Overreactions, Exaggerations & Just The Plain Out Truth – Week 13
Dec 8, 2021, 9:26 AM | Updated: 9:26 am
(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
We approach the last week of the bye weeks in Week 14, but we have to discuss the action in Week 13 before we can move any further.
Here are my thoughts on all of the action from this week.
Overreactions
Ben Roethlisberger and his final season in Pittsburgh: There was a report this past week that “Big Ben” is playing out his last year as a Steeler and that he believes this will be it for him after 18 seasons with the only organization he has ever known.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, “Ben has been telling teammates privately, this is it for him as a Steeler”. First of all, coming into this season, I would imagine over 90% of the NFL community if polled would of chose this season to be the last for Roethlisberger as a Steeler and probably half of those people would of stated this is Roethlisberger’s last season all together.
I get it, it has to be reported, but it wasn’t much of a surprise.
The real story here is, if the story is absolutely true, we could quite possibly be experiencing the last few weeks of a Steelers and NFL legacy. Big Ben will certainly be a Hall of Famer and will go down as one of the best players in his era and all time.
I don’t think he will ever be in the conversation as the “Best Ever” but he has a place in conversations as one of the best to ever do it in some form or fashion. Once his career is officially all said and done, we can all continue the conversation and for some the debate.
But as of right now, let’s all enjoy what could become the last time we may ever see Roethlisberger take the field.
The NFL Offensive rookie of the year award: I don’t care what a person says, how they try and convince me or what their reasoning is, no major award should ever be giving to a person who starts, plays the whole game at quarterback and only throws three passes the entire game. Even if your team wins, they won despite you.
As of right now, Mac Jones, the quarterback who threw three passes an entire game this week in the Patriots victory over the Buffalo Bills is the betting favorite to win the offensive rookie of the year award, he sits at an astonishing (-500) betting odds as of today.
That’s favorite over Ja’Maar Chase who sits in the top five in receiving touchdowns and receiving yards in the entire league for the Cincinnati Bengals… it’s head scratching to say the least.
San Francisco 49ers: Very simply put, The San Francisco 49ers blew a great opportunity and it could come back to haunt them.
The Niners repeatedly shot themselves in the foot and found just about every possible way you could on how to lose a game. The team turned the ball over three times, missed and extra point, allowed a fake punt touchdown and committed 10 penalties, all while not converting a 1st and goal at the end of the game.
This marks the 16th loss to the Seattle Seahawks since Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson arrived in Seattle for the Niners and it may very well be a huge blow to the teams post season hopes.
Exaggerations
Bad loss: Speaking of bad losses, the Niners weren’t the only team who had a bad loss this past week.
Add the Minnesota Vikings who trailed the Detroit Lions 20-6 at half and gave up a 14 play game winning drive and touchdown to the list of teams who squandered their chance of gaining ground in the NFC playoff race.
Week 14 Bye: With the NFL expansion of games this season to 18 weeks, the first ever week 14 bye’s are upon us this upcoming week.
That means the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles will all be getting the last of the season weekly bye’s and gearing up for their last four games of the season.
If it means anything, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who won the Super Bowl last year, had the Week 13 bye last year, the last week possible for teams to be off and then proceeded to run the table the rest of the way earning a championship.
I’m not sure if having a bye this late in the year is bad or good for any team because we have never seen it but I do know that after playing 13 games straight without a rest surely warrants some time off. We must now wait and see, as for the first time in NFL history if a team who had a week 14 bye can repeat with the Bucs did last year and ride the late break to a world championship.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense woes: Count Week 13 as the second week in a row that Pat Mahomes did not throw for a touchdown, though he did throw another interception, his 12th of the season. It becomes the first time in his career that has happened.
The Chiefs went on to win, which is what counts but they sure better turn things around quick, as they lead the AFC West by two games. I believe the Chiefs can win the division playing in the same form their offense has performed lately but I can’t convince myself they can go very deep in the playoffs playing like this.
The Truth
Detroit Lions Win: Good for the Lions, no team, school or organization on any level who has put in the time, effort, travel, resources and heart that the Lions have over the last four to five months should not reap some reward.
I understand there are no pity parties in the NFL, let alone professional sports most of the time but it was great to see a team win who had been on the cusp of winning for several weeks.
Between losing on a record 66 yard field goal to the Baltimore Ravens or losing to the Vikings the first time around on a field goal, the Lions had been pretty close to cashing in on a victory. I’m just glad they got a win so they don’t go down in history as another Lions team who went winless(The 2008 Detroit Lions went 0-16).
Thank Goodness!
Rams vs Jags: Joke or no joke, how happy were the Los Angeles Rams to see the Jacksonville Jaguars come to town this week? The Rams had to be ecstatic after losing three straight being able to play the 2-9(now 2-10) Jags. The Rams got back into the winners column which is always a good thing, they should send a thank you card to the Jags because boy did they need it.
Teams Missing the playoffs: Even with a week of untimely losses for some organizations, every team who is in the thick of the playoff race, one way or another remained just about in the same spot after week 13. Every eligible team gets a pass this week and keeps their hope alive of making it into the post season. Here’s to hoping we can add a few worthy contenders after week 14.
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