Best And Worst Of NFL Week Thirteen

Week thirteen has come and gone in the National Football League and a few interesting things have started to take shape around the league. Not only are the Carolina Panthers still the only unbeaten team in the NFL at 12-0, they are also the first team to clinch a division title. For the third year in a row, Carolina is the champions of the NFC South. In that NFC playoff race, the Giants look like they're starting to possibly fall out of contention, Seattle has managed to claw its way back into a Wild Card position, and a possibly under .500 record can win you a division (NFC East). In the AFC, the Jets managed to clime back into a log jam for the last wild card spots with the Chiefs and Steelers. New England has slipped the last two games, as both them and the Giants had a few questionable play calls during their losses this week You could also have another team finish at or just below .500 win a division (AFC South). So things are still way up in the air for the playoff push. Week thirteen saw a lot go down on the field. The Hail Marry win Thursday for the Packers to go along with some atrocious quarterback performances that consisted of pick-sixes by none other than Tom Brady himself. Then there were other quarterbacks who made their team’s running backs look obsolete when they stole the show on the ground. Finally, there were the awesome and irritating touchdown celebrations that could help but make you laugh out loud and scratch your head.

Here's now some of the Best and Worst of Week Thirteen in the National Football League

Best:
Greg Olsen, Tight End Carolina Panthers
Carolina is STILL unbeaten, thanks to a big catch from Greg Olsen on Sunday. On fourth-and-4 just before the two-minute warning, Newton had nothing and scrambled to his left to buy time. He saw Olsen come open, and flipped a pass out to him. Because Newton couldn't get much on the throw, Olsen had to adjust. And he made a spectacular catch to keep the drive and the Panthers' perfect season alive. It's not out of the question that the Panthers could have gotten the ball back and scored anyway, but their chances of winning would have plummeted had the pass hit the ground before Olsen snagged it. He finished with a solid day that consisted of 9 catches for 129 yards. He did fumble once but that can be overlooked. If he doesn't make that catch to allow Carolina to pick up; that first down, there's no guarantees that the Panthers are still unbeaten.

Worst:
Adrian Peterson, Running Back Minnesota Vikings
It was no secret that this was going to be a tough matchup for Peterson. The best running back in the game was going up against the top rushing defense in the league in the Seattle Seahawks. Peterson finished with just eight carries for 18 yards on the ground, season lows for AP. This coming after rushing for just 45 yards two weeks ago against the Packers in Green Bay. Adrian is a fantastic back and is worth the money trust me. But news flash to him and the Vikings, you were playing Seattle who has an outstanding run defense. This wasn't the Swiss Cheese run defense of the Atlanta Falcons what did you expect to happen?

Best:
Allen Robinson, Wide Receivers Jacksonville Jaguars
This guy has been having a fantastic year this year, going off again this Sunday in the Jags 42-39 loss to the Titans. Robinson finished the day with ten catches for 153 yards and three touchdowns. With the exception of week one against the Panthers, he's had at least fifty yards receiving in every game this year, having broken the 100 yard mark three times in the last five weeks. Those 153 yards are the 2nd most hes had this year (155 yards in a week two win over Miami). He now has over 1,000 receiving yards on the year, making him one of only 8 receivers in the game this year to hit the mark this year.

Worst:
Matt Hasselbeck, Quarterback Indianapolis Colts
Hasselbeck, at age 40, had to come back down to earth eventually. It happened against the Steelers in prime time as he threw two early picks and never got on track. He's been thrown in to take over for an injured Andrew Luck. Like I've said in the past I give this guy a lot of credit for still being able to play at this stage of his career. He finished the day going 16 of 26 for 169 yards, one touchdown, those two early picks, he was sacked twice and fumbled once. Somehow, even with this loss for the Colts, they are still a .500 football team and still lead the AFC South. If the playoffs were to start next week, Indy would be a division champion and a playoff team. But Hasselbeck has come back down this week. If Indy wants to distance themselves in the division race, he needs to step up.

Best:
Brandon Marshall, Wide Receiver New York Jets
This guy has been great for the Jets this season. Marshall caught 12 of his 13 targets against the Giants' weak secondary. Calling the Giants secondary weak isn't saying a whole hell of a lot, because the Big Blue defense has been suspect all season. Marshall converted those looks into 131 yards and a big touchdown near the end of the game that got the game tied up. Marshall helped carry the Jets to the win on Sunday. Marshal has been more consistent, and his team is actually winning games, compared to what OBJ is doing with the Giants. Marshall went over the 1,00 yard receiving mark for the year, having now hit a thousand yards in a season with every team he's played for (Jets Bears Dolphins and Broncos). He also became the first Jets receiver since 2007 to hit the 1,000 yard mark

Worst:
Tom Coughlin, Head Coach New York Giants
It's really not looking good for the Giants head coach. Tom Coughlin may be close to losing his job as Giants head coach. Late game collapses won’t be the best bullet points for a resume going forward. Look no further than that bad play call on fourth and two on Sunday against the Jets. Common sense would dictate on that play that you kick the field goal and take a two score lead. Or at least try and run on that fourth down. I know the run game was almost nonexistent for the Giants but at least there's less of a chance of a turnover than throwing the ball. But no the Giants threw it, it was picked off, the Jets came down and scored, forced OT and the rest is history. There is an argument that its not all on Coach Coughlin as to why the Giants have fallen the last couple of weeks. But its making bad decisions like that late in a game that aren't helping his cause.

Best:
Green Bay Packers
Talk about a touch of luck on the Packers side last Thursday against Detroit. Detroit was hot, winning three straight, while the Pack had lost three of their last four games. Things looked grim at Ford Field as the Lions took a lead late and threatened to sweep the season series for the first time since 1991. Geen Bay down by three late in the game, they had to do something. The Packers got the untimed down after Detroit defensive end Devin Taylor was called for grabbing Aaron Rodgers' facemask on a tackle on what would've been the last play. The penalty proved to kill the Lions, because Rodgers threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Richard Rodgers with no time left to give Green Bay the 27-23 victory. It was as much the Packers winning the game as the Lions blowing it because Detroit is now all but done this season. Clutch throw by Rogers for the win.

Worst:
Cleveland Browns
This just really isn't a good year for the Browns is it. Cleveland got blasted by Cincinnati 37-3, meaning that the Browns may be the winner of the #1 draft pick next year. The team has now lost seven straight games, and have the worst offense in the league, one that averages 18 points a game. They might even take a QB, who’s interested in football more than Instagram party pics.

Best:
Marcus Mariota, Quarterback Tennessee Titans
So far he's lived up to the hype this season, and Sunday was no different. Mariota was a stud against the Jaguars, throwing for 268 yards and then addind another 112 on the ground running. He put his Titans ahead with an 87, yes 87, yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He finished the day going 20 of 29 for those 268 pass yards and three touchdowns. The downsides were he was picked once and sacked four times. But when you can run the ball for 112 as a QB, including an 87 yard run late in the game, yeah that's pretti impressive

Worst:
Matt Schaub, Quarterback Baltimore Ravens
In a typical Schaub-like performance, the Baltimore Ravens second-string quarterback reminded us all why he remains a backup in the NFL. Late second quarter, Schaub was intercepted by Miami defensive end Derrick Shelby who returned the pick for a 22-yard touchdown. Schaub’s pick-six made it the 14th of his career and his second in his two starts this year with Baltimore. Furthermore, Schaub’s pick-six came just three throws after he was intercepted in Ravens territory, which led to quarterback Ryan Tannehill connecting with DeVante Parker for a 38-yard touchdown. Joe Flacco’s turnovers routinely cost the team wins before his season-ending knee injury, and now Schaub fits the job description for a 2015 Ravens quarterback perfectly (Sportsnut).

Greatest Touchdown Celebration
There have been a few fantastic TD celebrations over the years, but I think this one by Antonio Brown on Sunday may be up there among some of the best ever:



So there you have the best and worst of the NFL from week thirteen!