Paul Bearer's Week 13 Wrap-Up

What's good people of the Corner and my fellow fam in the Arena? Another week in the National Football League is now in the books, and it wasn't a half bad week of football either. There were some good games in week 13, so let's take a look back.

[b]Sunday's Best[/b]

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, it never hurts to have a few balls bounce your way or a few strokes of divine intervention. The New Orleans Saints found this out on Sunday with their 33-30 win over the game Washington Redskins in overtime. The Saints were outplayed by the 'Skins for a big part of this game and the Redskins had a stranglehold on the game late in the 4th, up 30-23 and possession of the ball and looking to put the game out of reach. However, Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham missed a chip-shot field goal with 1:56 left in the game and kept the Saints in the game. That was the second of lucky breaks for the Saints, first off which came when receiver Robert Meachem chased down and stripped Kareem Moore who picked off a Drew Brees pass and ran the ball in for a touchdown which tied the game going into halftime. That play by Meachem was the biggest play of the game, as it gave the Saints momentum and a tie ballgame going into the half after being outplayed in the first half. After Suisham's miss, Brees marched his team down the field and tied the game on a 53-yard touchdown strike to Meachem who was wide open in the middle of the field.

Embattled Redskins QB Jason Campbell played a great game going 30 for 42 with 367 yards and 3 touchdowns although he threw a costly INT late in the 4th. But in his defense he shouldn't have been in that situation had Suisham made that field goal. Brees went 35-49 for 419 yards and 2 touchdowns, Meachem had a great game with 8 catches for 142 yards and a receiving TD and his fumble return. Devin Thomas had 7 catches for 100 yards and 2 TD's for the 'Skins. Washington played well enough to win, but they had the breaks of a 3-9 team while the Saints got the breaks of a 12-0 team.

All in all the Saints were tested, and taken to the 15th by the 'Skins, but they showed their resolve and pulled out a tough win on the road to remain unbeaten. However, the Saints have some chinks in the armor and while the schedule is soft down the stretch, they can be beaten if they don't improve. Dallas is upcoming for the Saints, so we will see what the final weeks have to offer.

[i][b]Bearer's Week 13 Breakdown[/b][/i]
The Indianapolis Colts remained undefeated with a 27-17 win over the Tennesse Titans and snapping the Titans 5-game winning streak. Ball-control was the name of the game for the Colts as they controlled the game and kept the ball from Vince Young and the Titans. 3 turnovers proved costly along with a dropped 65 yard touchdown pass by Nate Washington from Young all contributed to the Titans loss. Peyton Manning finished the game 24 of 37 for 270 yards and 1 TD, for the now 12-0 Colts.

The Arizona Cardinals delivered a beatdown to the Minnesota Vikings 30-17 at home on Sunday night. Kurt Warner coming back from a concussion looked going 22-32 for 285 yards and 3 TD's and outdueled Brett Favre, who went 30-45 for 275 yards and 2 TD's but also threw 2 costly interceptions. The Cardinals shut down Adrian Peterson limiting him to just 19 yards on 13 carries. This game will start to bring up the mentions of Favre going into late-season struggles and how the Vikings bounce back after this throttling will show what kind of team this Minnesota squad really is.

The New York Giants saved their season and brought themselves from the dead with a huge 31-24 win over the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys at home on Sunday. 2 big plays did the trick for the Giants, a 74 yard touchdown on a screen pass to Brandon Jacobs and a 79-yard punt return by Domenik Hixon for a score were the spark the Giants needed to get a huge win. This could be just the thing for the Giants to start a late season surge for the playoffs. The Cowboys will now have to hear more critcs who will question the team's fortitude in December, Tony Romo had a career game with 41 of 55 for 392 yards and 3 TDs, and 2 of which to Roy Williams. The Dallas played well enough to win and could easily have a W, but they will still hear the critics, they schedule isn't any easier so they must have a short memory.

The Miami Dolphins kept their playoff and division hopes alive with a 22-21 win over the New England Patriots. Davone Bess had a big day with 10 catches for 117 yards and a score for the Dolphins. Dan Carpenter kicked a 41-yard field goal with 1:02 left and a Tom Brady interception with 35 seconds left gave the Pats their second straight loss. The Patriots seem to be reeling and that Patriot mystique seems to be gone, and the Dolphins now have new life in the AFC East.

Bruce Gradkowski and the Oakland Raiders pulled off a win against the reeling Pittsbugh Steelers 27-24 at Heinz Field. Gradkowski found Louis Murphy in the corner of the end zone with 9 seconds left in the game to give the Raiders the win. Gradkowski has won 2 of his last 3 starts since replacing the ineffective Jamarcus Russell. The Steelers have lost to a lowly AFC West team again this season and have fallen to 6-6 and deeper in the Wild-Card race. Mike Tomlin and his bunch have to start raising hell soon to turn the tide or else the meltdown will continue.

Michael Vick had a successful homecoming in Atlanta as the Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Atlanta Falcons, 34-7 in the Georgia Dome. Vick had a touchdown pass and a touchdown run in front of his old fans as the Eagles cruised to 8-4 and more importantly a tie with Dallas in the NFC East with a showdown with Cowboys upcoming.

The Chargers grabbed their 7th win in a row with a 30-23 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Chargers went up by 20 in the 3rd and cruised the rest of the way after the Browns scored a few times to make the game respectable. LaDainian Tomlinson continued his ascent up the record books moving into 8th on the all-time rushing list and scoring his 150th touchdown of his career.

The Green Bay Packers continued their playoff push with a 27-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens in a sloppy Monday night contest. Joe Flacco had a rough night with 3 interceptions, as Baltimore's mistakes doomed them. 4 total turnovers and 12 penalties summed up the night for the Ravens. Aaron Rodgers threw for 263 yards and 3 scores, two of which to tight end Jermichael Finley. The Packers are now 8-4 and in good shape in the NFC playoff race.

The Denver Broncos grabbed their second win in a row as they stomped a mudhole in Kansas City 44-13. All of the talk of the Broncos struggles at Arrowhead went out of the window, as Denver controlled this game from start to finish. They rushed for 245 yards as a team and got two touchdowns from rookie Knowshown Moreno and Kyle Orton threw for 2 touchdown to help the Broncos improve to 8-4 and remain one game behind the Chargers in the AFC West.

The Cincinnati Bengals dominated the Lions on the ground and time of possession en route to a 23-13 win over the Detroit Lions. Cincy ran the ball 44 times and had the ball for 38 minutes, Cedric Benson returned to run the ball 36 times for 110 yards. Carson Palmer threw for 220 yards and one touchdown to Chad Ochocinco, who hilariously donned a poncho and sombrero after his score, of which he will probably be fined for. The Bengals improved to 9-3, and look good late in the season.

The Seattle Seahawks beat division rival San Fransisco at the gun 20-17, on Olindo Mare's 30 yard field goal. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 2 scores and 198 yards and Alex Smith for 310 yards and 2 scores in a losing cause. San Fran is now 1-5 on the road, those struggles have hurt the 'Niners all season.

The Jaguars kept their footing in the AFC playoff race and pretty much ended the Texans' playoff hopes with a 23-18 victory at home on Sunday. David Garrard had a solid game going 15 for 28 for 238 yards and two touchdowns. The Jaguars used Maurice Jones-Drew to siphon out the clock late in the game on the Texans who had no timeouts and earned the victory. The Jags are now 7-5 and the Texans fall to 5-7.

The Bears snapped a four game losing streak with a 17-9 victory over the St. Louis Rams at home. Jay Cutler only threw 17 times but threw for 143 yards and one touchdown and most importantly didn't throw any interceptions. Steven Jackson continued his steller play rushing for 112 yards on 28 carries for the Rams, it is a shame for a player of Jackson's caliber to be stuck on such a bad Rams team.

In the Tampa Bay-Carolina game a quarterback threw 5 interceptions, want to guess who it was? No, it wasn't Jake Delhomme who didn't play due to injury but rookie Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman who threw 5 picks to doom his team's cause for a win. Johnathan Stewart ran for 120 yard and a touchdown for the Panthers. The Bucs continue their struggles with a young team, young coach, and young quarterback this season.

The New York Jets stayed on the outside of the playoff race with a 19-13 win over the Buffalo Bills in Toronto on Thursday night. Cornerback Darrelle Revis continued his steller season with an interception and holding Terrell Owens to just 3 catches for 31 yards. The Jets however lost Mark Sanchez to a knee injury in the 3rd quarter on a quarterback scramble.

[b]Paul's Players Of The Week[/b]
Offense: Bruce Gradkowski, 20-33, 308 yards and 3 touchdowns
Defense: Jon Beason, 6 tackles, 2 interceptions

[i]How Did I Do[/i]? 8-7 last week, 41-21 total

Well people another week down another write-up in the books. Good week of football in week 13, hopefully week 14 will be just as good. Be on the lookout for my week 14 preview on Friday. Also, be sure to follow my blog there will be NFL writeups, NBA writeups, college football writeups, etc.

That's it until next time, shoutout to all my fam in The Arena: HHS, Touche, Stairway, Dark, Lakersandravens, Clayton. Along with props to anybody with an Arena sig in their name, don't forget to come in and drop feedback, comments, posts about what you read, etc. Remember y'all the ones I do it for.

Later folks, peace........The Arena Stay Winning!