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Browns stun Steelers in ❄️. Plus, your NFL Week 12 preview 🏈

Jim Reineking   Paste BN

This is the Paste BN Sports NFL newsletter, 4th and Monday. If this newsletter isn't already getting conveniently delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe.

NFL Week 12 is here, complete with ❄️🏈. Our comprehensive weekly NFL preview includes (but is not exclusive to):

➤ About last night: Cleveland Browns 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 19 — The first snow ❄️game of the 2024 NFL season had a stunning outcome as the Browns upset the Steelers — who entered "Thursday Night Football" riding a five-game winning streak. While the Browns (3-8) remain in the hunt for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the Steelers' chances for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs took a hit at snowy Huntington Bank Field.

➤ Game of the week: Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers — It's the Har-bro Bowl revisited, though the stakes aren't quite as high as Super Bowl 47. Still an intriguing matchup, though! John Harbaugh's Ravens (7-4) are coming off a humbling defeat in Pittsburgh. Jim Harbaugh's Chargers (7-3) enter this "Monday Night Football" showdown coming off a thrilling last-minute win over the Cincinnati Bengals on "Sunday Night Football." Can Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense — which ranks second in the NFL in scoring — bounce back against a Chargers defense that leads the NFL in fewest points allowed?

➤ Sneaky-good game of the week: Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Rams — The Eagles are on a real heater right now, winning six straight, most recently against their closest competition in the NFC East on "Thursday Night Football." Since Week 6, the Eagles rank first in scoring defense (13.8 points per game allowed) and total defense (211.3 yards per game allowed) and have a point differential of plus-90, the second-largest in the NFL in that span, trailing only the Detroit Lions (+137). That is what Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and the Rams offense is going up against as the team attempts to stay in the thick of the NFC playoff race.

➤ Game I'm mildly interested in, and not just because I have Caleb Williams on my fantasy team: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears — Williams and the Bears offense looked competent under new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown last week, but were foiled by a blocked field goal attempt against the rival Green Bay Packers. Still, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus likely is operating on borrowed time (no pun intended, given he wasted precious seconds at the end of last week's loss), and it might behoove the Bears to hire an offensive-minded coach — like, say, how the Vikings hired Kevin O'Connell, a former offensive coordinator — to facilitate the further development of the player they selected with the No. 1 overall pick. After a 4-2 start, the Bears have lost four straight and welcome a Vikings team trying to keep pace with the division-leading Detroit Lions. Can Williams continue to show progress against Brian Flores' defense?

➤ Just going to rank some games I'm interested in watching without giving any context:

  1. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers
  2. Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
  3. Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders
  4. New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
  5. Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts

📸: Fans, mascots, cheerleaders and celebrities at NFL games

NFL Week 12: Pigskin prognostications, betting tips, rankings

➤ Week 12 picks: This is where Paste BN Sports' panel of experts has provided fans with the great public service of making prognostications for every game this weekend, both straight up and against the spread.

➤ NFL Week 12 betting odds: Which teams are favored this week?

➤ Best bets for Week 12: Lorenzo Reyes is back with his favorite NFL bets for Week 12, including why he likes lines involving the Lions and Broncos this weekend.

➤ Power rankings: See how all 32 teams stack up after 11 weeks of play. There's a new No. 1 for the first time this season after the Chiefs suffered their first loss.

NFL news, notes and analysis

➤ Hot seat rankings: Two head coaches already have been fired. Who could be next? The Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals, Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns are among the teams that analysts are predicting could (or should) consider a coaching change.

➤ How will Week 12 affect NFL playoff picture? With seven weeks remaining in the 2024 NFL season, the playoff contenders are coming into sharp focus. Here are all 32 teams' chances of making the playoffs this season and how a win or loss this weekend would raise or lower those chances.

➤ Jets should split with Aaron Rodgers – right now: As the Jets finish leveling their latest and greatest rebuild, they might as well take this thing just about all the way down to the studs, Nate Davis writes.

➤ Who might Giants replace Daniel Jones with in 2025? After the decision to bench the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft, the Giants signaled that they are very much going to be in the market for a new franchise quarterback next season.

➤ Storied rivalry turned on head after key figures switch sides: The Commanders and Cowboys enter Sunday's renewal of their rivalry in unfamiliar roles. Much of that can be traced back to Dan Quinn switching sides.

➤ Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalists: Tight end Antonio Gates, who was the most notable snub from the Class of 2024, has made the list of semifinalists for a second straight year. Quarterback Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl winner, is among the notables who are semifinalists in their first year on the ballot.

Fantasy football: Rankings, start 'em/sit 'em and other lineup needs

Let's be real, navigating these final weeks of the fantasy football season is going to be a challenge. This week, as well as Week 14, features six teams on bye weeks. This might necessitate some clever roster maneuvering as you attempt to secure a coveted playoff berth.

➤ Fantasy rankings for Week 12: For your convenience, these position-by-position rankings were updated for this week's games.

➤ Start 'em ⬆ and sit 'em ⬇ for Week 12: Here is where we list eight players to start, and eight to sit, this weekend. Find out why you should sit J.K. Dobbins, but start Kareem Hunt.

➤ Start 'em/sit 'em by position: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Kickers | Defenses/special teams

➤ Waiver wire: If you haven't already done so, these are the players to consider adding to your roster this week.

➤ Risers and fallers: Find out why QB Bo Nix, RB Bucky Irving and WR Jauan Jennings are looking up 📈, and QB Jayden Daniels, RB Audric Estime and WR Deebo Samuel are trending down 📉.

➤ Fantasy injury report: There are some key fantasy football players on the injury report for Week 12. Here's what we know about their status. 🩹

➤ Fantasy trade value charts: These charts have been updated for Week 12 and can be used as your very own fantasy football trade analyzer in standard, half-PPR (point per reception), and full PPR leagues. 📊

Week 12 NFL schedule

(All times Eastern)

Thursday

Sunday

Monday

Bye week: Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets

📅: Complete 2024 NFL schedule

From the YouTube algorithm 🏈📺

This is where we reprise some NFL lore and recall a classic, memorable game from yesteryear that featured Week 12 opponents.

On Jan. 3, 1999, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the Green Bay Packers at Candlestick Park in what turned into a wild, back-and-forth NFC wild-card playoff game between two teams that had gotten all too familiar with each other (it was the fourth straight postseason meeting for the two teams).

One of the all-time greats, wide receiver Terrell Owens, was an up-and-coming force in the league at the time. He also had a brutal game … until the game-clinching play. Haunted by dropped pass after dropped pass, Owens managed to haul in the winning touchdown in the final seconds, despite getting sandwiched by two Packers defenders as he caught Steve Young's pass. Young, seconds earlier, stumbled as he took the snap from the Packers' 25-yard line on a third-and-3 play, then threw a perfect pass to Owens for a 30-27 win.

"OWENS! OWENS! HE CAUGHT IT! HE CAUGHT IT!"

It was a crazy game in which both teams combined for seven turnovers. Quarterback Brett Favre had two touchdowns in the much-hyped QB duel with Young, but as was his wont, threw two interceptions. Favre did put the Packers up 27-23 with a touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman with two minutes remaining, setting up the Young-to-Owens heroics.

The loss was an end of an era of sorts for the Packers, whose head coach Mike Holmgren left to be head coach/GM of the Seattle Seahawks; QB coach Andy Reid left to be head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles; and Reggie White — one of the greatest defensive players in league history — retired (though, briefly, resurfacing with the Carolina Panthers in 2000).

The 49ers, meanwhile, were defeated the next weekend by the "Dirty Bird" Atlanta Falcons in a divisional playoff game many remember for the gruesome injury suffered by 49ers running back Garrison Hearst.

The 1998 wild-card game would enter NFL lore as "The Catch II." Not as profound a result as the original in the 1981 NFC championship game, but memorable nonetheless.

📸: NFL teams wearing alternate or throwback uniforms

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