Tag: Week 13

Lions Week 13 pivotal play of the game: Romeo Okwara strips win away from the Bears

The Detroit Lions steal one from the Chicago Bears winning 34-30 on the help of this week’s pivotal play from Romero Okwara.

The Detroit Lions managed to claw their way back and beat the Chicago Bears 34-30 for their first win against their division foe in five games and first in the post-Matt Patricia era.

The Lions looked like a completely different team than they had in quite some time, with the energy each player brought on and off the field. Interim coach Darrel Bevell wanted the players with a sense of purpose while having fun, and that is exactly what they brought to the table today even though they were playing behind the entire game.

Bevell opened the playbook this week and allowed Stafford to do what he does best; sling the ball down the field. He attempted eight passes for 20+ yards even though he only completed three of those passes, two of them went for touchdowns — and that was without two of his main weapons, Kenny Golladay and D’Andre Swift.

Even though the defense looked sluggish the first half with missed tackles and porous run defense, they buckled down when the game was on the line and came up big when it absolutely was a must. After allowing 23 points in the first half, they locked up the Bears and only gave up seven points for the rest of the game.

The Setup

In the fourth quarter, after giving up a long drive led to a touchdown to put the Bears up 30-20, Stafford then threw an ill-timed interception that stalled the drive. It did not look good for the Lions’ chances to break the Bears’ curse.

The defense managed to dig deep and force a 3-and-out on the next two Bears’ drives, giving the offense a chance to mount a comeback. The Lions finally got back on the scoreboard, marching 96 yards down the field on a Marvin Jones touchdown: 30-27.

With the Lions still down by three, they needed to come up with another stop. Instead, they got something better:

Romeo Okwara worked his way around Germain Ifedi enough to reach out with his freakishly long arms to rip the ball away from Mitchell Trubisky — and the Lions recovered.

With the excellent field position, the Lions went back to Adrian Peterson and he scored his second touchdown of the game, giving the Lions their first of this game: 34-30.

With plenty of time still left on the clock, the Bears were on the move to mount a comeback, and once again, the Lions’ defense was able to come up big. This time it was Kevin Strong’s turn, as he stonewalled David Montgomery on a fourth-down, securing the Lions victory.

Emotions are high for everyone, especially after seeing this team come out lifeless the last two weeks. The energy and tempo have been missing from this team for quite some time, and for once, the players looked to be enjoying themselves.

The new Bevell regime has started strong, and they will look to continue this high ride next week when they face off against another division nemesis, the Green Bay Packers. There are a few areas they need to clean up to get ready for that matchup but they need to take this time and celebrate this high-flying victory.

Dolphins prevail 19-7 in ugly clash with Bengals, move to 8-4

Dolphins prevail 19-7 in ugly clash with Bengals, move to 8-4

The Miami Dolphins are 8-4 after pulling out an ugly, scrappy 19-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13 of this 2020 NFL season. Miami started slow — the Dolphins found themselves trailing 7-6 at the half and appeared positioned to fall further off the pace than just a one-point deficit if not for a personal foul penalty from WR Tyler Boyd that pushed Cincinnati’s field goal attempt to a 53-yarder, which the Bengals missed.

But the real story of this game was the chippy play of the Bengals. With little left to play for this season (and little going for them on the gridiron), the Bengals seemed contest to try to turn this contest into a scrap — several questionable plays before (and after) the whistle were persistent throughout the course of the game. The first ejections came on that personal foul from Boyd, who exchanged open handed shoves with CB Xavien Howard after the play.

But the league offices seemed to perceive those shoves as punches and sent both players packing at the end of the first half. Early in the 4th quarter, the Dolphins were set to receive the football back on a punt return when Bengals gunner Michael Thomas delivered his second personal foul on returner Jakeem Grant on the day — and a full on team scrap ensued, highlighted by head coach Brian Flores storming across the field to give the Bengals a piece of his mind for their careless play.

“I’m gonna stick up for my players. They’re going to stick up for each other,” said Flores in the postgame press conference.

“These are like my kids. The first time, yeah. The second time, I got a little upset about it.”

Flores did concede that he needed to be better keeping his composure to avoid situations that hurt the team. Wide receivers Mack Hollins and DeVante Parker were ejected along with Bengals safety Shawn Williams — who appeared to purposefully cleat Dolphins guard Solomon Kindley in the first half and swung at Parker in the 4th-quarter scrum.

The NFL will be left to sort out the aftermath in the coming days — and hopefully their discretion is more appropriate than the league’s decision to eject both Boyd and Howard in the first half.

Offensively, the Dolphins started slow but were able to build some offensive momentum by allowing rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to operate some no-huddle in the second half.  Tagovailoa finished the day 26 of 39 passing for 296 yards and a score — arguably his most effective day as an NFL quarterback. He flashed great rapport with TE Mike Gesicki, who logged 9 receptions for 88 yards and was comfortable throughout a massive third quarter after a clunky offensive performance in the first half.

Defensively, the Dolphins yielded 94 yards on two plays in this game, a 72-yard catch and run in the first quarter and a 22-yard catch on 4th-and-short late in the game — and 102 yards on their other 48 plays from scrimmage. Linebacker Kyle Van Noy had a major contribution with three sacks on the day and the Dolphins’ pass rush was smothering in the second half.

“I just thought we did a better job bringing more energy and urgency and we started playing football. I think it showed,” said Van Noy in the postgame when asked about what changed.

The Dolphins will now shift their focus to Week 14 — with the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town. If Miami is able to bring their second half energy, we should be in for some fireworks next Sunday. But for now, Miami will assess what went well today and make adjustments while enjoying the sweet taste of victory. The Dolphins are 8-4 for the first time since 2003.

Colts player of the game vs. Texans: WR T.Y. Hilton

The Ghost returned in Week 13.

With a wild finish at NRG Stadium over the Houston Texans (4-8), the Indianapolis Colts move to 8-4 on the year and are now tied with Tennessee atop the AFC South.

Sunday’s big win could not have been possible without a big performance from the veteran receiver T.Y. Hilton.

Hilton provided another huge game against Houston, this time totaling eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. That now makes two touchdowns in as many weeks for the 31-year-old.

His touchdown came early in the game as he moved across the field untouched and connected with Philip Rivers for the 21-yard score. Hilton looked like his former self today and really led the Colts’ young receiving corps. Hopefully, he can build on this success as the regular season winds down.

The Colts travel to Vegas to take on the Raiders next week, in a game that could go either way. While the offensive woes continued for Indy in the second half, they showed real signs of efficiency in both the pass and run game. They will need Hilton and other veteran players to step up and make plays for this team to have postseason success.

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Falcons Twitter reacts to 21-16 loss to the Saints

Despite making things interesting in the final few minutes, the Falcons once again fell short when it mattered most during Sunday’s 21-16 loss to the Saints.

Despite making things interesting in the final few minutes, the Falcons once again fell short when it mattered most during Sunday’s 21-16 loss to the Saints.

Following an all-around abysmal performance, fans on Twitter made it known where the blame should land. Here are the best reactions to Atlanta’s Week 13 matchup against New Orleans.

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Lions Week 13 Studs and Duds: Darrell Bevell’s offense leads the way

Reviewing the Studs and Duds from the Detroit Lions Week 13 victory over the Chicago Bears.

The Detroit Lions, under the guidance of interim head coach Darrell Bevell, came back after trailing the Chicago Bears by 13 points in the fourth quarter to pull off a Week 13 win in the Windy City.

There were plenty of struggles on defense, but overall there were a lot of things for Lions fans to be optimistic about.

Stud: Darrell Bevell’s offense

There was a different kind of energy on the field — one that Lions fans haven’t seen in a long time.

Stafford walked out of the tunnel with a smile on his face, presumably knowing he’d have his best game of the season under interim head coach Darrell Bevell.

The offense looked much more comfortable under Bevell. Stafford was able to let loose and make some deep plays. The Lions used just about every weapon at their disposal to move the ball, and move it quickly.

The up-tempo feel to the offense was a breath of fresh air watching this team come back from a double-digit deficit.

Bevell may not be the head coach after this season, but at least he got the bad taste of Matt Patricia out of everyone’s mouths.

Dud: The defense

It’s clear that the Lions will have a lot of rebuilding to do on defense. The unit was so bad against Chicago that it was difficult to pinpoint individual players for the “duds” list.

Penalties were everywhere, with Romeo Okwara and Darryl Roberts assisting Chicago’s offense due to their errors in the first half. Everson Griffen had a neutral zone infraction turned a third-and-six to a convertible 3rd-and-one.

In coverage, everyone struggled. There were holes everywhere, allowing Mitchell Trubisky to look like a Pro Bowler while carving up the defense with passes to Allen Robinson.

And then there’s the run defense that allowed three touchdowns in the first half. The Lions’ front-seven simply could not do anything to contain David Montgomery or Cordarrele Patterson in the run game, allowing over 100 yards in the first half by the duo on their 18 carries.

Tackling proved to be an issue throughout the matchup as well. On one of David Montgomery’s touchdowns, two Lions defenders missed tackles on the young running back before Duron Harmon was able to get his hands on him. Unfortunately, Harmon wasn’t able to bring Montgomery down before he crossed into the end zone.

At the end of the game, the defense bent, and nearly broke, as they tried to prevent Trubisky from coming back in the final seconds. Allowing first down after first down and a horse collar penalty from Jayron Kearse, the defense was able to make a fourth-down stop to ice the game for Detroit.

The defense just didn’t play well, and MLive’s Kyle Meinke summed up their struggles best:

Stud: Matthew Stafford

Bevell’s playcalling has allowed Stafford to do what he does best — throw it deep. The quarterback was making tight-window throws and heaving some accurate deep passes, including one really impressive one to rookie Quintez Cephus — his first career touchdown.

His communication was on point with the young receiver, signaling for him to continue running his deep post and make the touchdown grab.

Stafford hasn’t looked this comfortable in the pocket in a long time, and it showed with the throws he made. He did have one brutal interception on a screen pass in the second half, but overall he balled out.

The quarterback played strong throughout the game and delivered a victory with a 402-yard and three-touchdown game.

Dud: Jonah Jackson

The rookie offensive lineman was bailed out three times in the first half, but that doesn’t excuse his blunders.

Jackson allowed a sack on Stafford by Khalil Mack that would have forced a punt if not for a penalty by Bears slot cornerback Buster Skrine that gave Detroit a first down. Later in the first half, Jackson had a holding penalty that was offset by a Chicago defensive penalty.

To finish off the first half, Jackson also committed a false start penalty. Luckily, Stafford was able to get a first down on the following play.

Stud: Adrian Peterson

The future Hall-of-Famer looked better than he has for most of the season and his late-game performance helped propel the Lions to victory.

His final stat line was 16 carries for 57 yards. He scored Detroit’s first and last touchdowns of the game. His goal line score at the end of the fourth quarter is what sealed the game for Detroit.

Dud: Marvin Jones

This may be an unpopular decision given that Jones finished with eight receptions for 118 yards and a score, but he had some glaring issues in this game. Despite making some solid first down receptions, Jones looked slow on several deep balls from Stafford and then later failed to hang on to a Hail Mary that could have gotten the Lions a walkoff touchdown for the first half. in the second half, he got his hand on another ball that he was unable to bring in.

Jones did help the Lions catch up late in the fourth quarter, but his struggles outweigh his successes in this one. If he was able to hang on to those balls and get separation from the defenders on those plays, the Lions would have been up by a few scores against Chicago.

Stud: Matt Nelson

Tyrell Crosby’s backup has not gotten enough credit throughout this season. When asked to fill in, the former collegiate defensive lineman held his own as Detroit’s right tackle while Crosby was sidelined with an ankle injury.

He didn’t have the best game, but he really put in his best effort against a scary Chicago front-seven.

Stud: Jamie Collins

Collins was a lone bright spot on the Lions defense. The veteran linebacker had two tackles-for-loss on run defense despite the unit struggling as a whole.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

Despite gaining any yards after the catch on his seven receptions, the former first-round pick came through as one of Stafford’s top targets. The young tight end made some crucial and athletic catches on deep throws and finished the game with 84 yards.

Stud: Romeo Okwara

Okwara came out of the gates early, blocking the PAT after Chicago’s first touchdown. Though he was quiet for almost the whole game, he made his presence known late in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble on Trubisky and giving the Lions the ball at the seven-yard line with less than two minutes to go in the game.

Instant Analysis: Falcons’ comeback attempt vs. Saints falls short

Let’s quickly recap the Falcons’ offensive, defensive and special teams performances from Sunday’s game.

The Atlanta Falcons settled for field goals early in their Week 13 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, and it would cost them late. After managing just three field goals through the first three-and-a-half quarters, the Falcons got things going in the final minutes. Atlanta would come up just short, though, suffering a 21-16 loss to the team’s most-hated division rival.

Let’s quickly recap the Falcons’ offensive, defensive and special teams performances from Sunday’s game.

OFFENSE

Offensively, the Falcons’ play-calling and route concepts left much to be desired. The heat is on offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter after a maddening performance. Atlanta’s red-zone struggles continued, and the teamed settled for three field goals entering the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Matt Ryan was not effective against the Saints, completing less than half of his passes. Ryan went 19-for-39, with 273 passing yards, a touchdown and a fumble.The Falcons didn’t get much production out of the running game, but the pass protection was much better than it was two weeks ago.

Todd Gurley started but wasn’t involved much until a few negative runs in the fourth quarter. Ito Smith led all rushers with eight attempts for 36 yards. Julio Jones had six catches for 94 yards, while Calvin Ridley caught five balls for 108 yards.

DEFENSE

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Falcons struggled to slow down the Saints’ offense and QB Taysom Hill in the first half. After giving up an early touchdown, Atlanta slowed Hill until late in the second quarter when he threw his second career touchdown pass.

If the Falcons had been able to get off the field on third down, it would have been a different game. Even with a shaky performance against Hill, the defense’s problems stemmed from Atlanta’s inability to maintain possession of the football. A sack-fumble in the fourth quarter recovered by LB Deion Jones kept the Falcons alive, down two scores with ten minutes left in the game.

Minutes later, the defense came up with a big third-down stop to give Atlanta one final chance. But the offense couldn’t capitalize on it. Linebacker Foye Oluokun led the team with 13 tackles. Defensive end Steven Means had two sacks and a forced fumble during Sunday’s loss.

SPECIAL TEAMS

(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo remains the most valuable offensive player this season. Koo knocked down three field goals in the first half to keep Atlanta in the game, while Saints kicker Will Lutz missed his first-half attempt.

Rookie punter Sterling Hofrichter had averaged 43.6 yards on five attempts.

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Falcons QB Matt Ryan finds WR Russell Gage for 4th-quarter TD

The Atlanta Falcons are showing signs of life in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints.

The Atlanta Falcons are showing signs of life in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints. After trailing by 12 at the start of the quarter, a forced fumble gave the ball back to the Falcons’ offense.

Quarterback Matt Ryan found wide receiver Russell for a 10-yard touchdown pass to cut the Saints’ lead to five points. Watch below, as shared by the team’s Twitter account.

Atlanta currently has the ball in scoring position with two minutes remaining in the game.

Falcons DE Jacob Tuioti-Mariner exits game with a head/neck injury

Falcons defensive end Jacob Tuioti-Mariner has exited Sunday’s NFC South matchup against the Saints with an apparent head/neck injury.

Falcons defensive end Jacob Tuioti-Mariner has exited Sunday’s NFC South matchup against the Saints with an apparent head/neck injury. His return is questionable, per team reporter William McFadden.

As the Falcons have closed the game to within five, we will see how losing Tuioti-Mariner, the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, affects the defense going forward. The Saints lead 21-16 midway through the fourth quarter.

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Falcons S Ricardo Allen leaves game with head injury

Falcons safety Ricardo Allen has exited in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Saints with an apparent head injury.

Falcons safety Ricardo Allen has exited in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Saints with an apparent head injury. Backup Sharrod Neasman has stepped in as a replacement with about eight minutes remaining in the game.

Allen’s return is questionable, per team reporter Kelsey Conway below Tweet.

At the time of Allen’s exit, the Falcons trailed New Orleans 21-9 in the fourth quarter. Atlanta has since driven into scoring position after forcing a fumble.

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Week 13 inactives: Seattle Seahawks host New York Giants

The complete list of inactive players ahead of the Week 13 contest as the Seattle Seahawks host the New York Giants at Lumen Field.

The Seattle Seahawks host their first of two New York teams in as many weeks on Sunday with the Giants first up on the slate.

Seattle had not ruled out a single player ahead of the contest, although three were listed as doubtful to play on Friday’s injury report: cornerback Tre Flowers, running back Travis Homer and offensive tackle Brandon Shell. All three are inactive Week 13 against the Giants.

In addition, five players were listed as questionable, with tackle Cedric Ogbuehi a late addition to the report on Saturday afternoon: defensive end Carlos Dunlap (foot), center/guard Kyle Fuller (ankle), running back Carlos Hyde (toe), guard Damien Lewis (groin) and Tackle Cedric Ogbueh (calf).

Here’s a look at the complete inactive lists for both the Seahawks and the Giants.

Seahawks inactives:

Giants inactives:

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