Welcome to the Week 13 grades!
If you're a Bengals fan, it might be time to give up on the season. For the third straight week, the Bengals scored at least 27 points and for the third straight week, they lost. The Bengals defense got burned badly in an unexpected shootout with Pittsburgh that ended with the Steelers winning 44-38.
If you're wondering how ugly things are for the Bengals, here's small taste:
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- They've scored 99 points during their three-game losing streak, which is the MOST in NFL history for a team that has lost three games in a row.
- They've now lost four games this season when scoring at least 33 points, which is the most by any team in NFL history.
- Joe Burrow is now the second QB in NFL history to throw for at least 300 yards with three touchdown passes or more in three straight games and LOSE them all (He joins Andrew Luck. The Bengals better hope that Burrow's career doesn't go the same route as Luck's).
Three years after their Super Bowl season, the Bengals are now at a crossroads. Anyway, let's get to this week's grades, starting with the Steelers' win over Cincinnati. If you want to see the grades from Black Friday or from the Thanksgiving games, you can check those out here.
Pittsburgh 44-38 over Cincinnati
| B+ | |
| The Steelers are starting to look like a legitimate Super Bowl contender and it's all because of Russell Wilson. On a day where Pittsburgh's defense struggled against Cincinnati's high-powered offense, the Steelers were able to win a shootout thanks to Wilson, who overcame an early pick six to throw for 414 yards and three touchdowns. If Wilson continues to look this sharp, there's no reason the Steelers can't play deep into the postseason. Mike Tomlin made the call to bench Justin Fields in favor of Wilson and he now looks like a genius. As Tomlin says, the standard is the standard, and right now, Wilson is setting a new standard by playing at a level that the Steelers haven't had at QB since Ben Roethlisberger retired. | |
| D | |
| It might be time for the Bengals to blow up their defense and start over. The defense has been a huge weakness all season and it was never more clear than this game. Russell Wilson threw for 414 yards, which is the most that ANY Steelers quarterback has ever thrown for against the Bengals. The defense gave up at least 520 yards in a game for the second time this season. Joe Burrow had another stellar performance, but he also made several mistakes, including a lost fumble that Pittsburgh returned for a touchdown. When your defense is as bad as Cincinnati's, you can't afford to make any mistakes on offense and Burrow found that out the hard way this season. With the Bengals now 4-8, it feels like the 2024 season is going to go down as the most disappointing in franchise history. | |
L.A. Chargers 17-13 over Atlanta
| C+ | |
| The Chargers offense had one of its ugliest performances of the season, but that didn't matter, because the defense was around to save the day. The defense put on a clinic with four interceptions of Kirk Cousins and L.A. needed every single one of them. The biggest one came from Tarheeb Still, who had a 61-yard pick six in the third quarter that accounted for the Chargers' only points of the second half. Still also had an interception in the first half. Offensively, the Chargers didn't have many bright spots, but there was Ladd McConkey, who continues to look like a budding star. The rookie receiver finished with 117 receiving yards, which accounted for more than 60% of the Chargers' 187 total yards. Sometimes you have to win ugly in the NFL and the Chargers proved they can do that. | |
| C | |
| Kirk Cousins basically gave this game away for Atlanta. The Falcons QB threw four interceptions, including a pick six in the third quarter that gave the Chargers the lead for good. Cousins also threw two of those interceptions in the fourth quarter, including one that came in the end zone. Cousins' nightmare performance overshadowed a brilliant day by a Falcons defense that sacked Justin Herbert five times while holding Los Angeles to under 200 yards of total offense. The Falcons have now lost three in a row and they're suddenly on the verge of choking away the NFC South. | |
Minnesota 23-22 over Arizona
| B- | |
| The Cardinals might have been able to blow this game open, but their offense fell apart every time it entered the red zone on Sunday. The Cards made SIX trips inside Minnesota's 20-yard line, but they only came away with one touchdown. The other five possessions ended with four field goals and one missed kick by Chad Ryland. Kyler Murray looked solid for most of the game, but then he melted down in the fourth quarter with two ugly interceptions. The Cardinals have now lost two in a row since taking over first place in the NFC West and with this loss, the division is now slipping through their hands. | |
| B- | |
| If there was any question about whether Sam Darnold could come up in the clutch for Minnesota, he answered that in this game. Darnold had a huge fourth quarter, throwing for 107 yards and one touchdown, a score that gave the Vikings the lead with just 1:13 left to play. Justin Jefferson also came up huge in the fourth quarter with a 30-yard grab and a 12-yard catch to convert a fourth-and-5. Defensively, the Vikings weren't great, except when they had to be. In the fourth quarter alone, Shaq Griffin and Byron Murphy both came up with interceptions. The Vikings showed some serious resilience by coming back from a 19-6 deficit in the third quarter and it's the kind of win that could give them a confidence boost in those situations going forward. | |
Indianapolis 25-24 over New England
| B | |
| This game was all about the growth of Anthony Richardson. The Colts QB threw a back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter, but then he bounced back to lead an 80-yard game-winning drive that culminated with Richardson throwing a touchdown AND scoring a two-pointer with 12 seconds left to give Indy the win. Although a comeback win like this can do wonders for a young quarterback's confidence, the Colts will need Richardson, who completed just 50% of his passes for 109 yards, to play better overall down the stretch if they want to have any shot of getting into the playoffs. | |
| B- | |
| This was a heart-breaking loss for the Patriots, but the silver lining is that they have to feel good about the fact that Drake Maye continues to look like a franchise quarterback. Maye totaled 297 yards (238 passing, 59 rushing) on a day where the Patriots offense was firing on all cylinders with a season-high 422 yards. The Patriots defense played reasonably well, except on fourth down. The Colts converted all three of their fourth-down attempts in the game with all three coming on their 80-yard game-winning TD drive in the final minutes. If someone on the defense could have just come up with one big play, the Patriots could have escaped with a win, but instead, they've now hit double-digit losses for the second season in a row. | |
Seattle 26-21 over N.Y. Jets
| C+ | |
| For the first quarter and a half of this game, it looked like the Seahawks were going to get blown out, but then a 92-yard pick six by Leonard Williams seemed to spark this team. After Williams' score, the Seahawks defense didn't surrender another point in the game. Williams was a one-man wrecking crew as he also tallied both of Seattle's sacks in the game. This was a mistake-filled game for the Seahawks, but those mistakes don't bother you as much when you win. The Seahawks have now won three straight since their Week 10 bye and this team is suddenly looking like the best team in the NFC West. | |
| C- | |
| This game was kind of like the Jets' season: They got off to a hot start and then completely disappeared. Aaron Rodgers and the offense got shut out during a second half where they totaled just 103 yards. Although Rodgers showed more mobility, his game just simply isn't what it used to be. He threw a back-breaking pick six in the first half and then followed that up with just 90 passing yards in the second half. The Jets offense is a mess right now and it's likely not something that New York is going to be able to fix before the end of the season. | |
Washington 42-19 over Tennessee
| D | |
| If you're wondering why the Titans were 3-8 heading into Week 13, all you had to do was watch the first half of this game. Bad teams make bad mistakes and Tennessee made plenty of those against the Commanders. In a span of 90 seconds in the first quarter, the Titans lost two fumbles with Tony Pollard losing the first one and then Jha'Quan Jackson losing one on a kickoff return. By the time the Titans crossed midfield for the first time, they were already trailing 28-0 in a game they had no chance of winning. | |
| A | |
| After losing three straight games, the Commanders needed to get back on track and that's exactly what they did against the Titans. For the first time since Week 4, Brian Robinson went over 100 yards and he was the big work horse for a Washington offense that put up 42 points. Jayden Daniels was efficient: Even though he threw for just 206 yards, he also totaled four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing). The Commanders defense beat up on a bad Tennessee offense, which is what good teams do. At 8-5, the Commanders will now head into their Week 14 bye feeling very good about their playoff chances. | |
Houston 23-20 over Jacksonville
| B- | |
| The Texans have struggled on the road this year with losses to teams like the Jets and Titans, but they managed to pull out a win here thanks in large part to Joe Mixon. The Texans running back rushed for 101 yards with 81 of those coming during a second half where he helped Houston melt away the clock. The defense got burnt for 161 yards during a fourth quarter where it almost choked away a 17-point lead, but the Texans got the win, and that's all that matters for a team that just took one small step closer to clinching its second straight AFC South title. | |
| B | |
| The Jaguars deserve some serious credit for keeping this close. With the Texans leading to 23-6 in the fourth quarter -- and Trevor Lawrence knocked out of the game -- it looked like a blowout was going to happen, but the Jags managed to keep this close. Mac Jones threw for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the FOURTH QUARTER to get Jacksonville back in the game. The Jaguars are definitely still playing hard for Doug Pederson, which might be enough to help him keep his job for the remainder of the season. | |
L.A. Rams 21-14 over New Orleans
| B | |
| The Rams got shut out during a disastrous first half, but Matthew Stafford brought the offense back to life over the final two quarters of the game. The Rams QB was nearly perfect in the second half, completing 10 of 14 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Stafford got a lot of help from Kyren Williams, who kept the offense humming along with 104 yards and a TD. The Rams definitely weren't at their best, but they still won, and because of that, they're still in the thick of the race for the NFC West title. | |
| B- | |
| The Saints looked to be in control of this game with a 6-0 lead at halftime, but then everything fell apart in the second half. Things got especially ugly during a third quarter where the offense gained just 22 yards while the Rams piled up 180 yards. That's where the Rams took control. Derek Carr struggled to make any big plays in the second half and although Alvin Kamara had a big day (23 carries for 112 yards), it wasn't quite enough to carry the Saints offense. New Orleans' season was on life support going into this game and the Rams just pulled the plug with this win. | |