"Week 13 is in the books. Chippy week! Plenty of -- as the broadcasters would say -- pushing and shoving in Patriots-Giants, Jaguars-Titans and Steelers-Bills. As the weather gets colder and playoff hopes dwindle, so the skirmishes begin. Just know that if any of you hit my editors late, I'll be coming over with bad intentions."
"Every Tuesday, I'll spin the previous week of NFL action forward, looking at what the biggest storylines mean and what comes next. We'll seek measured reactions to everyone's overreactions, celebrate the exciting stuff that nobody is appreciating and highlight what you might have missed. There will be film. There will be stats (a whole section of them). And there will be fun."
"(Yes, I understand that the bigger DEFCON numbers are actually less severe. "DEFCON 1" just doesn't sound as good.) The Steelers' 2025 offseason did not work. They pursued Aaron Rodgers in the belief that the 41-year-old quarterback had another year of championship-caliber play in him, and he clearly doesn't. They swapped safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for Jalen Ramsey in the belief that Ramsey could still play cornerback and give them unprecedented versatility in the defensive backfield, and he couldn't and hasn't."
Week 13 featured chippy play and skirmishes in Patriots-Giants, Jaguars-Titans and Steelers-Bills as colder weather and fading playoff hopes increased tensions. A weekly roundup previews upcoming implications, offering film, stats and measured reactions while highlighting underappreciated performances. Five playoff contenders are evaluated on a panic meter, with the Steelers rated extremely high after a failed 2025 offseason: pursuing Aaron Rodgers who underperformed, trading Minkah Fitzpatrick for Jalen Ramsey who could not mirror expected cornerback versatility, and extending T.J. Watt amid diminishing returns.
Read at ESPN.com
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