The NFL season has really picked up steam in recent weeks in terms of high quality and thrilling games.  Week 12 seemed to have it all- with lots of great games, fantastic finishes, and the usual controversy that comes with NFL games and officiating.

Here were the most notable occurrences of a crazy week 12:

Thanksgiving- VIKINGS @ LIONS

What the Detroit Lions are doing so far this year defies all logic and probablility. The Lions are normally the franchise that snags defeat from the jaws of victory, but this year that has been flipped on its head.

Through 11 games, the Lions are one of only two teams who have trailed in the 4^th quarter of all their games; the other is the 0-12 Cleveland Browns.  Despite always being down in the 4^th quarter, the Lions have somehow converted that into a 7-4 record and are now alone in 1^st Place in the NFC North.

There is a remarkable stat out there that I retrieved from ESPN.  Since 2008, eight teams have trailed in the 4^th quarter of their first 11 games of the season, the 2016 Lions being the eighth. The Lions have a record of 7-4, while the other 7 teams who did this have a combined record of 4-73!!

So the question becomes are the Lions the most clutch team ever, or a really bad team who has gotten unbelievably lucky?

BENGALS @ RAVENS

The final play of this game should be generating a lot more controversy than it has, and I believe the referees actually got a ruling wrong which cost the Bengals a chance to win the game.

If you haven’t seen it yet you need to watch the video of the final play of this game.  Here’s how the game ended:

The Ravens were pinned deep in their own territory facing a 4^th & long.  There was 11 seconds left, and they were set to punt the ball away to Cincinnati.  

On the snap, all Ravens players had been instructed by coaches to hold any Bengals players rushing the punter in an attempt to kill the clock. It looked quite thuggish as Ravens tackled Bengals all over the field and flags flew everywhere. There were at least 7 penalties on the play, if not more. This allowed the Ravens punter to dance around and kill the clock, before stepping out of the back of the endzone for a safety with no time left.

Official Ruling: The referees gathered and discussed the play and ruled that the game was over.

I’ve heard pundits talking about this being a “bad rule” but I believe this was actually a bad call.  (I’m still waiting for head of NFL officiating Dean Blandino to respond to my tweets.)  

The NFL has a clear rule that states: “A game cannot end on a defensive penalty”. Well than, what about 7-8 penalties?

A safety is ALWAYS followed by a ‘safety punt’. This is where the team who surrender the safety has to punt the ball away to their opponent.  This is exactly what should have happened in this case. The Ravens conceded the 2-point safety, and then there should have been an untimed-down safety-punt as the last play of the game. 

The correct ruling would have given the Bengals a chance at a hook-and-latter type return play, with extremely low odds of success; but with their season on the line, they should have had the chance to field the safety-punt.

RAMS @ SAINTS

As a lifelong New Orleans Saints fan, I loved what happened down in the Bayou on Sunday.  Lost in the mix of the NFL week was that the Saints were openly trying to run up the score on the Rams.  I heard RB Mark Ingram in a postgame chat with Deion Sanders say that Sean Payton had been telling the team throughout the week that he wouldn’t be happy unless they hung a ‘50-burger’ on the Rams! (Which is extremely ambitious because Los Angeles has a very good defense).

So why were the Saints trying to run up the score? 

Answer: Gregg Williams is the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. He’s also the former defensive coordinator of the Saints, and the man that was in charge of the bounty program that financially incentivized his player to injure opponents.  This became the ‘Bountygate’ scandal that ended up costing the Saints unprecedented punishments by the League.  .

This bounty program resulted in the harshest penalties ever handed down by the League and set the Saints back in a major way.  It cost Head Coach Sean Payton a one-year suspension, because ‘Bountygate’ happened under his watch.  So after Sunday, it became very clear how much Sean Payton despises Gregg Williams, and wanted to do everything he could to make his return to New Orleans miserable.

The Saints scored 49 points, rocked the L.A. Rams, and thoroughly embarrassed Williams’ defense.

CHIEFS @ BRONCOS

The Sunday Nighter was one of, if not, the very best games of the year.  It featured 2 current and historic rivals, who are in a 3-team showdown for the AFC West Title, and needed the win to keep pace with the Raiders. It was also a possible AFC Championship preview.

The Chiefs scored a dramatic late Touchdown to climb to within 2 points, and then converted a do-or-die 2 point conversation to send the game into overtime.

Rookie Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill also had a national coming-out-party and a new star was born.  He’s had a terrific season that has flown under the radar, and is one of the fastest players in the league.  Hill set a record in the game that isn’t one to be ignored.  He became the first player since Gale Sayers in 1965 to score a Touchdown in all 3 offensive categories in one game.  Hill had a return TD on a punt return, a Rushing TD on an end-around,  and a clutch Receiving TD that gave the Chiefs a chance to send the game into OT.

The play everyone is talking about from this game is the decision of Denver coach Gary Kubiak to attempt a 62-yard field goal on a 4^th & 10 late in overtime, instead of punting the ball away and pinning the Chiefs deep in their own territory, trying to secure the tie.

One of my biggest pet-peeves with football people is that they seem to be unable to wrap their heads around the concept of a tie. C’mon people, it’s not that complicated!!   It’s best to think of a tie as exactly half a win and half a loss.

Today I heard Jim Rome, who I often like, rant on with a brutal take regarding Kubiak’s decision.  His opinion was that the only choice was to either kick it and go for the win, or go for the 4^th and 10- but punting and trying to hold onto the tie shouldn’t have been a consideration.  Pardon me Van Smack?? Last time I checked half a win is a heck of a lot better than a full loss; especially a soul-crushing 5-quarter loss at home, when your team has played a great game.  

Denver kicker Brandon McManus’ career-long is only 57 yards.  Also, the wind had been a big factor at various points throughout the game.  The right call here is to punt and let your #1 defense secure the tie and make sure you walk away from an epic game with a positive result.  This was a bad bad call by Gary Kubiak that likely stems from this mental block football people have regarding tie games.