The NFL Roundup Week 12 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Jeff Haynes/Associated Press)

It was quite the polarizing weekend of football in the NFL for one reason and one reason alone, the playoffs. Yes, the all important post season added extra weight to just about every game played over Thanksgiving weekend and it made the wins and the losses all the more special and all the more bitter for the fans. If anything those same wins and losses taught us plenty about our favorite teams, giving us an idea of how good they are going into this all important time of year...or how their mistakes are going to continue to cost them and it made for some fascinating stories to say the least and here is what we learned from Week 12 in the NFL.

The Detroit Lions are one tough team.
Normally when people talk about the Detroit Lions, the word 'inconsistent' comes up often in the conversation and with good reason. When this team takes the field they're either stunningly good, or shockingly bad, there's never an in between with them; and while they have seem some wild ups and downs this year, after watching this team play on Thanksgiving, it's high time we add a few new labels to properly describe this squad...specifically that they are both tough and resilient. Not only have they fought their way to the top of the NFC North at the most critical time of the season, they've done it by playing smash mouth football. The defense is finding ways to stop opposing offenses and Matthew Stafford has played at an elite level this season, willing a win when necessary and inspiring his teammates as only a leader can and they are clearly sending a message to the rest of the league, that they will battle every opponent that comes their way in fierce and exhausting fashion. 

The Houston Texans need to part ways with General Manager Rick Smith.
Look, I completely understand that the Houston Texans needed to make a big change at quarterback following their embarrassing loss in the playoffs and I totally get the need to make a splash in free agency to show the fans they're serious about winning, and that's why they signed Brock Osweiler...but by panicking and signing him to a deal without even meeting him, well they basically screwed themselves over for the next few years. Osweiler is a flat out free agency bust and he once again stunk it up on Sunday, tossing three interceptions in their loss to the Chargers and as Houston's season begins to unravel, it's clear now that they will either miss the playoffs or make an early exit from them and well...someone needs to be held accountable for this boneheaded move and I hate to say it, but Rick Smith needs to lose his job over this. So when the offseason arrives, I certainly hope that ownership sends him packing to remind the league and their fans that they absolutely want to win and that they're prepared to exercise a little patience to figure out how to win the right way.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are suddenly one impressive team.
I'll be the first to admit that I more or less wrote off Tampa Bay at the start of the season simply because they kicked off the year in awful fashion. But clearly something special has happened in that locker room. Because suddenly the defense is stout and Jameis Winston is laser sharp and most importantly, the team is playing like a team and everyone on this squad is flat out doing their job and the end result has been some breathtaking football. That's two weeks in a row now that the Bucs have pulled off a pair of major upsets. First they knocked off the Chiefs, and on Sunday they toppled the mighty Seahawks, keeping their playoff hopes alive by moving their record to a respectable 6-5. Either way, this is a team to keep an eye on as the season winds down because this is a team that has suddenly come to life and is fully aware of the fact that they are completely in control of their own destiny.

The Denver Broncos are now at a crossroads.
Early on in 2016, it seemed like it was business as usual for the Broncos. They were winning on defense, their quarterback was doing just enough to keep them in it and everyone assumed they would be back in the playoffs this year with minimal effort. But following their loss on Sunday night, Denver now sits at 7-4 and there is a solid chance that they might not make the playoffs considering how talented other teams are in the AFC  and AFC West and well...it's time for this team to quit goofing around, and fix the glaring problems they've been dealing with all season long. They need consistency out of Trevor Siemian, they need the offensive line to play fundamental football to protect their QB and get the run game going and they need their defense to settle down and stop handing their opponents great field position by way of stupid penalties. Either way, it falls to Gary Kubiak to fix these messes and hopefully he won't waste any time in doing so...

The Cleveland Browns have a tough choice to make at Head Coach at the end of the season.
Another week, another loss for the Cleveland Browns, and at this point, as the season begins to come to close, the executive brass in Cleveland have one big decision to make...do they keep Hue Jackson around or fire him after one year and when you weigh the pros and cons here...this really is a tough call to make. On one hand, new GM Sashi Brown clearly has no idea how to interpret the NFL version of saber-metrics the team is using since he's assembled an awful roster for Hue to Coach, but on the other hand...Hue's job is simple...get the most out of the talent he has been provided with, and that certainly hasn't happened either. When all is said and done however, I think that Hue will get at least one more year to coach the Browns since injuries have plagued this team all year long especially at the all important QB position but honestly when it comes to this erratic franchise who knows what will happen when Cleveland's awful season finally comes to its merciful end.

---