The NFL Roundup 2021: Week 12 Recap

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Hello again, football fans and welcome to our post Turkey Day edition of the NFL Roundup. One that once again features a bevy of juicy topics to discuss since Week 12 in the NFL was all over the place. Since once more, elite teams weren’t elite, allowing for unexpected heroes to rise to the occasion and of course… more incredible storylines emerged from this week’s games so without further ado, let’s dive into the week that was and all the tea it sent our way.

The Chicago Bears are a mess right now.
Look, I’ll just come out and say it… what the hell is going on in Chicago? Because despite enjoying a big win over the Lions on Thursday, there are still all kinds of rumors surrounding their embattled coach, the kind that still see him getting fired and management is keeping mostly silent on the matter or they’re saying cryptic things and just… this doesn’t make any sense. Because you either want him as the guy or you don’t, so just say which one you want and roll with it. Quit with the secrecy, quit with the silence, and just announce the direction you want to go and stick with it and quick. Because the fans feel confused and betrayed, the players want to know what the future looks like, and ownership just needs to step up to the plate and reassure its loyal fan base ASAP so this messy and disorganized look they are projecting comes to a close.
 
The NFL needs to re-think which teams play on Thanksgiving.
One thing we all definitely enjoy, is football on Thanksgiving. Since it really does give us a chance to connect with our family or help nudge us to sleep after we’ve eaten more turkey than is medically safe. But while the games are a proud tradition, some aspects of that tradition need to change. Specifically, the teams that play on this proud holiday. Because every year, the Lions stink up the joint and Dallas tends to either go hard or not at all and uh, it’s time to give other teams the Turkey Day spotlight. Just to keep things interesting and to put better teams on display. So, here’s to hoping the league starts to re-think the Thursday games and puts some quality teams in the earlier windows… so that we as fans get a better experience before or after our Thanksgiving Dinner.
 
It’s time for Cam Newton to retire.
There really does come a point where the game passes a player by in the NFL and when it does, it’s best they just walk away and let their legacy stand pat. But alas, few ever get sage advice to do so and some simply think they can will their way to a second act a la Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. But those guys are exceptions to the rule and even Manning, ran into this moment and sadly, that moment has arrived for Cam Newton. Because he hasn’t been the same mentally, after Von Miller blew him up in Super Bowl 50 and oddly enough his skill set went into decline after that game as well and teams know his weaknesses and how to beat him and if you don’t believe me, just look at his embarrassing Sunday stats. Which means the time has come for Cam to bid football farewell and I certainly hope he realizes that quickly and does so, before he becomes an outright laughingstock.
 
The Los Angeles Rams ‘Yankees’ moment appears to have backfired.
One cannot fault the L.A. Rams for going all in on a Super Bowl by going out and trading for Von Miller and signing Odell Beckham Jr. Because both of those guys are great players, and on paper, their addition should have indeed made this team even more elite than it already was. But alas, they’re 0-3 since trading for Von and well… it just seems like something has changed for this team and I hate to say it, but their attempt to build a team a la the New York Yankees appears to have backfired. For it seems to have sent the message that the guys currently on this squad weren’t getting it done, despite going 7-1 and that lack of faith in them, has prompted a regression and well… it is up to Sean McVay to fix that. Since he helped the team get into this mess and he needs to get everyone’s head in the right space before this slide becomes impossible to recover from.
 
Who are the AFC frontrunners?
While the NFC is doing a wonderful job of establishing which of its teams are elite and heading to the playoffs… the picture is far more muddled in the AFC. For a vast majority of the teams that are in the hunt are 6-5 and don’t look all that great sometimes, and the ones that should be ‘elite’ look anything but. Since the Bills and Chiefs are shells of their playoff selves from last year and the Titans are a flipping mess. Which begs the question, who are the frontrunners in this conference? And honestly… I just don’t know. Because no one is really digging in and separating themselves from the pack and that is going to make for an interesting playoff run. One that is going to be unpredictable and stunning in nature and all we can do… is sit back and enjoy the ride.

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