What we learned in NFL Week 13: Eagles keep streak alive, Bills look like AFC’s best

Do the Falcons have a Kirk Cousins problem? Do the Ravens have a Justin Tucker problem?

And do we have a new front-runner in the MVP race?

For the first time in NFL history, a quarterback ran, caught and threw a touchdown in a single game — the latest testament to the brilliance of Josh Allen, who powered the Bills to a 35-10 victory over the 49ers on a snowy Sunday night in Orchard Park.

Make it five straight AFC East titles for Buffalo, now the first team in 2024 to clinch a division title. Buffalo has beaten both of last year’s Super Bowl teams, the Chiefs and 49ers, in consecutive games, and hasn’t lost to anyone since Oct. 6. It starts with Allen, who’s never played better, and who keeps piling up one highlight play after another in critical moments.

As for teams on the other side Sunday, Atlanta has suddenly dropped three straight. In that span, Cousins — the Falcons’ $45 million upgrade at quarterback in the offseason — has tossed six interceptions, including on the final two drives of their 17-13 loss to the Chargers.

And Tucker, the Ravens’ six-time Pro Bowl kicker, somehow leads the league in missed kicks (10) after three more in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles (two field goals and an extra point). It’s been a stunningly poor season for Tucker, who entered the year as the most accurate player at his position in league history. You have to wonder if this will cost Baltimore down the stretch — or in the playoffs.

GO DEEPER

NFL Week 13 takeaways: What should Ravens do with Justin Tucker? Have Eagles pulled even with Lions?

In Cincinnati, Russell Wilson threw for more than 400 yards for the first time in five years as the Steelers beat the Bengals 44-38. Pittsburgh is now 9-3 and, coupled with Baltimore’s loss, up two games in the AFC North. Sunday’s win also clinches Mike Tomlin’s 18th straight season without a losing record. All told, it’s the 21st straight season in Pittsburgh without a sub-.500 record, tying the Tom Landry-era Cowboys for the longest such streak in NFL history.

In Minnesota, the Vikings stormed back from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Cardinals 23-22. Minnesota now has two separate five-game winning streaks this season and, at 10-2, remains just a game back of the Lions in the NFC North.

In Jacksonville, the Texans survived a late charge from the Jaguars to escape with a 23-20 win. The Jags rallied with Mac Jones at quarterback — and not Trevor Lawrence — after Lawrence was knocked out of the game in the second quarter following a nasty, illegal hit from Azeez Al-Shaair. The play earned Al-Shaair an ejection and could earn him a suspension, as well.

In Washington, the Commanders found the get-right game they’ve been looking for, routing the Titans 42-19. Jayden Daniels and the offense scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, and this one was never all that close. The win snaps the Commanders’ three-game losing streak and moves them to 8-5, currently good enough for the seventh and final NFC playoff spot.

Elsewhere, Geno Smith exacted a bit of revenge against the team that drafted him, leading the Seahawks to a comeback win over the Jets, 26-21. New York has now lost six of seven since owner Woody Johnson fired coach Robert Saleh in early October. The Jets are 3-9, tied for the third-worst record in the AFC.

“This is as frustrating as it comes,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. How frustrating? After the game, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich was asked if he’s considering benching Rodgers. “Not as of today,” Ulbrich said. It certainly seems like a matter of time until the Rodgers experiment in New York comes to a merciful end.

The Seahawks (7-5), meanwhile, have won three straight and are back in front in the NFC West. Both the Cardinals and Rams — who beat the Saints 21-14 Sunday in New Orleans — are a game back at 6-6.

In Charlotte, Bryce Young nearly led the Panthers to their third win in four weeks. But a late rally from the Bucs, including a game-tying 51-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal at the end of regulation, was just enough in a 26-23 overtime victory for Tampa Bay.

Here’s what we learned across the NFL in Week 13:

Eagles’ win streak hits eight

The streak started unceremoniously, with more focus on the coach’s postgame antics — Nick Sirianni was caught shouting at his own fans — than the much-needed Week 5 victory. The Eagles edged the Browns, 20-16, to climb to 3-2 and avoid the scrutiny that would’ve followed an ugly home loss to a lousy Cleveland team.

That was Oct. 13. Philly hasn’t lost since.

And the Eagles seem to getting better. The win streak hit eight on Sunday, and the 24-19 beatdown of the Ravens in Baltimore was the most impressive effort yet. After starting slow — a bit of an Eagles trademark this season — they proved once again they’re among the league’s best closers, ripping off a 24-3 run to own the second half before the Ravens scored a meaningless touchdown late.

After the game, Sirianni was asked about matching the Ravens’ physicality. He turned the question around. “They had to match ours,” he said. “That was our message going in — that they had to match our physicality.”

Baltimore couldn’t. MVP candidate Saquon Barkley punctuated the Eagles’ second-half dominance with a 25-yard touchdown run to seal it, and Vic Fangio’s defense stifled Lamar Jackson and the Ravens all game long.

Saquon Barkley rushed for 107 yards on 23 carries in his eighth 100-yard game of the season. (Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Images)

The Eagles have had just one MVP in the franchise’s 92-year history, Norm Van Brocklin in 1960. The way Barkley’s playing — he now has eight 100-yard rushing games this season — this might be the year they add a second. Howie Roseman’s move to add Barkley on a three-year contract worth $37.7 million continues to look like the offseason’s shrewdest move.

Sirianni, meanwhile, is now 44-19 in four seasons in Philadelphia. After the criticism he received following last year’s late-season collapse and this year’s uneven start, he’s done a remarkable job of steadying the ship. The Eagles are now 10-2, look playoff-ready and remain Detroit’s biggest challenger in the NFC.

Bills look like the AFC’s best

The Chiefs have the conference’s best record at 11-1, but no AFC team is playing better than the Bills.

Buffalo is now 10-2 and playing some of its best football of the Josh Allen era partly because the offense no longer needs him to be Superman every series — even though Allen can still slip on his cape from time to time.

James Cook — a weapon all year for the Bills’ offense — bolted through the snow for a 65-yard touchdown run in the first half. Rookie Ray Davis added another. Add in Allen’s second-half theatrics and this one was never close.

In the race for the AFC’s top seed and the lone playoff bye, the Chiefs are still a game ahead but have looked shaky in recent weeks despite two straight victories. Kansas City squeaked by three-win Carolina, 30-27, before surviving the two-win Raiders on Friday thanks to Las Vegas’ late-game gaffe. At some point, you have to wonder how many more close games the Chiefs can scrape out.

For the Bills, a massive showdown looms in Week 15 against the NFC-leading Lions. Other than that, of their four remaining games, none is against a team with a winning record at the moment (the Rams, Patriots and Jets). The Chiefs will see four teams currently projected to make the playoffs: the Chargers, Texans, Steelers and Broncos. Advantage: Buffalo. And remember, the Bills own the tiebreaker over Kansas City by virtue of their Week 11 head-to-head win.

The Chiefs proved last year it doesn’t matter where the games take place — come the playoffs, they can win anywhere. But the AFC running through Buffalo remains the Bills’ best chance to finally break through and advance to a Super Bowl for the first time since 1993. The worse the conditions, it seems, the better the Bills play.

As for San Francisco, the season-long slide continues, and Kyle Shanahan’s team might be too banged up to rally. That’s now three straight losses, and making matters worse, star running back Christian McCaffrey left Sunday’s game in the first half with a knee injury and didn’t return.

Steichen’s gamble keeps Colts alive

As soon as Alec Pierce hauled in a 3-yard touchdown with 12 seconds left, Shane Steichen knew what the call was.

He held up two fingers. Translation: We’re here to win.

“Put it in (No.) 5’s hands to go get it,” the Colts’ second-year coach said later.

No. 5 happens to be Anthony Richardson, the 22-year-old quarterback whom Steichen benched midseason and reinserted into the starting lineup three weeks ago. So far, the gamble’s working: The Colts are 2-1 since Richardson’s return, and Sunday’s 25-24 win over the Patriots keeps them alive in the AFC wild-card race.

Indy trailed by a point after Pierce’s fourth-quarter score, which came on fourth down. Kick the extra point and tie it up, then take your shot in overtime? No chance. Steichen instantly signaled that the Colts were going for two and the win. The call was a zone read. Richardson had the option to keep it himself or hand off to running back Jonathan Taylor. But thanks to a tremendous pull block from guard Quenton Nelson, the choice was easy.

“Once I looked in the middle, I just decided I was gonna take it,” Richardson said. He handled the rest.

Indianapolis (6-7) remains two games back of the Texans in the AFC South and is currently eighth in the AFC. The Colts trail the Broncos, who are 7-5 heading into a Monday night game versus the Browns, for the final wild-card spot. But the last four games on the Colts’ schedule — Indy has a bye next weekend — all look winnable, starting with a decisive Week 15 meeting with the Broncos in Denver and finishing with the Titans, Giants and Jaguars, three of the league’s worst teams.

After facing the Browns and Colts, the Broncos will see the Chargers, Bengals and Chiefs.

Falcons fading

A month ago, the Falcons were 6-3, two games ahead of everyone else in the NFC South. Atlanta’s big offseason move — signing Cousins to that four-year, $180 million contract — was paying off. A team with talent everywhere but the quarterback spot had seemingly addressed its most glaring need.

All signs pointed toward a division title and a playoff spot. Instead: a three-game losing streak.

First came a three-point loss to the lowly Saints, New Orleans’ first win in two months. After that, the Falcons were embarrassed 38-6 by the Broncos. Then on Sunday, following a bye, came a 17-13 loss to a Chargers team playing on a short week.

It starts with the quarterback, who’s been abysmal of late. Across his last three starts, Cousins hasn’t thrown for a single touchdown. What he has done is toss six interceptions and fumble four times.

“I have to play better,” he said afterward. “You take responsibility and go back and watch it with a really critical eye and say, ‘OK, how can I make sure this never happens again?’ Felt like that was a game we had a chance to win if I had played at the standard I expect to play.”

After the loss, Raheem Morris was asked if he’s considering a change at quarterback — remember, the Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. in the first round in April — but the Falcons’ first-year coach shot down that speculation quickly.

It sets up a tasty game next week: Cousins will face his former team in Minnesota, where the Vikings haven’t missed a beat and are 10-2 with Sam Darnold leading the way.

The good news for Atlanta? The Falcons remain atop the NFC South with five games to go. They’re currently tied with the Bucs at 6-6 but own the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series with Tampa Bay.

(Photo of James Cook: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)