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From Thanksgiving nailbiters to a sluggish game between two bottom tier teams, Week 12 brought some interesting games to the table. We got some big upsets to two top 10 teams, plenty of underwhelming offensive performances around the league, and controversial calls spread out across almost every game. It was another unpredictable week in the most unpredictable season in NFL history.
Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Week 13 Power Rankings
Teams to Note
Baltimore Ravens (Dropped 4 spots)
What an utter collapse by this offense. They scored just 2 TDs on 5 redzone attempts against a team that has allowed TDs on nearly 60% of redzone drives. Add in a few bad calls, most notably the controversial touchdown to Marvin Jones to seal the game, it was a horrible day for the Ravens, and especially for Marcus Peters.
Arizona Cardinals (Dropped 3 spots)
Another game with some controversial calls, but this was all on the Cardinals 4th quarter failure - a Kliff Kingsbury staple. On all three of their 4th quarter offensive drives, they went 3-and-out and gave great field position to the Chargers. Finally, LA drove down at the end of the game, hitting 2 passes against Isaiah Simmons to score a TD and to put the game away on a 2 pointer. Just bad football, and another domino falls in the eventual firing of Kliff and Steve Keim (hopefully sooner rather than later).
Cincinnati Bengals (Rose 5 spots)
The Bengals are hitting their stride and took down one of the toughest teams in the NFL this year. Joe Burrow continues to cement his top-5 QB claim, the defense came to bat by terrorizing Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill, and the Bengals continue to climb the power ranking ladder by winning their 3rd straight game.
Week 12 Awards
AFC Offensive MVP: Josh Jacobs - Las Vegas Raiders
AFC Defensive MVP: Ed Oliver - Buffalo Bills
AFC Trench Tyrant: Creed Humphrey - Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Special Teams MVP: JK Scott - Los Angeles Chargers
NFC Offensive MVP: Kirk Cousins - Minnesota Vikings
NFC Defensive MVP: Brian Burns - Carolina Panthers
NFC Trench Tyrant: Chris Lindstrom - Atlanta Falcons
NFC Special Teams MVP: Kene Nwangwu - Minnesota Vikings
Award Winners to Note
Ed Oliver - While watching the Bills vs Browns game, Ed passed the eye test. He made key plays in critical situations, including a safety and forced fumble + recovery which led to a TD by the Bills; that accounts for a 9 point swing in Buffalo's favor. Add in a sack, 2 pressures, 5 stops, and a 92.7 run defense grade per PFF, Ed finally had a top-10 pick worthy performance.
Kirk Cousins - Box score merchants will say Cousins wasn't the best player in the NFC this past week, but I say different. After completely missing a receiver and throwing an INT in the 1st quarter, he shook it off and overcame his primetime curse. He chucked 3 TDs and 299 yards, while posting an adjusted completion rate of 86.1%, highest in the league for Week 12. He also had 3 big time throws and took only 1 sack on 15 pressures.
Creed Humphrey - Creed has played like the best center in the league this year, and he had another great day against the Rams. He allowed no pressures or sacks, while posting a 90.4 run block grade as the Chiefs stampeded for 117 yards. This is more impressive than normal considering CEH was out for the game and they were missing a good amount of receivers as well.
Photo: Duane Burleson/Associated Press
Key Fantasy Players Recap (Week 12)
QB: Mike White vs Chicago Bears
Projected - 12.5
Actual - 24.8
Results - Boomed
RB: Jerick McKinnon vs Los Angeles Rams
Projected - 8.2
Actual - 5.6
Results - Busted
WR: Isaiah McKenzie
Projected - 9.0
Actual - 22.3
Results - Boomed
TE: Mike Gesicki vs Houston Texans
Projected - 7.5
Actual - 0.0
Results - Busted
D/ST: Atlanta Falcons vs Washington Commanders
Projected - 6.0
Actual - 2.0
Results - Busted
K: Eddy Pineiro
Projected - 5.4
Actual - 12.0
Results - Boomed
Week 12 Total: 3 Boomed, 0 Pushed, 3 Busted
Yearly Total: 17 Boomed, 6 Pushed, 12 Busted
Key Fantasy Players for Week 13
QB: Trevor Lawrence vs Detroit Lions
Coming off a career day, Trevor is set up in a beautiful position to light up one of the worst defenses in the league. He'll exhaust this offense of all it's resources to torch the battered Lions defense.
RB: Kyren Williams vs Seattle Seahawks
Kyren has seen his snap share increase over the past two weeks, and he recorded 70% of the snaps last game. He should get closer to 80% this week and have a good shot at a TD as well.
WR: Olamide Zaccheaus vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Once or twice a year, Olamide goes off and racks up over 100 yards, mainly by catching deep crossing and seam routes. He'll do that against one of the worst defenses versing WRs this year.
TE: Logan Thomas vs New York Giants
The Commanders are utilizing their tight ends more and more, and it's about time for Logan to have his staple breakout performance against a bottom 5 team against TEs.
D/ST: Houston Texans vs Cleveland Browns
I want Deshaun Watson to get absolutely destroyed on Sunday, and I hope the Texans feel the same. The Predator's gonna feel the heat all day long.
K: Jason Myers vs Los Angeles Rams
The Rams defense will be without Aaron Donald for the first time since he entered the league, paving the way for the Seahawks offense to have a field day, giving Myers plenty of chances to add points to the scoreboard.
Photo: Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images
Final Notes:
After this week, each team will have 5 games to make one last push for the playoffs. There are plenty of playoff spots still up for grabs in each conference, and it'll be an all out sprint to the finish line for each team who can even sniff the postseason red tape.
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