Week 13 of the 2022 NFL season served as a reminder of how quickly things can change in the league.
No team realised that more than the San Francisco 49ers whose Super Bowl hopes broke around the same time as Jimmy Garoppolo’s foot.
Meanwhile Dallas laid down a marker, Tennessee showed their limitations and Buffalo got the job done.
We’ve got our Week 13 recap below so check out our big takeaways from the last few days here!
1 – The Patriots Have a Problem
After starting every game and going to the playoffs as a rookie, the second season of Mac Jones’ career has been a massive disappointment, but not all of the blame can be placed on the quarterback.
It’s been mentioned so many times already, but replacing the departed Josh McDaniels with some combination of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge has severely hampered Jones’ development.
Patricia’s play calling has left a lot to be desired with New England struggling to gain any sort of traction on offence, resulting in this blow up from Jones in their loss to the Bills.
While the exact phrasing of that outburst is still a matter of debate, it’s clear that it is not all sunshine and roses at Gillette Stadium right now.
There is a major talent deficit on that offence with running back Rhamondre Stevenson the most talented player on that roster, but he’s not exactly Barry Sanders.
What makes it even tougher for New England is that they have to make a decision on whether to commit to Jones at the end of the 2023 season, but how can you fairly evaluate him with this supporting cast?
There’s a chance Jones might actually suck and not be cut out for life as an NFL quarterback (and there’s more than enough evidence to reach that conclusion) but the Patriots have to shake things up to get this offence to even an average level.
Aside from bringing in an actual offensive coordinator, Jones needs a reliable target to give opposing defences someone to worry about.
Buffalo went out and got Josh Allen Stefon Diggs, Miami brought in Tyreek Hill for Tua and Philadelphia traded for AJ Brown, which has put Jalen Hurts into the MVP discussion.
Making those two changes would help close the gaping chasm between New England and the AFC’s elite of Buffalo and Kansas City.
2 – It’s Evaluation Season in Cleveland
Whatever your opinion on the controversies that lead to his suspension, Deshaun Watson is back on an NFL roster and will be expected to deliver plenty of success to a Cleveland team that gave up a lot to acquire him from Houston.
There was also no accident that his return came against the team he spurned almost two years ago, with the Houston fans that still want to subject themselves to the torture of watching their 1-9-1 team more than happy to let Watson know how they feel.
Having not played in 700 days, it was reasonable to expect a bit of rust but there were a few times when it seemed like Watson thought he was still playing for the Texans.
From a football perspective, it was a pretty soft landing for Watson and his 12/22 day for 131 yards wasn’t blowing anyone away, but at 5-7, this is all about setting the Browns up for a run in 2023.
Their main goal is to finish this season on a winning note and have the team ready to push for the playoffs and possibly a Super Bowl.
After all, it’s the NFL and all that really matters is if you can contribute on the field, which is why the Browns were happy to send a boatload of draft picks for Watson and pay him US$234million.
3 – Cincinnati is a Super Bowl Contender
Make that four wins in a row for the Cincinnati Bengals and defeating Kansas City might be the most important victory of the year.
For the third time in 12 months the Bengals knocked off the Super Bowl favourites, Kansas City with a 27-24 and Joe Burrow sealing the victory with this huge throw to Tee Higgins.
Some were wondering if the Bengals might not have the same fight as in previous seasons having made (and lost) the Super Bowl last year, but if this is anything to go by, they are just getting started.
At 8-4 the Bengals are one game back on the Bills and Chiefs for home field advantage in the AFC and have been given a huge boost in the race for their division with Lamar Jackson’s injury.
If they can catch even one of those teams and get the second seed, securing two home playoff games you have to like their chances of going to the Super Bowl.
4 – San Francisco’s Season Is Over
Sometimes you just cannot catch a break, one week after being anointed as the best team in the NFC, San Francisco’s Super Bowl push came to an end with this announcement after the game.
That’s the second time this season that the 49ers have lost their starting quarterback to injury and for the time being at least, they are turning to rookie Brock Purdy to run the show.
For background, Purdy was the last guy drafted back in May, hence the nickname Mr Irrelevant, but he may never play a more important role over the next couple of months.
There is a case to be made for the 49ers being able to continue their role because the supporting cast around whoever is playing quarterback is as good as it gets.
On top of a number of playmakers on offence, they have the league’s best defence that will give them a shot every week.
But when they take on the best teams in the league and Purdy needs to find a way to get the team back from a 10-point deficit in the second half, you would not want to back a guy in that situation.
As for finding help from outside the organisation, there’s not a lot out there on the free agent market.
The question for Kyle Shanahan is simple, do you trust a late round rookie who has been there all season, or a former first overall pick who has major question marks hovering over him?
Neither option is overly appealing the more you think about it.
5 – Dallas Can Win the Super Bowl
With one team falling, another one rises to the top and Dallas produced a statement victory to take over the mantle of “Biggest threat in the NFC”… for this week at least.
The Cowboys were in a tight game with the Indianapolis Colts with a 21-19 lead late on, then the fourth quarter happened.
They have a well rounded offence with the duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard carrying them to some big scores.
Over their last five games the Cowboys have scored 49, 28, 40, 28 and 54 points with Pollard scoring eight touchdowns to go with Elliott’s four over his last three games.
That offence is now able to carry its own share of the workload to go with the a playmaking defence that is full of difference makers.
Right now, the only thing working against Dallas is the fact that they are in the same division as the 11-1 Philadelphia Eagles which could send them on the road for the playoffs.
But even if they have to travel, you’d be hard pressed to back against them.