It is getting cold in some of the venues in the NFL.  Of course, some teams have nice warm domes to play in, but, the chances are pretty good that your team will have to play at least one game out in the cold, and ice, and snow.  Week 13 Sunday had some good matchups and some pleasant surprises when an underdog team not only covered ATS, but actually won the game.

Week 13 Full of Shock and Awe

The highlight of the day was when Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers threw his 400th touchdown pass to number 17 Davante Adams furthering his case, as if he needs anymore, for the NFL Hall of Fame one day not too far off. Rodgers seems revitalized this year and is playing some incredible football right now.  The Packers didn’t have too much trouble against the Philadelphia Eagles, cruising to a 30-16 win.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was having a lot of trouble with his shoulder after suffering an injury a couple of weeks ago. Many were speculating that he might be less than 100%.  But, no worries,  Murray threw a pass ‘on a rope’ to DeAndre Hopkins in the end zone among three defenders and put the ball where only Hopkins could catch it.  This is one of the best dynamic duos in the NFL, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Cardinals from putting another checkmark in the win column.  They lost to the LA Rams, 38-28.

Cam Finds His Magic Juice

The New England Patriots have not looked like the Patriots until this Sunday where they completely shut out the LA Chargers and scored in every quarter themselves for a final score of 45-0. Cam Newton only passed for 69 total yards but the Patriots defense and special teams stepped up to help win the game for New England.

The winless New York Jets are keeping their perfect record alive.  They’re perfectly winless this season after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders by a final score of 31-28 yesterday.  Derek Carr threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns to secure the win, but the Jets almost pulled off the win.

In another surprisingly close game, the Minnesota Vikings hosted the 1-11 Jacksonville Jaguars and played the game to overtime.  It was only then that the Vikings came out on top thanks to a 23-yard field goal by kicker Dan Bailey.  Kirk Cousins threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns with one pick.

Da Bears Dinged Bad

The Bears coaching staff is probably still trying to figure out how the Detroit Lions managed to score ten points in 42 seconds late in the fourth quarter to win the game. Matt Nagy is going to need some asbestos pants after this debacle.  Final score, Detroit 34-Chicago 30. The Lions quarterback Matt Stafford threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns during the game.

While his old team Alabama was busy shellacking LSU on Saturday, Tua Tagovailoa returned to the field with the Miami Dolphins and teamed up with Mike Gesicki for a 19-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals without the services of Joe Burrow.  This was Sunday’s ugly game, with five players – three on the Fins side and two on the Bengals side – being ejected.

The Browns Wake Up

The Tennessee Titans were supposed to beat the Cleveland Browns.  Although they were only 3.5-point favorites, it just felt like the Titans had the better team.  However, no one told Baker Mayfield and company.  If you like a lot of passing and big plays, this was the game.  Baker Mayfield threw for 334 yards passing and added four touchdowns with no picks.  Ryan Tannehill passed for 389 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

The New Orleans Saints beat their archrival Atlanta Falcons for the second time in three weeks and clinched the NFC South.  It seemed like the Falcons were mounting a comeback at one point, but it stalled and they walked away with a 21-16 loss.  The Saints have secured a berth in the NFL Playoffs with a backup quarterback in for Drew Brees.

Taysom Hill did a hell of a job passing for 232 yards and scoring his first two passing touchdowns in the NFL. Hill also ran for 83 rushing yards, which was second only to Alvin Kamara who had 88.