Week 12 of the NFL was a wild one, thanks to the game of the year between the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills. That was the first game in NFL history where both quarterbacks had two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game, which ended with a Jalen Hurts touchdown run in a thrilling overtime win.
The Denver Broncos are right in the thick of the AFC playoff race after winning their fifth game in a row and the Indianapolis Colts are currently the No. 7 seed in the AFC! The Atlanta Falcons, quarterback dilemma and all, lead the NFC South as well.
The playoff races are heating up, and so are the overreactions. Which ones from the Week 12 Sunday slate are overreactions and which are reality?
Jalen Hurts is the most clutch QB in the NFL
Overreaction or reality: Reality
Hurts found a way to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to victory when they trailed by double digits — again. Philadelphia was down 10 points in the second half and Hurts decided to channel his inner Michael Jordan, going 14 of 20 for 167 yards with three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 134.8 rating, while rushing seven times for 43 yards and a score — the 12-yard touchdown in overtime that sealed the Eagles win.
This isn’t the first time Hurts has brought the Eagles back. Hurts has eight straight victories when trailing by double digits at any point in the game, an NFL record (no other quarterback has more than four). He has 14 consecutive wins against teams with winning records, also an NFL record.
When tied or trailing, Hurts has completed 71% of his passes for 1,710 yards with 14 touchdowns to one interception — a league-leading 114.4 rating. In the second half when tied or trailing, Hurts has completed 67.6% of his passes for 686 yrds with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions for a 136.6 passer rating.
Hurts is the most clutch quarterback in the league. Period.
The Bills are going to the playoffs
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
The loss to the Eagles was brutal for Buffalo, as the Eagles snatched victory from the Bills several times in the game. Even with the loss to the team with the NFL’s best record, the Bills still are in good shape to make a run at the playoffs.
The Bills are 6-6, a half game behind the Indianapolis Colts (6-5) for the final playoff spot. The Houston Texans and Denver Broncos are also 6-5, ahead of Buffalo.
The Bills have a brutal schedule (at Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, at Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, at Miami Dolphins). The road is tough, and they have to split their next two games to give themselves a shot). The 3-5 conference record is the difference and other teams have easier schedules.
If Josh Allen plays each week like he did Sunday, however, Buffalo could win out.
Jaguars will be the No. 1 seed in AFC
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
At 8-3, the Jaguars are currently the No. 2 seed in the AFC, tied with Kansas City and Miami. Baltimore (9-3) holds the best record in the conference. Could Jacksonville actually clinch the top seed?
In the next two weeks, Jacksonville will play the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, who are both without their starting quarterbacks, so 10-3 is a possibility. Then they have the showdown with Baltimore on “Sunday Night Football,” which could be for the top seed in the conference. Jacksonville finishes with Tampa Bay, Carolina and Tennessee — three teams currently with losing records.
At worst, the Jaguars could end the year at 12-5 — but 13-4 is a very strong possibility. That may be enough for home-field advantage, but the tiebreaker to Kansas City (lost to Chiefs in Week 2) will hurt.
Bill Belichick should be fired before the end of the season
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Belichick won’t be fired before the conclusion of the year, but he should. The offense was atrocious once again, scoring just seven points and totaling 283 yards against a New York Giants team that can’t get out of its own way.
Below is how poor the New England Patriots have been:
- The Patriots recorded their fourth game this season with seven points or fewer; they had five such games in Tom Brady’s 283 starts with the team.
- The Patriots are the first team in 30 years to lose back-to-back games when allowing 10 or fewer points (the 1993 Patriots were the last to do that).
- Belichick has lost as many games with 10 or fewer points allowed this year (two) as his first 28 seasons as a head coach combined (two).
This offense is the fault of Belichick and his poor drafting. Clearly a defensive coach calling the offensive plays last year (Matt Patricia) wasn’t the problem either. This falls on Belichick, who is responsible for the mess he created in New England post-Brady.
Belichick won’t get fired prior to the end of the year because of his legendary status with New England, but he deserves to be relieved of his duties.
Steelers offense was significantly better without Matt Canada
Overreaction or reality: Reality
The Pittsburgh Steelers scored just 16 points in Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but looked significantly better on the offensive side of the ball in their first game post-Canada. Here’s a quick look at what they were able to do on offense Sunday:
- The Steelers gained 421 total yards, snapping a streak of 58 straight games under 400 total yards, the second-longest streak in the past 30 years.
- They outgained the Bengals 421-222, the first time this season they have outgained an opponent.
That is a victory in and of itself. They outrushed the Bengals 153-25, finding an identity on the ground as Pittsburgh has 174.0 rushing yards per game in the last four games (79.7 in the first seven games). Pat Freiermuth had 120 receiving yards and Kenny Pickett averaged 8.4 yards per attempt, clearly taking more shots of 10-plus air yards.
The points will come, but Pittsburgh has to be pleased with how the offense looked without Canada calling the shots.
