NFL Week 12: Redskins claim first in NFC East, Broncos deal Patriots first loss

Every Monday morning, Section 215’s Akiem Bailum gives an in-depth and unfiltered look at all of the latest sports news in The Monday Morning Realist. You can follow Akiem on Twitter @AkiemBailum.

Not Again

Nov 26, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) celebrates his touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half of an NFL game on Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Ask Dallas Cowboys fans how they were feeling about Thanksgiving Day 2015 prior to this year’s actual game occurring at AT&T Stadium, the responses would have been one full of joy, glee and confidence.

Ask Dallas Cowboys fans how they were feeling about Thanksgiving Day 2015 after said actual game concluded, they would have given you the side eye…an evil side eye.

A lot of Turkeys were ended this past Thursday and in addition to this—so was Tony Romo’s season. It was only Romo’s second game back from injury in a season that has seen the Cowboys go 0-fer when number nine is not the one throwing passes to Dallas receivers.

Greg Hardy’s locker room presence has a bit to do with that as well—hint, hint Dallas.

We see what the Cowboys look like on the field and in the locker room with Tony Romo at quarterback and it looks as pretty as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. Said cheerleader metaphor does not apply when Romo is in streets.

That is what happened on Thursday in Arlington when Romo was sacked and re-injured his collarbone. The fear immediately was that the injury would be enough to end Romo’s season.

The injury was indeed enough to end Romo’s season. And by proxy—the Cowboys’ season also came to a close.

We know how much talent Dallas can have defensively and we know how much receiving talent the ‘Boys have between Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, and Terrance Williams, etc. But in the NFL when your quarterback is not healthy neither is your season.

All Dallas has to do is ask their Lone Star State neighbors to the south—the Houston Texans. This is another team that probably would be winning multiple AFC South championships if only they had a competent quarterback to get their receivers the football.

They already have arguably the best lineman in the NFL in J.J. Watt. If only the Bulls on Parade had an offense that clicked the way its defense does.

The Carolina Panthers not only defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Texas, ending their season, they embarrassed the Cowboys in Texas to end their season. And plus…how many of those fans in the stands left after the Luke Bryan halftime performance?

I’m not saying…I’m just saying…

As for the Panthers, their defense forced three picks out of Romo pre-injury. Its leading rusher, Robert Turbin only had 11 yards on two carries. Their leading receiver—Darren McFadden only had 45 yards on four receptions. While Romo only threw for 106 yards on 11/21 passing with those three picks.

Jonathan Stewart rushed for 68 yards on 21 carries while Jerricho Cotchery caught five passes for 73 yards. Cam Newton—168 yards, 16/27.

He didn’t even have to dab on em this week—the defense did all of that and then some.

So—as yet another season with expectations of a Lombardi Trophy conclude with the Cowboys at 3-8, the Carolina Panthers are still undefeated at 11-0.

A 12-0 record may be an inevitability as Carolina plays New Orleans next week. A 3-9 record for the Cowboys may also be an inevitability as the Cowboys will be in Landover, Maryland next week to face the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football.

Final: Carolina Panthers 33, Dallas Cowboys, 14

Even the Least needs a Beast

Nov 29, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins free safety Dashon Goldson (38) celebrates with Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan (L) after their game against the New York Giants at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 20-14. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

And we have reached the almost traditional point in the Realist where I go…did someone mention the Washington Redskins….

The Redskins are the textbook definition of what can happen when you are an average team in a weak conference that otherwise would not even be in contention for the postseason.

Dysfunction in the front office, a worsening reputation in the eyes of the public, and quarterback controversy, an ongoing spat between the head coach and owner over who should be the starting quarterback.

If one were to think that the Skins would have all of these problems and then some, and still manage to be in first place in their division, most people outside the DMV would laugh at you and for good reason.

It had to be good of Washington to finally get the feeling of playing the (now 11-0) Carolina Panthers out of their system and shift their focus back to the division and the New York Giants—a team that had a bye week the previous week.

Thanksgiving Day itself was not kind to any NFC East teams playing that day. The Cowboys’ issues are written above. The Philadelphia Eagles also suffered their second straight debilitating defeat as behind Mark Sanchez, Philly gave up 45 points on defense to the Detroit Lions and Calvin Johnson scored a total of three touchdowns.

If someone within the Lions told them to play every single game as if it took place on Thanksgiving, Detroit may be in the same position New England and Carolina would be in. Okay, maybe a bit of a gross overexaggeration, but you all catch my drift.

So with Romo on the shelf for the year and Eagles’ defense looking so bad Clemson could probably score 30 on them (also amidst renewed calls for Chip Kelly’s job) it appears very much now as if the NFC East is going to be decided between the Giants and the Redskins.

In Landover Maryland on thanksgiving week, it appeared as if Eli Manning wanted to give Washington an early Christmas present in the form of the division.

Washington’s defense had forced Manning into three interceptions for the game. Two of Manning’s pick came in the Giants’ first two offensive series of the game.

New York’s following seven offensive possessions went a little something like this…

Punt.

Punt.

Punt.

Punt.

Interception (the third for Manning).

Punt.

Punt.

In that same span of time, the Redskins had scored 17 points and had increased their lead to 17-0 thanks to a Dustin Hopkins 41-yard field goal and two touchdowns courtesy of Kirk Cousins. The first was a long 63-yarder to DeSean Jackson and the second came via a quarterback keeper.

That 17-point advantage became one that ballooned to 20 with the second field goal of the day by Hopkins.

The game was virtually over, but the Giants at least felt like putting some points on the board even if it came in virtual garbage time. Manning would complete a pair of touchdown passes in the latter portions of the fourth quarter.

The first was to Reuben Randle which finally put New York on the board as they trailed the Redskins 20-7 and the second came via another great Odell Beckham, Jr. catch. This made it 20-14.

Realists, re: that catch by Beckham—I know every single grab he makes for the remainder of his NFL career will be matched against the one-hander he hauled in last year. The only way he can possibly top what he did last year is if he catches a pass for a touchdown with only two fingers.

Was the catch great—yes it was, but more was probably made of it because it was the same guy who made THAT catch last year. To my naked eye, it looked like a garden variety one-hander that eventually became a two-hander with control and effort in the end zone.

Giants fans: “Realist, you need to get your own naked eyes checked!”

My naked eyes not only saw the catch, they also saw it was the only notable highlight for New York all game. The Giants lost to the Redskins by a final of 20-14 allowing Washington to go into first place in the NFC East with a record of…

5-6.

Realists, 8-8 may win the NFC East this year. Maybe even 7-9 for all we know. What we do know is this…somebody has to make the playoffs out of the NFC East. Could Washington be that team despite all of their previous dysfunction over quarterbacks, owners, head coaches, and money invested into draft picks?

In addition to the three picks, Washington’s defense also got to Manning three times—sacking him for a loss of 22 yards.

Two of them were courtesy of Ryan Kerrigan and three Washington players had a pick each of Manning.

Perry Riley, Jr., Will Blackmon, and Quinton Dunbar were all responsible for the sacks.

Cousins completed 20 of 29 passes for 302 yards, one touchdown, and a rating of 114.4. Alfred Morris had 78 yards on the ground for 23 carries while Jordan Reed caught eight passes for 98 yards.
Manning had to throw the football on 51 occasions. He completed 26 of those passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns in addition to the three picks and three sacks.

Shane Vereen—two carries, 15 yards (New York’s leading receiver). In short, the Giants left their running game in East Rutherford. Odell Beckham, Jr. caught nine passes for 142 yards plus his one touchdown.

As mentioned earlier, Washington will also be playing next week at home—against the lowly Dallas Cowboys.

The Giants get—the Jets in MetLife Stadium…which both teams share. One can only imagine the trash talk that will be taking place on the New Jersey Transit to MetLife Stadium that day.
Get ready, Secaucus Junction!

Final: Washington Redskins 20, New York Giants 14

Melted Ice

Nov 29, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the fourth quarter at the Georgia Dome. The Vikings defeated the Falcons 20-10. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Somebody needs to give some football teams in the state of Georgia a hug.

Mark Richt will no longer be the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs after 15 years amidst increasing calls for his job. Richt’s soon to be former team just defeated Georgia Tech 13-7. At least there are Sun Belt teams like Georgia State and Georgia Southern.

Then…there are the Atlanta Falcons.

After five games this season, the Falcons were undefeated at 5-0 and everyone within a 100-mile radius of Peachtree Street wanted to erect a statue of head coach Dan Quinn outside the new Falcons stadium being built.

That has not been the case ever since the 5-0 start. One has to wonder what happened to the Atlanta offense ever since then.

Included in those losses were defeats to a New Orleans Saints team they should not have lost to, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team they probably should not have lost to nine times out of ten, and a San Francisco 49ers team with a backup QB they should not have lost to.

In other words, the Falcons have been getting beat by what is, on paper, inferior competition.

Coming into this season, the Minnesota Vikings probably would be inferior competition for the Falcons as well…but they have been anything but all season long. Adrian Peterson’s come back into the NFL appears to be complete and they seem to be stealing a division every single pundit (myself included) had locked for the Green Bay Packers.

This game, the Vikings had picked off Matt Ryan on two occasions—including one egregious one in the end zone that essentially summed up this game in one play. Terence Newman and Captain Munnerlyn were responsible for the picks.

Last week when the Vikings had lost to the Packers, they lost primarily because Green Bay had a suffocating defensive game plan…stop Adrian Peterson in his tracks and force Teddy Bridgewater to throw the football.

He had over 200 yards that game, but as we know that is not how the Vikings win football games. They win football games with #28 pounding the rock with Bridgewater not having to throw for that many yards.

This week the Falcons run defense could not do what Green Bay’s did last week. Peterson tallied 158 yards on 29 carries plus two touchdowns. Bridgewater threw for 174 yards on 20 out of 28 passing with zero touchdowns and only one interception.

Kyle Rudolph who had over 100 yards last week had only 53 this week on seven receptions.

The rest of the league appears to have figured out the Falcons and they are paying a supreme price for it in terms of offensive output. Tevin Coleman did rush for 110 yards on 18 carries and Ryan threw for 230 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in addition to 22 out of 31 passing.

Jacob Tamme caught five passes for 69 yards.

While the Vikings are once again ahead of the Packers for first place in the NFC North, in the NFC South a story is developing. The Panthers have the NFC South locked up and will more than likely earn a first-round bye for the NFC’s portion of the postseason.

Look at where the Atlanta Falcons are at 6-5…and look at where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are at 5-6.

Falcons fans need to send a very large thank you note for this week to the Indianapolis Colts who beat the Bucs in Indy today, but the way the two teams are looking—Tampa Bay is poised to leapfrog Atlanta in the standings.

Next week—those very Falcons play those very Buccaneers…in Tampa Bay. Minnesota returns home to face the Seattle Seahawks.

Final: Minnesota Vikings 20, Atlanta Falcons 10

Emeral- City

Nov 29, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls (34) runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Don’t look now—but the defending NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks appear to be on a run and have put the rest of the NFL on notice once again.

Seattle began the season at 2-4 coming off a Super Bowl loss and having to fight history which has not exactly been the kindest to Super Bowl losers. One of those wins some did not even consider to have counted given the “gift” nature of it—that was of course the Detroit game.

It was also a season that included the Kam Chancellor holdout at the beginning and one of the losses came against Carolina at home while the Seahawks having a big lead late.

Out of nowhere, the Seahawks were entering their Week 12 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers at 5-5 and well within contention for a Wild Card berth. They probably will not win the NFC West unless the Arizona Cardinals completely lose it down the stretch, but who is to say Seattle could not be a five-seed.

And said five-seed out of the NFC may be the prettiest way for a team to sit given that will more than likely get that team a game against someone from the NFC East.

Realists, I would rather play them instead of Carolina, Arizona, or Minnesota about now.

The same could probably be said for the Steelers. I would rather play them on the road instead of at Heinz Field. The Steelers are a team many Seattleites remember as they believe they stole Super Bowl XL from them about a decade ago. Them winning it a couple of years ago somewhat lessened the blow of that loss. But in some areas of the Emerald City, it still stings.

Emerald City? What happened to the “d” for both teams this game. This one started off rather pedestrian with Pittsburgh leading 3-0 into the second quarter. Then, four straight possessions occurred where the Steelers and Seahawks traded touchdowns making it 18-14.

That became 21-14 thanks to a field goal off of the foot of Chris Boswell. Two of the following three possessions for Seattle both resulted in touchdowns. The first was a Thomas Rawls one-yard touchdown run and the second was a Russell Wilson TD pass to Jermaine Kearse. This made it 26-21.

The Steelers and Seahawks ended up trading touchdowns once again a little bit later. Markus Wheaton was the recipient of a 69-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger that briefly gave the lead back to the Steelers at 27-26.

Then, a six-play 73-yard 3:28 drive resulting in a Doug Baldwin touchdown reception from Wilson made it a 32-26 game. Seattle’s lead increased even more to 39-30 after another Baldwin touchdown, this time for 80 yards.

That all but put this game away for Seattle. Landry Jones took the snaps for Pittsburgh on their last series before a pass that was intended for Martavis Bryant instead ended up in the hands of Kam Chancellor. This interception ended the game and sealed a Seattle Seahawks victory.

Don’t look now…but the NFC Wild Card picture continues to get more interesting and more interesting and more interesting as the weeks go by.

Wilson completed 21 of his 30 passes for 345 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions (no Marshawn Lynch). Rawls had 21 rushes for 81 yards and three of those five touchdowns were caught by Doug Baldwin who also had 145 yards receiving on six receptions.

For the Steelers, Roethlisberger was 36/55 for 456 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. DeAngelo Williams only had 29 yards on eight carries while Wheaton notched 201 yards on nine receptions plus one touchdown.

This week, Pittsburgh was on the road while the Seahawks were at home. Seattle will travel to TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis next week where the Vikings await. At Heinz Field, the Steelers meet the Colts.

Final: Seattle Seahawks 39, Pittsburgh Steelers 30

Not Again Part II

Nov 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) and running back C.J. Anderson (22) celebrate during the second half against the New England Patriots at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 30-24. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

This is another one of those games that I have written about in the past that was nationally televised but the network got something it was not expecting in the end. As we know whenever a Tom Brady-led team and a Peyton Manning-led team face off in the regular season or playoffs, it is as if nothing else in the footballing world matters and everything else stops.

As we know now, though, the Broncos are now not a Peyton Manning-led team and may not be a Manning led team again if he goes through with retirement after this season ala Kobe Bryant in the NBA.

Brock Osweiler did have a great game last week against the Chicago Bears but the question everyone had on their minds was if he could recreate that same type of performance against the defending Super Bowl champions.

The calendar changing into the final month of the NFL and Gregorian Calendars also means that cities that normally get snow around this time need to be more than ever on the lookout for the White Stuff.

That was the case for this game in Denver—which included NBC unleashing something called the “Virtual Numbers.”

Realist approved, if you ask me. Some fans who still had their calendars set to the 1960s or 1970s were not too pleased with this advancement in technology but they need to realize that if Major League Baseball did more stuff like this, they may actually draw more millennial viewers.

The more a live football game resembles a video game with the graphics the better the chance the young people will tune in. NBC was just doing what it had to do.

I saw one of the NFL Twitter accounts send out a Tweet as if the snow that was falling at Sports Authority Field at Mile High was potentially hindering the Patriots.

The first thing that came to my mind was the Patriots play in Foxboro, Massachusetts which is not exactly Miami, Florida in June. Secondly, the history of the Patriots in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era has always indicated that the Pats become tougher to defeat the further you get into the season.

In other words, as the weather gets colder and the temperature drops, those icy and wintry conditions eventually translate into ice water in Brady’s veins.

The first two scores of this game went to New England via Tom Brady touchdown passes to Brandon LaFell and Scott Chandler, giving New England a 14-0 lead.

That second touchdown was set up by a pick of Osweiler interception courtesy of Chandler Jones.

A Ronnie Hillman touchdown run to end a 10-play, 77 yard drive that lasted nearly six minutes put Denver on the board as they trailed 14-7.

Then Brady extended that lead out to 21-7. Brandon Bolden was the recipient of a TD pass (Brady’s third of the game) which gave New England this 14-point advantage.

Special teams at one particular point in the game were not so special for the Patriots. A muffed punt was recovered by Denver allowing for the Broncos offense to return to the field with a great opportunity to tack on more points.

The Broncos would not let that opportunity go to waste as a fifteen yard touchdown on the ground via C.J. Anderson made it a one-score game again at 21-14.

A field goal and Broncos touchdown gave the Broncos the lead before a late Stephen Gostkowski field goal with four seconds left sent this one to overtime.

And on a third down play in overtime, Anderson put away the game with a walk-off touchdown to put New England in the loss column for the first time this year.

But this story of this game will be the Rob Gronkowski injury and it may have very well been an ACL ala what happened the last time Gronk went down with an injury. The Patriots were already injury prone prior to this but if he’s done for the year, the landscape of things in the AFC playoff picture may have just changed big time.

We know that Brady has a tendency to make superstars out of what would otherwise be non-NFL wide receivers but New England could very well be vulnerable now with all of the injuries they have at this point. Could be too much of an uphill climb even for the Pats.

The rest of the AFC may be looking at this and thinking that now they want to face the Patriots especially if Gronk is out for the rest of the season especially after the injuries to Lewis, Edelman, and Amendola.

Osweiler was 23/42 with 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Anderson finished the game with two touchdowns including his game-winner. His line read 15 carries for 113 yards. Emmanuel Sanders had 113 yards on six receptions.

Prior to the injury, Gronkowski had a touchdown in addition to 88 yards on six receptions. Brady was 23/42 with 280 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. LeGarrette Blount was New England’s leading receiver with only 27 yards on nine carries.

The Patriots may get a reprieve next week playing an Eagles team that has made it a habit of giving up 40+ points to defenses. Denver gets San Diego on the road at Qualcomm Stadium.

Final: Denver Broncos 30, New England Patriots 24

Other Games

Nov 1, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; NFL logo after the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Lions defeat Philadelphia Eagles 45-14

Chicago Bears defeat Green Bay Packers 17-13

New York Jets defeat Miami Dolphins 38-20

San Diego Chargers defeat Jacksonville Jaguars 31-25

Cincinnati Bengals defeat St. Louis Rams 31-7

Houston Texans defeat New Orleans Saints 24-6

Indianapolis Colts defeat Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-12

Kansas City Chiefs defeat Buffalo Bills, 30-22

Oakland Raiders defeat Tennessee Titans 24-21

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns (8:30, Monday Night Football)