NFL - Week Twelve Review

There were three games played on Thanksgiving Day, but the biggest turkeys had to be the San Diego Chargers for the way they lost the game on Sunday to the visiting Baltimore Ravens.
Fourth-and-29.

Ray Rice was the hero in Ravens win over San Diego.

How does a team let their opponent gain roughly 30 yards on a fourth-and-29 on a dump pass because there was no one open down the field with just over a minute remaining in regulation?
But that is what happened in San Diego and as a result, the Ravens were able to manage a last second field goal to force overtime and then eventually win the game, 16-13 with another field goal in the extra session.
Baltimore running back Ray Rice took the "check down" pass from quarterback Joe Flacco  and weaved his way from his own 36 yard line to the Chargers 34 in ridiculous fashion. Five missed tackles later, the Ravens had new life and improved to 9-2 for the season. Meanwhile, at 4-7, the Chargers are done.
The actual games on Thanksgiving Day were entertaining as the opener saw the Houston Texans deal the Detroit Lions their ninth consecutive Thanksgiving Day game loss in a 34-31 overtime decision that had controversy as well.
Texans' running back Justin Forsett ran 81 yards for a score, but appeared to be down after just a seven yard gain. Lions' coach Jim Schwartz threw the challenge flag immediately, but because it was a scoring play (and automatically subject to review) his flag toss negated any review at all. Later on, Houston kicker Shayne Graham kicked the game winner from 32 yards out to propel the Texans to a 10-1 record.
Washington went into Dallas and behind four TD passes from rookie QB Robert Griffin III, beat the Cowboys 38-31 to leave both teams at 5-6 in the NFC East.
The night cap on turkey day saw the New England Patriots do just that as the host New York Jets looked like complete gobblers in  a 49-19 loss.
The Jets fumbled two times in a 15 second span as the Patriots took both in for a touchdown. In addition, return man Julian Edelman ran back a punt for another score and QB Tom Brady threw for 323 yards and three scores to pace the rout. New England (8-3) scored 35 points in the second quarter and has won five in a row.

The rest of the Sunday games are as follows ...

Denver 17, Kansas City 9 -  Broncos QB Peyton Manning had two TD passes in the hard fought win on the road.

Chicago 28, Minnesota 10 - Bears RB Michael Bush rushed for two scores and QB Jay Cutler passed for another in the home win.

Cleveland 20, Pittsburgh 14 - The visiting Steelers fumbled the ball EIGHT times, losing five of them in the road loss. Browns QB Brandon Weeden had a TD pass and RB Trent Richardson scored on a 15-yard run to help make the difference.

Cincinnati 34, Oakland 10 - The Bengals rolled the visiting Raiders behind three TD passes from QB Andy Dalton and the defense limited Oakland to just 218 yards in offense.

Miami 24, Seattle 21 - The Dolphins rallied back to beat the visiting Seahawks as QB Ryan Tannehill threw a fourth quarter TD pass and kicker Dan Carpenter made a 43-yard field goal as time expired to win the game.

Indianapolis 20, Buffalo 13 - T.Y. Hilton took a punt back 75 yards and QB Andrew Luck had a scoring pass to make the difference for the Colts (7-4) against the visiting Bills.

Jacksonville 24, Tennessee 19 - The host Jaguars won for just the second time all season as QB Chad Henne had two TD passes to go with a rushing score from Rashard Jennings. Titans kicker Rob Bironas made four field goals to keep it close.

Atlanta 24, Tampa Bay 23 - The host Bucs saw their four game win streak snapped by the 10-1 Falcons as Michael Turner scored a touchdown and QB Matt Ryan hooked up with wide receiver Julio Jones on an 80-yard scoring pass while Matt Bryant's early field goal proved to be the difference.

St. Louis 31, Arizona 17 - The Rams went into the desert and handed the Cardinals their seventh consecutive defeat. The Rams' Janoris Jenkins was the hero with two interception returns for touchdowns to help provide the final outcome.

San Francisco 31, New Orleans 21 - The 49ers defense intercepted New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees twice, taking both back for scores and held the potent Saints attack to just 290 yards in offense. Meanwhile, San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick passed for a touchdown and for another in the win, which puts the 'Niners at 8-2-1 for the year.

New York Giants 38, Green Bay 10 - The host Giants throttled the Packers in the Sunday night game, snapping a two game losing streak while at the same time ending Green Bay's five game winning streak.
Giants QB Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes in the win, which puts New York at 7-4 and two games ahead of Dallas and Washington in the NFC East.

The Monday Night Football Game saw the visiting Carolina Panthers beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 30-22 behind two TD passes and two rushing touchdowns from QB Cam Newton.



                                                 Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week

Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III