Week 14 was certainly something. The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the battle of backup quarterbacks, Evan Engram and the Jacksonville Jaguars smacked the Tennessee Titans for their first victory in Nashville since 2013 and the Dallas Cowboys almost lost to the Houston Texans as 16.5-point favorites!
There were plenty of wild moments from this edition of NFL Sunday. From highlight-reel plays to head-scratching decisions, there's plenty to break down. Below, we will discuss the five wildest moments from Sunday.
5. Browns' bizarre play call
On the Browns' first drive of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Deshaun Watson and Co. were facing a fourth-and-1 from the Bengals' 25-yard line. With it being so early in the game, nine out of 10 times the head coach is going to kick the field goal. Not Kevin Stefanski. He kept his offense on the field, but took his starting quarterback OFF the field, and replaced him with his backup. Jacoby Brissett is definitely a bigger body that is well suited for the QB sneak, but Stefanski instead asked him to throw a pass!
The Browns brought in Jacoby Brissett on 4th & 1... and he overthrew Donovan Peoples-Jones in the end-zone. pic.twitter.com/lic1TnEJfB
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) December 11, 2022
Why not just do that with Watson? Didn't he just sign a $230 million contract a few months ago? The Browns ended up losing, 23-10.
#Browns Kevin Stefanski on failed fourth-and-1 with Jacoby Brissett at QB. pic.twitter.com/OXsotfHvDM
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) December 11, 2022
4. Giants forget how to punt
The Giants were throttled by the Philadelphia Eagles, 48-22, and it was tough to watch. Down 14 points in the second quarter, Jamie Gillan came on to punt for the Giants. Except, he forgot how to punt.
they are now calling this an illegal kick. Eagles get the ball at the Giants 33.
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) December 11, 2022
pic.twitter.com/EkgFDneAju
This bizarre play was penalized for an "illegal kick of the football," and gave the Eagles possession on the Giants' 33-yard line. The very next play, Jalen Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 33-yard touchdown.
At this point... no words for @JalenHurts and this @Eagles offense.
— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2022
📺: #PHIvsNYG on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Q0YYPeBaSr pic.twitter.com/uki19RVkTP
3. The leg catch
The Carolina Panthers are kind of rolling right now. They are 2-0 since Sam Darnold returned to the starting lineup, with the most recent win coming in a 30-24 victory on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. During the win, Panthers wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. made a wild catch by using his legs.
The ball went through his hands, and virtually got caught between his legs! Definitely one of the catches of the year.
What? How? @Terracemjr this catch was unreal 😱
— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2022
📺: #CARvsSEA on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/VwP8oh9FMk pic.twitter.com/a0xIcx9XMi
IT'S A CATCH @Terracemjr how?!?!? pic.twitter.com/YIcPt4zNlX
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) December 11, 2022
2. Brock Purdy blows out Tom Brady
It was pretty funny to see that this year's Mr. Irrelevant was favored by 3.5 points over the GOAT, but you could understand why. The San Francisco 49ers have one of the best defenses in the NFL and plenty of weapons to make life easy on a rookie quarterback. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on the other hand, don't look like the contenders they were a couple years ago, but at the same time, Brady was 6-0 against quarterbacks making their first career starts. TB +3.5 was the move, right? Nope.
The 49ers destroyed the Buccaneers, 35-7. Purdy threw for 185 yards, two touchdowns and ran for a score as well, while Brady threw for 253 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.That's a Purdy good way to start your NFL career -- downing the greatest to ever do it in your first start.
Purdy joined Drew Brees as the only quarterbacks to be up by 28 or more points against Brady at halftime. With this loss, Brady has now tied the most losses he's suffered in a single season (seven).
1. Tyreek Hill fumble return touchdown
Have you ever seen anything like this?
In the second quarter of the Miami Dolphins' Sunday night matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, running back Jeff Wilson fumbled. It appeared left tackle Terron Armstead recovered the ball, but the pigskin squirted out from under the pile -- right into the hands of the fastest player on the field. Hill then took it 57 yards to the house.
What... just... happened 😳 @cheetah
— NFL (@NFL) December 12, 2022
📺: #MIAvsLAC on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Fjz0sbDEsG pic.twitter.com/I0dh4l6iR0
.@cheetah was ready for it 💯
— NFL (@NFL) December 12, 2022
📺: #MIAvsLAC on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Fjz0sbDEsG pic.twitter.com/Ov74uo29rC
According to NFL Research, Hill is the only player in the Super Bowl era to score a touchdown via reception, rushing attempt, kick return, punt return and now, fumble return.