Analysis

12/7/20

13 min min read

NFL Week 13 Game Notes

Cleveland 41 (9-3), Tennessee 35 (8-4)

Top Passers:

CLE- B. Mayfield, 25-33, 10.1 ypa, 4-0 TD-INT

TEN- R. Tannehill, 29-45, 8.6 ypa, 3-1

Top Rushers:

CLE- N. Chubb, 18 carries, 4.4 ypa, 1 TD

TEN- D. Henry, 15 carries, 4.0 ypa, 0 TDs

Top Receivers:

CLE- R. Higgins, 6 catches, 15.8 yards per reception, 1 TD

TEN- C. Davis, 11 catches, 16.5 yards per reception, 1 TD

  • Cleveland scored on all six of their first-half drives. After an opening field goal, they scored five straight touchdowns. In the first half, Baker Mayfield was 20-for-25 for 290 yards and 4 TDs. He had just 2 TD passes in Weeks 8-12.
  • Mayfield was pressured on just 2 of 26 dropbacks in the first half (per ESPN). Offseason signings did not produce for Tennessee: Vic Beasley (cut) and Jadaveon Clowney (out for season-knee)
  • Baker Mayfield is the first Browns QB with 4 TD passes in the first half since Otto Graham in 1951. He is the first in the NFL to do it since Patrick Mahomes in Week 2 of 2019. The 38 points in the first half is a franchise record for the Browns. It is also the first time they have scored on their first five drives since 1990.
  • Derrick Henry had just 15 yards on 7 carries in the first half. His lowest output of the season. The first Titan drive ended with Henry getting stopped on fourth down and the second ended on a Henry fumble, his first fumble since Week 13 of 2019 (375 touches).
  • Tennessee’s defense came into Sunday with the worst third-down defense in the NFL (52.6%). Cleveland was 10 of 16 on third down.
  • Tennessee outscored Cleveland 28-3 in the second half. They scored 14 points in the final 55 seconds after a Mayfield fumble on fourth down.
  • Henry’s streak of 20 games with 18-plus carries ended Sunday. When Henry has 20-plus carries, the Titans are 7-0 this season. When Henry has 20 or fewer carries, the Titans are 1-4.

Las Vegas 31 (7-5), New York Jets 28 (0-12)

Top Passers:

LVR- D. Carr, 28-47, 8.1 ypa, 3-1 TD-INT

NYJ- S. Darnold, 14-23, 8.1 ypa, 2-1

Top Rushers:

LVR- D. Booker, 16 carries, 3.1 ypa, 0 TDs

NYJ- T. Johnson, 22 carries, 4.7 ypa, 1 TD

Top Receivers:

LVR- D. Waller, 13 catches, 15.4 yards per reception, 2 TDs

NYJ- J. Crowder, 5 catches, 9.4 yards per reception, 2 TDs

  • Jamison Crowder scored an opening-drive TD for the Jets, who have now scored on six straight opening drives (2 TDs, 4 FGs). It is also the first TD pass Sam Darnold has thrown since Week 3. Darnold did commit turnovers on each of New York’s final three drives of the first half (2 fumbles, INT).
  • With no Josh Jacobs (ankle) for Vegas, the Raiders only had 14 first-half rushing yards. They also threw on 76% of first-half plays. Derek Carr was 16-for-24 and averaged over nine yards an attempt and threw 2 TDs but did throw an INT off of Henry Ruggs’ hands. It is the third straight game with an INT for Carr.
  • Darren Waller had 8 receptions for 123 yards and 2 TDs in the first half. Waller joins Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe (Week 7, 2002 at K.C.) as the only TEs in the last 30 seasons with 8-plus receptions, 120-plus yards and 2-plus TDs in a single half of a game (per NFL Research). He finished with 200 yards for the game (career high).
  • Vegas opened the second half running on 9 of 13 plays, ending in a Carr TD run to take a 24-13 lead. The Jets scored the next 15 points to take a 4-point advantage.
  • With 19 seconds left, Carr just missed Nelson Agholor on a deep end-zone pass. On the next play, Carr connected with Henry Ruggs, who beat fellow rookie Lamar Jackson down the sideline for a 46-yard TD pass to take the lead.
  • There have been 252 pass plays in the last 15 seasons that: 1. Occur in the final 15 seconds; 2. Team is trailing by 4-8 points; and 3. 40-plus yards from the end zone. The Jets are the only team to bring 6-plus rushers in that scenario (ESPN)
  • The Jets are 0-12 for the first time in franchise history, and tied a franchise losing streak with Sunday’s loss. They did have their first 100-yard rusher (Ty Johnson) since Isaiah Crowell had 219 yards vs. Denver in 2018.

Miami 19 (8-4), Cincinnati 7 (2-9-1)

Top Passers:

MIA- T. Tagovailoa, 26-39, 7.6 ypa, 1-0 TD-INT

CIN- B. Allen, 11-19, 8.1 ypa, 1-1

Top Rushers:

MIA- M. Gaskin, 21 carries, 4.3 ypa, 0 TDs

CIN- G. Bernard, 12 carries, 2.5 ypa, 0 TDs

Top Receivers

MIA- M. Gesicki, 9 catches, 9.8 yards per reception, 1 TD

CIN- T. Boyd, 1 catch, 72.0 yards per reception, 1 TD

  • Following Xavien Howard’s first-quarter interception, Miami has at least one turnover in 18 straight games -- the longest active streak in the NFL. Howard has a league-leading 8 interceptions. He has an interception in each of the last four games and also had a 4-game streak with an interception from Weeks 3-6. Howard joins Lester Hayes as the only players since 1970 with multiple 4-game streaks with an INT in a single season.
  • On offense, Miami got back Tua Tagovailoa and RB Myles Gaskin, who both missed last week's game with injury. They still only managed 60 yards in the first quarter and did not convert a third down.
  • For Cincinnati, Brandon Allen had more passing yards in the first half than he had all of last week against the Giants. They led 7-6 at the half, following a 72-yard TD pass to Tyler Boyd, before both Boyd and Howard were ejected for fighting.
  • Miami dominated the second half, outgaining the Bengals 258-30. They took their first lead of the game on a 5-yard TD pass to Mike Gesicki on their first drive of the second half. Jason Sanders added two more field goals to help Miami improve to 8-4. Allen was just 2-for-6 in the second half before exiting with a chest injury.
  • Benches cleared in the second half after Jakeem Grant was hit twice before the ball arrived on punts. Devante Parker, Mack Hollins and Shawn Williams were all also ejected.

Minnesota 27 (6-6), Jacksonville 24 (1-11) OT

Top Passers:

MIN- K. Cousins, 28-43, 7.1 ypa, 3-1 TD-INT

JAX- M. Glennon, 28-42, 6.7 ypa, 1-2

Top Rushers:

MIN- D. Cook, 32 carries, 3.8 ypa, 0 TDs

JAX- J. Robinson, 18 carries, 4.3 ypa, 1 TD

Top Receivers:

MIN- J. Jefferson, 9 catches, 13.4 yards per reception, 1 TD

JAX- C. Johnson, 4 catches, 16.5 yards per reception, 0 TDs

  • Jacksonville outgained the Vikings 162-19 in the first quarter and took a 9-0 lead, their largest lead of the season. They also held the Vikings to just two first downs in the game’s first 20 minutes.
  • After Cam Dantlzer picked off Mike Glennon for his first career INT, Kirk Cousins led a 10-play drive ending in an Adam Thielen TD to get the Vikings on the board. For the half, they punted five times and had more yards on that drive than they did the rest of the first half.
  • Following a Cousins pick-6 to start the second half, he threw two third-quarter TDs to take a lead. Cousins has 22 red-zone TDs and 0 INTs. Justin Jefferson became the first Vikings rookie to have 1,000 receiving yards since Randy Moss in 1998. He is also just the fifth player in the Super Bowl era to top 1,000 receiving yards in his first 12 career games. (Odell Beckham Jr., Marques Colston, Anquan Boldin, Moss).
  • Both teams missed late field goals to send the game into OT. On third-and-long, Glennon threw a pick, setting up Dan Bailey to kick the game-winning field goal for Minnesota.
  • After starting 1-5, the Vikings have won 5 of 6 to improve to 6-6.

Detroit 34 (5-7), Chicago 30 (5-7)

Top Passers:

DET- M. Stafford, 27-42, 9.6 ypa, 3-1 TD-INT

CHI- M. Trubisky, 26-34, 7.9 ypa, 1-0

Top Rushers:

DET- A. Peterson, 16 carries, 3.6 ypa, 2 TDs

CHI- D. Montgomery, 17 carries, 4.2 ypa, 2 TDs

Top Receivers:

DET- M. Jones, 8 catches, 14.5 yards per reception, 1 TD

CHI- A. Robinson, 6 catches, 12.5 yards per reception, 0 TDs

  • Prior to this game, the Bears had only scored 8 TDs in quarters 1-3. They scored three first-half touchdowns to take a 10-point halftime lead on Sunday. Both David Montgomery (11-62) and Cordarrelle Patterson (7-41) averaged over 5 yards a carry in the first half. Mitchell Trubisky was 11-for-15 and did not turn the ball over.
  • After averaging 82 yards a game their first 11 games, the Bears had 106 rushing yards in the first half against Detroit.
  • Averaging 4.5 yards per carry, the Bears elected to call pass plays on second and third down with the lead late in the fourth quarter. After a Trubisky scramble, he was stripped in the pocket on third down with 1:46 remaining. Adrian Peterson punched it in two plays later to give the Lions a win. Peterson had two touchdowns for the Lions, despite only averaging 3.5 yards on his 16 carries.
  • Chicago blew a double-digit lead after Detroit got the ball on their own four with 4:33 remaining.

Indianapolis 26 (8-4), Houston 20 (4-8)

Top Passers:

IND- P. Rivers, 27-35, 8.1 ypa, 2-0 TD-INT

HOU- D. Watson, 26-38, 9.0 ypa, 0-1

Top Rushers:

IND- J. Taylor, 13 carries, 7.0 ypa, 0 TDs

HOU- D. Johnson, 10 carries, 4.4 ypa, 1 TD

Top Receivers:

IND- T. Hilton, 8 catches, 13.8 yards per reception, 1 TD

HOU- K. Coutee, 8 catches, 17.6 yards per reception, 0 TDs

  • Sunday marked 236 consecutive starts for Philip Rivers, the longest active streak in the NFL. It is the second-longest QB streak ever (Brett Favre, 297). He now has 15 seasons with 3,000-plus passing yards. Deshaun Watson entered the game averaging 292 passing yards with a 15-0 TD-INT over his last six games.
  • The Colts scored four times to take a 24-20 halftime lead. T.Y. Hilton opened the scoring for Indy with a 21-yard TD catch. After having no touchdowns, Hilton has TDs in back-to-back weeks. He had 7 catches for 100 yards in the first half, his first 100-yard game since December of 2018.
  • After 44 points were scored in the first half, the Colts' safety on Watson were the only points of the second half. With 5 sacks, Watson has now been sacked 33 times this season, tied for third-most in the NFL. For this game, he was without Randall Cobb (toe), Kenny Stills (cut) and Will Fuller (suspension), and was without Brandin Cooks for much of the second half (head).
  • Down 6, Houston had a chance to take the lead but a bad snap on the goal line sealed the game for Indy with just over a minute to go. Houston is now 0-7 when entering trailing at halftime. It is the first game this season Watson has not thrown a TD.

New Orleans 21 (10-2), Atlanta 16 (4-8)

Top Passers:

NO- T. Hill, 27-37, 6.3 ypa, 2-0 TD-INT

ATL- M. Ryan, 19-39, 7.0 ypa, 1-0

Top Rushers:

NO- A. Kamara, 15 carries, 5.9 ypa, 1 TD

ATL- I. Smith, 8 carries, 4.5 ypa, 0 TDs

Top Receivers:

NO- M. Thomas, 9 catches, 11.7 ypa, 0 TDs

ATL- C. Ridley, 5 catches, 21.6 ypa, 0 TDs

  • Taysom Hill improved to 3-0 as a starter and continues to impress as a passer. He was 11-for-13 with 114 yards and a TD on third down. The Saints have clinched a playoff berth and it is the eighth time they have swept Atlanta since 2006. The Falcons failed to find the end zone in the first half and relied on Younghoe Koo for three first-half field goals. Koo now has the most points scored in the NFL in 2020.
  • The Saints again scored with under two minutes in the first half -- the sixth time in nine weeks.
  • Into the fourth quarter, the Saints had gone 14 straight quarters without allowing a TD, a franchise record. That streak was broken when Matt Ryan connected with Russell Gage for a 10-yard TD.
  • Atlanta had a chance, down 21-16, but Julio Jones was unable to bring a pass down in the end zone on fourth down.

New York Giants 17 (5-7), Seattle 12 (8-4)

Top Passers:

NYG- C. McCoy, 13-22, 4.8 ypa, 1-1 TD-INT

SEA- R. Wilson, 27-43, 6.1 ypa, 1-1

Top Rushers:

NYG- W. Gallman, 16 carries, 8.4 ypa, 0 TDs

SEA- C. Carson, 13 carries, 5.0 ypa, 0 TDs

Top Receivers:

NYG- E. Engram, 4 catches, 8.0 yards per reception, 0 TDs

SEA- D. Metcalf, 5 catches, 16.0 yards per reception, 0 TDs

  • Colt McCoy made only his fourth start since 2014 and his eighth start in the past nine seasons.
  • The Giants have had one of the best punt units by EPA this season, but gave up a blocked punt at the end of the half that resulted in a safety. The Seahawks led 5-0 at halftime.
  • Alfred Morris scored the first points for the Giants on a 4-yard TD run after four punts, an interception and a safety. It was his first touchdown since 2018, when he was with the 49ers.
  • He added his first career receiving touchdown to give the Giants a two-score lead. It was his first multi-TD game since 2014. Wayne Gallman (16 carries) averaged over 8 yards a rush and had his first career 100-yard game.
  • With this win, the NFC East is now 1-17 against teams with winning records. The Giants have won four in a row.

Los Angeles Rams 38 (8-4), Arizona 28 (6-6)

Top Passers:

LAR- J. Goff, 37-47, 7.5 ypa, 1-0 TD-INT

AZ- K. Murray, 21-39, 4.4 ypa, 3-1

Top Rushers:

LAR- C. Akers, 21 carries, 3.4 ypa, 1 TD

AZ- K. Drake, 10 carries, 4.9 ypa, 1 TD

Top Receivers:

LAR- R. Woods, 10 catches, 8.5 yards per reception, 0 TDs

AZ- D. Arnold, 2 catches, 30.5 yards per reception, 2 TDs

  • Kyler Murray’s 59-yard TD pass to TE Dan Arnold on the first drive of the game was the longest allowed by the Rams defense this season.
  • The Cardinals rank first in the NFL in EPA per rush this season
  • The Cardinals are 0-10-1 when Murray rushes 5 or less times, 11-5 otherwise.
  • The first nine games of the season, Murray averaged 264 passing yards, 67 rushing yards and 3 TDs. The last two games, he has averaged 220 passing yards, 23 rushing yards and 1 TD.
  • Jared Goff had 4 INTs in his first seven games of the season, but has 10 in his last four.
  • Cooper Kupp leads the NFL in third-down receiving yards
  • Murray has joined Cam Newton and Kordell Stewart as the only players in NFL history with 20-plus TD passes and 10-plus TD runs in a season and is the only player to do so in his first 12 games of the season.
  • Murray followed his 59-yard TD pass with six straight incompletions.
  • Prior to this game, the Rams had been outscored 37-9 in the last two minutes of the first half. In this game, they outscored the Cardinals 7-0 in the last two mins of the first half.
  • Prior to the Cardinals’ 2-minute drive to end the first half, they only had 9 yards outside of the 59-yard TD pass.
  • The Rams ran 47 plays in the first half; the Cardinals only ran 21.
  • Goff threw the ball to seven different receivers in the first half.
  • DeAndre Hopkins has a catch in 122 straight games.
  • Aaron Donald had 2 sacks on the day. Since 2018, Donald has recorded multiple sacks in 12 games. No other player has more than nine such games over that span (Myles Garrett and Cameron Jordan), per ESPN Stats and Info.
  • The Rams are 33-0 when leading at the half under Sean McVay.
  • McVay is now 7-0 against the Cardinals. Goff is 6-0 against the Cardinals so far in his career.

New England 45 (6-6), Los Angeles Chargers 0 (3-9)

Top Passers:

NE- C. Newton, 12-19, 3.6 ypa, 1-0 TD-INT

LAC- J. Herbert, 26-53, 3.9 ypa, 0-2

Top Rushers:

NE- D. Harris, 16 carries, 5.0 ypa, 0 TDs

LAC- A. Ekeler, 8 carries, 4.5 ypa, 0 TDs

Top Receivers:

NE- G. Olszewski, 1 catch, 38.0 yards per reception, 1 TD

LAC- K. Allen, 5 catches, 9.6 yards per reception, 0 TDs

  • Cam Newton has his third season with double-digit rushing TDs (2015, 2011). No other QB has done this more than once (per Mike Reiss).
  • Gunner Olszewski scored on a punt return for a TD for New England (he had one last week but it was called back because of an illegal block). This was N.E.’s first punt return for a TD since Julian Edelman in 2014 against Denver.
  • After the punt return TD, the Patriots added a field goal block returned for a touchdown. The Chargers also had two punts with 10 men on the field and a punt with 12 men on the field.
  • The Chargers special teams DVOA rank -- 2020: 32nd, 2019: 32nd, 2018: 25th, 2017: 31st, 2016: 29th, 2015: 31st
  • As of now the Chargers are on pace to have the second-worst special teams ever measured by Football Outsiders, ahead of only the 2000 Buffalo Bills.
  • New England has now won two straight to improve to 6-6. They have played very well against two high-power QBs in those games: Justin Herbert vs. Patriots Sunday: 209 total yards, 0 TD, 2 INT. Herbert in 10 other games: 320 total yards/game, 26 total TD, 7 INT... Kyler Murray vs. Patriots last week: 201 total yards, 0 TD, 1 INT. Murray in 11 other games: 314 total yards/game, 32 total TD, 9 INT per Field Yates.

Green Bay 30 (9-3), Philadelphia 16 (3-8-1)

Top Passers:

GB- A. Rodgers, 25-34, 8.7 ypa, 3-0 TD-INT

PHI- J. Hurts, 5-12, 9.1 ypa, 1-1

Top Rushers:

GB- A. Jones, 15 carries, 8.7 ypa, 1 TD

PHI- M. Sanders, 10 carries, 3.1 ypa, 0 TDs

Top Receivers:

GB- D. Adams, 10 catches, 12.1 yards per reception, 2 TDs

PHI- D. Goedert, 5 catches, 13.2 yards per reception, 0 TDs

  • Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has the all-time best winning percentage in December home games at .864 (19-3).
  • Leading 3-0 with seven minutes to go in the first quarter, the Eagles had their first lead in four games. They were able to hold Rodgers to only five first-quarter plays.
  • Miles Sanders entered Sunday with the second-best yards per rush among running backs. He only had five first-half carries. Jordan Howard, who the Eagles signed this week, had four.
  • In the second quarter, Davante Adams extended his touchdown streak to seven straight games. He has 11 TDs in that span. In the second quarter, Rodgers was 11-for-12 with 128 yards and 2 TDs. He is the first player in NFL history with five seasons of at least 35 passing TDs and became the seventh QB to throw 400-plus career TD passes (Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Philip Rivers)
  • Carson Wentz was sacked four times on Sunday. He has now been sacked an NFL-leading 50 times this season, 10 more than Russell Wilson, who is second. He was 6-for-15 for 79 yards before being benched in favor of rookie Jalen Hurts. The Eagles have now trailed by double digits in 9 of 12 games this season.
  • Hurts did provide a spark, connecting with Jalen Reagor on a 34-yard pass, his longest since Week 1. He also threw his first career TD pass on but was just 5-for-12 in the game. The Eagles had a chance after a Reagor punt return TD but Aaron Jones all but ended the game on a 77-yard TD run, his career long.

Kansas City 22 (11-1), Denver 16 (4-8)

Top Passers:

KC- P. Mahomes, 25-40, 8.0 ypa, 1-0 TD-INT

DEN- D. Lock, 15-28, 5.4 ypa, 2-2

Top Rushers:

KC- L. Bell, 11 carries, 3.6 ypa, 0 TDs

DEN- 15 carries, 8.7 ypa, 0 TDs

Top Receivers:

KC- T. Kelce, 8 catches, 17.0 yards per reception, 1 TD

DEN- N. Fant, 4 catches 13.4 yards per reception, 0 TDs

  • Drew Lock had his seventh straight game with an INT, the longest active streak inthe NFL.
  • This was just the fourth start in Patrick Mahomes' career in which the Chiefs did not score a TD pass in the first half.
  • The Chiefs allowed a third-quarter TD for the first time this season.
  • Travis Kelce has 7-plus receptions and 100-plus receiving yards in four straight games.
  • The Chiefs clinched a playoff berth for the sixth straight season.

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