Neil Reynolds
American Football Expert & Columnist
Pittsburgh Steelers stay alive in AFC, the Detroit Lions finally win and are the Buffalo Bills built wrong? Neil Reynolds' Final Word on Week 13
Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds has the final word on Week 13 in the NFL; join Neil and guests for Inside the Huddle, every Tuesday at 9pm on Sky Sports NFL as they look back on the best of the weekend's action...
Last Updated: 07/12/21 4:25pm
The playoff picture in both conferences remains cloudy as we head into the final five weeks of the regular season but one previously-dominant force has emerged as the New England Patriots now stand alone in top spot in the AFC post-season seedings. And this week's column begins where Week 13 ended...
Five Major Takeaways from Week 13
1) The Evil Genius
I'm now more convinced than ever that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is some Star Wars-like evil overlord.
His team is built to play in the wintry elements, so ahead of Monday night's visit to Buffalo, the greatest coach of all time conjured up some sorcery. At around the same time as Belichick was beginning his journey to Buffalo's stadium, storm-force winds were blowing in all directions, the goalposts were dancing, television presenters were being blown off their pitch-side chairs and it looked like someone had given their snow globe a violent shake. Coincidence? I think not.
The Patriots threw the football just three times and won 14-10. Three times! They became only the fourth team in NFL history to attempt three or fewer passes in a game and win, and the first since the 1974 Buffalo Bills. New England ran for 222 yards and a touchdown on 46 carries. Mac Jones might as well have stayed in the warm of the team hotel, completing two of three passes for 19 yards.
2) Bills built wrong?
This is the second time in the past month that the Bills have been bullied at home in poor weather conditions, the other being an embarrassing 41-15 reverse at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts on a rainy day in November.
On that occasion, the Colts rushed 46 times for 264 yards and four touchdowns. Buffalo's running backs, meanwhile, carried the football only 11 times, with Josh Allen forced to chase the game with 35 passes and two runs of his own.
It was the same on Monday night. New England ran the ball 46 times and went over 200 yards. They could adapt to the elements. Buffalo's backs carried only 19 times, forcing Allen to battle the winds on 30 passes and six of his own runs.
The Bills are built for today's modern, pass-heavy NFL and they often neglect the run. All that is fine until you factor in the Buffalo weather, especially late in the year when you want to make a Super Bowl run.
3) Steelers stay alive
The Pittsburgh Steelers looked pretty poor for much of their game against the Baltimore Ravens and could not get going on offense. They trailed 10-3 in the second half but then finally found the offensive gas pedal, especially in the fourth quarter.
The much-maligned Ben Roethlisberger was ruthlessly efficient, going nine of 10 for 129 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to move the Steelers into a 20-13 lead. But Pittsburgh's emotions must have been all over the map as Baltimore came storming back, scoring with 12 seconds left on the clock through a Lamar Jackson to Sammy Watkins strike.
I think the Ravens should be applauded for going for two after that TD. They had been out-played in the fourth quarter and they were very banged up in the secondary. Why not try to win it from the two-yard line with Lamar, who I think hurried the pass to Mark Andrews that fell incomplete. It was a dramatic ending to a game that sprung to life after being quite hard to watch for the first three quarters.
4) The Lions win!
The Detroit Lions grabbed a dramatic win on Sunday as Jared Goff threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown as time expired, lifting Dan Campbell's men past the up and down Minnesota Vikings, who have now seen all of their seven losses this season decided by one score.
What was clear in footage aired from Detroit's locker room after this game is that this team plays hard for the first-year head coach Campbell and they love their leader, even if he does have some flaws with game management and play-calling - all areas where he can grow if given time.
I have to wonder how much time Mike Zimmer has left in Minnesota, though. There used to be a time where the Vikings would have wanted their defense on the field with the game on the line. Not anymore.
Defensive backs Cameron Dantzler and Xavier Woods backed up far too deep in their endzone, gifting the Lions an easy game-winning touchdown. That was a baffling defensive approach from the Vikings in a big spot. Shocking.
5) Cardinals roll on
There are very few complete teams in the NFL, but the Arizona Cardinals certainly appear to fall into that category as the first club to reach 10 wins this season following Sunday's comfortable 33-22 defeat of the Chicago Bears.
With a strong defensive effort leading the way on a miserable weather day in Chicago, the Cardinals were able to ease quarterback Kyler Murray back into action after he missed the previous three games with an ankle injury.
The Cards sacked Chicago's Andy Dalton three times and intercepted him on four occasions. Murray was not asked to do too much as he threw for 123 yards and ran for 59 more. But he did account for four touchdowns - two on the ground and two through the air.
The Cardinals have now won seven of seven on the road this season, with all of those victories coming by at least 10 points.
Player of the Week: T.J. Watt
The Steelers were delighted when their top defender was activated off the Covid-19 list in time to face Baltimore. And T.J. Watt stepped up in a big way with three and a half sacks, as well as the all-important pressure on Lamar Jackson on the vital, failed two-point conversion attempt at the end of the game.
Play of the Week
The Los Angeles Chargers jumped out to a 24-0 lead on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, but the home team stormed back with 22 unanswered points and were driving to take a second-half lead when Tevaughn Campbell pounced on a Joe Mixon fumble and ran the ball back 61 yards for a touchdown.
Instead of the score being 29-24 or 25-24 to the Bengals, it was suddenly 31-22 to the Chargers early in the fourth. It completely knocked the stuffing out of Cincinnati and they never recovered en route to a 41-22 loss.
Coach of the Week: Bill Belichick
How many different ways would we like Belichick to show us he is the greatest of all time?
This latest offering comes with a 14-10 win in Buffalo that was powered by the run. Belichick was not even tempted to pass, showing total respect to the brutal wind that actually knocked ESPN's pre-game show host and analysts off their chairs!
Jones threw just three passes and completed two. Most coaches would be scared to abandon the pass so frivolously. Not Belichick. He stuck to his plan and guided his team to victory by giving them the absolute best chance to succeed, and that meant keeping the ball on the ground. New England have now won seven in a row and look like genuine contenders.
On my Radar
There are still five weeks of the regular season to be played and then three rounds of the playoffs before we get to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. And, as I mentioned before, the race is wide open and there are many contenders, but I cannot stop looking at the 9-4 Patriots in the AFC and the 9-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC and dreaming of what would be the wildest Super Bowl week ever!
Belichick vs Tom Brady? The hype would be off the charts! It may seem like the stuff of fantasy and a script from Hollywood, but given the way the Patriots and the Bucs are playing, it's highly possible. It would be one of the most compelling storylines in the history of sports, let alone the NFL. Sign me up for some of that, please.
Join Neil Reynolds and guests for Inside The Huddle, every Tuesday from 9pm on Sky Sports NFL for a look back on the best of the weekend's NFL action.
