In Week 12 of NFL, a new team took the lead in the AFC North. Check out the Ravens, and their other divisional rivals!
In Week 12 of NFL, a new team took the lead in the AFC North. Check out the Ravens, and their other divisional rivals!
After a win of 23-10 over the New York Jets, the Ravens now have a record higher than.500. Baltimore leads the AFC North, as they hold the tiebreaker over the Steelers.
This week’s Ravens offensive performance was disappointing, except for a few touchdown drives. Lamar Jackson has had hamstrings, knees, ankles, and toes injuries this season. The electric quarterback is not a major factor in the Ravens’ run game. He also appears to be slower than usual when he tries to escape from pressure or outrun his defenders. The Ravens have been severely hindered by this, especially in the red zones, where Baltimore is 30th for red zone touchdowns after being first in 2024. Jackson completed 13 passes on 23 for 153 yard, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Derrick Henry led with 64 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries. Zay Flowers leads the team each week in receiving yards, finishing with 58 from five catches.
T.J. Tampa made a late interception and the Ravens defense continued their streak of turnovers. A forced fumble was caused by Marlon Hushprey which Alohi Gillman recovered. Dre’Mont Jones was the team leader with 1.5 sacks. Baltimore fans were apprehensive when Kyle Hamilton left the game with an ankle injury late in the game. However, the versatile defender is expected to be ready for Thanksgiving’s crucial game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
In Week 12, the Steelers were beaten by the Chicago Bears 31-28.
Aaron Rodgers was not available for the Bears game due to an injury sustained in Week 11 against the Bengals. Mason Rudolph started in his place and threw for 171 yard, one touchdown, one interception, while completing 24 out of 31 passes. Calvin Austin was the top receiver with 36 yards of receiving on four catches. Kenneth Gainwell, who led with 92 yards on 10 carries led all other players with 92 yards. DK Metcalf continues to disappoint in his first season as a Steeler, with just 22 yards of receiving yardage on five catches. He did gain another 12 yards on his two rushing attempts and scored a touchdown. Metcalf only has 50 receiving yards and 100 yards this season in five games.
T.J. Watt recorded the lone sack for Pittsburgh in this game. Watt stripped Caleb Williams during the sack. Nate Herbig then returned the fumble to score a touchdown. The Steelers have a difficult schedule left and will need their defense to step up if they are to stay in the playoff race, especially if Rodgers continues missing games.
Cincinnati dropped to 3-8 after a Week 12 loss of 26-20 to the New England Patriots.
Joe Burrow’s return to the NFL did not happen on Sunday, as Joe Flacco was still the starter. Flacco completed 19 of his 37 pass attempts, resulting in 183 yards and a touchdown. He also threw one interception. This was probably Flacco’s last start for the season. Ja’Marr chase was suspended for one game, so Andrei Iosivas led the team in receiving yards with 61 on four catches. Chase Brown was again impressive, rushing 107 yards in 19 carries and catching two passes for 23 more yards. Tee Higgins left the game in the fourth with a concussion. He has been ruled out of the Thanksgiving match against the Ravens.
Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals’ defensive end who has been out with a hernia injury since late October, will be absent on Thursday. Jalen’s Davis was the only Bengals player to record a sack, and Geno Stone caused the only turnover by returning an interception against Drake Maye for a touchdown. Cincinnati will now look to Burrow in order to salvage their season. This week, they play Baltimore.
The Cleveland Browns won their third game of the season by beating the Las Vegas Raiders 24-10 in Week 12.
Shedeur Sanders made his first NFL start against the Raiders a week after being thrust in action against the Ravens. Shedeur Sanders, the fifth-round selection, showed his potential on deep field passes, as he completed eleven of twenty passes for 209 yard, one touchdown and one interception. Sanders will remain as the starter against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13. Quinshon Judkins, a rookie running back, led the team in rushing with 47 yards and two touchdowns. Dylan Sampson was the other rookie runningback who led with 59 yards and a touchdown from two receptions.
Myles Garrett scored three sacks in a monster performance against Las Vegas. With six games to go, the former Defensive Players of the Year is only five sacks from breaking the record for sacks in a single season of 22.5. Eight different players contributed to the Browns’ 10 sacks. Cleveland’s defense will be tough to beat if Sanders keeps sparking the offense.