50 things we learned in Week 13 of the 2015 NFL season
In honor of Super Bowl 50, here are 50 things we learned in Week 13:
1. Chip Kelly: Genius. Discuss. (Kidding).
2. Cam Newton: MVP. Discuss. (Not kidding).
3. The Saints and Panthers. Toe to toe. Division rivals. Cam Newton vs. Drew Brees. Great stuff.
4. Before the shocking result in Foxborough, the day, without warning, had turned into a bunch of magical QB scrambles that played key roles in their teams winning games:
5. Marcus Mariota ran 87 yards - yes, 87 yards! - for a touchdown. It was the third-longest run by a QB since 1960.
6. Jameis Winston, not to be outdone, picked up 20 yards on a third-and-19 scramble late in the game. What it made it special was Winston refusing to go down when hit by three Falcons and coming out of the scrum to pick up the first down and keep the drive alive. Wow.
7. And then Blaine Gabbert - yes, Blaine Gabbert! - ran down the middle of the field for 44 yards for a fourth-quarter TD against the Bears. Even Colin Kaepernick had to be impressed by that one.
8. And while all those were nice, our favorite scramble belonged to 33-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Jets. His 15-yard run on fourth-and-6 late in the fourth quarter kept the drive alive that allowed the Jets to tie the Giants at 20. They went on to win in OT. Old guys running!
9. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said he has run out of answers. That’s a long way from telling us to kiss his butt.
10. Replay Review I: Odell Beckham Jr. did it again. One-handed catch over the middle, seemingly snatching the ball out of the air for a 22-yard gain. Spider-Man was jealous.
11. We have to get us some of those gloves Beckham uses. Just sayin’.
12. We’ll give Beckham credit, though. That 72-yard TD catch at end of second quarter was all him.
13. The Saints made it possible for us to say we were alive the first time someone blocked an extra point and returned it for 2 points in the NFL. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn’t it?
14. Before we forget (because we know you want to know): For the record, the first points of the day were recorded by the Bears with a FG; Bills first with a TD on a Sammy Watkins catch. Hope you had them in the pool.
15. Panthers RB Mike Tolbert did the Carlton dance after his TD. Hope nobody was offended.
16. Speaking of touchdown celebrations, Antonio Brown's lunge at the goalpost brought us back to the days of the more colorful choreographed moments. And it was a needed jolt after a snoozer of a Sunday game.
17. That was a huge victory for Rex Ryan and the Bills. Almost makes us forget how disorganized their defense looked on Texans’ first TD. Not a good look, Rex.
18. Nick Foles is a machine — an interception machine, that is.
19. So Patriots fans booed the home team because they were tied with the Eagles at halftime. Spoiled a little?
20. Jay Cutler threw a pick-six. And somehow the world felt right again.
21. Matt Schaub threw a pick-six. And, yeah, we knew all was right with the world. That was Schaub’s sixth pick-six in his last nine starts.
22. So former Saints linebacker and Bountygate figure Jonathan Vilma was honored on the field in New Orleans and made his retirement official. Roger Goodell did not attend.
23. So the Cowboys-Redskins managed to fit three minutes of exciting football into a 60-minute game. Ah, the NFC East.
24. The Steelers are still on the outside looking in on the playoff picture, and that's probably the way the rest of the AFC likes it.
25. Replay Review II: Dwayne Harris’ 80-yard punt return for Giants. Had a little bit of everything - except good tackling by the Jets.
26. Maybe there should be a committee that decides who wins the NFC East.
27. This was the sixth time this year Marcus Mariota has thrown more than one TD in a game.
28. Sam Bradford hasn’t thrown an interception in his last three starts. Last time he did that was in 2010.
29. By the way, the Dolphins and Ravens played each other, ,n case you missed it. Make that … be glad you missed it.
30. Replay review III: Just catch the Bengals' first TD. It will make you laugh. Unless you live in Cleveland.
31. Brock Osweiler won another game as Broncos starting QB. Ho-hum.
32. We know the Vikings defense is banged up, but that shouldn’t take away from the game Russell Wilson had. He is on a roll. And makes the Seahawks extremely dangerous.
33. So what we do with all those “the end of the Seahawks” stories we read after their rough start?
34. In our next two items, food for thought on why to fear the Seahawks (and why they’re not your father’s Seahawks, or even your older sibling’s Seahawks):
35. Russell Wilson has thrown 11 touchdown passes in the past three games. That is how many he had in the first nine games.
36. They have scored at least 28 points in four consecutive games, the first time they have done that since 2005.
37. But one reason not to give the Seahawks that Super Bowl spot yet: The Cardinals won again, are 10-2, and aren’t going away.
38. Adrian Peterson had 18 yards rushing on eight carries. Gulp.
39. We shouldn’t go any further without mentioning the Chiefs and their six straight wins.
40. Odell Beckham Jr. has had more than 100 yards receiving in five straight games.
41. There was a Todd Gurley sighting in St. Louis. That is all. We didn’t want you to forget about him, because it seems the Rams coaches have.
42. On one possession, the Vikings offense committed three straight penalties and faced first-and-38. And that is all you need to know of what kind of day they had.
43. Later, the Eagles committed penalties on three straight plays. And that is all you need to know of what kind of season they have had.
44. Maybe the Cowboys should try Dan Bailey at QB. He seems to be their best player.
45. How quickly the look of a division changes: The Packers win on a Hail Mary. Three days later, the Vikings blown out by Seahawks. And four days from now, the Vikings play the Cardinals in Arizona.
46. Quote of the day goes to Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio who said of his team winning the Big Ten championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff: "I shot Kirk Cousins a text and said, 'You like that?'"
47. The Bengals’ blowout of the Browns was so complete they even let Jeremy Hill score a touchdown.
48. Replay review IV: DeAndre Hopkins' touchdown catch that helped Texans tie Bills at 21 in the fourth quarter. (Don’t miss the push off he got away with.)
49. LeSean McCoy plays in Philly next week. Get your popcorn ready.
50. Reporters were surprised to hear Eli Manning needed x-rays after the game. Why? "Just to see if anything was broken," Eli said. Oh.
PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 13