NFL Football - Week Twelve Review

Tom Brady led the Pats comeback win over Denver.

What else needs to be said about the classic rivalry between quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning?
The feature Sunday Night Football game between the New England Patriots (8-3) and the visiting Denver Broncos (9-2) went to overtime with the Pats winning, 34-31 on a 31-yard field goal by kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
But the story was the second half comeback by Brady and the Patriots after falling behind 24-0 at halftime as the Broncos took advantage of three fumbles by New England.  Brady, Heftyinfo NFL co-Player of the Week, finished with three touchdown passes and also threw for 344 yards in the win. Manning had 150 pass yards along with two TD passes and one interception while running back Knowshon Moreno had 224 rushing yards in the loss.

Rivers and the Chargers shocked the Chiefs.

Another shootout took place in Kansas City earlier in the day with the visiting San Diego Chargers (5-6) storming back to shock the Chiefs, 41-38 as San Diego QB Philip Rivers, the Heftyinfo NFL co-Player of the Week, hit wide receiver Seyi Ajirotutu with a 26-yard scoring pass with 24 seconds left to play to provide the final score. It was the second straight loss for the Chiefs (9-2) after starting 9-0 this season.
Rivers lit up the vaunted KC defense for 392 yards on 27 of 39 passing and three touchdown passes in the see-saw game that had eight lead changes. Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles gained 115 yards rushing on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns in the loss.

                                                              Elsewhere around the NFL . . . . . 

The St. Louis Rams rolled over the visiting Chicago Bears, 42-21 by rushing for 258 yards and forcing three turnovers that led to a pair of touchdowns . . .  The surging Pittsburgh Steelers (5-6) manhandled the host Cleveland Browns, 27-11 behind two TD passes from QB Ben Roehtlisberger and a TD off an interception return by William Gay . . .  Dallas (6-5) kept pace with Philadelphia (6-5) in the NFC East by knocking off the host New York Giants, 24-21 on a last second field goal by kicker Dan Bailey . . .  The Arizona Cardinals (7-4) served notice they are for real by blasting the visiting Indianapolis Colts, 40-11 as QB Carson Palmer hit WR Larry Fitzgerald for a pair of touchdown passes and the defense scored a TD as well in the rout . . .   The Detroit Lions (6-5) blew a chance to gain sole possession of first place in the NFC North by losing at home to Tampa Bay, 24-21 as QB Matthew Stafford was intercepted four times in the game while Bucs QB Mike Glennon threw for two scores and the defense also got a touchdown . . .  The Carolina Panthers (8-3) won their seventh consecutive game, beating the host Miami Dolphins, 20-16 thanks to a TD pass from QB Cam Newton to tight end Greg Olsen with just 43 seconds remaining . . .  The Tennessee Titans (5-6) also got some late heroics as QB Ryan Fitzpatrick found WR Kendall Wright for a 10-yard TD pass with ten seconds left to win 23-19 at Oakland . . .  The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings played to a 26-26 tie at Lambeau Field. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson had 146 yards rushing and Matt Flynn stepped in at QB for Green Bay (5-5-1) and threw for 218 yards and a TD to help force the overtime session, where the teams exchanged field goals  . . .  The New Orleans Saints (9-2) defeated the stubborn Atlanta Falcons on the road, 17-13 as QB Drew Brees had 278 yards passing along with two TD passes to lead the way . . .  Baltimore (5-6) throttled the visiting New York Jets (5-6) by a 19-3 count to set up a huge AFC North game on Thanksgiving Day behind solid defense that limited the Jets to just 220 yards while forcing three turnovers . . .  The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9) escaped the AFC South basement by sending the Houston Texans to their ninth straight defeat in a 13-6 road win as RB Maurice Jones-Drew scored a touchdown and the Jags' defense held Houston (2-9) to just 218 yards in total offense...  The San Francisco 49ers went on the road and buried the Washington Redskins, 27-6 on Monday Night Football behind solid defense and three touchdown passes from QB Colin Kaepernick to improve to 7-4 for the season.