The Ringer - Everything You Need to Know About Week 14 of the 2022 NFL Season2022-12-12T16:05:14-05:00http://www.theringer.com/rss/stream/232696012022-12-12T16:05:14-05:002022-12-12T16:05:14-05:00The Tua-Herbert Non-Debate, Where Brock Purdy Can Take the 49ers, and More Week 14 Questions Answered
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<p>Kevin and Lindsay also debate whether the Detroit Lions can make the playoffs</p> <p id="tOaFNX"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5haAdZXIwsh0lEcxKX8Cph?si=PQd78HfDReWu3R79ZM6BTA">Kevin is joined by Lindsay Jones</a> to break down the <em>Sunday Night Football </em>matchup between the Chargers and Dolphins, debate whether the Detroit Lions can make the playoffs, discuss what the 49ers’ ceiling is with Brock Purdy as their quarterback, and more takeaways from Week 14.</p>
<p id="9bNkgs">Host: Kevin Clark<br>Guest: Lindsay Jones<br>Producer: Richie Bozek</p>
<p id="FIwz3d"><strong>Subscribe: </strong><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0jh5o8R2BtVM62lFgInu7V?si=db5eb7d3b4674e07&nd=1">Spotify</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2022/12/12/23506083/tua-justin-herbert-non-debate-brock-purdy-balling-for-49ers-nfl-week-14-questions-dolphins-chargersKevin ClarkLindsay Jones2022-12-12T11:22:17-05:002022-12-12T11:22:17-05:00How Much Should These NFL Playoff Hopefuls Be Panicking After Sunday?
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<p>Seven teams that were in line to make the playoffs lost on Sunday. But we learned very different things about the Vikings and Giants compared to, say, the Titans and Dolphins.</p> <p id="rKVJIg">On paper, it seemed like Week 14 would clear up the NFL’s playoff picture. Several teams already in good standing in the postseason race were taking on lesser opponents, and it looked like we were headed for a culling of the herd. Instead, it had the opposite effect. Seven teams that were in line to make the playoffs lost on Sunday, making some divisional and wild-card races even harder to call than before. Not all of those losing teams are in danger of missing out on the postseason—Minnesota is essentially a lock to win the NFC North, and Tennessee has a healthy margin for error in the AFC South—but that doesn’t mean we can’t be concerned about their respective outlooks. So after an eventful slate of games, let’s check on these teams’ panic levels for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs. </p>
<h3 id="pxDd2u">Miami Dolphins</h3>
<p id="vaxZwa">Miami’s playoff odds dropped by 14 percentage points following Sunday night’s 23-17 loss to the Chargers, per <em>FiveThirtyEight</em>, but really the decline is even steeper than that. Two weeks ago, before a West Coast trip from hell, the Dolphins’ chances of making the postseason sat at 91 percent. They’re now down to 73 percent, and with the right combination of results next weekend, that number could dip below 50. Miami will face the Bills on Saturday—Josh Allen and Co. opened up as 7-point favorites—and the slumping Tua Tagovailoa has never played well in Buffalo. </p>
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<p id="Co7n2M">Making matters worse, there now seems to be a blueprint for slowing down what had been a high-flying passing attack over the first three months of the season. Both the 49ers, who beat the Dolphins 33-17 last week, and Chargers played a ton of press coverage against Miami with the aim of disrupting the timing of Mike McDaniel’s quick-strike passing game and forcing Tua to hold on to the ball a little longer. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Chargers utilized a heavy amount of press coverage to disrupt the timing of the Dolphins offense.<br><br>Chargers in Press Coverage (Week 14):<br><br> 35% of detached routes (season-high)<br> Allowed just 1 completion on 8 targets<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MIAvsLAC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MIAvsLAC</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoltUp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BoltUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/NCmGBt6zWn">pic.twitter.com/NCmGBt6zWn</a></p>— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) <a href="https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1602166293431349249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2022</a>
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<p id="B0MrUT">The tactic has definitely accomplished that first goal, but, oddly enough, Tagovailoa’s average time to throw over the past two weeks is shorter than it was over the first 12. That suggests that Tua hasn’t adjusted and is just quickly chucking the ball into nonexistent windows, which certainly seemed to be the case on Sunday night in Los Angeles. </p>
<p id="PEFCd6">Miami has nearly exhausted its margin for error in the playoff race. This is not the time for the offense to go into a prolonged slump. Not with road games against Sean McDermott’s Bills and Bill Belichick’s Patriots coming up over the next three weeks. If the Dolphins can’t split those two games, this team that looked unstoppable after rolling the Texans in Week 12 could miss out on the playoffs. What a difference eight days make. </p>
<p id="VvKTMB"><strong>Panic level: </strong>8 out of 10</p>
<aside id="yD6S9Y"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Winners and Losers of NFL Week 14","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/12/12/23504993/week-14-nfl-winners-losers-brock-purdy-justin-herbert-tua-tagovailoa"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="JLGa0d">New York Giants</h3>
<p id="RQYLrJ">Going into Sunday’s game against Philly, there was a well-reasoned belief that the Giants, with their blitz-heavy approach on defense and run-first approach on offense, could be a tricky matchup for an Eagles team that had shown vulnerabilities against both. But Jalen Hurts and friends needed only about 20 minutes to quiet that thinking. </p>
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<p id="kN8utf">It was an ugly 48-22 loss for the Giants. But New York’s playoff odds dropped only a few percentage points, from 51 percent to 45, and with a win over Washington next week, they would jump to 86 percent, according to <em>FiveThirtyEight</em>. The Giants are still holding on to a playoff spot thanks to Seattle’s loss on Sunday. But the next time New York takes the field, it will have been over a month since it has won a football game. And if not for a garbage-time touchdown against the Eagles backups, Sunday’s game would have been the fourth in a row in which the Giants failed to score more than 20 points. </p>
<p id="s17sdr">The blowout loss to Philly showed how far New York has to go before it can compete with true contenders. The coaching staff has elevated a bad roster, but there’s only so much they can do when facing a talent disadvantage as significant as in Sunday’s game. This was a sobering reality check for a team that has never looked as good as its record implied.</p>
<p id="YK8PXF">The Giants were already playing with house money, so I’m not sure how much their fans should be panicking right now. The first-year front office did not hide that it viewed this as a reset season, meant to clean up the mess former GM/walking meme Dave Gettleman left behind. And with an upcoming game against the similarly mediocre Commanders that will basically decide the team’s postseason fate, New York isn’t in the worst spot. </p>
<p id="TketWI"><strong>Panic level: </strong>4 out of 10</p>
<h3 id="PYNEZO">Tennessee Titans</h3>
<p id="nYSyG1">The Titans are another team that has largely overachieved thanks to an inventive and competent coaching staff. But there is a point of diminishing returns with that kind of success, and it appears Mike Vrabel’s group has reached it. Tennessee was pantsed for a second consecutive week on Sunday, losing 36-22 to a Jaguars team that sits just two games back of the AFC South leaders. The Titans still have an 86 percent chance of making the playoffs, so let’s not get carried away here. But if dragging the Chiefs to overtime was supposed to be evidence that the Titans could compete with the AFC’s top contenders, the past three weeks suggest that the judge should throw that evidence out. </p>
<p id="STa4mt">The defense, which had done much of the heavy lifting when Tennessee was building its lead in the division, ranks 31st in EPA allowed since Week 12. The pass defense alone has surrendered the NFL’s highest EPA average over that time, per RBSDM.com, and the coverage unit, which was missing Kristian Fulton and Tre Avery on Sunday, was no match for Trevor Lawrence, who averaged 8.6 yards per dropback and a season-high 0.42 EPA per dropback. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trevor Lawrence generated a career-high +18.0 passing EPA in the Jaguars' 36-22 victory over the Titans.<br><br>Lawrence has earned a league-high 98 NGS passing score since Week 9, and ranks 2nd in EPA/dropback (+0.24) over that time frame.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JAXvsTEN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JAXvsTEN</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DUUUVAL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DUUUVAL</a> <a href="https://t.co/FPAvedjgMZ">pic.twitter.com/FPAvedjgMZ</a></p>— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) <a href="https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1602056941169016832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="CdDRVQ">It’s the third straight week we’ve seen a top quarterback shred this defense—after Hurts and Joe Burrow—and things won’t get easier with Justin Herbert up next. What was once the team’s strength has become a major weakness, and I’m not sure whether Vrabel and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen have any more answers. </p>
<p id="NzNq4M">It’s not just the defense, either. The offense has scored more than 24 points just once all season, and it ranks 27th in EPA per play during this three-game losing streak. Even with Derrick Henry topping 100 yards for the first time since early November on Sunday, that unit still couldn’t get going. Ryan Tannehill turned the ball over twice, ending what had been a nice little stretch of largely mistake-free football for the Tennessee quarterback. </p>
<p id="HeM7b8">Tennessee appears to have built up enough of a buffer to fend off the Jags—even if Jacksonville can finish off the sweep in Week 18. But it has become clear that this Titans season won’t last much longer than that. </p>
<p id="qOISxP"><strong>Panic level: </strong>7 out of 10</p>
<div id="mpVinN"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/45dgpoQwuaHukSj8iiB0s1?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
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<br>New York Jets</h3>
<p id="OndF54">The Jets are the lone AFC team that fell out of a playoff spot this week after the Chargers leapfrogged them with their win over the Dolphins. New York lost a sloppy, rainy game in Buffalo, but that did not provide any reason to panic outside of injuries to Quinnen Williams and a potential rib issue for Mike White, who took a trip to the hospital after the game as a precautionary measure, according to Robert Saleh. The Jets head coach said he’s hopeful Williams will play next week, and White traveled home with the team. And while a loss to the Bills is a setback—the Jets’ playoff odds dropped below 40 percent, according to <em>FiveThirtyEight</em>—it’s not an unexpected one. New York was a nine-point underdog and managed to give one of the NFL’s best teams a competitive game despite losing its defensive star and starting quarterback. The Jets still control their own destiny and take on the Dolphins in Week 18 in a game that could decide the division. </p>
<p id="I2xquK"><strong>Panic level: </strong>2 out of 10</p>
<h3 id="Hyz4oW">Minnesota Vikings</h3>
<p id="v1crMe">Despite what the standings say, the 6-7 Lions are a better football team than the 10-3 Vikings. Detroit proved that with a decisive 34-23 win over the NFC North leaders on Sunday—and that was with Minnesota getting the best possible version of 1 o’clock Kirk Cousins, who led all passers in EPA per dropback this week, according to TruMedia.</p>
<p id="y81V6d">As has typically been the case this season, the Vikings defense was the weak link. Missing Harrison Smith, who essentially won the Jets game on his own, did not help matters. The All-Pro candidate’s absence made things easy for Jared Goff, who launched several deep balls, including this wide-open toss to rookie Jameson Williams.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jameson Williams first NFL touchdown dots!!<a href="https://twitter.com/NextGenStats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NextGenStats</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZVRGkz3go6">pic.twitter.com/ZVRGkz3go6</a></p>— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) <a href="https://twitter.com/SethWalder/status/1602004744616218625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="0NTdUE">The leaky defense would be easier to overlook if the Vikings offense, and Kirk specifically, were a bit more consistent. Last week, Cousins played his worst game of the season. This week, he followed it up with his best.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">It'll get lost in the shuffle but Kirk Cousins was dealing today. "I thought he was attempting to will our football team to a victory," O'Connell said.<br><br>Per <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNStatsInfo</a>, it has been 4 years since an NFL QB lost when passing for 400 yards, completing 75% and throwing no INTs.</p>— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeifertESPN/status/1602077276815822848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="U5BFmw">Bill Parcells famously said “you are what your record says,” and in response to that, I’d tell him to watch the games. Or just look at some other, more predictive measures of team performance—many of which paint the Vikings to be as mediocre as they appear on tape. Forget about the other (actually legitimate) contenders in the NFC: Minnesota’s underlying metrics pale in comparison to Detroit’s.</p>
<p id="5vZLM8">Sadly for the upstart Lions and neutral observers, it doesn’t matter that the Vikings are lucky to be here. Those 10 wins are already in the bank and it would require a historic collapse—we’re talking Minnesota sports, so that can’t be ruled out—for the Vikings to miss the playoffs, where a matchup with a low-level wild-card team awaits. This bag might be un-fumble-able, no matter how hard Kirk and this defense try down the stretch.</p>
<p id="EKewyn"><strong>Panic level: </strong>5 out of 10 (perfectly mediocre)</p>
<h3 id="YHmU87">Seattle Seahawks</h3>
<p id="2fLDya">It would be easy to spin the narrative that Seattle’s 30-24 loss at home to the Panthers was the first step in Geno Smith’s transformation back into a pumpkin, but that would be a harsh evaluation of his performance. This was easily Smith’s worst game of the season, but a missed offside, which the QB understandably assumed would give him a free play, led to one of his two picks on the day.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here's the play that resulted in Geno Smith's second INT of the day, where he thought he had a free play. Two Panthers at the LOS appear to have jumped offsides before the snap. <a href="https://t.co/YMOufLQNP4">pic.twitter.com/YMOufLQNP4</a></p>— Seahawk Nerd (@SeahawkNerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeahawkNerd/status/1602071175017820160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="2rDOyZ">And the other came on an instinctual play by Jaycee Horn, who abandoned his zone responsibility to intercept an ambitious Cover 2 hole shot.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The INT to set it all up <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProBowlVote?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProBowlVote</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jayceehorn_10?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jayceehorn_10</a> <a href="https://t.co/tDuFnBWXj5">pic.twitter.com/tDuFnBWXj5</a></p>— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Panthers/status/1602056397436641281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="tgB1sp">Geno bounced back from the early mistakes to throw some nice passes, but this wasn’t a pretty game for a quarterback who had been turning in beautiful performances on a weekly basis. His throws didn’t have the same zip they typically do, which shouldn’t come as a surprise after Smith popped up on the injury report with a shoulder issue. Maybe the wear and tear of the season is getting to him—it’s been nearly a decade since he’s thrown this many passes in a season. But Smith won’t be hit with rotten interception luck going forward. So, no, I would not panic over Geno’s performance.</p>
<p id="E5DZSV">I will not say the same for a defense that allowed 223 rushing yards in the loss. Getting trounced in the run game by Josh Jacobs in Week 12—to the tune of 229 yards and a pair of scores—is understandable. Even letting Carolina, which ranks fifth in EPA per rush attempt, run wild isn’t the most shameful thing. But we’ve also seen the Seahawks get run on by the Rams and Bucs—two teams with well-documented issues in the ground game.</p>
<p id="mHJjrK">There isn’t a clear short-term fix for this. Pete Carroll embraced change and <a href="https://sports.mynorthwest.com/1577787/seahawks-2022-coaching-staff-several-changes/">brought in some defensive assistants from outside his coaching tree</a> this offseason, but the results have been bottom-of-the-league awful outside of one good stretch against some bad offenses. This Seahawks defense is demonstrably soft, both conceptually and in practice. A return to Carroll’s old brand—the one that has kind of fallen out of favor, with teams playing more and more two-high coverages now—should probably be in order this offseason.</p>
<p id="ea5nXA">But that’s likely the soonest this unit can turn things around, and if Geno’s shoulder continues to bother him, it will be tough for the passing game to continue to carry the team. With the red-hot 49ers up next followed by a trip to Kansas City, Seattle will have a tough time climbing back into the playoff field after dropping below the cut line for the first time in months.</p>
<p id="sDLF4S"><strong>Panic level: </strong>9 out of 10</p>
<h3 id="oewBzg">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</h3>
<p id="mcTPDb">At this point, should Tampa Bay even try to win the NFC South? It’s almost more embarrassing to take the crown of a division this crappy—and after Sunday’s 35-7 loss to the 49ers, there’s a decent chance they won’t. Carolina upset Seattle to get back within a game of the top spot on Sunday. And Atlanta is still hanging around, as well.</p>
<p id="h9w5vv">None of this really matters, though, because we all know this Bucs season will end with a loss. Tampa Bay is a bad, poorly coached football team, and with Tom Brady heading for free agency, it’s probably time to start thinking about a rebuild. It certainly sounds like Brady is already thinking about his next move. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">From <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLGameDay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLGameDay</a>: All options are on the table for the future of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bucs</a> QB Tom Brady. More here <a href="https://t.co/dY69QfMAWA">pic.twitter.com/dY69QfMAWA</a></p>— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1601974010471915524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="532Z57">We’ve seen Brady do a lot of impossible stuff throughout his career, but we’ve never seen him overcome a mediocre head coach—and that’s being awfully charitable to Todd Bowles. And while it’s easy to just pin everything on Bruce Arians’s replacement, as well as offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, there just isn’t as much talent on this team as there was over the past two years. Retirements, injuries, and general washed-ness have taken their toll on this once-great roster. Sunday’s loss wasn’t the official end of the Brady era in Tampa Bay, but it might as well have been.</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="wufwS5"><strong>Panic level:</strong> 10 out of 10 (but it’s kind of relaxing in a way)</p>
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https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/12/12/23505460/nfl-panic-index-vikings-titans-buccaneers-dolphinsSteven Ruiz2022-12-12T08:23:26-05:002022-12-12T08:23:26-05:00Week 14 Winners and Losers, Plus Brady Gets Brocked
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<p>Handing out awards for the final week of the fantasy football season, including the stars who murdered your playoffs hopes, the tight end explosion, the Texans’ almost historic upset, and more</p> <div id="fQ37XY"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/13RdSPBHc5xomQRQAF1Cld?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="UpPLwQ"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/13RdSPBHc5xomQRQAF1Cld?si=6C9GC-uNTZuMFwbGZkVNlw&nd=1">We recap Week 14 by giving out awards</a> for the biggest winners and losers for the final week of the fantasy regular season, including the stars who murdered your playoffs hopes, the tight end explosion, the Texans’ almost historic upset, Tony Pollard’s legendary year, Saquon-panic, the mid-round wide receiver saviors, and more. We end by inducting our next player into the 2022 Fantasy Burn Book.</p>
<p id="Z3ONPi">Check out our <a href="https://fantasyfootball.theringer.com/">Weekly Fantasy Football Rankings</a> for positional rankings and more!</p>
<p id="2orXYl">Email us! <a href="mailto:ringerfantasyfootball@gmail.com">ringerfantasyfootball@gmail.com</a></p>
<p id="OQvhlw">Hosts: Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly, and Craig Horlbeck<br>Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Kai Grady</p>
<p id="zkuyIm"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0XLPhMzcKmxoNziHkVkYpR">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ringer-fantasy-football-show/id1523722173">Apple Podcasts</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2022/12/12/23505207/week-14-winners-and-losers-plus-brady-gets-brockedDanny HeifetzDanny KellyCraig Horlbeck2022-12-12T08:10:48-05:002022-12-12T08:10:48-05:00Week 14 Recap: Herbert Upsets Tua, Eagles Blow Out the Giants, Lions Beat the Vikings
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<p>Nora and Steven are joined by Ben Solak to discuss what the Chargers defense was able to do to stunt Miami’s offense</p> <div id="oiBqHu"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/4J6TGAQWZPcx8JeOMIIAjd?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="xsOUUF"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4J6TGAQWZPcx8JeOMIIAjd?si=ooxtVQYNRp-X-p_UTWoIbA">Nora and Steven are joined by Ben Solak to discuss</a> the highly anticipated matchup between the Chargers and Dolphins. They discuss what the Chargers defense was able to do to stunt Tua Tagovailoa and Miami’s offense. They also talk about Justin Herbert’s impressive performance and where this game leaves the Chargers moving forward. Then Nora and Steven pick out their winners and losers for the week, including the Eagles, Jaguars, and Bucs (33:07).</p>
<p id="TQdlP9">Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Steven Ruiz<br>Guest: Ben Solak<br>Associate Producer: Isaiah Blakely</p>
<p id="z7rUF5"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3sYLdv261f5jLvEgDLU9PD?si=PwTF-GumR7qtUP5FZdCKOQ">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fthe-ringer-nfl-show%2Fid1109282822%3Fmt%3D2&xcust=xid:fr1570809570442jba%7Cxid:fr1571141035709iah%7Cxid:fr1571400354183cfa%7Cxid:fr1571745693269afb%7Cxid:fr1572005002168iib%7Cxid:fr1572350612110bei">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/ringer-nfl-show">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ringernflshow">RSS</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2022/12/12/23505191/week-14-recap-herbert-upsets-tua-eagles-blow-out-the-giants-lions-beat-the-vikingsNora PrinciottiSteven RuizBen Solak2022-12-12T03:36:40-05:002022-12-12T03:36:40-05:00Winners and Losers of NFL Week 14
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<p>From Brock Purdy’s huge debut against Tom Brady, to Justin Herbert outdueling Tua Tagovailoa, to one of the ugliest punts we’ve ever seen, here are our winners and losers from this week in the NFL</p> <p id="VAsh0b"><em>Every week of the 2022 NFL season, we will celebrate the electric plays, investigate the colossal blunders, and explain the inexplicable moments of the most recent slate. Welcome to Winners and Losers. Which one are you?</em></p>
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<h3 id="OO891F">Winner: Brock Purdy</h3>
<p id="dB0zG3">The 49ers had to bench Brock Purdy. <em>Of course</em>, you think. How could San Francisco, with all its Super Bowl hopes and dreams, possibly compete with a rookie seventh-round pick at quarterback? But the Niners did not bench Purdy on Sunday because he was bad: They benched him because Purdy led the 49ers to a 35-0 lead on Tom Brady’s Buccaneers, and they needed to keep their new QB1 healthy for a playoff run. </p>
<p id="M79BhW">Purdy, the last pick in this year’s NFL draft, made his first pro start on Sunday after injuries took out the Niners’ top two quarterbacks, Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. Much was made before this game about how Brady <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLonCBS/status/1599823918944043008">had never lost a game against a QB making his first career start</a>. But Brock Purdy is no Luke Falk or Luke McCown. (Lukes, please avoid playing Tom Brady. Only Brocks can make throws like this.)</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Purdy good throw!<br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TBvsSF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TBvsSF</a> on FOX<br> : Stream on NFL+ <a href="https://t.co/Y8d9nuZcHK">https://t.co/Y8d9nuZcHK</a> <a href="https://t.co/IFujGeGyeK">pic.twitter.com/IFujGeGyeK</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1602068066719842305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="NSFwsI">When I first heard last week that the Niners would be turning to Mr. Irrelevant, I assumed we’d see little more than a game manager. I watched Purdy at Iowa State and, well, he didn’t exactly jump off the tape. He looked best early in his college career, steadily dropping off as Iowa State’s offense became more and more reliant on RB Breece Hall. Scouting reports praised him for his accuracy, but not his arm strength or athleticism. It seemed to fit a Niners team quarterbacked by Garoppolo, an unspectacular player who ranks 26th among qualifying quarterbacks in air yards per attempt and 31st in percentage of throws over 10 yards. </p>
<p id="kbZ65r">Garoppolo hadn’t completed a touchdown pass of more than 25 air yards this season. Purdy threw two on Sunday. And, like, who the hell is this guy? </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brock out here ballin'<br><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TBvsSF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TBvsSF</a> on FOX<br> NFL+ // <a href="https://t.co/d2FDeaE8pp">https://t.co/d2FDeaE8pp</a> <a href="https://t.co/1zjsUaH2IO">pic.twitter.com/1zjsUaH2IO</a></p>— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1602065212244303872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="WDmyQj">Purdy made one awful rookie-type decision on Sunday, a brutal interception to an underneath linebacker that was, fortunately for Purdy, wiped off due to a penalty. And the Niners still primarily won because of their defense and run game—they shut out the Bucs for 43 minutes and rushed for over 200 yards—but Purdy can run the Niners’ staple plays <em>and also</em> make some throws that haven’t really been a part of their offense for a while. It legitimately seems like this rookie can be an upgrade on the quarterback who got the Niners to the NFC championship game last season. Sorry, Tom—America has its new favorite late-round quarterback. </p>
<h3 id="EIFdJB">Winner: Justin Herbert</h3>
<p id="BEttly">Sunday night’s game between the Chargers and Dolphins was inevitably defined by one talking point: In the 2020 NFL draft, Miami picked Tua Tagovailoa at no. 5, one spot before Justin Herbert went to the Chargers. In the years since, Tagovailoa and Herbert have been two of the most divisive quarterbacks in the league. Both have cult followings. Herbert’s fans share highlights of their hero’s powerful arm blasting seemingly impossible throws across the field, while Tua’s fans share ominous lists of media members they believe have disrespected the Miami Dolphins franchise. (I hope that I can avoid a spot on these lists, due to my <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2018/1/9/16868318/alabama-tua-tagovailoa-national-championship-game-recap">staunch</a> <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2020/4/13/21219100/tua-tagovailoa-alabama-nfl-draft-scouting-report-debate">history</a> of <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/10/21/21527117/tua-tagovailoa-miami-dolphins-starter">Tua support,</a> but I fear it is too late.) Meanwhile, neither has made the playoffs while their draft classmate Joe Burrow has made the Super Bowl. </p>
<p id="7scCtd">The two quarterbacks had met once, in their rookie seasons, but that was before everybody had come up with their best takes about them. With both teams on the cusp of the playoffs, Sunday night was Ragnarök for Tuanon and Herbert Hive. </p>
<p id="vs7LCK">Herbert won this round 10-8. He dropped a 50-yard bomb into a bucket for Mike Williams:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Herbert and Mike Williams playmaking duo has been on point all game <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoltUp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BoltUp</a><br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MIAvsLAC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MIAvsLAC</a> on NBC<br> : Stream on NFL+ <a href="https://t.co/Fjz0sbDEsG">https://t.co/Fjz0sbDEsG</a> <a href="https://t.co/CLGBpoA7bG">pic.twitter.com/CLGBpoA7bG</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1602146753226059776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2022</a>
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<p id="nrxqnS">And this tight-window pass to Keenan Allen traveled so fast that I can’t quite figure out where it went, even on the slow-motion replays:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Justin Herbert is a magician ✨<br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MIAvsLAC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MIAvsLAC</a> on NBC<br> : Stream on NFL+ <a href="https://t.co/Fjz0sbDEsG">https://t.co/Fjz0sbDEsG</a> <a href="https://t.co/PvusyR1X5s">pic.twitter.com/PvusyR1X5s</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1602152846434000896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2022</a>
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<p id="g038Au">Meanwhile, Tua had one of the ugliest performances of his career. The Chargers played press coverage on the Dolphins’ receivers, banking that Tua would struggle to make more difficult throws if the early rhythm of plays was disrupted. They were right. He went 10-for-28 for 145 yards, with 40 percent of that yardage coming on a 60-yard pass to Tyreek Hill. The missed passes were really stunning for a quarterback whose accuracy has always been a strength; I’d drop some videos of the missed throws that defined his night, but the NFL generally doesn’t tweet out videos of incompletions. </p>
<p id="BLRWKq">The Chargers won, 23-17, putting Los Angeles in the seventh and final AFC playoff spot. The win will define everybody’s opinions about these two quarterbacks … at least for the next few weeks. </p>
<h3 id="YRPlPQ">Winner: The Detroit Lions</h3>
<p id="DtL3qp">There were moments last year when I began to truly consider the idea that the Detroit Lions were cursed. Of course, this is something Detroit Lions fans have been considering for years, perhaps something they were told the very first time their parents gave them a child-size Calvin Johnson or Barry Sanders jersey. </p>
<p id="Y0pQxx">I’ve always been aware of the Lions’ general historic badness, but really bought into the supernatural last year, as they started 0-10-1 with five one-possession losses. Three were decided on last-second field goals, including Justin Tucker’s record-setting 66-yarder off the crossbar. Detroit’s coach, Dan Campbell, seemed to be at wit’s end, sometimes breaking down in tears in press conferences. The team was playing the right way, but losing in increasingly improbable ways. </p>
<p id="WGPWrl">This season, they’re not leaving things to chance. They’ve won five of six, and have the NFL’s fifth-ranked offense. Last week, they beat the Jaguars by 26, the team’s largest win in four years. This week, they pulled off one of the best victories in recent Detroit history, toppling the NFC North–leading Vikings in a 34-23 victory. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Justin Jackson dives for six!<br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MINvsDET?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MINvsDET</a> on FOX<br> : Stream on NFL+ <a href="https://t.co/RvZfbqafel">https://t.co/RvZfbqafel</a> <a href="https://t.co/odbQW5k6rs">pic.twitter.com/odbQW5k6rs</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1602037216678584320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="x9yvVi">Despite entering the day allowing more than 5.2 yards per rushing attempt, the Lions held Minnesota to 22 yards on 17 carries. They also kept Minnesota’s star wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, out of the end zone. (Don’t ask how many <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401437892">receiving yards Jefferson had</a>, it’s not important.) Detroit’s offense has scored at least 25 points in the team’s past five games, and even though their defense is one of the worst in the league, they now have a positive point differential. (The 10-3 Vikings do not.)</p>
<p id="c8G3rS">Getting to the playoffs will be a tough ask for Detroit. They’re 6-7, leaving them 1.5 games out of the NFC playoff field with four games left. Even though they have one of the easiest remaining schedules, the odds aren’t in their favor. But as exciting as a thrilling offense and win streaks are, Lions fans know that the future is what matters. The top two rookies in sack totals—Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston—both play for the Lions; rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams made his first NFL catch Sunday after missing most of the season with an ACL injury he suffered in college, and it was a wide-open touchdown.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jameson Williams’ 1st career catch is a TOUCHDOWN. <a href="https://twitter.com/bigsgjamo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bigsgjamo</a><br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MINvsDET?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MINvsDET</a> on FOX<br> : Stream on NFL+ <a href="https://t.co/RvZfbqafel">https://t.co/RvZfbqafel</a> <a href="https://t.co/UxgqBFfI4g">pic.twitter.com/UxgqBFfI4g</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1602004489648553984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="cXk8Uz">And the Lions are set to reap the rewards of the Matthew Stafford trade, as the 4-9 Rams will likely give Detroit a top-five pick in this year’s NFL draft. The way Detroit has been drafting, we can expect the Lions to hit.</p>
<p id="Cwzwae">I don’t think people watch bad football teams because they enjoy watching losses. I think they do it because of hope. They might say there’s a curse, but they believe deep down inside that they’re watching something beautiful building—play by play, win by win, season by season. For decades, that hasn’t been true in Detroit. But you can see the blocks placed by last year’s dismal Lions in this year’s exciting-but-still-not-there-yet Lions. And it’s easy to imagine that we’ll see the blocks placed by these high-scoring, no-defense Lions when they’re an honest-to-goodness legit contender in two or three years. Maybe when this generation of Lions parents gives their children those small Hutchinson or Williams jerseys, they won’t have to say a thing about some curse. </p>
<h3 id="ZvZSzr">Winner: Offensive Weapon Penei Sewell</h3>
<p id="EzOSIH">The Lions all but sealed their win over the Vikings with one of the most majestic and oddest play calls in recent NFL history. Holding a 31-23 lead at the two-minute warning and trying to ice the game, the Lions faced a third-and-7—always a tough conversion, no matter the situation. So the Lions decided to highlight the athleticism of one of their best players … 340-pound offensive tackle Penei Sewell.</p>
<p id="jHhsTt">In the lead-up to the 2021 draft, there was plenty of buzz that the Lions should draft a receiver at no. 7. But when the Bengals drafted Ja’Marr Chase at no. 5 and the Dolphins grabbed Jaylen Waddle at no. 6, the Lions seemed thrilled to pick Sewell. I guess they didn’t have to choose between blocker or catcher: Sewell can do both. On Sunday, the Lions lined Sewell (who had reported as an eligible receiver) up out wide and had him motion across the formation. The Vikings must have assumed he was trying to build a momentum to throw a mega-powerful block, and stayed out of his way. Instead, Detroit threw the ball to Sewell in space. There was nobody near him, and if anybody was, they wouldn’t have been able to stop him. He bellyflopped across the 34-yard line, picking up the first down and staying inbounds to keep the clock moving. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">No. 58 reports as an eligible receiver. No. 58 is an eligible receiver.<a href="https://twitter.com/peneisewell58?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@peneisewell58</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProBowlVote?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProBowlVote</a> <a href="https://t.co/DiihvbkkeS">pic.twitter.com/DiihvbkkeS</a></p>— Detroit Lions (@Lions) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lions/status/1602047113692872704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="B9tlq3">Sewell is the first offensive lineman to catch a pass in the NFL this year, but it’s a somewhat common trick play to put six linemen on the field and throw to the sixth. Most of the time, however, offensive linemen are goal-line targets. According to TruMedia, eight of the 12 catches by offensive linemen in the 2020 and 2021 seasons were short-yardage touchdowns. Often, defenses forget they’re supposed to guard the eligible lineman, allowing them to get wide open in the end zone. The QB lobs a soft pass to a massive target. He has one job: catch the pass and hold on in the end zone. Teams generally don’t want linemen worrying about running with the ball in their hands. </p>
<p id="nW8Xah">This is <em>not</em> what the Lions did. They designed a play for Sewell to pick up yardage after the catch. It’s the first legitimate third-and-long conversion by a lineman I can find in the TruMedia database that goes back to 2000. (Donald Penn did pick up a third-and-10 in 2009, but the pass was deflected.)</p>
<p id="7nXFjl">This didn’t come out of nowhere. The Lions have run 82 plays this season with at least six offensive linemen on the field, second-most in the NFL. And their sixth offensive lineman doesn’t always just line up and block. On Thanksgiving against Buffalo, they had Matt Nelson go in motion and <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1595838193873526785">dump a linebacker with momentum to set up a Jamaal Williams touchdown</a>; earlier in the season, <a href="https://twitter.com/Nate_Tice/status/1572286130195951616">they made Nelson go across the formation twice to see how the defense would react</a>. And on Sunday, just a few plays before the pass to Sewell, the Lions had Sewell line up in the slot to set a block. </p>
<p id="2a7peQ">Sprinting free with the ball, Sewell was a lot like these Detroit Lions. As a football fan, you’re not used to seeing an offensive lineman chugging downfield for a critical first down, or a Detroit team that’s thinking about the playoffs this close to Christmas. But you know that when something that weird picks up that much momentum, you’re going to want to watch what happens next.</p>
<h3 id="cEcWIT">Winner: The Texans Tank</h3>
<p id="Csu8Iz">Sunday’s Cowboys-Texans intrastate “rivalry” game had the biggest spread of the season—17.5 points!—and for good reason. The Cowboys entered Sunday with the best point differential in the NFL after beating the Colts 54-19 last week, the most points scored by any team in any game all season long. The Texans entered Sunday with the worst point differential in the NFL after allowing three defensive/special teams touchdowns last week against the Browns. The Cowboys have Super Bowl hopes; the Texans hope to get the top pick in the draft.</p>
<p id="Bveqjm">But the Texans showed up to play Sunday, on both sides of the ball. On offense, they went with a two-QB system, and neither of the quarterbacks was Kyle Allen, who threw four interceptions in back-to-back multiscore losses in the past two weeks. Davis Mills started, and the Texans gave several drives to Jeff Driskel, a run-first backup who hadn’t thrown a pass in an NFL game since serving as Drew Lock’s backup in Denver in 2020. Houston put up 23 points, their second-highest scoring performance of the season, and forced three Cowboys turnovers, including two interceptions off Dak Prescott:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tremon Smith has his 2nd INT of the day for the Texans!<br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HOUvsDAL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HOUvsDAL</a> on FOX<br> : Stream on NFL+ <a href="https://t.co/VIs6xlIHaH">https://t.co/VIs6xlIHaH</a> <a href="https://t.co/Nv1XRvKq5k">pic.twitter.com/Nv1XRvKq5k</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1602042028807794688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="PPkyri">That interception gave the Texans first-and-goal on the Dallas 4-yard line, with the lead and five minutes to go. It was going to take real magic to lose the game—but the Texans had that magic in them. With primary running back Dameon Pierce injured, they put in Rex Burkhead, who is normally only used on passing downs and had zero goal-line carries this season. You know how some running backs are called “short-yardage specialists?” Well, players like Burkhead are long-yardage specialists, and against Dallas he kept making the yardage longer. His first rush went backwards. His second rush also went backwards. Dating back to last season, Burkhead’s past four goal-to-go carries have gone backward. </p>
<p id="vpaxfa">The Texans wound up with a fourth-and-goal situation. They could’ve kicked a field goal to take a six-point lead, but instead tried to go for a touchdown to take a two-possession lead. And then, they dialed up the worst fourth-down play of the season—a speed option for Driskel, the quarterback who hadn’t played meaningful snaps in years, and Burkhead, the running back who is not particularly good at running. Driskel ran left. Burkhead ran right. I don’t know who was wrong, but it was one of the two guys who probably shouldn’t have been playing in this situation. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">HUGE stop by <a href="https://twitter.com/Path2Greatwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Path2Greatwork</a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cowboys?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cowboys</a> to stay alive against the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Texans</a>! <a href="https://t.co/WZ35x725v4">pic.twitter.com/WZ35x725v4</a></p>— NFL Canada (@NFLCanada) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLCanada/status/1602044112638996480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="8MZKjt">The Cowboys got the ball at the 2-yard line and went the length of the field for a go-ahead touchdown, and then Mills threw an interception to end the game. The Texans lost 27-23, covering the massive spread by two touchdowns, and are just three losses away from sealing the top pick in the draft. If they can overperform <em>and</em> still pull out losses like this one, I have no doubt that they can do it. </p>
<h3 id="Z32wyk">Loser: The Punt That Wasn’t</h3>
<p id="TGvxFM">It seems like every World Cup commercial is about how football shouldn’t be called “football.” And I’m tired of it! Soccer may involve feet more frequently than football, but how many different methods of kicking a ball are listed in soccer’s rule book? Just one? Thought so. Football’s immensely complex rule book outlines <em>three</em> types of kicking—placekicks, punts, and drop kicks, each of which is allowed in certain circumstances and leads to different situations. Sunday, Giants punter Jamie Gillan invented a fourth way of kicking, with disastrous results. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Interesting tidbit: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Giants?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Giants</a> punter Jamie Gillan is from Scotland and used to play Rugby <a href="https://t.co/w9V4eoTnTi">pic.twitter.com/w9V4eoTnTi</a></p>— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) <a href="https://twitter.com/uSTADIUM/status/1602016852691107840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="DCveSw">Gillan screwed up the drop, which is hypothetically the easiest part of the punting process. Instead of dropping the ball onto his foot, he threw it in front of him, and the ball hit the ground before Gillan even had a chance to swing his leg. Most likely the ball slipped from Gillan’s hand, since it was rainy in New Jersey, and rain is the worst enemy of any special teamer.</p>
<p id="OIcnsc">As the ball skittered along the ground, Gillan decided to kick it anyway—but that was actually a pretty awful idea. The NFL’s rule book specifically defines punts as taking place “before [the ball] strikes the ground.” What Gillan did was essentially kicking a fumble, which is illegal, and he was flagged for “illegal kicking of a loose ball.” It’s an <em>extremely </em>rare<em> </em>penalty—I can’t find any accepted illegal kick penalties since 2013, when Brandon Weeden <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Bjjd2wGVks">kicked a ball out of the back of the end zone to avoid a safety</a>. (The Cowboys did get flagged for illegal kicking on a botched extra point attempt earlier this year, but the penalty was declined.) </p>
<p id="2MMT8o">I get that Gillan was trying to prevent the Eagles from getting to his fumble and returning it for a touchdown—but is “randomly kicking the ball” really the best way to make that happen? The penalty gave the Eagles the ball at the Giants’ 33-yard line, essentially the equivalent of a negative-10-yard punt, officially making it the worst punt of the season—and it wasn’t even a punt.</p>
<h3 id="3ix9wc">Loser: The NFL’s Concussion Protocol (Again)</h3>
<p id="6e2wUu">How can it get uglier than an NFL game in which both starting quarterbacks get knocked out of the game with concussions? From a football perspective, a double-concussion game features two backup quarterbacks struggling to score after taking second-team snaps all week. From an emotional perspective, it’s even worse, watching the game go on after two young players have their brains shaken up. But the NFL found a way to make it uglier, as Sunday’s Steelers-Ravens game once again raised questions about whether the league is following its own (recently updated) concussion rules.</p>
<p id="bF9LeH">Pittsburgh starter Kenny Pickett left the game at the end of the Steelers’ first drive, having thrown just one pass. Replays showed Pickett hitting the back of his head on the ground after this hit by Baltimore LB Roquan Smith: </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Obviously Smith grabbed Pickett’s face mask, slammed Kenny into the ground and as the video shows, still had a hold of the face mask when Kenny was on the ground.<br><br>No penalty.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Steelers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Steelers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ravens?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ravens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/6xfriNRXYj">pic.twitter.com/6xfriNRXYj</a></p>— Obviously (Not) Tomlin (@Tomlin_Sense) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tomlin_Sense/status/1602006305878802435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="nyWSHm">Pickett was sent to the medical tent, evaluated for a concussion, and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35232688/steelers-kenny-pickett-protocol-rest-game">reportedly cleared</a>. He came back into the game for Pittsburgh’s next series, handed the ball off twice and threw an incomplete pass. It was only then, <em>after</em> <em>being cleared and coming back into the game</em>, that Pickett was pulled and ruled out for the rest of the game due to a concussion. Head coach Mike Tomlin explained later that Pickett <a href="https://twitter.com/bepryor/status/1602054840028631040">was pulled from the game when he “became symptomatic</a>,” which would imply that Pickett suffered a concussion, somehow went through test after test with the league’s independent neurologists and seemed fine, and <em>then, </em>15 minutes later, started to show symptoms. </p>
<p id="nrkmKs">Maybe that’s what happened. Brains are tricky. But if that is what happened, it raises more questions than it answers. Why is the NFL’s protocol so heavily based on immediate sideline evaluations when the possibility exists for delayed reactions? I’d almost rather believe that this was an error by the Steelers, who somehow screwed up and accidentally sent Pickett back into the game, than an indicator that sideline testing is missing delayed reactions. Either way, it’s awful for Pickett, who <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/steelers-qb-kenny-pickett-concussion-buccaneers-mitchell-trubisky">also suffered a concussion in Week 6 against the Buccaneers</a>, giving him two in his rookie season. The NFL and NFL Players Association already rewrote part of its protocols earlier this season after Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa was allowed to return to a game against the Bills in September after exhibiting gross motor instability—a common symptom of a traumatic brain injury—only to be knocked unconscious in his next game four days later. </p>
<p id="ImZQkD">After Pickett’s exit on Sunday, the game went on. Baltimore’s quarterback, Tyler Huntley, also suffered a concussion, forcing Ravens third-stringer Anthony Brown to make his NFL debut. But the Ravens won anyway because Pickett’s backup, Mitchell Trubisky, threw three interceptions. It feels crass to bring up the poor quality of play when discussing the long-term physical health of players, but it’s also important. When the NFL can’t figure out how to keep its most important players safe from brain injuries, it isn’t worth watching. </p>
<h3 id="veGoE2">Loser: A Fantasy Fumble</h3>
<p id="HgYLWu">It’s fantasy football crunch time—playoffs in most leagues start next week, which means this was the last chance for teams to qualify, earn byes, or avoid finishing in last place. Desperate fantasy football players across the nation were looking at <em>Sunday Night Football</em>, hoping Justin Herbert or Jaylen Waddle would provide a few extra points—making it a bad time for one of the most unusual fantasy rulings in recent memory. </p>
<p id="KVuKOo">In the second quarter, Dolphins RB Jeff Wilson Jr. rushed for a first down and fumbled. The ball flew into the air, flopped to the ground, rolled around and disappeared under a pile of Dolphins and Chargers—and then suddenly and inexplicably popped up into the hands of Tyreek Hill. With so many players clustered around the ball (and some appearing to believe the play was over), the rest of the field was wide open for one of the league’s fastest players. Hill broke loose for a 57-yard offensive fumble recovery touchdown:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">What... just... happened <a href="https://twitter.com/cheetah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cheetah</a><br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MIAvsLAC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MIAvsLAC</a> on NBC<br> : Stream on NFL+ <a href="https://t.co/Fjz0sbDEsG">https://t.co/Fjz0sbDEsG</a> <a href="https://t.co/I0dh4l6iR0">pic.twitter.com/I0dh4l6iR0</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1602125606514176000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2022</a>
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<p id="vmjnLf">Offensive fumble recovery touchdowns are <em>rare—</em>going into Week 14 there had only been one this season. In fantasy football, most leagues give players six points for recovering a fumble for a touchdown, but no points for the yardage. Normally, this isn’t an issue, because this type of play nearly always occurs near the end zone, like <a href="https://twitter.com/Titans/status/1596941883053408257">Treylon Burks hopping on Derrick Henry’s fumble in the end zone,</a> or Sam Darnold <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1596955789951762432">recovering his own fumble at the 1-yard line </a>and rolling on the ground for a score. Before Sunday night, <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/buXXk">there hadn’t been an offensive fumble recovery touchdown of more than 10 yards since 2017</a>, a fluke play where <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgkP9DtZpkk">a Melvin Gordon fumble popped right into Keenan Allen’s hands.</a> So in most fantasy leagues, Hill got just six points here instead of 11.7 points. (Luckily, he had a 60-yard touchdown catch later to cheer up his fantasy managers.) </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="ylDe72">It’s semi-justifiable, since punt return and kick return yardage isn’t included in fantasy scoring either. But those are special teams plays, and this is clearly offensive yardage. The most important thing to remember is that football is made up, fantasy football is <em>even more </em>made up, and the whole thing is designed to make you mad that you didn’t get 5.7 points that you believe you deserve, even though you don’t.</p>
<aside id="Qiwl9h"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ringer_newsletter"}'></div></aside>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/12/12/23504993/week-14-nfl-winners-losers-brock-purdy-justin-herbert-tua-tagovailoaRodger Sherman2022-12-12T02:59:14-05:002022-12-12T02:59:14-05:00Herbert’s Back, Tampa’s Dead, Carolina’s Alive, and Hurts Is the MVP
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<figcaption>Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Plus, guessing Week 15 lines with Cousin Sal and another edition of Parent Corner</p> <div id="MsKpzF"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/45dgpoQwuaHukSj8iiB0s1?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="t7Id9e"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/45dgpoQwuaHukSj8iiB0s1?si=1dc76e059bb94407"><em>The Ringer</em>’s Bill Simmons is joined by Cousin Sal to discuss the conference implications of the Dolphins’ loss to the Chargers,</a> Jets-Bills, the 49ers’ blowout win over the Buccaneers, the Eagles’ quest for a 16-win season, the Cowboys escaping a loss to the Texans, Browns-Bengals, Panthers-Seahawks, NFC South turmoil, and more (3:10). Then, they guess the lines for NFL Week 15 (45:22), before closing the show with Parent Corner (1:16:56).</p>
<p id="XJ1kWQ">Host: Bill Simmons<br>Guest: Cousin Sal<br>Producer: Kyle Crichton</p>
<p id="TNT7tD"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/07SjDmKb9iliEzpNcN2xGD?si=X1S_fYL7REi9NlCpheLw6g">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bill-simmons-podcast/id1043699613?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/the-bill-simmons-podcast">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/thebillsimmonspodcast">RSS</a></p>
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https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/2022/12/12/23505056/herberts-back-tampas-dead-carolinas-alive-and-hurts-is-the-nfl-mvpBill SimmonsCousin Sal Iacono