N.F.L. Week 13: Here’s What Happened - N.F.L. Football (2024)

Four touchdown passes were not enough to satisfy Ben Roethlisberger. Neither, apparently, were his 364 yards passing.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback is OK with Sunday night’s 45-10 romp over the Indianapolis Colts. Just don’t mistake OK for satisfied.

“We left points out there and we left yards out there,” Roethlisberger said. “Whether I missed throws, whether guys missed catches, whatever it was. … We want to be perfect. We want to catch every ball. I want to make every throw. When we don’t do it, it’s frustrating.”

Imagine how the Colts felt after letting Roethlisberger expertly pick them apart once again. A year after setting a franchise record with 522 yards passing and tying a club mark with six scoring throws, Roethlisberger was nearly as sharp as the Steelers (7-5) responded from a sloppy loss against Seattle by dismantling decimated Indianapolis (6-6).

“I just feel a chemistry growing between us on offense,” Roethlisberger said. “Things just seem to be working.”

Antonio Brown caught eight passes for 118 yards and two scores and added a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown in the final minutes, celebrating by jumping on the goal post and sliding down to the delight of his teammates, if not coach Mike Tomlin.

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“I didn’t see it, but I’m sure we’ll rehash it and rehash it 1,000 times in the next six days and suck all the life out of it,” Tomlin said.

Martavis Bryant hauled in four passes for 114 yards and a score, and DeAngelo Williams added 134 yards rushing as Pittsburgh shook off a slow start to regain its footing in the crowded AFC playoff picture.

“We have the best quarterback in the NFL,” Brown said. “We have a great offensive line and running back … We’re doing a great job and getting better each and every week as a team. Today we showed that.”

— Associated Press

A day that started out with a milestone touchdown ended with another loss for the short-handed New England Patriots.

With a 4-yard pass to James White, Tom Brady took sole possession of third place on the career passing touchdowns list with the 421st of his career. He also connected with Danny Amendola on an 11-yard score for his 30th touchdown pass of the season, but turnovers and a lack of offensive punch led to the Patriots losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, 35-28.

With the loss, and the Denver Broncos’ win in San Diego, the Patriots, who once seemed unbeatable, have dropped to the No. 3 seed in the A.F.C. With consecutive losses, the Patriots are now officially on a losing streak for the first time since 2012.

Coach Bill Belichick did not hold back when assessing his team’s performance.

“We didn’t do anything well enough today,” Belichick said at his post-game news conference. “Didn’t do enough on offense, turned the ball over, gave up two third-down touchdowns on defense, didn’t play well in the kicking game. We just didn’t do anything well enough to really win.”

Brady echoed Belichick, telling reporters “We’ve got to do a better job. That’s just what it comes down to. No one can do your job for you.”

Brady, asked to play without Rob Gronkowski or Julian Edelman, spread the ball around to six different receivers, with Amendola doing his best as the team’s go-to threat. But White, a running back, ended up leading the team with 10 receptions for 104 yards.

After going into halftime tied 14-14, the Patriots fell apart early in the second half, digging a hole too deep for them to climb out of.

New England’s first four possessions of the second half resulted in a punt, an interception returned for a touchdown, a punt returned for a touchdown, another interception, and other punt. At one point, the Eagles led 35-14.

“If I turn the ball over twice, I don’t think we have a chance to win many games,” Brady told reporters as he accepted responsibility for the loss.

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New England made a comeback attempt, with Brady throwing a touchdown pass to Scott Chandler, and running a touchdown in himself to bring the Patriots within 7 points.

The game appeared saved when Kenjon Barner fumbled the ball, giving the Patriots a chance to tie with 1 minute and 2 seconds remaining. But Brady could not summon his typical late-game magic and New England managed just 12 yards on the drive, turning it over on downs when Brady’s last pass of the game fell incomplete.

Brady finished the day having completed 29 of 56 passes for 312 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Sam Bradford, who was seemingly overmatched coming into the game, did not account for nearly as much yardage, but he completed 14 of 24 passes for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns.

— Benjamin Hoffman

In a bizarre game that featured double-digit leads for both teams, the Carolina Panthers staved off the best threat yet to their perfect season. And with the team’s suffocating defense struggling to contain the New Orleans Saints, they did most of it on the arm of Cam Newton, beating their division rival, 41-38.

It was often ugly for Carolina, who struggled with turnovers in the first half and went down 14-0 before recovering to go into halftime down 16-13. But the second half proved to be more of a traditional shootout, with both sides refusing to yield.

Drew Brees showed there is still a little magic left in his aging arm, scoring 22 second-half points against one of the best defenses in the N.F.L., but Newton proved that he is a legitimate candidate for Most Valuable Player with his resilient play. No matter how many times Brees willed his team back into the game, Newton drove Carolina down the field with numerous passes and runs that defy description.

“He was able to win a shootout and to take a drive in the fourth quarter and give us a chance to win,” Coach Ron Rivera said at his post-game news conference. “It goes back to his whole development as a quarterback in this league.”

If Newton was not taking a 4th-and-1 sneak for a jaw-dropping 30-yard run, he was throwing deep passes into the waiting arms of his wide receivers, who had no problem outrunning a limited Saints defense. Newton ended up completing 28 of 41 passes for 331 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 8 times for 49 yards and nearly ran in a touchdown, enduring a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit and staying in the game to finish the drive with a touchdown pass.

After the big hit at the goal line, Newton was seen running into the locker room. There was some confusion as to why he went in, with Rivera saying he was using the bathroom, but while he was away from the bench he was evaluated for a concussion.

Newton acknowledged after the game that slowing up as he was about to score opened him up for the big hit.

“I deserved it,” Newton told reporters.

Newton now has thrown 5 touchdown passes in two of the last three weeks and his lone blemish for today was a first-half interception.

It was hardly a pretty game for Carolina’s defense, with the unit allowing 38 points, which is the most they have given up since Week 10 of last season, but having done a lot of the heavy-lifting this season, for them to endure a bad game and still come away with a win is a strong endorsem*nt for the team’s viability in terms of completing a perfect season. Rivera, who played for the 1985 Chicago Bears, is now the first person to play for a team that was 12-0 and coach one.

Despite the win, Rivera was not happy with his team’s defensive effort.

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“We’ve got to learn from this and we’ve got to grow,” he said. “We’ve got to understand that we need to take care of business.”

In a strange twist, the Panthers had their most difficult win of the season on the same day that an Atlanta loss gave them their third consecutive division title. Prior to the Panthers, no N.F.C. South team had won consecutive titles.

The Panthers now have four games remaining in their pursuit of a perfect record, with none of their remaining opponents having a record better than 6-6.

— Benjamin Hoffman

The Saints are the first team in NFL history to score 2 points defensively on a failed extra point attempt.

Linebacker Stephone Anthony returned the blocked kick 82 yards to the opposite end zone to give New Orleans a 16-13 lead over the unbeaten Carolina Panthers.

Carolina was attempting a potential game-tying point-after kick following Jonathan Stewart’s 5-yard touchdown run on a pitch from Cam Newton. Defensive tackle Kevin Williams pushed through the middle of the line to block Graham Gano’s kick.

The ball bounced to Anthony, who scooped it up in stride and went untouched the other way to give New Orleans a 16-13 lead late in the second quarter.

Read N.F.L. Team Scoring Just 1 Point? Now It’s Possible

That gave Anthony 8 points in the game, including his touchdown on strip of Stewart, recovery and 31-yard return.

This past offseason, the NFL made a rule change moving back the line scrimmage for point-after kicks from the 2-yard line to the 15 while allowing defenses to return any type of conversion for 2 points.

— Associated Press

Brock Osweiler threw for one touchdown and Danny Trevathan intercepted Philip Rivers and returned it 25 yards for a score, leading the Denver Broncos to a 17-3 victory against the hapless San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

Osweiler improved to 3-0 since taking over for the injured Peyton Manning. The AFC West-leading Broncos are 10-2. San Diego fell to 3-9.

The Broncos were without four starters to begin the game as DeMarcus Ware missed his fourth straight game with a bad back, and three players stayed back in Denver: Manning, T.J. Ward and Sylvester Williams.

Thousands of orange-clad Broncos fans cheered the visitors in what might have been the penultimate Chargers game in San Diego. Chairman Dean Spanos wants to move to an industrial suburb of Los Angeles, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week warned San Diego that it had until the end of the month to come up with an acceptable plan for a new stadium.

— Associated Press

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Seattle running back Thomas Rawls fumbled early in the game but made up for it with two touchdowns and more than 100 yards rushingHannah Foslien/Getty Images, Bruce Kluckhohn/USA Today Sports

The Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks each have one of the most accomplished running backs in N.F.L. history on their roster, but in today’s game, it was Thomas Rawls, an undrafted rookie for Seattle, who had the most impact.

The Vikings’ Adrian Peterson struggled to get anything going, and the Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch sat out with an injury.

The Seahawks, behind Rawls and yet another strong performance by quarterback Russell Wilson, dominated the Vikings, coming away with a 38-7 victory that would have been a shutout if not for a 101-yard kick return by Cordarrelle Patterson late in the third quarter.

Rawls, 22, signed with Seattle after a promising college career that was derailed by legal issues and a transfer from Michigan to Central Michigan. He started the season as an afterthought behind Lynch and Fred Jackson on the team’s depth-chart, but with Lynch struggling with injuries, he has stepped up, coming into the game ranked tenth in the N.F.L. in rushing yards despite having started just five games.

Rawls’ expectations for the game skyrocketed when it was announced that Linval Joseph, Minnesota’s standout defensive tackle, would not play, and the young running back showed the power he is capable of while scoring the first touchdown of the game. He took the ball at the 5-yard line and barreled forward into what looked like a sure tackle by linebacker Brandon Watts before spinning away. Xavier Rhodes, a cornerback, tried to wrap him up at the goal line, but Rawls carried him into the end zone for the score. The touchdown helped Rawls make up for a fumble he had lost on Seattle’s first drive of the game.

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Rawls finished the game with 19 carries for 101 yards and 3 receptions for 22 yards. It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season.

The running game gave Wilson plenty of time to work, and the Seattle quarterback ended up completing 21 of 27 passes for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has 11 touchdowns and no interceptions in the team’s three-game winning streak that currently has them in playoff position.

On the other side of the field, Peterson, who came into the game leading the N.F.L. in carries and rushing yards, struggled against a Seattle defense that came into the game ranked fifth in the N.F.L. against the run. He carried the ball 8 times for a season-low 18 yards.

It’s time to start thinking about the playoffs. Our Playoff Simulator breaks down all the scenarios. Check out what your team needs to do to make the playoffs or earn a bye.

— Benjamin Hoffman

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston the first overall pick in the draft this year, they bet that he would ignite a franchise that had not had a winning record in five seasons.

Winston has had an uneven start to his N.F.L. career, throwing nearly as many interceptions as touchdowns and losing three out of his first four starts.

But with the team’s playoff hopes hanging in the balance, Winston lived up to his billing as a quarterback capable of creating big plays with his feet or his arm.

Trailing by 3 points to the division rival Atlanta Falcons with less than three minutes remaining, Winston was pushing his team down the field. From the Atlanta 43 on third-and-19, he dropped back to pass and saw his receivers covered and the pocket collapsing, so he took off running.

About 10 yards down the field, he fell on top of two defenders and the play looked over. But the whistle never blew because Winston’s knee never hit the ground. He quickly popped up, spun around to his right and ran for another 10 yards for a first down.

In the huddle four plays later, Winston said he asked his teammates, “Who wants to score a touchdown?,” and wide receiver Mike Evans replied, “Me, me, me.”Winston then threw Evans a 6-yard pass in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown and a 4-point lead. Moments later, the Buccaneers sealed a 23-19 victory when Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw an interception.

“How about the run by Jameis?” Buccaneers Coach Lovie Smith said to reporters after the game. “There’s no better running quarterback in the league right now.”

With the win, the Buccaneers moved to 6-6, the same record as the Falcons. By virtue of winning both matchups, the Buccaneers own the tiebreaker against the Falcons.

— Ken Belson

It’s time to start thinking about the playoffs. Our Playoff Simulator breaks down all the scenarios. Check out what your team needs to do to make the playoffs or earn a bye.

Blaine Gabbert is building a case for a starting job with the San Francisco 49ers next season.

Gabbert threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith in overtime after running for the tying TD late in regulation, lifting the struggling 49ers to a 26-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The Bears (5-7) had just gone three-and-out after forcing a punt by San Francisco to start the extra period.

On the first play of the 49ers’ second possession, Gabbert found a wide-open Smith along the left sideline, giving San Francisco (4-8) a surprising win over a team that had jumped into playoff contention.

All that happened after a wild finish in regulation.

The Bears took a 20-13 lead on Ka'Deem Carey’s 4-yard run with 3:32 left, only to let it disappear and then blow a chance to win the game as time expired.

They let Gabbert scramble untouched through the middle for a 44-yard touchdown with 1:42 left.

If that wasn’t bad enough for Chicago, the Bears wasted a huge opportunity after Deonte Thompson returned the kickoff 74 yards to the 28. The Bears had the ball at the 17 when the usually reliable Robbie Gould, who missed a 40-yard attempt in the third quarter, booted a 36-yarder wide left as time expired.

Gabbert, who took over for Colin Kaepernick last month, completed 18 of 32 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 75 yards and his score.

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Chicago’s Jay Cutler was 18 of 31 for 202 yards with that interception. Alshon Jeffery had 85 yards receiving and Matt Forte ran for 84 and a touchdown. But after picking up a rare win at Green Bay on Thanksgiving, the good vibes in Chicago came screeching to an end with a gut-wrenching loss against a team both coordinators would have loved to beat.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and offensive coordinator Adam Gase interviewed for the 49ers’ head coaching job that went to Jim Tomsula following Jim Harbaugh’s departure after last season. Gase wound up following Fox from Denver, and Fangio moved to Chicago after overseeing one of the league’s top defenses the past four years in San Francisco.

— Associated Press

Leading the Jets by 10 points in the fourth quarter Sunday, the Giants marched authoritatively down the field, keeping the football for more than 11 minutes. The Jets’ defense was in disarray, having committed two penalties on third-down plays and another on a punt to prolong the Giants’ drive.

Finally, the Giants faced a fourth-and-2 at the Jets’ 4-yard line with about nine minutes remaining in the last quarter. A successful, short field goal would most likely force the Jets to score two touchdowns to regain the lead. But if the Giants could convert on fourth down and eventually score a touchdown, their 17-point lead would mean the game was probably over.

Giants Coach Tom Coughlin, ridiculed for his late-game decision-making in several losses already this season, decided on Sunday to go out with guns blazing. It was a bold move. But Coughlin, in what may be his final season coaching, appears to be unremittingly star-crossed in the closing moments of tight games this year.

Shunning the field goal, Coughlin approved a pass play that resulted in an interception.

From that moment on, until they roared to a 23-20 overtime victory, the Jets played as if suddenly filled with a new energy, aplomb and efficiency. Perhaps the Jets’ newfound dynamism was stolen from a Giants team that just as abruptly began to play as if it intuitively recognized the runaway train that was coming down the tracks.

The Jets scored 10 unanswered points to tie the game, kicked a field goal on the opening possession of overtime and then watched as Giants kicker Josh Brown, who had not missed a field-goal try in nearly a year, hooked a 48-yard attempt left of the goal posts to end the game.

When these teams last played four years ago, a startling 99-yard touchdown reception by the Giants’ Victor Cruz changed each team’s season. Indeed, the play may have altered the paths of each franchise for years to come.

Until the final minutes of Sunday’s game, the Jets appeared on their way to another damaging defeat. Now the Jets (7-5), after winning a pivotal game without their injured Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis, remain in the hunt for an A.F.C. playoff berth.

“It was a turning point,” Jets Coach Todd Bowles said afterward, referring to the Giants’ failed fourth-down attempt, although he was not above suggesting that the Jets’ victory might catapult his team through its final four games.

Bowles continued: “I don’t know if it’s a playoff turning point, but I hope we grew up a little bit from this game. Going forward I think it gives us a boost.”

Conversely, the Giants (5-7) are slumping badly, mired in a three-game losing streak. Their playoff prospects, so bright on Thanksgiving, have grown dim in December. With the devastating late-game collapses mercilessly accumulating, a disastrous third successive losing season looms — something a head coach rarely survives.

Nonetheless, Coughlin was unbowed in defeat.

“I thought that was the right play at the time — I still do,” he said of his decision to forgo the short field-goal attempt. “Yeah, we could have made them score two touchdowns to beat you.” But if the Giants had scored a touchdown on fourth down, he added, “we push the score up to where maybe they can’t beat us with whatever; I stand by it.”

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— Bill Pennington

The Arizona Cardinals this season seem determined to not let injuries sink them the way they did last year.

With their stable of excellent wide receivers fully healthy this week, the Cardinals took on the St. Louis Rams without either of the top two running backs on the team’s depth chart. But it hardly seemed to matter as Arizona cruised to a 27-3 win over a division rival on the road, once again solidifying their status as the biggest challenger to the undefeated Carolina Panthers for N.F.C. supremacy.

Leading the way was Carson Palmer, who completed 26 of 40 passes for 356 yards and 2 touchdowns. Palmer’s favorite target, Larry Fitzgerald, became the youngest player in N.F.L. history to have 1,000 receptions, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Cardinals’ running game remained strong even with Chris Johnson out for the remainder of the regular season with a broken leg, and his backup, Andre Ellington, out this week with turf toe.

Stepping into their place were David Johnson and Kerwynn Williams, neither of whom had ever started a game. Johnson, a rookie, carried the ball 22 times for 99 yards and Williams, in his third season, had 6 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown. Johnson also caught 2 passes for 21 yards and a touchdown.

It all added up to Arizona outgaining St. Louis 524 yards to 212, and holding the ball for 39 minutes and 47 seconds.

On defense, the Cardinals allowed just one third-down conversion on 12 attempts and got some revenge against Todd Gurley. Earlier this season, Gurley, a rookie running back, became the only player to rush for 100 yards against Arizona this season. Today they shut him down to the tune of 41 yards on 9 carries, with 34 of the yards coming on a single play.

Arizona was a top team last season before a knee injury to Palmer sank their hopes. The team has been resilient this season and came into the game leading the N.F.L. in scoring at 32.3 points a game. And their defense was in the top-ten in the league in both yards and points allowed.

The Cardinals still have tough matchups this season against Minnesota, Green Bay and Seattle, but at 10-2, they appear well on their way to a first-round bye.

— Benjamin Hoffman

The Houston Texans had been playing spectacular defense recently, with a total of 35 points allowed over the team’s last four games. But the Buffalo Bills were able to end Houston’s winning streak by pounding the ball on the ground and making Tyrod Taylor’s occasional completions count.

In a season of dramatic inconsistency, the Bills beat the surging Texans 30-21.

For much of the game, Buffalo’s success came from repeatedly running the ball. In the first half, the Bills ran 19 times for 134 yards while passing the ball just seven times. But with the game tied in the fourth quarter, Taylor found Charles Clay for a 40-yard touchdown pass that put the team ahead for good.

Taylor ended up completing just 11 of 21 passes, but 3 of the 11 completions went for 40 or more yards, and he finished the day with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. And the Bills improved to 6-0 when they attempt fewer than 30 passes. They are 0-6 when they throw the ball 30 or more times.

Taylor was able to throw for 211 yards despite the small number of completions thanks to a few long passes to Sammy Watkins. The team’s top wide receiver had just three receptions, but ended up with 109 receiving yards after hauling in two 53-yard catches and a 3-yard touchdown.

Meanwhile, Buffalo’s running game looked superb despite playing without standout rookie Karlos Williams. LeSean McCoy led the way with 112 yards and the team ran for 187 overall. Taylor was part of the rushing effort with 28 yards on the ground, and his 8-yard rushing touchdown gave him three for the season, which tied the franchise high since the AFL-NFL merger.

— Benjamin Hoffman

Marcus Mariota showed Tennessee Titans fans the speed and awareness they coveted when the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback played at Oregon, running for an 87-yard touchdown against the Jaguars on Sunday.

With the Titans trailing 32-28 in the fourth quarter, Mariota eluded a Jaguars blitz on third down, then slipped a tackle at the line of scrimmage before tucking the ball and outrunning the Jaguars’ secondary for the touchdown and the lead. The Titans went on to win, 42-39.

Mariota, who was timed at 4.52 in the 40-yard dash at the N.F.L. combine, finished with 113 yards on just 9 carries. He also threw for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Jets let Odell Beckham Jr. beat them in the first half. But they also did a fine job of beating themselves to trail the Giants, 20-10, at halftime.

The Jets’ mistakes did not discriminate.

A touchdown allowed on a punt return, an 80-yarder by Dwayne Harris – their fourth yielded on special teams this season.

A lost Chris Ivory fumble deep in Jets territory, which led to a Giants field goal.

Two personal-foul penalties, including one on a player, Willie Colon, currently on injured reserve.

Then there was the busted coverage that allowed Beckham to split the defense on a 72-yard touchdown that he punctuated by hurdling in the end zone and running with his arms extended, as if flying. As if he were a jet.

Beckham nearly grabbed another touchdown late in the half but Calvin Pryor jarred the ball loose, and the Giants settled for a Josh Brown field goal.

The Giants were hardly the dominant team – they had all of four first downs and possessed the ball for all of 9 minutes 47 seconds – but they capitalized on the Jets’ blunders. And, more importantly, they didn’t have any of their own.

The Cincinnati Bengals will have to play against the Browns without their top red zone threat. Tyler Eifert, the team’s breakout tight end, was declared inactive for today’s game with a pinched nerve affecting his neck and back.

Eifert, in his third season out of Notre Dame, has become among the game’s best tight ends this season with 46 catches for 522 yards and a league-leading 12 touchdowns, which account for more than half of the 23 touchdowns thrown by Andy Dalton this season.

Replacing Eifert in the starting lineup is Tyler Kroft, who has just 1 catch for 4 yards this season.

Other Notable Inactives:

Darrelle Revis, CB, Jets

Rob Gronkowsi, TE, Patriots

Carlos Hyde, RB, 49ers

Karlos Williams, RB, Bills

Greg Zuerlein, K, Rams

Eddie Royal, WR, Bears

Notable Actives:

Devonta Freeman, RB, Falcons

Adam Jones, CB, Bengals

Zach Miller, TE, Bears

Michael Floyd, WR, Cardinals

Eric Decker, WR, Jets

1. Chiefs (6-5) at Raiders (5-6)

4:05 p.m. ET. Line: Chiefs by 2½

In Al Davis’s long run as owner of the Raiders, he often seemed obsessed with returning to the team’s days of Daryle Lamonica stretching the field with deep passes to Warren Wells. No quarterback — not even Ken Stabler and Jim Plunkett, who combined to win three Super Bowls — seemed to satisfy him, and no wide receiver was ever fast enough.

Derek Carr may not be as flashy with the deep ball as Lamonica, who was known as the Mad Bomber, but Carr’s 24 touchdown passes this season have him on a pace to match Lamonica’s franchise record of 34, set in 1969. Unlike Lamonica, Carr has done it efficiently, with only six interceptions. In terms of adjusted passing yards per attempt, Carr’s 8.21 would be the third best mark in team history behind Stabler and Jay Schroeder.

Helping matters considerably has been the emergence of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree as one of the best receiver combinations in the game. Cooper’s 851 receiving yards through 11 games are the fifth most by a rookie wide receiver since 1960, and Crabtree has 715 yards and six touchdowns.

The Chiefs have been surging, with five consecutive victories giving them an improbable shot at the playoffs after a 1-5 start. But injuries could play a large factor for them this week. In last week’s win over the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City’s offensive line was so beat up that Jeff Allen, a guard, had to stay in the game after an ankle injury because the team had no players left to take his place. The biggest blow might have been when Justin Houston, the Chiefs’ top pass rusher and the key to their defensive strategy, left with a knee injury.

Houston is now listed as questionable, and if he is unable to go, Carr will have plenty of time to carve up the Chiefs’ secondary.

To win, Carr will probably need to be perfect, as the Chiefs’ offense has not turned the ball over in five consecutive games and should not have much trouble scoring against the subpar Oakland defense. But with a chance to complicate the playoff hopes of a division rival, Carr and the Raiders have a fighting chance.

PICK: RAIDERS

2. Panthers (11-0) at Saints (4-7)

4:25 p.m. Line: Panthers by 7½

In their first game under the new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, the Saints gave up 362 yards of offense, which qualified as drastic improvement compared with the 424.7 per game they had allowed under Rob Ryan. But part of that was probably because the Houston Texans had little need to produce on offense, since their defense did such a spectacular job shutting down New Orleans. The Saints were held without a touchdown for the first time since 2005 in the 24-6 loss.

It will not get any easier this week against the undefeated Panthers.

Carolina’s defense has probably not received enough credit for the team’s perfect start. Ranked second in the N.F.L. with 312.5 yards allowed a game, it has held opponents to the third fewest points and produced an N.F.L.-leading 18 interceptions along with 10 fumble recoveries.

It was a victory in New Orleans last season that started Carolina’s current 15-game regular-season winning streak, and with Carolina steamrollering its way to a third consecutive N.F.C. South title, a trip to the Superdome no longer carries the intimidation factor it once did.

PICK: PANTHERS

3. Cardinals (9-2) at Rams (4-7)

1 p.m. Line: Cardinals by 7

Arizona’s season collapsed last year when quarterback Carson Palmer went down with a knee injury. While he remains healthy, the loss of Chris Johnson (broken leg) for the season drastically affects the team’s ability to run the ball. If Andre Ellington is also forced to sit out this week with turf toe, the Cardinals will need the rookie David Johnson to step to the forefront.

There is no doubt that Johnson has the potential to make thrilling plays, having scored four rushing touchdowns, three receiving touchdowns and one kick return touchdown in his 11-game career. But he has had ball security issues and may not be ready for an every-down role for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Meanwhile, Arizona’s defense, which is among the best in the league at stopping the run, will have to face Todd Gurley, the only running back to rush for more than 100 yards in a game against it this season.

The loss of Chris Johnson should not be as crippling to the Cardinals’ chances as Palmer’s injury was last season, and the Rams have played poorly enough recently that an upset is unlikely. But seeing how Arizona adapts to the change in offensive personnel will be interesting going forward.

PICK: Cardinals

4. Bengals (9-2) at Browns (2-9)

1 p.m. Line: Bengals by 10½

You have to admire the Browns: Every week they seem to come up with a new way to lose. Monday’s loss came when a blocked field goal attempt was returned for a game-winning touchdown as time expired, but this week things should be a little more typical. The Bengals could seemingly just run their in-state rival into submission with a combination of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard.

Hill had 929 rushing yards over Cincinnati’s final nine games last season, including 148 in a victory over the Browns in December, but he has had a difficult sophom*ore season. Last week, he looked more like himself, rushing for 86 yards on 16 carries, and those numbers could go up drastically against a Browns defense that allows the second most rushing yards in the N.F.L.

It is not yet known if tight end Tyler Eifert, who has 12 receiving touchdowns, will be able to play after sustaining a stinger in last week’s victory over the Rams, but he hardly seems necessary to beat the Browns, who will be starting Austin Davis at quarterback.

Carlos Dunlap, who sacked Johnny Manziel twice in Cincinnati’s win over the Browns last month, offered an indictment of Cleveland’s quarterback situation.

“It really doesn’t matter who the quarterback is because at the end of the day, we have to play our football game,” Dunlap told reporters. “If Johnny’s not playing, it’s a lot less running I have to do.”

PICK: BENGALS

5. Eagles (4-7) at Patriots (10-1)

4:25 p.m. Line: Patriots by 11

Rob Gronkowski is so important to the Patriots that after a game in which he was carted off the field with what looked like a devastating knee injury, the tight-lipped team took the unusual step of issuing a statement about his relatively good prognosis of a bone bruise and sprain. It was so out of character for the franchise that Coach Bill Belichick was forced to defend it in a news conference, which he did with his trademark combination of annoyance and condescension.

Gronkowski is out this week, as is Julian Edelman (broken foot), but Danny Amendola (knee) is expected to play. Philadelphia is expected to start Eric Rowe, a rookie cornerback, so Tom Brady should be able to pile on the misfortune for the struggling Eagles.

Assessing the Eagles this week, Belichick praised the team’s offense, saying they are two deep at several skill positions, including quarterback. While it is true that the Eagles have two quarterbacks, it is not clear why Belichick would concern himself with Sam Bradford or Mark Sanchez.

PICK: PATRIOTS