 on the day. The Steelers averaged 12.1 yards per touch when Warren had the ball, 2.3 when he didn’t.Jaguars (7-3) at Texans (6-4), 1 p.m., CBS: Who knew when the schedule came out just how big a deal a Jags-Texans game could be? The Texans, riding a three-game winning streak that is their longest since 2018, can take control of the AFC South with a victory that would give them a season sweep of the Jaguars.Buccaneers (4-6) at Colts (5-5), 1 p.m., CBS: Twice when trailing by 13 points in the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay got inside San Francisco’s 15-yard line and came away with zero points in the latest example of how overly dependent the offense is on quarterback Baker Mayfield.Patriots (2-8) at Giants (3-8), 1 p.m., Fox: In his second NFL start, undrafted QB Tommy DeVito completed 18 of 26 passes for 246 yards, with three touchdown passes and no picks for a 137.7 passer rating against Washington. He now gets to face a Bill Belichick defense.Panthers (1-9) at Titans (3-7), 1 p.m., Fox: Carolina owner David Tepper, who has fired six coaches in two sports (the NFL and his Charlotte MLS team) since 2019, may add Frank Reich to an NFL list that includes Ron Rivera, interim coach Perry Fewell, Matt Rhule and interim coach Steve Wilks (and Christian Lattanzio from the MLS team). Only 10 months ago, Tepper hired Reich.Rams (4-6) at Cardinals (2-9), 4:05 p.m., Fox: Matthew Stafford’s 35th career fourth-quarter comeback on Sunday broke a tie with Johnny Unitas for the sixth most in NFL history. Stafford now trails Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan and Drew Brees.Browns (7-3) at Broncos (5-5), 4:05 p.m., Fox: The team that fell to 0-3 when itgave up 10 offensive touchdowns in a 70-20 loss now has the NFL’s longest winning streak (four games, with wins against K.C. and Buffalo) and, although quarterback/chef Russell Wilson is starting to cook, it’s the Denver defense that has turned things around, giving up an average of 17.4 points over the last five games.Chiefs (7-3) at Raiders (5-6), 4:25 p.m., CBS: Kansas City has scored an NFL-worst 53 points in the second half of its 10 games and was shut out in the second half for the third consecutive game Monday. A large part of the problem is an NFL-worst 26 dropped passes, and the team hasn’t scored a fourth-quarter TD since beating the Chargers in Week 7. Usually clutch tight end Travis Kelce is averaging 10 yards per catch, a career low, against double and triple coverages.Bills (6-5) at Eagles (9-1), 4:25 p.m., CBS: A two-game make-or-break stretch for the Bills begins with a game in Philly, followed by one in Kansas City. If Buffalo is to live up to preseason hopes, it must play as well as it did Sunday against the Jets against far tougher teams with formidable quarterbacks in a run of games that also includes the Cowboys, Chargers, Patriots and Dolphins.Ravens (8-3) at Chargers (4-6), 8:20 p.m., NBC, Universo: Coach Brandon Staley, the Rams’ former defensive coordinator, is under fire for, among other things, a Chargers defense that has given up big plays. Green Bay had a 32-yard touchdown run and Jordan Love completed six passes of 20 or more yards.Bears (3-8) at Vikings (6-5), 8:15 p.m., ABC, ESPN, ABC Deportes: Minnesota is going for a season sweep of Chicago. The return of Justin Jefferson could help the Vikings’ playoff hopes, but the schedule the rest of the way features games against the Raiders, Bengals, Packers and two against the Lions.Read the full article:https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/11/23/nfl-week-12-key-things/
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