The NFL Roundup 2017: Week 13 - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Mark Tenally/Associated Press)

​Wow, what a weekend of NFL football. It was simply surprise after surprise when it comes to this past week’s slate of games, and I’m still in awe when it comes to how some of these games turned out and I’m still pondering upon what the future holds for some franchises after some bold decisions were made as well. Which means that this weekend brought forth plenty of juicy stories to discuss, so let’s not waste any more time and delve right into what we learned from Week 13 in the NFL.
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The New York Giants made the right decision in firing Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese now.
Sometimes a parting of the ways is inevitable in the NFL. A player doesn’t belong in a certain scheme, a coach isn’t the right fit, so ties are cut, people are move on, it’s just business. But there has always been a great debate in this league as to when exactly IS the proper time to let someone go. Some teams, like the Giants, prefer to say their goodbyes at the end of the season to instill a sense of continuity, and while that’s as classy as can be, I think the Mara family made the right call in relieving Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese of their duties yesterday morning. Because to keep these two men on for the rest of the year would have sent the wrong message to the players and the fans, in that they support McAdoo’s wild behavior and Reese’s commitment to mediocrity and rather than send that message, they did the right thing and fired them now and here’s to hoping the Mara’s learned their lesson when it comes to hiring based on buzz so that the fans and the franchise never again have to endure this kind of epic embarrassment.
 
The NFL is continuing its crackdown on ugly, on field behavior, and it’s a good thing.
I just don’t get what is going on when it comes to the excessive anger we’re all seeing on the field this year. We’ve been seeing fight after fight during game time and I thought the league made it clear to settle it on the scoreboard by suspending both Aqib Talib and Michael Crabtree for their battle royale two weeks ago. Yet here we are again, with more suspensions coming down for last night’s issues from the Steelers/Bengals game and I’m glad the league is continuing to be harsh when it comes to this nonsense. Because someone is going to get seriously hurt if these players continue to take extra shots like so many did last night and hopefully the message to end this crap sinks in soon, otherwise expect the next wave of suspensions to be far harsher than a single game…
 
The Kansas City Chiefs are in a freefall right now.
It really has been quite the strange year for teams that started off the season in ‘elite’ fashion simply because…none of them have been able to maintain their high level of play and Kansas City is unfortunately one of those teams. Because after starting the season out strong, they’ve simply fallen to pieces in the past few weeks and well, it’s up to Head Coach Andy Reid to stop the bleeding before things go from bad to worse. He has to figure out how to get this team to focus on football above anything else because right now, they’re all over the place and they’re certainly not playing like it’s a team sport, and for proof look no further than Marcus Peters’ little flag toss on Sunday, and if Andy can’t get this team to settle down and ball the way they did at the start of the year, expect the slide to continue and for the season to end in harsh disappointment.
 
The Seattle Seahawks pulled off one hell of an upset on Sunday Night.
It truly seemed as though a win for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football was a foregone conclusion. After all, their defense has been playing lights out football all season long and Carson Wentz has looked like a polished pro, but nothing is ever a guarantee in this league and the Seattle Seahawks rammed that point home by beating the Eagles in impressive fashion. Because this is the first time all season long that I’ve seen the Philadelphia defense winded and Seattle pulled that feat off by delivering long and sustained drives on the field, and they shut down the Philly offense by getting to Wentz on a regular basis and I’m certain the miracle they made happen will be studied heavily by other teams in the NFC. But in the meantime, my hat goes off to the Seattle Seahawks for delivering a quality win, one that lets everyone else know that this team is going to be tough to beat as the season comes to a close.
 
The Minnesota Vikings continue to impress.
The best teams out there are the ones that cherish a win, no matter how they got it, and that kind of attitude is precisely why the Minnesota Vikings are enjoying such incredible success. Because this is a team that can score at will and devastate their opponent, or…they can be patient and only put up just enough points to secure the victory, as they did on Sunday. But any way you slice it, all they desire is the win, and they know that with every single one they add to the W column, they get that much closer to owning their division, or earning a bye week in the playoffs and really….it’s just impressive to watch this team play week in and week out and see how far they’ve come and with the Eagles now dropping to 10-2 as well, their playoff fate is entirely in their own hands now and I’m fairly certain they’ll make the most of every opportunity from here on out. 

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