Biggest Winners and Losers in the NFL: Week 12

Three teams make statements to move closer to a division crown, while a trio of west coast teams suffer bad losses in Week 12.

Winners

Tennessee Titans

For a couple of weeks, there were some doubts about the Tennessee Titans. Fast-forward a couple of weeks and they are 8-3, alone in first place, and are coming off a blowout win over the Indianapolis Colts. RB Derrick Henry is pacing the run-heavy offense, running for a whopping 1,257 yards which is league-leading. QB Ryan Tannehill is doing a great job of taking care of the ball and playing winning football as well. The Titans have won back-to-back games against the Baltimore Ravens to go along with the Colts and have a chance to make it three straight quality wins against the Cleveland Browns in Week 13.

Kansas City Chiefs

Even though the score was close, the Kansas City Chiefs showed a dominant performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12. QB Patrick Mahomes threw for 462 yards and three touchdowns. Of those 462 yards, 269 of them went to WR Tyreek Hill, who also scored all three touchdowns. Mahomes is in the running for his second MVP award in three years, totaling a stat-line of 3,497 yards, 68.8% CMP, 30 TD, and only 2 INT. The Chiefs are 10-1 and are as dominant as ever. They are playing complete football as well, which makes them even scarier. If everyone stays healthy, Kansas City is poised to make a serious run to the Super Bowl yet again.

Washington Football Team

At 4-7, you would think the Washington Football Team would be losers, but when you are tied for first place in your division, it makes you a winner. If the season ended today, the Giants would make the playoffs over Washington, but with QB Daniel Jones going down, WFT has a real chance to go back in front. After dominating the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, Washington will try to take down the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 11-0, to move to 5-7. Washington has placed an emphasis on running the ball and dominating upfront, which to this point has worked. If they can knock off Pittsburgh, it would send a massive statement towards the rest of the league.

Losers

Los Angeles Chargers

All season long, the Chargers have found ways to lose, and Sunday was probably the worst of them all. Down 10 with under a minute to go and no timeouts, head coach Anthony Lynn decided to run the ball, which obviously did not work and caused the Chargers to run out of time without even a chance for a score, followed by an onside kick. Los Angeles is now 2-8 in one-score games, a recipe for disaster. If the Chargers want any shot of winning five to six games this season, they need to manage the clock better and not take the foot off the gas pedal. They are playing not to lose right now, rather than to win.

Arizona Cardinals

Ever since the statement win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7, the Cardinals have looked out of sorts. They are 1-3 in these games, with that one win coming on a Hail Mary to star WR DeAndre Hopkins. Their latest loss was to the New England Patriots, who are a very beatable team and should have been a team the Cardinals should beat if they want to make the playoffs. Despite this, Arizona still has a solid roster and is still in a position to make the playoffs in 2020. Their next task is the Los Angeles Rams, who are currently 7-4 and are also coming off a bad loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Look for QB Kyler Murray to bounce back and start gaining momentum in their playoff push.

Los Angeles Rams

It is weird to see a quality division have two losers in one week, but it is 2020 so anything is possible. After making a huge statement on Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Rams did not come to play against the San Francisco 49ers, who are playing with their “B” team with all the injuries they have suffered. The Rams had four turnovers, three coming from QB Jared Goff who has been struggling lately. The Rams are still in a good spot at 7-4 but will need to bounce back fast against a quality Arizona Cardinals team, led by QB Kyler Murray.

stats from profootballreference.com

Writer

-By: Richie Dordas