NFL Week 13: Five things we learnt as Seahawks return to relevance

Week 13 is over and whilst the NFL regular season is nearing its conclusion, the play-offs are just around the corner. Zander Swinburne examines which previous champion is back in the playoff picture, which coach is fighting for his job, as well as which team now must look to 2016.

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The Seahawks have returned to relevancy

Despite a trip to the Super Bowl last year, this season has been tough for the Seattle Seahawks. With high expectations going into September, Seattle started off the year in a way that didn’t live up to what was demanded of them. After a horrible start to the season, when the Seahawks lost four of their opening six games, the Washington state team has returned to relevancy, stringing together a good number of wins.

Seattle’s 38-7 drubbing of the Minnesota Vikings signalled that the Seahawks are well and truly back in the Super Bowl race. The victory was their third in a row, but more importantly, their quarterback is now back playing at his best. Russell Wilson has seemingly returned to form as he was unstoppable on Sunday. The young Super Bowl winner was highly efficient, completing over 70 per cent of his passes for the third week in a row.

Wilson provides both a threat on the ground and in the air, something which has been increasingly difficult for opposing defences to stop. With eleven touchdowns in three games as well as no interceptions, Wilson is leading his team back into the play-off picture. If the season were to finish today, their 7-5 record would be enough to grant them a place in off-season. Seattle’s terrible start to the season is now a distant memory and no doubt their remaining opponents will approach the Seahawks with far more caution in the weeks ahead.

There is nothing but despair in Cleveland

Every NFL team has its ups and downs, seasons which don’t pan out in the way they were expected to. For some teams however, the ups come far less frequently and the downs seem to never end. The Cleveland Browns are a team that has seen nothing but pain in recent years and this season has been no exception. On Sunday, the Browns were totally eradicated by the Cincinnati Bengals 37-3, forcing their disappointed fanbase to once again look to the next season. The issue for these beleaguered Browns fans is that there is very little to look forward to.

Whilst many will point to the quarterback position as being the area that needs a total overhaul, Cleveland have bigger issues to address than whether Johnny Manziel is allowed off the naughty step each week. The Browns have virtually no one they can call a true playmaker on offence. Their top two running backs combined have only eight more yards than the number one running back for the Cincinnati Bengals. Cleveland have the worst offensive line in the NFL, having given up 41 sacks as well as 97 quarterback hits, whilst their defence is equally inept having given nearly 400 yards and 28 points per game.

The list of statistics describing Cleveland’s horrible season is almost endless. A complete clean out of the Browns franchise looks inevitable at this point and Cleveland fans can at least hold onto the fact that Manziel has been given a chance to redeem himself. Manziel now has four sixty minute assessments to prove he is the future of the franchise and give the Browns fans some hope for next year. If he can’t do that then the city of Cleveland will likely be in for a few more years despair.

The Giants’ inability to finish strong may get their coach fired

There were two storylines to Sunday’s New York derby game between the Jets and the Giants. The first was of a miraculous comeback by a team who looked certain to add another loss to their record. The second, however, has been the more prominent as it has already been reported a number of times this season. The Giants’ inability to close out a game has plagued this team so many times this season that Tom Coughlin’s job is now under threat.

For the fifth time this year, the Giants lost a game in which they were winning in the final two minutes. Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the New York Jets was a classic example of a game the Giants should have won, but didn’t. Leading the game 20-10 with less than five minutes remaining, the Giants were unable to hold on, giving away their lead to the Jets who went onto secure the victory in overtime. The blame for such a loss has been put on the Head Coach, in particular over one decision that could have made the difference between a play-off spot and an early off-season.

Coughlin’s decision to go for a touchdown on fourth down during the game’s final minutes has now put him firmly in the hot seat. The failed attempt allowed the Jets to get back into the game and eventually win it. Whilst some may argue that the execution was poor, Coughlin is still in charge of making sure his players perform at the times that matter, something they have been unable to do.

The two time Super Bowl winner has done well in recent seasons to hold onto his job as the Giants have been without a play-off appearance since their famous championship win in 2011. If they fail to make the post-season again, Coughlin will struggle to hold onto his position.

Sunday showed just how important special teams are

Whilst offences and defences often steal the limelight in the NFL, every now and then the sport’s underrated platoon of players steal the show. On Sunday, the matchup between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles saw special teams play an enormous part in the game’s outcome.

Philadelphia were able to down the defending Super Bowl champions 35-28, and it wasn’t Chip Kelly’s offence that got them the win. Philadelphia special teams had a highly productive night, blocking a punt for a touchdown as well as returning a punt for six points. The Patriots also experimented with their special teams, albeit not with the same success. Although they secured one onside kick, New England were still guilty of a strange rugby drop kick kickoff that failed miserably, whilst another onside kick late in the game sailed right over the players and out of bounds.

Whilst Philadelphia’s special teams had a positive impact on their game, other teams weren’t so lucky. Week 13 also saw an unusually high number of missed extra points, with more PATs missed in this week than there were in the entire 2014 season. The rule changes this year have clearly had an effect and no longer can the PAT be seen as a chip shot. In fact, it is now seen as an opportunity for the opposing team to score two points as the New Orleans discovered on Sunday. When blocking a Panthers PAT, Stephone Anthony returned the ball to the opposite endzone for a two point score. Special teams have never been so busy in the NFL.

The Chiefs are on a roll, and Alex Smith should take the credit

It was hard to imagine at the start of the season, but the Kansas City Chiefs appear well on their way for a playoff spot in January. Sunday’s 34-20 win over the Oakland Raiders was Kansas City’s sixth consecutive victory. Despite opening the season 1-5, the Chiefs have gone on a roll and much of their success is down to their quarterback.

Alex Smith has been vital for the Chiefs in their recovery, being the anchor under centre that his teammates have relied on. With just three interceptions in 2015, all of which coming in the first three weeks, Smith has kept the ball safe, something that has paid dividends for his team. His completion percentage of 64.4 is perfectly respectable, and whilst Smith is often criticised for having little flare in his game, the point remains that he is getting the job done.

Sunday’s game was a perfect example of how Smith can get his team the win if he controls the ball properly. Despite only throwing the ball for 162 yards, his team were still able to score 34 points. Being able to rely on a strong defence has given Smith the freedom not to have to make a play. This conservative mannerism may not sit well with some, but for Chiefs it’s working.