# NFL WEEK 13 Assassins **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 26, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018 "2019-11-26T18:18:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/21 "2019-12-01T23:06:01Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I give up trying to pick games this year. This is by far my worst year ever since I started keeping track. > > Thank God I haven’t put any bets down. > > On the plus side, if you’re a fan of a focused, professional team, they stand a good chance of moving through the chaff. So many teams have spit the bit in games they should’ve run away with this year. > > Feels like Baltimore’s year. Course, that’ll mean a divisional playoff loss, at this rate. > > EDIT: **On the bright side, at least we can put the ‘tanking’ in the NFL stories away for this year.** I sure hope so. It very much offends me when people talk about professional teams “tanking.” Maybe it really does happen; maybe it doesn’t, but the very idea that people who are getting paid a LOT of money to play a sport would lose on purpose sticks in my craw. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/22 "2019-12-01T23:37:22Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > I sure hope so. It very much offends me when people talk about professional teams “tanking.” Maybe it really does happen; maybe it doesn’t, but the very idea that people who are getting paid a LOT of money to play a sport would lose on purpose sticks in my craw. Nobody was “losing on purpose,” but the Dolphins especially were certainly mortgaging their present. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/23 "2019-12-01T23:38:06Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > I sure hope so. It very much offends me when people talk about professional teams “tanking.” Maybe it really does happen; maybe it doesn’t, but the very idea that people who are getting paid a LOT of money to play a sport would lose on purpose sticks in my craw. I feel like the Dolphins came close to tanking this year but not really. They traded away a lot of players knowing that this was a lost season, with the intention of getting draft capital to rebuild. That said, doing things you know will likely make your team worse in the short term is a far cry from losing games on purpose. I don’t think any team in the NFL does that. Miami has been trying to actually win and has pulled in a few in the process. I see this in the MLB as well. Teams get rid of veterans and other hot players to get young talent they can develop, knowing that their team will probably get worse but with the goal of building a future. They still go out on the field and do their best to win with whatever they have each game, regardless of whether they’re rebuilding or “going for it”. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/24 "2019-12-02T00:33:28Z")
Chargers! Inexplicable loss #537. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/25 "2019-12-02T00:35:49Z")
The Dolphins pulled off one of my favorite [gadget plays](http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-cant-miss-plays/0ap3000001082275/Can-t-Miss-Play-Fins-score-on-WILD-shovel-pass-TD-from-punter-to-kicker) in years in today’s game. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/26 "2019-12-02T01:31:53Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > The Dolphins pulled off one of my favorite [gadget plays](http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-cant-miss-plays/0ap3000001082275/Can-t-Miss-Play-Fins-score-on-WILD-shovel-pass-TD-from-punter-to-kicker) in years in today’s game. It reminds me of [a trick play that the Colts tried a few years ago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i7VKQwDS2s), which went much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/27 "2019-12-02T02:20:43Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > …So many teams have spit the bit in games they should’ve run away with this year… > > EDIT: On the bright side, at least we can put the ‘tanking’ in the NFL stories away for this year. Case in point. Who here had the Texans up over the Patriots 14-3 at any time? I don’t think players or coaches tank: careers are too short. Players get paid if they do well. Who cares if they get to play with better drafted players next year, that still take 2-3 years to blossom? 2-3 years, the older player may be out of the league. I absolutely think there’s incentives for GMs to try and jockey for position though. The Astros wrote the new template for it in MLB, after Crane bought the team. Anyway, back to the game. Let’s see how the Texans will f this up on national TV. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/28 "2019-12-02T05:02:45Z")
Wellp - Patriots haters got their wish tonight. And they may get what they want in the playoffs, as well, as Tom Brady is playing like he’s at the end of the line. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/29 "2019-12-02T05:19:33Z")
Dallas all but invited Philadelphia to snatch the division lead over the past two games, and the Eagles just wouldn’t take it. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/30 "2019-12-02T05:27:21Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > What got into the Bungles? Andy Dalton returning, auditioning the Bears for Trubisky’s job. And likely winning it. ---
**Author:** ![Dickerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dickerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickerman)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/31 "2019-12-02T05:50:37Z")
The Wilson/Wagner/Carroll Seahawks trio have never lost the 12th game of the year, so I’m hopeful that they’ll do well on Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/32 "2019-12-02T08:00:53Z")
Letter to Eagles Office: FIRE EVERYBODY! LEARN TO PLAY! Love, Locrian :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/33 "2019-12-02T15:35:27Z")
Fun week. Glad my Steelers beat the Browns, and i’d be lying if i didn’t say it wasn’t fun to see the Bengals beat Le’Veon Bell & Jets. (I still have no issue with what he did, but hey, don’t mean i gotta root for him). And, of course, everyone wins when the Patriots lose. Should be a good one on Monday night with Vikes-Seahawks. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/34 "2019-12-02T15:45:07Z")
It was the weekend of the onside kick recovery - the Falcons did it three times in one game (one was called back on a dubious penalty): Carolina also recovered one against Washington, but ended up losing the game anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/35 "2019-12-02T17:47:31Z")
Skins won two in a row. Derrius Guice looked like a wrecking ball on legs. Better break them up! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/36 "2019-12-02T18:16:06Z")
Just watched yesterday’s games now, and boy I kinda wished I’d skipped them. Ouch. > [@mhendo](#): > > I admit that I was basing my opinion only on the Jets’ W-L record. I had not watched them play all season. > > I’m watching them today, though, and they aren’t exactly providing a lot of support for your argument. 🙂 Right? Good grief that was a pounding. During the game one of the announcers commented that the Jets were one of the hottest teams in the league coming into this game. That’s overstating it, but they had been on a pretty solid 3-game roll: 34-27 over the Giants (meh) 34-17 over the Redskins (meh) 34-3 over the Raiders (who were 6-4 at the time) And then the winless Bengals totally owned them. Go figure. On the plus side, the Jets set an NFL record yesterday: No team in NFL history had ever lost to two 0-7 (or worse) teams in a single season until the Jets did this year. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/37 "2019-12-02T19:28:34Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > Wellp - Patriots haters got their wish tonight. And they may get what they want in the playoffs, as well, as Tom Brady is playing like he’s at the end of the line. This is all true, but man, the Texans really did their best to give that game away in the last 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/38 "2019-12-02T20:52:23Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > It was the weekend of the onside kick recovery - the Falcons did it three times in one game (one was called back on a dubious penalty): > > Carolina also recovered one against Washington, but ended up losing the game anyway. The 'Skins looked clueless on that onside kick. They had blockers on the line instead of “hands” guys. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/39 "2019-12-02T21:50:08Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > The 'Skins looked clueless on that onside kick. They had blockers on the line instead of “hands” guys. One comment I heard at the time was that they didn’t realize they had to try to recover it themselves. It’s sort of like a running play where nobody tries to tackle the back; of course it will be a touchdown. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018/40 "2019-12-02T22:34:33Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Dallas all but invited Philadelphia to snatch the division lead over the past two games, and the Eagles just wouldn’t take it. Yeah, I’m with whomever suggested earlier that the NFC East “champs” don’t deserve a playoff spot this year. Too bad, in my opinion, that division winners are given the benefit of the doubt in that regard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-13-assassins/844018.md?page=3)