Before we get into any takeaways from Week 13, I would be failing to not begin with a special shoutout. Sunday marked the 200th episode of the Scott Hanson RedZone era. I began following the NFL heavily around 2010. My earliest memories of loving all things football related involved watching RedZone every Sunday morning with my friends. While a traditional football fan may prefer watching one game at a time and focusing on their favorite team, anybody involved in the fantasy football world appreciates the work that Scott contributes every Sunday.
The witching hour today served as a great reminder as to why we are blessed to have RedZone. Six of the seven early window games were decided by one possession, and having Scott make his way around to every one and display his enthusiasm made it that much more exhilarating to watch. Plus, 200 episodes and only one bathroom break? Now that is a pro! Congrats on 200 episodes Scott, cheers to the next 200!
Week 13 was filled with plenty of excitement and surprises. Aaron Rodgers became the fastest quarterback to reach the 400 passing touchdown plateau. The Cleveland Browns are 9-3 and guaranteed a record above .500. Eight of the eleven games today were decided by one possession. The best part, we still have three more games over the next two days. Soak it all in football fans, the end of the regular season is approaching. Before we know it, we will be live from Tampa on February 7th for the Super Bowl (hopefully). Without further ado, let’s get into reactions from Week 13.
Tank for Trevor Is Nearing Completion
If today’s game against the Raiders proved anything, there are two undeniable facts. Adam Gase and Gregg Williams have kept their jobs in order to assure they do not win a game. Sam Darnold is four games away from being freed from MetLife and onto greener pastures in Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, or Santa Clara. Congrats to Jets fans and Darnold for reaching the end of this era.
This would be a pretty inexcusable loss for any team not trying to lose every game. With only 42 seconds left when they regained possession, Derek Carr drove 61 yards down the field and connected with Henry Ruggs III on a 46 yard touchdown with five seconds remaining. While some would refer to this as a Hail Mary strike, it was the exact opposite. Instead of having all their defensive backs playing deep to prevent a long pass, Gregg Williams set up one-on-one coverage and had no safety help for cornerback Lamar Jackson and hung him out to dry after getting burned on Ruggs’ route. This was not a Hail Mary, it was an act of kindness by the Jets to keep the Raiders’ playoff hopes alive and get one step closer to bringing Trevor Lawrence to East Rutherford. Once again, congrats Jets fans. Hopefully Trevor brings your franchise some much needed sunshine.
Rams Are Super Bowl Contenders
The Los Angeles Rams missing out on the playoff last year was one of the more surprising storylines. Fresh off of a Super Bowl run, expectations were high for Sean McVay’s squad. After falling short, this year was important for Jared Goff and company to bounce back and show that this core was still competitive. While having to deal with a brutal travel schedule, the Rams have fought their way to an 8-4 record, sitting atop the most competitive division in the NFL. With key wins already against the Buccaneers, Seahawks, and now Cardinals, should the Rams be garnering more respect as a potential Super Bowl contender?
They sport a defense that is anchored by Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, two of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL. Jared Goff has been successful with their offensive game plan in getting the ball to receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp in space and letting them rack up yards after the catch. They are also seeing improvement from their second round rookie running back Cam Akers, who appears to be the lead back in that offense now, following a 22 touch game against the Cardinals in which he had his third straight game with a touchdown. With no more games against the 49ers on their schedule, it is time to start viewing this Rams squad as a serious threat to win the NFC.
Russ Is Burnt
As a DK Metcalf fantasy owner and an overall fan of long passing touchdowns, I was all in on the “Let Russ Cook” campaign. Russell Wilson, who has never received an MVP vote in his career, looked like he had the award locked up going into their Week 6 bye week. Of course, this is why there are seventeen weeks in an NFL regular season. After Week 13, it appears that Pete Carroll has overcooked Russ and now has this offense struggling to find their footing. While Metcalf is still producing, the Seahawks continue to find themselves in situations where Russ needs to pull off late game heroics to win the game. Against a well-coached and improved Giants team, Wilson wasn’t able to do enough to get the victory. As a result, they are now in second place behind the Rams. This has left the Seahawks wondering how they got in this situation after their hot start.
Coming off of their bye, running back Chris Carson injured his foot in the Sunday night game against the Cardinals. This caused him to miss the next four games before returning last week against the Eagles. While he has been involved in the offense, Carroll acknowledged that Carson is not yet at 100-percent. In an offense that relied on the run prior to letting Russ cook, having Carson at full strength is a must if the Seahawks want any chance at competing in the playoffs. We saw last year in the playoffs how they struggled after Carson went down. While he may not receive enough national attention, Carson is a workhorse that is vital to the Seahawks’ offensive success.
Seahawks -efense
You might have noticed that there is no letter ‘D’ in that heading. That was not a mistake, just the reality of this Seahawks team. Their defense is non-existent. It is time we stop correlating this defense to the Legion of Boom defense. Sure, Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright are still around. Jamal Adams definitely helps a defense more than he hurts a defense. Outside of that, there is nothing that this defense is doing to inspire any confidence. They simply can’t stop opposing team’s offenses. Doing so is leaving Russ in positions where he needs to keep throwing to keep them alive in games. This is where Pete Carroll needs to step in and figure it out with this defense. If he is the defensive mastermind that built the Legion of Boom, he needs to figure out how to make this defense click. Otherwise, this season will just go down as another year wasted in the prime of Wilson’s Hall fo Fame career.
Enjoy the rest of the Week 13 slate as well as the rest of the regular season. Make sure to follow me on Twitter @MaxStinesBUS for more sports content and our team @BellyUpSports. For all things football, be sure to follow @BellyUpFootball or check other NFL articles.
