40 things we learned in Week 12 of the 2016 NFL season
The 40 things we learned from Week 12 of the NFL season:
1. The NFL rolled out its Thanksgiving leftovers Sunday and, as is usually the case, some items were quite tasty while others didn’t pass the taste bud test.
2. But in the end they were all just appetizers to a great AFC West overtime showdown won by the Kansas City Chiefs over the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos on Sunday night.
3. And the second-guessing of Broncos coach Gary Kubiak's decision to try a 62-yard field goal in OT might last into the off season if the Broncos miss the playoffs.
4. Derek Carr. Love the glove, dude.
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5. One of the biggest stars of Sunday was Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, who became the first in NFL history to hit three field goals of 50-plus yards in the first half of a game — connecting from 52, 57 and 54.
6. Yet some kickers can’t even make an extra point. Yeah, we’re looking at you, Dan Carpenter (Bills) and Robbie Gould (Giants). And, of course, Mike Nugent (Bengals) and Graham Gano (Panthers), who seem to miss one/have one blocked every week.
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7. For the record, the Los Angeles Rams were the first to score a touchdown in the early games. Yes, the Rams!
8. It was a Jared Goff TD pass, the first of his career and one of three he would throw in the first half. Every rookie QB should get to face the Saints defense at least once.
9. Ironic stat of the day: Goff and Matt Barkley both threw their first career TD pass Sunday. Barkley is in his fourth season.
10. Speaking of Barkley, he had a Pac-12 reunion against Marcus Mariota. And, while he made his share of mistakes, Barkley deserved a better ending. His Bears teammates dropped two would-be TD passes on the final possession of a six-point loss.
11. Duke Johnson became the seventh player to throw a pass for the Browns this season. Just thought you were wondering.
12. One person Johnson didn’t throw to was Taylor Gabriel. That’s because the Browns didn’t think he was good enough for their team and cut him in September. So Gabriel caught four passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns for the Falcons on Sunday.
13. It’s so bad, the Falcons trolled the Browns on Twitter.
14. People have been quick to write off the chance Colin Kaepernick might remain a 49er in 2017. We haven’t.
15. Of course, two weeks ago we wrote off the Tampa Bay Bucs. Since then, they have won at Kansas City and on Sunday topped the Seahawks. Who knew we could provide such inspiration?
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16. The Pats will be the Pats. And the Jets will be the Jets. That is all.
17. We're not his biggest fans, but have to credit Chiefs QB Alex Smith. Led scoring drives the final three times the Chiefs had the ball against that Broncos defense, including a TD to force overtime.
18. We’re just happy we don’t have to line up opposite Khalil Mack. Gulp.
19. It didn’t take long for a TV shot of Ravens coach John Harbaugh yapping in the ear of an official. It’s a family thing.
20. Bountygate reunion game: Saints coach Sean Payton vs. former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (now with Rams).
21. Think there might still be bad feelings? Payton ran up the score, using trickeration for a 50-yard touchdown pass even though the Saints were already up 21 late in the fourth quarter. We guess he was cutting off the head of the snake there.
22. Someone please teach Ravens QB Joe Flacco how to slide. Please. #awkward
23. Seahawks suffering from jet lag? They travel 27,766 miles this season and the 5,000-mile round-trip to Tampa was their second jaunt to the East Coast in three weeks.
24. It was obviously too soon to write off Aaron Rodgers' season. He was brilliant Monday night. But too soon to write off Packers? Still don't look like a playoff team from here.
25. Dolphins win again. And Adam Gase picks up a few more coach of the year votes.
26. Browns LT Joe Thomas has now played more than 10,000 straight snaps without missing a play. But we understand if he wants to use a sick day on Monday.
27. The Jaguars scored a touchdown on their first drive for the first time in 25 games. They still lost. #Jaguars2016
28. That might have been the Panthers’ last gasp for 2016. But a tip of the helmet — that was one helluva comeback in Oakland.
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29. Suddenly K Stephen Gostkowski is not so automatic for the Patriots. Weird.
30. So after all that football on Thursday and Sunday — with Packers-Eagles on deck for Monday night — the NFC playoff picture did not change one bit from last week. But the Pats are back as the top seed in the AFC.
31. And some real Thanksgiving leftovers:
32. Redskins kicker Dustin Hopkins — and even QB Kirk Cousins — got to use the excuse we all want to use: The sun was in my eyes.
33. We have no problem complaining about the review system when implemented incorrectly. So a tip of the helmet to the non-review of the Darius Slay play near the end of Vikings-Lions. The replay official agreed with the call on the field, so there was no reason to delay the game and go under the hood. Well done.
34. The Steelers won a game they needed against the Colts. But are we the only ones still not convinced Pittsburgh will be a force in January ... if they make the playoffs?
35. And we really want to be convinced, because we think the Steelers could be the AFC champs.
36. Josh Norman vs. Dez Bryant. Wow. We went through two buckets of popcorn watching that — during and after the game.
37. The Redskins’ failures to capitalize on scoring chances has gone from an “if only they had” to what looks like a fatal flaw.
38. If you had the Lions in first place heading into the first week of December, well, we would like to go to Las Vegas with you sometime.
39. Sam Bradford. If there was one thing you can’t do in that situation, it was throw a pick. That is all.
40. The Colts offense struggled as we thought it would, but QB Scott Tolzien actually wasn’t the reason why. That was a surprise.
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