NFL - Week Thirteen Review

Heading into the final month of the regular season and the division races are heating up around the NFL following the action last weekend.
Starting with the annual Thanksgiving Day games, the Detroit Lions overcame a sluggish start (falling behind 14-3 to Chicago in the first quarter) and rolled past the Bears, 34-17 as quarterback Matthew Stafford (390 yards passing) hooked up with wide receiver Calvin Johnson (11 catches for 146 yards) for a pair of scoring passes in the win. The Lions defense limited the Bears to only 13 rushing yards in the game.
The Philadelphia Eagles routed the host Dallas Cowboys, 33-10 as QB Mark Sanchez threw for a score while running back LeSean McCoy went for 159 yards rushing and a touchdown to lead the way as the Eagles took over sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
The night cap game was all Seattle as the visiting Seahawks defense dominated the San Francisco 49ers in a 19-3 victory. The 49ers managed just 164 total yards in offense and Seattle QB Russell Wilson had a TD pass while RB Marshawn Lynch helped pace the offense with 104 rushing yards.

Chargers QB Philip Rivers torched the Ravens D for three scoring passes.

The San Diego Chargers pulled off a last second 34-33 road win at Baltimore as QB Philip Rivers, the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week, threw a one-yard scoring pass to WR Eddie Royal with 38 seconds remaining in the game.
The Chargers pulled off the huge comeback with the 21-point fourth quarter as Rivers (383 yards passing) had two of his three TD passes in the fourth and RB Ryan Mathews had a 14-yard scoring run to offset the Ravens offense, which had to settle for four field goals in the loss. Baltimore QB Joe Flacco had two TD passes.
New Orleans showed some life in a 35-32 win at Pittsburgh as QB Drew Brees had five TD passes in the win. The Steelers rolled up 538 yards in offense, including 435 passing yards for QB Ben Roethlisberger in the loss.
Indianapolis dominated the Washington Redskins, 49-27 behind four TD passes by QB Andrew Luck (370 yards passing) to improve to 8-4 for the season. The Colts totaled 487 yards in offense. Redskins QB Colt McCoy had three TD passes in the loss.
The Green Bay Packers defeated the visiting New England Patriots, 26-21 in the most anticipated game of the week. The defenses had their way in the second half as the teams combined for only ten points.
Both Aaron Rodgers and New England QB Tom Brady threw for a pair of scores and Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby provided the difference in the final score by making four field goals.
The Atlanta Falcons surprised the visiting Arizona Cardinals, 29-18 as QB Matt Ryan had two TD passes to offset a "pick six" interception. Atlanta kicker Matt Bryant made five field goals in the win.
The Cincinnati Bengals survived a scare at Tampa Bay, 14-13 as the Buccaneers mismanaged the clock in the final seconds and were penalized for having 12 men on the field while driving for the possible go-ahead score.
The Buffalo Bills blew out the visiting Cleveland Browns, 26-10 as kicker Dan Carpenter made four

field goals in the final quarter. Browns highly touted rookie QB Johnny Manziel (pictured right) had a rushing touchdown in his first real action.
St. Louis crushed the visiting Oakland Raiders, 52-0 as three different players had rushing touchdowns and QB Shaun Hill threw for a pair of scores while the defense added another score with a "pick six" interception return.
Houston throttled the visiting Tennessee Titans, 45-21 behind six TD passes from QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and nine receptions for 238 yards from WR DeAndre Hopkins, who had two TD catches as well.
The Jacksonville Jaguars overcame a 21-0 deficit to beat the visiting New York Giants, 25-24 as their defense scored twice on fumble recoveries and QB Blake Bortles had a TD strike in the biggest comeback in franchise history. The loss was the Giants' seventh in a row.
The Minnesota Vikings blocked two punts for scores and QB Teddy Bridgewater threw for two touchdowns in an easy 31-13 home win against the Carolina Panthers.
The Sunday Night Football game went the way of the Denver Broncos as rookie running back C.J. Anderson rushed for 168 yards and QB Peyton Manning threw for two touchdowns while kicker Connor Barth made five field goals in his Broncos debut in a 29-16 road win against the Kansas City Chiefs. The win kept Denver (9-3) one game ahead of San Diego in the AFC West division race.
In the Monday Night Football game, the Miami Dolphins overcame a very sluggish performance for a 16-13 road victory against the New York Jets as kicker Caleb Sturgis made three field goals, including the game winner from 26 yards in the final minutes. The Jets ran for 277 yards in the loss.