2023/24 NFL Week 12 Recap

San Francisco soars, Dallas dominates and the Ravens keep on rolling in Week 12 of the 2023/24 NFL season. Thanksgiving week delivered some underdog upsets, some overtime insanity and a primetime game I'm certainly not thankful for.

Read on for recaps and highlights of every single game this week.

Packers 29 - 22 Lions

What is going on with Jared Goff?

After fairly smooth sailing to a 7-2 record, he almost threw away the game vs Chicago with three interceptions. And this week he logged 3 fumbles to gift Green Bay the win. It’s almost as if he’s allergic to the playoffs.

Now, let's give some credit to Jordan Love. 22-of-32 for 268 yards, 3 touchdowns and zero turnovers… Besides KC next week, the Packers have a very favourable schedule to end the season. A wild card spot isn’t out of the question.

Commanders 10 - 45 Cowboys

Sam Howell has been as inconsistent as it gets, and if any defense is going to bring out the worst in him, it’s the Cowboys - most notably, Daron Bland.

On Sunday, Bland officially broke the record for the most pick-sixes in a single season, logging his fifth trip to the end zone this year.

If the defense can keep stacking up the points, while Dak continues to air it out like this, Dallas will be very hard to stop.

49ers 31 - 13 Seahawks

This certainly isn’t the same Geno Smith that won comeback player of the year last season, but it's still the same old Christian McCaffrey.

Once again, CMC dominated on the ground and through the air, putting up a total 139 yards and 2 touchdowns on the night. I’d say this is ridiculous, but it’s exactly what we expect from No.23.

The Hawks are on a two game slide and have the toughest 3 week schedule in the league coming up, as they face Dallas, San Fran and Philly in back-to-back games. Playoff hopes are dwindling for Pete Carroll’s side.

Dolphins 34 - 13 Jets

This is the second week in a row that the Jets defense has been torched for 400+ yards. It was the only thing that gave Robert Salah any hope for this season, and now it’s falling apart.

Sure, they’re still grabbing multiple interceptions a game, but the Bills still put up 32 on them last week, and Miami just topped that. Now I know that’s two of the best offenses in football, but even Aaron Rodgers couldn’t win these games, let alone Zach Wilson or Tim Boyle…

Buccaneers 20 - 27 Colts

Despite Baker Mayfield playing some of the best football of his career, the Bucs keep on losing. They’ve now found the win column just once in the last 7 weeks after a 3-1 start.

The difference in this matchup was the Colts ground game, with Jonathan Taylor, Zack Moss and Gardner Minshew combining for 150 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Indy are now 6-5 and currently in the playoff picture. If Gardner Minshew takes this team to the postseason, he deserves a starting spot somewhere next season.

Patriots 7 - 10 Giants

Snoozefest of the century.

The only thing worth mentioning about this matchup, is the Patriots missing a FG that could have taken it to overtime. That’s it. That’s all that happened.

Steelers 16 - 10 Bengals

The Bengals continue to suffer without Burrow.

Jake Browning isn’t terrible, but it says something when your top WR has his longest reception of the night on a tipped ball.

The Steelers are now 7-4 after defeating two back-up quarterbacks in consecutive weeks, but more importantly - the offense just put up 400 yards for the first time in 59 games. You can thank Steelers ownership for finally firing OC Matt Canada....

Now, it’s a huge step in the right direction, but I still don’t see Kenny Pickett taking this team beyond the first round of the playoffs. Sorry Pittsburgh.

Panthers 10 - 17 Titans

Will Levis continues to be unreliable and inconsistent, but fortunately, he has a monster running back to rely on. When nothing else is working, just give the ball to King Henry…

As for the Panthers, this is the only play I need to see to know that it’s not on Bryce Young. Carolina needs to clean house with the coaching staff. (Edit: HC Frank Reich was fired just a few hours after writing this - hopefully we'll get to see what Young is really capable of)

Jaguars 24 - 21 Texans

It may be a loss on the record, but C.J. Stroud is still performing at the absolute top of his game. 26-of-36 for 304 yards, 2 passing touchdowns,1 rushing touchdown and zero turnovers. Just look at this throw. This is a rookie, in his 12th NFL game...

Sadly, his defense couldn’t hold up against the Jags air raid offense, as Trevor Lawrence torched them for 364 yards.

Jacksonville are pretty much guaranteed a playoff appearance, while the Texans need to clear Indy for a wild card spot. Either way, these two quarterbacks will do big things in the years to come.

Saints 15 - 24 Falcons

If Atlanta fans are giving thanks for anything this week, it should be Bijan Robinson.

Desmond Ridder threw for just 168 with 2 interceptions and a rating of 63.3. The only thing that saved him from a blowout loss, was his star rookie running back, who logged a total 123 yards and 2 touchdowns, including Ridder's only passing TD of the day.

This guy genuinely has the potential to be one of the best running backs of all time.

Rams 37 - 14 Cardinals

This offense is one of the best going when it’s injury free, and this week proved that.

Matthew Stafford looked fully recovered, Cooper Kupp was moving well and Kyren Williams was back in the lineup after 4 weeks out. No.9 threw a career high 4 touchdowns, while Williams logged over 200 total yards and 2 scores.

I was shocked to see Darrell Henderson instantly waived from the roster as soon as Williams returned, but now I understand. The Rams RB1 is set in stone.

With the playmakers back, LA could mount a late-season surge for the postseason. On the other hand, we might have to wait another year to see Kyler Murray back to his old self.

Browns 12 - 29 Broncos

Is Russel Wilson back?

Well, the Broncos are now on a 5-game win streak after beating one of the best defenses in the league, but I’m still not convinced. With the Browns fumbling five times on the day, Wilson only needed to throw for 134 yards to get the job done - a quarter of which came on this throw alone…

Don’t get me wrong, he’s been playing well, but we saw the best of Russell Wilson a long time ago. Denver might stumble their way into the playoffs, but that’s as far as it’ll go.

Bills 34 - 37 Eagles (OT)

Touted to be the game of the week, and it certainly delivered.

Both teams did what they do best…. Josh Allen aired it out for 339 passing yards, while Jalen Hurts found plenty of first downs with his feet. But only one side could come out on top, and the dual threat QB put it to bed with the most reliable part of his game…

Hurts OT touchdown may have been the headline hitter, but this was the real highlight of the night. A 59 yard field goal in the rain and wind to tie the game with 20 seconds left. Shoutout to Jake Elliot.

Chiefs 31 - 17 Raiders

After falling to a 14-0 deficit, Mahomes got his **** together and tied it heading into the half after two long drives to the end zone.

When the Chiefs find their rhythm and get to the playground football they do so well, they're nearly impossible to stop.

Ravens 20 - 10 Chargers

The Bolts rocky season continues…

Justin Herbert and Co. have struggled to get this going this season, and Baltimore did not give them a chance to bounce back.

Besides some scrambles from Herbert and the always reliable Keenan Allen, the Chargers failed to move the sticks over and over again, while committing 4 turnovers on the night. This Ravens defense is for real.

That being said, Harbaugh’s offense only put up 3 points from those 4 possession changes. It wasn’t the most impressive night for Jackson, but you should always keep an eye out for Zay Flowers.

Bears 12 - 10 Vikings

Now, we all knew the Bears were bad, but the Vikings have actually looked solid despite losing Jefferson and Cousins.

Joshua Dobbs took over in Week 9 and won his first two games, taking Minnesota to a 6-4 record. He’s been elusive, accurate, and even clutch at times. But last night that all changed, as Dobbs threw 4 interceptions to truly seal the loss.

Props to anyone that managed to keep their eyes open through this disaster of a game.

Now, I could spend hours complaining, but let’s try to be positive... Chicago just recorded their first divisional win in over 2 years. Go Bears, I guess?

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(Header Image Credit: Bill Streicher - USA TODAY Sports)