The Seattle Seahawks will move into the lead in the NFC West and 2nd place in the NFC if they defeat the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.
The Seattle Seahawks got a big boost to their potential playoff picture on Sunday, and they didn’t even have to step on the field to do so.
The 49ers lost a close battle to the Ravens, 20-17, after Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker nailed a 49-yard field goal as time expired to give them the win.
The loss dropped San Francisco to 10-2 on the season.
Should Seattle defeat Minnesota on Monday night, they would also be 10-2 on the season, and in first place in the NFC West and second overall in the NFC. They currently hold the tiebreaker over their NFC West rivals after defeating them in overtime in Week 10.
As great as a win would be for Seattle’s fortunes, a loss would put them 9-3 on the year and all the way down to sixth place in the NFC.
Minnesota would hold a tiebreaker over them for the rest of the year, and they are currently locked in a tie for the NFC North title – with Green Bay holding the tiebreaker over them.
So, without question, Monday night’s battle will have huge playoff implications in the crowded NFC.
However – San Francisco will get a chance to even the score against Seattle in Week 17, in what promises to be one of the most exciting finishes of any NFL season in recent memory.
The Ravens didn’t play their best football but still pulled out a win against the 49ers. Here’s the studs and duds that made it happen.
The Baltimore Ravens played some championship football in Week 13, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 20-17. Both teams slugged it out on the ground and through the air but Baltimore managed to pull out a win as time expired.
It’s a time to celebrate as the Ravens make it eight-straight wins this season, with several being against top competition. But it was far from a perfect win, with several players not playing their best football. Let’s take a look at the stud Ravens who helped win the game and the few duds that made it harder than it needed to be.
Stud: K Justin Tucker
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
As if Tucker needed any more credit for being the best kicker in the league, he answered Baltimore’s call. A 49-yard game-winning field goal as time expired on a field that had been rained and iced on all day long is about as amazing as it gets.
There are 31 other teams in the NFL that wished they had a kicker they knew was going to nail that through the uprights. When the Ravens called Tucker out onto the field, there was little question they had already won the game.
Justin Tucker hit a game-winning field goal to give the Ravens a win over the 49ers. He has made all but two kicks for Baltimore this year.
Two of the best teams in the NFL played on Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers traveled to Baltimore to face the Ravens. Tied at 17 with 0:03 left in the game, Baltimore had the opportunity to win the game with a field goal.
From 49 yards out, former Longhorn kicker Justin Tucker drilled a game-winning field goal. giving the Ravens the 20-17 win. It put the Ravens at 10-2 and with a chance to be in first place in the AFC.
Tucker also made a 30-yard field goal in the first half, while adding two extra points.
Tucker has made 95% of his field-goal attempts, going 20-21. He has made all but one of his extra points, making him one of the best kickers in the NFL.
A dead rivalry since 2011, Texas used to play Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night. Here is the series history between these two bitter rivals.
One of the best rivalries in all of college football, the annual Lone Star Showdown between Texas and Texas A&M was played every single year from 1915-2011. The rivalry had started before then, being played 22 times beginning in 1894.
Being played on Thanksgiving for the first time in 1901, it became an annual tradition beginning in 1996. Playing on the holiday for a total of 63 times, it was one of, if not the only, college football game played that night.
When Texas A&M left for the SEC in 2012, the matchup that had been played 118 times went dormant. There have been rumors of the two schools playing each other in a bowl game, but until then, it remains a dead rivalry.
Here is the series history of the historic Thanksgiving Day rivalry between the Longhorns and Aggies:
All-time series record: Texas leads 76-37-5
Largest wins: Texas 48-0 in 1898, Texas A&M 42-10 in 1985
Latest Texas win: Nov. 24, 2011
The final matchup between the two schools took place in College Station where the 25th ranked Longhorns faced now NFL quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Neither team lit up the stat sheet, with Texas having 237 yards and Texas A&M having 328. Both teams each had 10 penalties, totaling 187 yards.
The Aggies were in total control of the game in the middle of the second quarter, up 13-0. Their defense had forced the seventh straight Texas punt, but returner Dustin Harris muffed the punt and the Longhorns recovered. One play later, wide receiver Jaxon Shipley threw a double pass 41-yard touchdown to Blaine Irby.
After a couple A&M field goals to end the half, Tannehill threw a pick-six to Carrington Byndom to cut the Longhorn deficit to two. Later in the quarter, Quandre Diggs took a punt down to the Aggie nine-yard line to set up the field goal that gave Texas their first lead. The Longhorns extended that lead to 24-16 on their next drive via a Cody Johnson rushing touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, A&M scored 10 points in their final two drives, taking the 25-24 lead. With 1:48 left in the game, quarterback Case McCoy lead Texas on a drive to put them in field goal range that included a 25 yard run from McCoy. They set up kicker Justin Tucker to have a chance to end the rivalry with a game-winning field goal.
Tucker hit the field goal to give the Longhorns their 76th win in series history. Texas ended the rivalry the only way they knew how, with a win.
Latest Texas A&M win: Nov. 25, 2010
Thanksgiving night 2010 ended up being the final Lone Star Showdown that took place in Austin. The Aggies were ranked No. 17 at the time and had a chance to make an appearance in the Big 12 championship with a win. Even though they beat Texas by seven, they still came up a little short of winning the Big 12 South.
The story of the game was Texas A&M’s running back Cyrus Gray. On 27 rushes, he ran for 223 yards, averaging 8.3 yards per carry. A good chunk of his yards came on his two touchdowns, where he had an 84-yard score in the second quarter and a 43-yard touchdown that ended up being the game-winning score for Texas A&M.
For Texas, quarterback Garrett Gilbert was under-center, where he went 20-37 with 219 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. His one touchdown came late in the first quarter, as he found Marquise Goodwin for a 31-yard touchdown. Running back Cody Johnson had 107 yards on 14 carries, leading the Longhorns in rushing.
Down seven late in the fourth quarter, Texas had the opportunity to tie the game up in the red zone. On 3rd and 5, Gilbert threw his second interception of the night, sealing the A&M win.
Since the game ended in 2011, both teams have played different teams on Thanksgiving weekend. Texas has played TCU and Texas Tech on both Thanksgiving night and the day after the holiday. Add Kansas into the mix and the Longhorns have not had a consistent opponent. For Texas A&M, they have developed a small rivalry with LSU while also playing Missouri.
While it may be a long ways off, these two schools will find a way to renew the rivalry, hopefully on Thanksgiving night.
ESPN is projecting Texas to face Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl. It would be the first time they would play since the rivalry ended in 2011.
In ESPN’s latest bowl projection, Mark Schlabach projects one of the country’s best rivalry not only to come back but to be played in Houston, TX. Schlabach thinks the Longhorns will face off against former in-state rival Texas A&M in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl on Dec. 27.
A historic matchup that has been played 118 times, Texas has double the number of wins the Aggies do, leading the series 76-37-5. It was played for the final time in 2011 when Texas A&M decided to join the SEC. In the final game, Justin Tucker hit a game-winning field goal to give Texas a classic 27-25 win.
Since that moment, there have been continuous questions of when these two teams will play again. Either in a bowl game or scheduling a home and home series, the fans agree the Longhorns and Aggies need to play each other.
“Us not playing Texas A&M is not good for college football,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said. “We’d love to play A&M.”
There were reports that Texas reached out to Texas A&M to renew the series with a home and home series in 2022 and 2023, but the Aggies “were already booked,” said Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward said.
Since being in the SEC in 2012, the Aggies have only had less than four losses once. Before leaving the Big 12, it had been since 1998 since they only had three losses. They agreed to play against Kansas State in the 2016 Texas Bowl but lost to the Wildcats 33-28.
While the basketball teams will play each other on Dec. 8, this rivalry will remain all talk until the two meet again on the football field. With both teams expected to end their season 7-5, the opportunity for the two schools will be there to play in the Texas Bowl. While there have been rumors that the Aggies would turn down that opportunity, the two schools need to find a way to face off against each other.
Lamar Jackson is just one of six Ravens players to lead fan Pro Bowl voting at their respective positions, though Jackson leads all players
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been electric this season. Seemingly every week, Jackson is adding yet another amazing run or perfectly placed pass to his highlight reel. So it’s no wonder Jackson leads all players in voting for the 2020 Pro Bowl.
According to NFL.com, Jackson has 146,171 fan votes. In second place is Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes with 116,325 fan votes. While fan votes are just one portion of the total process for determining who gets a Pro Bowl nomination, they show just how interesting NFL fans find Jackson and Baltimore’s offense this season.
Through 10 games, Jackson has thrown for 2,258 yards, 19 touchdown passes and just five interceptions for a 106.3 quarterback rating (ranks fourth in the NFL entering Week 12). But Jackson has also put up 781 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns so far this season as well. He’s well on his way to breaking Michael Vick’s single-season rushing record for quarterbacks, which would just be one of the records Jackson has shattered since coming into the NFL.
Jackson isn’t the only Ravens player impressing the fans this season, however. Fullback Patrick Ricard, cornerback Marcus Peters, tackle Orlando Brown, guard Marshal Yanda and kicker Justin Tucker lead their respective positions in voting as well.
Considering cornerback Marlon Humphrey, tackle Ronnie Stanley and safety Earl Thomas will likely receive quite a lot of player votes, Baltimore could reasonably put nine players into the Pro Bowl this season. But Ravens fans would ideally love it if Baltimore’s players had to skip the event in order to prepare for Super Bowl LIV.
Jefferson is in just his second year as a pro. He was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
With the Browns in 2019, Jefferson only made an appearance in one game, and that game came in week one against the Titans. In that game, Jefferson recorded just one tackle.
Hopefully, we see Malik find a new home soon. After all, he was a third-round pick last year for a reason.
Watch as Seattle Seahawks defensive back Quandre Diggs gets his first interception with his new team
A few weeks ago, former Texas Longhorn defensive back Quandre Diggs was traded from the Detroit Lions to the Seattle Seahawks. Last night, Diggs saw his first action with Seattle in a clash between the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers went into this Monday Night Football matchup as the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL. The Seahawks were able to stun the 49ers in San Francisco, winning in overtime by a score of 27-24.
About midway through the 3rd quarter, Diggs was able to intercept 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with the score being 10-7 in favor of San Francisco. This interception led to a Seahawks touchdown, giving them the lead.
On the night, Diggs was able to tally two tackles, one of which was solo, a pass defense, and this interception.
