WEEK 13 REVIEW

The 10-1 Seattle Seahawks came to play when they faced the 9-2 New Orleans Saints at home in Week 13. The entire first quarter was dominated by the Seahawks scoring a 22 yard field goal half way through the quarter. Less than 1 minute later they scored again on a fumble recovery from 22 yards out. With 1:55 left in the first quarter, Russell Wilson connected with Zach Miller for a 2 yard touchdown and the Seahawks led the Saints 17-0.  The Saints were able to drive the ball in the second quarter and Drew Brees connected with Jimmy Graham from 2 yards out giving the Saints a touchdown and what would be their only score of the game.  The Seahawks dominated the ball for the rest of the game scoring a field goal and 2 more touchdowns handing the New Orleans Saints their third loss of the season and taking the Seattle Seahawks to 11-1 and the best record in the NFL with the Playoffs looking like they will be going through Seattle this year.

The New England Patriots faced off with the Houston Texans in a game thought to be dominated by the Patriots.  In the first quarter, Ben Tate scored from 8 yards out and the Texans were up 7-0. Randy Bullock added to their lead by kicking a 43 yard field goal with 4:10 remaining in the first quarter.  Tom Brady marched the ball down the field and connected with his favorite target, Rob Gronkowski for a 23 yard touchdown and the quarter ended with the Texans leading 10-7.  After going back and forth in the second quarter, Ben Tate ran the ball in from 20 yards giving the Texans a 17-7 lead at half time.  Early in the third quarter, James Develin ran in a touchdown from 1 yard out and the score was 17-14.  A few minutes later, Tom Brady was connected with Shane Vereen from 9 yards out and the Patriots got their first lead of the game.  The Texans countered with a touchdown of their own with a 5 yard run by Quarterback Case Keenum from 5 yards and the third quarter ended with the Texans on top again 24-21.  Shortly into the fourth quarter, LeGarrette Blount scored a touchdown from 7 yards out and the Patriots were on top again 28-24.  Two minutes later, the Texans scored a touchdown of their own when Ben Tate ran in his 3rd of the day from 10 yards putting the Texans up 31-28.  In pure Patriots fashion, Tom Brady moved the team into field goal position and they were able to tie the game with a 53 yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski with 7:16 remaining in the game.  The Texans were unable to capitalize on their next drive and punted and the Patriots were able to connect on another 53 yard field goal from Gostkowski putting the Patriots in the lead 34-31 and giving them their 9th win of the season.

The Denver Broncos faced the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in 3 weeks, this time in Kansas City.  The Chiefs scored first on a 17 yard pass from Alex Smith to Junior Hemingway.  In the second quarter, Peyton Manning connected with Eric Decker for 41 yards tying up the game at 7.  On the ensuing kick off, Knile Davis ran back the Bronco kick off 108 yards for a touchdown which was the longest ever in Chiefs history.  A few minutes later, the Chiefs scored again with a 12 yard reception by Anthony Fasano giving the Chiefs a 21-7 lead.  Knowshon Moreno scored a 3 yard touchdown with a pass from Manning with 4:16 left in the first half.  The Broncos took the kickoff in the second half and marched down the field and capped off the drive with a 37 yard pass to Eric Decker tying up the game at 21.  Decker scored another touchdown in the third quarter from 15 yards out and the Broncos led the Chiefs 28-21 at the end of three quarters.  The Broncos scored again early in the fourth quarter with another pass from Peyton Manning to Eric Decker giving Decker his 4th touchdown of the game and the Broncos a 35-21 lead.  Eric Decker had a huge day catching 8 passes for 174 yards and 4 touchdowns averaging 21.8 yards per reception.  The Chiefs were able to put another score on the board with a 1 yard run from Jamaal Charles but ended up losing at home 35-28 and giving the Broncos a distinct advantage in the Playoff picture at 10-2 and winning both division games against the Chiefs.

SCORES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE

• Detroit Lions handily defeated the Green Bay Packers 40-10
• Dallas Cowboys beat the Oakland Raiders 31-24
• Baltimore Ravens defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 22-20
• Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-28
• Jacksonville Jaguars win over the Cleveland Browns 32-28
• Indianapolis Colts defeated the Tennessee Titans 22-14
• Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears 23-20 in Overtime
• Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets 23-3
• Philadelphia Eagles narrowly defeated the Arizona Cardinals 24-21
• Carolina Panthers won easily over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-6
• New England Patriots defeated the Houston Texans 34-31
• Atlanta Falcons beat the Buffalo Bills 34-31
• San Francisco 49ers won over the St. Louis Rams 23-13
• Cincinnati Bengals beat the San Diego Chargers 17-10
• New York Giants defeated the Washington Redskins 24-17
• Seattle Seahawks took the New Orleans Saints to town beating them 34-7

WEEK 13 HIGHLIGHTS

• Peyton Manning completed 63% of his passes for 403 yards and 5 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Manning’s performance in Week 13 takes him through the 4,000 yard mark for the season which is the 13th time in his career he has accomplished that mark. Drew Brees is the next closest with 7 seasons above 4,000 yards on his way to his 8th.
• Josh Gordon caught 10 passes for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• DeMarco Murray carried the ball 17 times for 63 yards and 3 touchdowns in Week 13 and caught 5 passes for 39 yards.
• Matt Stafford threw for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns with 2 interceptions.
• Monte Ball ran the ball 13 times for 117 yards averaging 9.0 yards per carry.
• Andre Holmes caught 7 passes for 136 yards averaging 19.4 yards per reception.
• Maurice Jones-Drew threw 1 touchdown pass from 8 yards out and ran for 77 yards.
• Nick Foles continues to play well completing 62% of his passes for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns and keeps his streak alive with zero interceptions this season.
• Eric Decker caught 8 passes for 174 yards and 4 touchdowns averaging 21.8 yards per reception.
• Jamaal Charles ran the ball 19 times for 93 yards and 1 touchdown.
• Brandon Weeden completed 60 percent of his passes for 370 yards and 3 touchdowns with 2 interceptions.
• Carson Palmer threw for 302 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions against the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Brian Hartline caught 9 passes for 127 yards and 1 touchdown. 
• Josh McCown threw for 355 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Adrian Peterson carried the ball 35 times for 211 yards.
• Alshon Jeffery caught 12 passes for 249 yards and 2 touchdowns averaging 20.8 yards per reception.
• Reggie Bush carried the ball 20 times for 117 yards and 1 touchdown along with catching 5 passes for 65 yards averaging 13 yards per reception.
• Ryan Tannehill eclipsed the 300 yard mark again throwing for 331 yards, 2 touchdowns with 1 interception.
• Cam Newton had a good day and ran the ball 5 times for 68 yards with 1 touchdown in addition to throwing for 263 yards, 2 passing touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
• Brandon Tate ran the ball 22 times for 102 yards and 3 touchdowns averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
• Roddy White caught 10 passes for 143 yards.

QUARTERBACK LEADERS – WEEK 13 PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

• Ben Roethlisberger moved up 2 slots into the #26 position passing Hall of Fame Quarterback Y.A. Tittle and Hall of Fame Quarterback Steve Young and is currently behind Phil Simms with 33,219 Career Passing Yards.  Roethlisberger also threw 3 touchdowns in Week 13 and joined Philip Rivers and Hall of Fame Quarterback Terry Bradshaw at #25 with 212 Career Passing Touchdowns.

• Philip Rivers moved past Steve McNair to the #36 slot behind John Brodie with 31,524 Career Passing Yards.  Rivers joined Terry Bradshaw at #25 with 212 Career Passing Touchdowns.

• Drew Brees threw 1 touchdown and is tied with Tom Brady at #4 behind Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Marino with 353 Career Passing Touchdowns.

• Tom Brady joined Drew Brees at #4 behind Dan Marino with 353 Career Passing Touchdowns.

• Carson Palmer passed Randall Cunningham and joined Kurt Warner and Kerry Collins at the #27 slot with 208 Career Passing Touchdowns.

• Tony Romo threw 1 Touchdown in Week 13 and joined Roman Gabriel and Matt Hasselbeck at #30 with 201 Career Passing Touchdowns.

RUNNING BACK LEADERS – WEEK 13 PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

• Steven Jackson moved up 2 slots to #23 passing Eddie George and Tiki Barber and is behind Thomas Jones with 10,474 Career Rushing Yards.  Jackson’s 2 Touchdowns in Week 13 ties him with Frank Gore at #30 passing Jamal Lewis and Mike Alstott with 59 Career Rushing Touchdowns.

WIDE RECEIVER LEADERS – WEEK 13 PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

• Greg Jennings passed Chris Burford, Anthony Carter and Ed McCaffrey to join Wes Chandler, Tony Martin and Haven Moses at #38 with 56 Career Receiving Touchdowns.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS – WEEK 13 PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

• Jared Allen moved past Simeon Rice to the #11 slot behind Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas with 123.0 Career Sacks.

• Julius Peppers 2.5 Sacks in Week 13 moved him up 1 slot to #15 passing DeMarcus Ware and putting him behind Clyde Simmons with 118.0 Career Sacks.

• Robert Mathis moved up 1 slot to #21 passing Trace Armstrong and sitting behind Pat Swilling at 107.0 Career Sacks.